Classic Journeys Kenya Wildlife Safari


THE HIGHLIGHTS OF KENYA SAFARI OF THE YEAR 2016rhinos-game-drive

Day 1: NAIROBI

On arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by our representatives who will transfer you to the Safari Park Hotel for check in and an overnight stay.nairobi-safari-park
Situated 160 km south of the equator, Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and boasts one of the finest climates in the world. This modern, cosmopolitan city is the regional headquarters for many African and Indian Ocean businesses. With delegates attracted here from around the world, they come for the friendliness of the people, the modern hotel

facilities and the vast array of fascinating options available throughout the city. Although the ‘City in the sun’ is relatively young by global standards, it has fascinating history capturing explorers, missionaries, wars, cultural diversity and politics etc, each leaving their mark on the city center in some way.

Overnight: Safari Park Hotel

Meal Plan: Bed and Breakfast

Day 2: NAIROBI

After your breakfast, you will drive to the Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage at the edge of Nairobi National Park, which is a nursery and rehab center for infant elephants that have lost their families as well as rhino and occasionally zebras and other wildlife. Proceed the Karen Blixen Cottages for lunch at an extra cost before visiting Karen Blixen Museum & the AFEW Giraffe Center near Giraffe Manor where you may hand-feed the Rothschild

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nairobi_4giraffe that live here.

Later, on you will return to the Safari Park Hotel where you will spend the rest of the day leisurely. Dinner will be served at the Nyama Choma Ranch as you are entertained by a local dance troupe.

Overnight: Safari Park Hotel

Meal Plan: Half Board

Day 3: NAIROBI – AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

After your breakfast, you will depart for the Amboseli National Park, where you will arrive in time for check in and lunch at the Amboseli Serena Lodge. You will then spend the afternoon at leisure before going for an evening game drive till dusk when you return to your lodge.amboseli_1

Nestled against mighty Mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya’s Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge offers nature lovers a front-row view of elephants, hippos, buffalo, and other wildlife as they wallow in the nearby swamps, their only source of water in this legendary national park. Visitors to this secluded luxury lodge can also take part in daily game drives, chow down on a traditional dinner in the bush or breakfast on the plains, and pay a visit to the nearby Maasai communities.

Overnight: Amboseli Serena Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 4: AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

Today, you will spend the whole day in the Amboseli National Park with both the morning game drives. An optional visit to a local Masai village can be organized at an extra cost.

amboseli-parkThe animal pictures arising against the dramatic backdrop of the mountain will thrill the photography enthusiast. Amboseli National Park is renowned for its huge elephant herds. Actually, the park is one the best places in Africa to get really close to free-raging elephants according to most elephants viewing enthusiasts. You will also see buffalo, black rhino, zebra, wildebeest and other plain animals. It’s an adventure identifying the over 40 types of raptors in the park and over 400 bird species such as the hammerkops, crakes, kingfishers and pelicans. This is not just a walk in the park but a discovery through the park!

Overnight: Amboseli Serena Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 5: AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK – MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK

After your breakfast, you will depart for the Mount Kenya National Park with a brief stop in Nairobi at a local restaurant. You arrive at the Serena Mountain Lodge later in the evening for check in and spend the rest of the day leisurely at the restaurant/bar as you watch wild animals come to drink water and lick salt from the nearby floodlit water holes.mt-kenya-park

Located at 2194 meters on the slopes of Mount Kenya, Serena Mountain Lodge is surrounded by a dense rainforest that comes alive at dusk with a myriad of sounds that make the African bush so special and exhilarating. The lodge boasts one of the most spectacular forest waterholes that present a constant ballet of wildlife.

