Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Nairobi

Upon arrival at Nairobi International Airport, you are met and transferred to the Nairobi Serena Hotel for overnight.

Day 2 & 3: Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Leave Nairobi after breakfast and head north through breathtaking scenery dotted with rushing mountain streams and fields of tea and coffee to Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Arrive at camp in time for lunch and then depart for an afternoon game drive and a visit to the Chimp Sanctuary, the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Kenya. Most of the chimps came from the Jane Goodall Institute in Burundi and the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary now cares for them as a non-profit making venture. Most of the chimps were rescued from the most appalling conditions and it is truly heart-warming to see them living in the riverine forest and savannah grasslands here. Return to the camp as the sun sets in time for dinner.

Explore the reserve on morning and afternoon game drives. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the Largest Black Rhino Sanctuary in East Africa. The Ol Pejeta conservancy is home to 86 black rhinos after the single largest rhino translocation ever undertaken in East Africa on February 3, 2007. Conservation of endangered species in their natural habitat represents a major part of Ol Pejeta’s mission. Black rhinos remain critically endangered and efforts to successfully conserve this species and ultimately develop a viable national population will represent a landmark achievement in wildlife conservation. In addition to rhino, giraffe, zebra, eland, oryx, waterbuck, Grant's gazelle, Thompson's gazelle, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, lion, silver-backed jackals, ostrich, hartebeest and baboons can all be found in the Conservancy. There are also several hundred bird species to be observed. There is always a resident naturalist around to help you with your identifications. Overnights Sweetwaters Tented Camp. All meals.

Day 4: Mount Kenya

Leave after breakfast and drive south into the forests of the Aberdare Mountain range and into Mount Kenya National Park, arriving at Mountain Lodge for lunch. Mount Kenya is Kenya's highest mountain at 5,199 meters, and is a national icon, a climbers' Mecca, the nation's namesake, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site and a wildlife stronghold. One of the world's highest National Parks, it is also an extinct volcano some three and a half million years old and the sacred home of Ngai, God of the Kikuyu people. Spend the afternoon in the hide overlooking the waterhole, which attracts all sorts of wildlife during the day and night. Towering over the landscape are the majestic rocky peaks of Mount Kenya, providing some dramatic photographic opportunities.Overnight at Serena Mountain Lodge. All meals.

Day 5: Thomson's Falls & Lake Nakuru National Park

An early morning start takes you northwest as you drive to Nyahururu, still known to many as Thomson's Falls, for its 237 foot cascade. After visiting the falls you head in a southerly direction to your next destination, the spectacular Lake Nakuru. This is often colored a shimmering flamingo pink from thousands of the beautiful birds lining its shores. Once in the park, there will be a game drive en route to Nakuru lodge where you will have lunch. Following lunch there is an afternoon game drive you will then continue to Lake Nakuru lodge as the sun sets. The lake is fringed by alkaline swamps while the surrounding areas support a dry transitional savanna with lake margin grasslands. There are up to 1.5 million flamingos as well as 450 other species of birds. Fauna includes Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, the rare long-eared leaf-nosed bat, colobus monkey, rock hyrax, hippo, leopard, lion, rhino, waterbuck, impala, gazelle, striped hyena, bat-eared fox, wild cat, reedbuck and golden cat along with lion, black and white rhino and the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. Overnight Lake Nakuru Lodge. All meals.

Day 6 & 7: Masai Mara Game Reserve

After an early morning breakfast, drive to Narok town via Mai-Mahiu with a brief a rest stop and proceed on to Mara arriving in time for lunch at a lodge. Explore this remarkable wilderness for the next two days on early morning and afternoon game drives. The Mara is regarded as Kenya’s finest wildlife park. It is certainly the most famous and the most visited. It offers breathtaking scenery and prolific wildlife. The gentle rolling grasslands seem to teem with animals in every direction. This is particularly true when the migrating herds of wildebeest arrive, usually between July and October. Even when the vast herds have left, the park supports a year-round population of lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo and zebra while the rivers are home to hippos and crocodiles. Overnights Mara Serena Lodge. All meals.

Day 8: Depart

After breakfast depart the Masai Mara and head across acres of rolling wheat and barley farms to Narok, the district headquarters of this part of Maasailand. From here cross the vast plains on the floor of the Rift Valley whilst keeping an eye out for herds of giraffe and gazelle before heading up the rift escarpment. You’ll arrive into Kenya’s bustling capital in the early afternoon and be dropped off at a city center hotel or the airport for your ongoing travel arrangements.

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