Itinerary

DAY 1 :  NAIROBI
Arrive into the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi where you'll be warmly met and received after passing through customs. Transfer to overnight at the Stanley Hotel. [Meals on your own]

DAY 2 :  NAIROBI TO MT. KENYA
Meet your guide this morning for the three hour drive north to the Serena Mountain Lodge. Along the way we'll pass fields of coffee and sugar cane, and have great views of Mt Kenya. This afternoon is at leisure at the lodge, with time to rest from the previous days' international flight. From the comfort of the lodge, view wildlife at Mountain Lodge's watering hole, the photography hide, or enjoy afternoon tea. Area wildlife includes elephant, water buck, buffalo, leopard, and genet.

 

Constructed on the slopes of Kenya's highest peak, the Serena Mountain Lodge is a comfortable respite after a morning's drive from Nairobi. Set in tropical rain forest at an elevation of over 6,000 feet, the lodge's cool climate is a surprise to first time visitors to Africa. The lodge is exquisitely outfitted with log-paneled rooms, thick carpets, and a lounge filled with comfortable chairs overlooking a watering hole often visited by elephant and buffalo. To get closer to these great animals visit the hide, where you'll  experience the thrill of being only a few meters from some of the most massive beasts on earth. Overnight at Serena Mountain Lodge. [BLD]

    
    
DAY 3 :  SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE
We continue on our journey northwards, driving for 4 hours as we watch the landscape turn from lush green mountains to semi-arid scrub land and pass through the town of Isiolo before entering Samburu. Rugged and remote, the area is made up of three Reserves: Buffalo Springs, Samburu, and Shaba, which will be our home for the next two nights. After lunch at our lodge we'll rest and then have our first game drive as the heat of the day fades and the wildlife wakes up from their mid-day slumber.

 

Our base is the Shaba Sarova Lodge. Facing the Uaso Nyrio River, the Shaba Sarova Lodge is built near a natural spring which feeds into a multitude of streams and pools throughout the grounds creating an oasis of lush tropical vegetation. Decor is thatched roof, stone and timber, tastefully combining local materials and architectural style. Each room has en-suite facilities, mosquito netting and fans.  The open air restaurant overlooks the pool, river and lodge grounds. Overnight at Shaba Sarova Lodge. [BLD]

DAY 4 :  SHABA RESERVE
Spend all day on safari in the reserve (breakfast and lunch at the lodge). Irrigated by the river, which is home to numerous hippos and crocodiles, Shaba offers sanctuary to large herds of elephants, healthy numbers of lions, leopards, cheetahs,  plentiful plains game, reticulated giraffes, rare Beisa oryx, and gerenuks. It is also one of the few reserves in which you can see the Grevy's zebra rather than the more common Burchell's zebra found elsewhere. Offering 100 species of birds, the reserve is also home to the rare blue-shanked Somali ostrich. Overnight at Shaba Sarova Lodge. [BLD]

     
 
DAY 5 :  LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK
Depart Shaba this morning and drive down to the floor of the Great Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park, arriving in time for an afternoon game drive. A seasonal home to thousands of pink flamingos, Nakuru is also habitat for large numbers of reedbuck, waterbuck, zebra and gazelle. The shore of the lake is a good spot to see both both black and white rhino, and the woodland interior is home to the Rothschild giraffe and a particularly large population of leopard. A visit the baboon cliff lends a spectacular overview of the park. Overnight at Lion Hill Sarova Lodge. [BLD]

DAY 6 :  MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE
Leaving flamingo-fringed Lake Nakuru behind, head southwards and turn right at Maai Mahiu to ascend up over the top of the Mau Escarpment. Continuing due south, we travel towards Narok, gateway to the Maasai Mara and district headquarters of this part of Maasai land. We'll travel across the 'breadbasket' of Kenya, covered with acres of wheat and barley, to Mara Sarova Camp, arriving in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive in the Maasai Mara Reserve. Total driving time is approximately 5 hours.

 

Stay at the Mara Sarova Camp, located on the southeast boundary of the Maasai Mara on a natural hill between two streams. Spacious tents have private terraces and hardwood floors, and are complete with electric light, flush toilets, and hot water. Enjoy a dip in the large pool, or an evening lecture with local Maasai guides. Ask about hot air ballooning one early morning and glide silently over the Mara with the rising sun (at additional cost). Overnight at Mara Sarova Camp. [BLD]

    
DAY 7 :  MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE
Explore the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, part of the vast Serengeti ecosystem spanning Kenya and Tanzania. No other place on earth compares to the multitudes of wild animals found in the Maasai Mara. Here herds of zebra, wildebeest, and topi mingle on the short grass plains keeping an eye out for numerous predators including lion, cheetah, leopard, and hyena. Maasai giraffe and impala graze in the woodlands and hippos and crocodiles bask along the shores of the Talek and Mara Rivers. Keep an eye out for herds of Cape buffalo as well as black rhino. During the summer months (approx July-September) the Great Migration comprised of 1.5 million wildebeest and several hundred thousand zebra make the Maasai Mara their home. Overnight at Mara Sarova Lodge. [BLD]

DAY 8 :  NAIROBI
After an early breakfast in the camp, depart the Maasai Mara and head back on a 5 hour drive to Nairobi, passing the dormant volcano Mount Longonot, as wells as Lakes Elementeita and Naivasha. Upon arrival a dayroom is waiting for us at the Stanley Hotel, where you can rest and refresh before you transfer to the airport for an evening departure flight. [B]

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