Overnight: Serena Mountain Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 6: MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK – SAMBURU NATIONAL PARK

Today, you will spend the morning leisurely with optional guided tours on Mount Kenya, which are paid for directly at the lodge. After an early lunch, you will depart for the Samburu National Park to arrive in time for an evening game drive enroute to the Ashnil Samburu Camp.ashnil-samburu-camp

Ashnil Samburu Camp is located within the Buffalo Springs Game Reserve. It features an outdoor swimming pool surrounded by sun loungers, a garden and a lounge bar offering views of the African savannah.

The modern tents are fitted with parquet floors, a mosquito net, wardrobe and a seating area. Each tent features a decked terrace with views of the Ewaso Nyiro River.

Overnight: Ashnil Samburu Camp

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 7: SAMBURU NATIONAL PARK

Wake up before sunup and have some muffins and coffee, before you take a morning game drive. You’ll see how still and quiet the Bush is at dawn and watch it begin to stir as the sun comes up. Keep a look out for Burchell’s Zebra and Gerenuk, a species that may make you think of ET. You’ll return to camp for a late brunch; then you’ll have the option to take a safari, on-foot, to a local Masai Village, where you’ll be exposed to Masai traditions and nomadic culture. Head back to camp for lunch followed by a siesta, and finish up your day on an evening game drive, taking in another African sunset.samburu-npark-1
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In between, you can also take the opportunity to visit a local Samburu village. You will be allowed to enter a Samburu hut, built only and entirely by the women of the tribe. One of the villagers will provide an insightful guide describing their everyday life and customs. A high light of your tour is sure to be the singing and dancing of the Samburu tribe with the women and men resplendent in colorful dress and elaborate beaded necklaces and head gear. This village optional experience is truly not to be missed!

Overnight: Ashnil Samburu Camp

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 8: SAMBURU NATIONAL PARK – OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY

Depart to the privately-owned 24,000 acre reserve, Ol Pejeta Conservancy s where your drive ends and another adventure begins at your luxurious tented camp with magnificent views of Mt. Kenya. Arrive for lunch followed by afternoon game viewing drive.olpejeta

A sheltered oasis, designed to offer a charming blend of under-canvas ambiance and uncompromising luxury. This tented camp is in a class of its own.

This private reserve is set in the extensive savannah grasslands and riverine forests that border the Ewaso Nyiro River, offering the only Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya. Due to its private status, it also allows unforgettable pleasures such as night game drives, guided bush & bird walks and camel riding across the plains teeming with game.

Overnight: Sweetwaters Serena Camp

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 9: OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY

Morning and afternoon game viewing drive within the conservancy.

One of only four private wildlife reserves in Kenya, your under canvas experience includes wildlife drives in search of the ‘Big Five’. Watch a parade of elephant, giraffe, zebra and impala come to drink at the camp’s floodlit waterhole and saltlick. Optional activities abound, you may choose to go on a night drive in search of nocturnal species, go on a nature walk or join a rhino patrol with experienced armed rangers to find and monitor black rhino.sweet-waters

During your stay here, you will also visit the 200-acre Chimpanzee sanctuary that has been set up here. Although chimps are not indigenous to Kenya, the aim of the project, initiated by Lonrho East Africa, Kenya Wildlife Services and the Jane Goodall Institute, was to set up a colony where chimps could be introduced, rehabilitated and taught to fend for themselves in an area similar to their natural living conditions. Priority is given to orphaned and abused chimps. The Sanctuary currently has 27 chimps, including two babies born in the Sanctuary. There is also a new Visitor’s Information Center at Morani’s Boma. While here, you will be treated to a guided walking safari. At an optional cost, you can enjoy camel safaris, and horse-back riding.

Overnight: Sweetwaters Serena Camp

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 10: OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY – LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

Continue with your journey this morning as you drive to Lake Nakuru National Park, a shallow alkaline lake that is world-renowned for its huge concentration of flamingos; at times, hundreds of thousands of these birds give the lake a pink shimmering glow. You arrive in time for check in and lunch, then spend the afternoon at leisure before going for an evening game drive till dusk when you return to your lodge.Lake-nakuru

The park boasts a huge variety of animals, including leopard which is often found snoozing on the branches of the magnificent yellow-barked acacias, lion, buffalo, hippo, waterbuck, warthog, baboon, the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe only found in this park in Kenya, white rhino and the rare black rhino which is protected and guarded here.

