8 days (not including air travel)
This safari experience takes travellers deep into the Kenyan savannahs and Great Rift Valley to discover the African wildlife and exquisite landscapes. It is a perfect blend of wild nature by day and serene creature comforts by night. It’s for those who want to reach the depths of the renowned game parks and lakes of Kenya in their purest form, and then enjoy upscale lodging at the end of each day’s adventures. Relax in refined safari lodges and camps that will make anyone feel at home.
Day 1: Nairobi-Amboseli
From Nairobi, drive for 4-5 hours to Amboseli National Park, arriving in time for lunch. Early afternoon free-time relaxation, then leave for a game drive at 4pm. Amboseli is a top safari and sight-seeing location. This is where you can see large herds of elephants and plains game, giraffes, gazelles, lions, leopards among others. Although Mount Kilimanjaro lies in Tanzania, the most impressive views of its snow-capped peak are to be found in Amboseli, where it serves as a stunning safari backdrop.
Accommodation: Sentrim Amboseli Lodge
Meals: Lunch and dinner
Day 2: Amboseli
Whole day of game drives in Amboseli park-also known as “the land of giants” for the large elephants and the majestic Mt Kilimanjaro. Spotting large herds of elephants and game, giraffes, gazelles, lions, leopards roaming the plains is common.
Accommodation: Sentrim Amboseli Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 3: Lake Naivasha
Breakfast and then drive for 5-6 hours to Lake Naivasha, a freshwater Rift Valley lake famed for its bird life particularly fish eagles, love-birds and pelicans. There are also many hippos and we take an evening boat trip to see some of them. Alternatively, the boat ride can be done on Lake Oloiden in the southern part of Lake Naivasha. Unlike Lake Naivasha whose waters are fresh, Lake Oloiden is salty and home to several families of Hippos and both the lesser and the greater flamingos are in plenty here. A boat trip in this lake offers a good opportunity to see some of the numerous water birds and other creatures that thrive in this salty water habitat. Lake Oloiden was formerly part of Lake Naivasha but it is now separated from its south west shore by a stretch of an elevated land and the two lakes are about 200 metres apart.
Accommodation: Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 4: Lake Nakuru/Lake Naivasha
Drive to Lake Nakuru National Park for a whole day of game drives. Lake Nakuru is a world famous bird and rhino sanctuary where thousands of flamingos congregate to feed on Spirulina platensis, a blue-green alga that grows naturally in the lake. Found here as well are plenty of other interesting wildlife and birds such as rhino, leopard, lion, waterbuck, buffalo, impala, warthog, pelicans and a plethora of other birds. Return to Lake Naivasha in the evening.
Accommodation: Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 5: Masai Mara
Leave after breakfast for a 5-6 hour drive to the Masai Mara. We drive through the Great Rift Valley’s floor and western escarpments, created over the centuries due to the natural shifting of the earth’s tectonic plates. We will head to the Masai Mara National Reserve and will arrive in time for lunch. After an early afternoon at leisure, we proceed to the reserve for our much-anticipated date with the gem of African wilderness.
Accommodation: Sentrim Mara Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 6: Masai Mara
Full day devoted to game drives in the reserve, with time to explore more of Masai Mara’s scenery and to catch a glimpse the “The Big Five” animals of Kenya: lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and rhino. In addition to these, Masai Mara teems with other fascinating wild animal species: giraffes, zebras, hippos, baboons, wildebeests, warthogs, gazelles, crocodiles and numerous bird species. The annual migration of millions of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles between July to September is a spectacle not to be missed by any visitor to the Mara. The wildebeest travel in herds for more than 900 km crossing from the Serengeti plains north to the Maasai Mara before they encounter their final obstacle at the Mara River. The Masai Mara is drained majorly by the famous River Mara, and the Mara River crossing is one of the most astonishing and absorbing spectacles, especially with the hungry crocodiles ready to pounce. After a full day of taking in nature’s sights, we return to the camp in the mid-afternoon.
Accommodation: Sentrim Mara Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 7: Nairobi
Morning game drive and transfer to Nairobi.
Meals: Breakfast
General: Accommodation is in 3-star standard safari lodges and camps. The camps and lodges mentioned in the itinerary and only indicative and can be substituted with your preferred accommodations. Alternative accommodations will be booked subject to availability and individual requests.