9 DAYS KENYA EXTRAVAGANZA SAFARI
Day 1 Nairobi – Drive to Aberdare National Park
Depart Nairobi after breakfast .Our destination today is the Aberdare National Park. We travel overland through plantations of coffee and tea to The Aberdare Country Club, nestled on the slopes of Mweiga Hill. After high tea, set off for the Ark tree lodge, located in the forest on mountain slopes of the Aberdare Mountains at 7,000 feet. This outstanding lodge offers high altitude game viewing, including animals that are rarely encountered elsewhere: giant forest hog, bush pig, tree hyrax, large spotted genet, and the elusive bongo. Wildlife can be observed from different levels – and from outside where you can see, hear and smell everything and inside where you can sit with a cup of tea and stay warm and cozy. You can put in a request to be awakened during the night if your favorite animals show up. A herd of Elephants might be just feet away and if you are lucky, a Leopard or large male Lion might put in an appearance.
Day 2 Aberdares-OlPejeta
This morning we depart aberdares and proceed south, driving through the quintessential town of Isiolo to Olpejeta Conservancy. Sweetwaters land, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy and its sumptuous ranch were once the private domain of famed multi-millionaire, Adnan Kashoggi. We visit the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a charming haven established by the Jane Goodall Institute to provide sanctuary to orphaned chimps, and the specially protected and fenced refuge of black rhino with its stunning forty specimens! In factSweetwaters boasts excellent game viewing with the highest ratio of game to area of any park or reserve in Kenya. Whether its day or night game drives, camel trekking, lion tracking, al fresco dining or relaxing by pool, OlPejeta is bound to delight.
Day 3 Olpejeta conservancy
Today we explore Ol Pejeta Sweetwaters Conservancy in two Game drives. Our camp also overlooks one of the busiest waterholes in the area and offers elephant, giraffe and myriad plains game.
This is Africa as Teddy Roosevelt saw it years ago when he led one of the first safaris to tour Africa in comfort and splendor. Our tents at Sweetwaters will remind us of this bygone era.
Day 4: Ol-Pejeta – Nakuru Drive time 4+ hours
After breakfast proceed to cross the Aberdare range into Lake Nakuru. Here we can expect to see buffalo, rhino, giraffe, zebra, antelope and the lions that prey on them as well as vast flocks of flamingos clustered near the lake shore. Lake Nakuru is famous for having the highest concentration of flamingos in the world and is home to over three hundred bird species. It is a sanctuary for both the Black and White Rhinos. Also found in plenty are zebras, waterbucks, buffaloes and warthogs. Leopards are sometimes seen sleeping on the horizontal branches of the “Fever trees”. Supper is at our lodge overlooking the lake.
Day 5 Lake Nakuru – Lake Naivasha Drive time 2+ hours
After a hearty breakfast. Wtransfer to Naivasha arriving late morning. After lunch, enjoy a boat ride (optional visit to crescent island) There is just one “Crescent Island Game Sanctuary”. Located on Lake Naivasha, in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. It is one of the most beautiful parks in Kenya and is often called Naivasha’s best-kept secret. Surrounded by water, it is actually a peninsula and is currently only accessible by boat from the East or West side. The shores host abundant birdlife including pelicans, cormorants, and fish-eagles with their haunting cry. There are more animals per acre than any other Kenyan Park, hence many film companies have been to the Island to film the herds of Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Zebra, and Gazelle. Hippo graze all over us at night then sleep under the acacia or rest in the water by day. Often you can see three generations of Giraffe at a time, all of whom have been born on the Island. And if you’re lucky you may see one of the beautiful Pythons who live here. From the top of the hill, there is a 360-degree view across the Lake from Longonot to Hell’s Gate to the Mau Escarpment to Eburu and onto the Aberdares. Walking along the ridge in the golden hour before sunset whilst watching the animals grazing with the water shimmering beyond, is what Africa is all about. Dinner and overnight at lodge.
Day 6: Naivasha-Maasai Mara (Drive time 4+ hours)
After breakfast, drive through the stunning & scenic Great Rift Valley with a brief stopover to admire the breathtaking views and optional shopping at the curio shops. Enjoy another brief stop-over in Narok Town for refreshments and to use the rest rooms before continuing your journey to Masai Mara with a short game drive enroute before reaching the lodge. Arrive at the lodge in time for check in and lunch. Day at Leisure to enjoy the facilities the lodge has to offer before going for a thrilling introductory evening game drive in the Magnificent Masai Mara. Return to the Lodge for Dinner and Overnight Stay Masai Mara Game Reserve The Maasai Mara (also known as the Masai Mara, and locally simply as The Mara) is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: “Mara” means “spotted” in the local Maasai language of Maa, due to the many trees which dot the landscape. It is world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lions, leopards, cheetahs and elephant, and the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra, Thomson’s gazelle and other antelope, to and from the Serengeti every year known as the Great Migration. The Masai Mara “Big Five” are the Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino. The Greater Mara Ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, and several Maasai Conservancies, including: Koiyaki, Lemek, OlChorroOirowua, Olkinyei, Siana, Maji Moto, Naikara, OlDerkesi, Kerinkani, Oloirien, and Kimintet. Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration Every year, around 1.5 million wildebeest; 350,000 Thomson’s gazelle; 200,000 zebra; and thousands of eland and other ungulates (hoofed animals) participate in ‘the greatest show on Earth’, The Great Wildebeest Migration when the grassy plains of the southernmost Serengeti begin to dry out and the ever-moving columns of wildebeest follow an age-old route in search of grazing and water that takes them across the plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya from between Mid June and Early September (however the dry seasons may change due to global warming) The three groups of migrant grazers take advantage of different heights of grass, which means they stick to their own kind with only a small overlap in their distributions. The grasses of the plains have the highest protein content in the whole of the Serengeti, as well as being high in calcium. It is unclear how the wildebeest know which way to go, but it is generally believed that their journey is dictated primarily by their response to the weather; they follow the rains and the growth of new grass. While there is no scientific proof of it, some experts believe that the animals react to lightning and thunderstorms in the distance. It has even been suggested that wildebeest can locate rain more than 50km away
Day 7: Maasai Mara
Early morning breakfast and depart the lodge with your packed lunch boxes for a full day game viewing across the rich tree studded grassland and rolling hills. At lunchtime, our guide will pick a scenic (and safe) spot where you will enjoy your lunch and hear animals howling, birds chirping and the mighty Mara River flowing across the savannah bringing life to the park. After watching more of the spectacle that never gets dull, transfer back to your lodge. Dinner and overnight stay in Masai Mara Note* On this day clients can choose to have AM & PM game drives this needs to be organized with our driver guide the day before
Day 8: Maasai Mara-Nairobi Drive time 5+ hours
After breakfast today, proceed to Nairobi arriving in the late afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure. Overnight at Nairobi Hotel.
Day 9: Nairobi Hotel-JKIA Drive time 1+ hours
After breakfast, check out for your flight back home.
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