Your accommodation will be at the Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge which is nestled along the Lion Hill overlooking the spectacular flamingo pink rimmed Lake Nakuru. Its location affords panoramic views of the lake and the picturesque Lake Nakuru National Park.

Overnight: Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 11: LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK – MASAI MARA NATIONAL GAME RESERVE

After breakfast, depart to Masai Mara arriving in time for check in and lunch at the Ashnil Mara Camp. Enjoy an afternoon game viewing drive before returning to your camp later as the sun sets for dinner and overnight.

The Masai Mara National Reserve is in the south western part of Kenya and forms part of the greater eco-system that encompasses the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The Masai Mara (also spelt Maasai Mara) is one of the best known and most visited reserves in Africa. The park is surrounded by concession areas and tribal lands of the Masai tribes people. These are unfenced from the Mara and act as a buffer zone for the National Park and form part of the migration area.zebras

At times certain parts the Park can get a little overrun with tourist minibuses, so it is recommended to select your time and destination carefully. The Masai Mara consists of open savannah, rolling grasslands and undulating hills. July to September sees the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle coming from the plains of the Serengeti. Driven by dry conditions in the Serengeti and led by the lightning and thunder to the north, huge herds of mammals cross the Tanzanian border and rivers to reach the Mara’s grasslands.

Overnight: Ashnil Mara Camp

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 12 & 13: MASAI MARA NATIONAL GAME RESERVE

You will have two more days of wildlife-viewing opportunities in the Masai Mara Reserve, also known as the “Jewel of Africa,” a site with one of the largest and the most spectacular animal migrations in the world. The reserve is inhabited by many of Africa’s most popular wild animals, including lion, cheetah, elephant, leopard, black rhino and hippo. There are also over 500 resident species of birds in the park including ostrich, larks and sunbirds as well as the lovely Lilac-breasted Roller. mara-wildlife

The area is famous for rolling grassland and for the Mara River, which runs through the reserve from north to south. The reserve covers an area of 700 square miles and forms part of the Serengeti ecosystem, hosting the world famous spectacle of the annual migration of up to two million wildebeest, thousands of zebra and an escort of carnivores from the Serengeti plains that follow the rains and succulent new grass. A costly trek as many of the lame, laggard and sick will fall prey to the ravening pack of predators and many more will die in the swirling flood waters of the Mara River as they try to cross it. The Mara also has one of the highest concentrations of cheetah on the continent, as well as many magnificent black-manned lions.

Overnight: Ashnil Mara Camp

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 14: DEPART

After breakfast, you will at 0730 hrs depart for Nairobi to arrive in time for a farewell lunch at the renowned Carnivore Restaurantcarnivore

The Carnivore is the ultimate ‘Beast of a Feast’  A variety of  meat including ostrich, crocodile and camel, t is roasted over charcoal and carved at your table. Delicious side dishes and an exceptional array of sauces complement this fixed price feast that also includes soup, a selection of desserts and Kenyan coffee. Set in attractive tropical gardens, the service and the décor are outstanding. The Carnivore since its inception has played host to over 2 million customers from across the globe including numerous celebrities. In fact the Carnivore visitors book read like a global who is who! Whole joints of meat – legs of lamb and pork, ostrich, rumps of beef, sirloins, racks of lamb, spare ribs, sausages, chicken wings, skewered kidneys, even crocodile, and other tasty morsels – are roasted on traditional Masai swords over a huge, spectacular charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant.

After lunch, you will be transferred back to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in time for your departure flight to Zanzibar. This flight departs at 1905 hrs.

Say good bye to the wonderful country and promise to join us on another expedition