9 days (not including air travel)
This trip offers excellent wildlife watching experiences in some of Kenya’s best safari destinations. What makes it special are the opportunities it offers for game viewing on foot while hiking in the wild thus breaking the monotony of game drives. You will walk amongst herds of zebra, gazelles, elands and other wildlife and climb a mountain to discover some of Kenya’s hidden gems.
Day 1: Nairobi-Solio Ranch
From Nairobi, drive for three hours to Solio Game Reserve for lunch and afternoon game drives. Solio is a private wildlife sanctuary with a large population of black rhinos. This is the best place in the world to watch rhinos and leopards. There are also many other animals including zebra, lion, cheetah, hyena, as well as two northern species, the reticulated giraffe and the Beisa oryx. The area is also a bird watcher’s paradise with over 100 species of birds recorded so far.
Accommodation: Rhino Watch Safari Lodge
Meals: Lunch and dinner
Day 2: Ol Pejeta
Drive to the equator and a brief stopover for demonstration of Coriolis effect on water. Then on to Ol Pejeta Conservancy for a whole day of game drives. This is the perfect place to watch wildlife in a less crowded environment against the iconic backdrop of Mount Kenya. The conservancy hosts the largest population of black rhino in Kenya. There are also elephant, cheetah, lion, leopard, zebra, hartebeest etc. In the afternoon we will visit the chimpanzee sanctuary, the only one of its kind in Kenya.
Accommodation: Rhino Watch Safari Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 3: Lake Nakuru
Descend into the Great Rift Valley and drive to Lake Nakuru National Park for 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 the white rhino, leopard, lion, waterbuck, buffalo, impala, warthog, pelicans and a plethora of other birds.
Accommodation: Lake Nakuru Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 4: Lake Naivasha
Morning game drive then transfer to Lake Naivasha, a freshwater lake in the Great Rift Valley, famed for its birdlife. Covering over 140 square kilometres, Lake Naivasha — which derives its name from the local Maasai word Nai’posha meaning ‘receding waters’ — is a Ramsar world heritage site and home to some of the world’s rare birds, other wildlife and plants. Over 300 species of birds live around the Lake. The African fish eagle — one of the continent’s most loved birds, known for its graceful aerial skills and distinctive plumage — is among the birds that not only nest in the woodlands around the lake, but are major tourist attractions. Others include Pelicans, Herons, Storks, Kingfishers, Hammerkop, Egrets, Cormorants, Ibis, Red knobbed Coots, etc. There are also hippos in the lake.
After lunch, we take a boat ride to Crescent Island for a game walk. Crescent Island, a peninsula on the eastern shore of Lake Naivasha, is a privately owned game sanctuary that hosts giraffes, waterbucks, elands, zebras and impalas. There is also abundant bird life including pelicans, cormorants and fish eagles. Crescent Island Park is considered one of the most beautiful parks in Kenya with more animals per unit area than any other Kenyan park.
Accommodation: Elsamere Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 5: Lake Naivasha/Hell’s Gate
Transfer to Hell’s Gate National park for an exhilarating hike down the gorge. The gorge that the park derives its name from is a product of the powerful tectonic and volcanic activities experienced during the formation of the Great Rift Valley. The gorge baffles and awes explorers and it is said to resemble ‘hell’ hence the name Hell’s gate. There are soaring lava cliffs, steaming volcanic vents and hot springs.
If interested, we can also arrange for cycling in the park. Here, you walk or ride through herds of plains game that includes eland, gazelle, and zebra. Other wild animals in the park include the rare klipspringer, ostrich, waterbuck, impala, buffalo and warthogs.
Optional activity: After your hike or bike ride, you can relax and refresh your body and soul at the Olkaria geothermal spa, a natural spa that’s fed with water from the hot springs. The warm geothermal water is rich in minerals such as sulphur and silica that are known for their therapeutic properties.
Accommodation: Elsamere Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 6: Mount Longonot/Lake Naivasha
Drive to the base of Mount Longonot (a dormant volcano in the Rift Valley) and climb up the mountain. The trek to the peak (2,800m above sea level) is about 9 km long and some sections of the trail are quite steep, so much so that the round trip from the park gate to the peak and back takes about 5 hours of hiking. More energetic hikers can circumnavigate the crater for another 2 hours.
Accommodation: Elsamere Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 7: Masai Mara
Transfer to Masai Mara for lunch and afternoon game drives.
Accommodation: Mara Leisure Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 8: Masai Mara
Whole day of game drives in the Mara watching “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.
Accommodation: Mara Leisure Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 9: Nairobi
Early morning game drive until 9am. Then depart after breakfast for the return journey to Nairobi.
Meals: Breakfast
Please Note: Accommodation is in nice mid-range facilities. The hotels and lodges mentioned in this itinerary are only indicative. Alternative accommodation can be booked based on individual requests and availability.