CLASSIC JOURNEYS KENYA WILDLIFE SAFARI
THE VINTAGE SOPA SAFARI PROGRAM
Day 1: NAIROBI – AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
On arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by our representative who will give you a brief overview of your safari before handing you over to your driver guide with whom you will start your safari.
Proceed for a visit Karen Blixen Museum & the AFEW Giraffe Center near Giraffe Manor where you may hand-feed the Rothschild giraffe that live here. Later, you will have lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens before departing for the Amboseli National Park to arrive in time for check in at the Amboseli Sopa Lodge.
Overnight: Amboseli Sopa Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 2: AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
Today, you will spend the whole day in the Amboseli National Park with both morning and evening game drives. In between, you will have an option of visiting local Masai villages that will enable you get the chance to interact and learn about the colorful culture of this nomadic pastoralist community.
Amboseli sits on the lower slopes of mighty Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest – whose peak lies across the border in Tanzania. It is quite an experience to see Kilimanjaro hovering above the clouds in an early morning. The animal pictures rising against the dramatic backdrop of the mountain will thrill the photography enthusiast. Amboseli is renowned for its huge elephant herds. You will also see buffalo, black rhino, zebra, wildebeest and other plain animals.
Overnight: Amboseli Sopa Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 3: AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK – LAKE NAIVASHA
0730hrs. After your breakfast, you will depart for the Lake Naivasha via Nairobi and a brief stop at the Great Rift Valley view point before proceeding with the drive to arrive in time for check in and lunch at the Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort. You will then spend the afternoon at leisure followed by an evening boat ride to the crescent island – The Park where you walk with the Animals!
There is just one “Crescent Island Game Park”. Located on Lake Naivasha, Kenya in the Great Rift Valley. 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 Wildebeeste, Waterbuck, Zebra and Gazelle.
They are not fenced to allow the wildlife on the mainland to come in as they lose their habitat to development and the ever increasing population. Hippo graze all over us at night then sleep under the acacia or rest in the water by day. The giraffe who were born on the Island return to give birth; sometimes you see three generations at a time. Hyena come to hunt at night but are not resident on the island, the many python who do live here can be seen occasionally with a kill. Groups of Buffalo come and go but they are always monitored.
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. Take a boat back to the lodge.
Overnight: Lake Naivasha Sopa Sopa
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 4: LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK
After your breakfast, depart for Lake Nakuru which is the most famous of the Great Rift Valley lakes and home to a shifting population of over one million flamingos. You will do a game viewing drive within this wonderful Kenyan National park and the lunch will be served at the Flamingo Hill Camp.
Lake Nakuru National Park is 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. 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.
After the game viewing drive, return to Lake Naivasha region for dinner and overnight.
Overnight: Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 5: LAKE NAIVASHA – MASAI MARA NATIONAL GAME RESERVE
After breakfast, depart to Masai Mara arriving in time for check in and lunch at the Mara Sopa lodge. Enjoy an afternoon game viewing drive before returning to your lodge 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 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. 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: Mara Sopa Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 6: MASAI MARA NATIONAL GAME RESERVE
You will have one more day 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.
OR Take the opportunity to fly over the Mara in a Hot air Balloon provided at extra cost. The balloon package includes a champagne breakfast in the wild! If you can spare the money, viewing abundant game afloat a balloon is an unforgettable experience.
Overnight: Mara Sopa Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 7: DEPART
After breakfast, you will at 0730 hrs depart for Nairobi to arrive in time for a farewell lunch at the renowned Carnivore Restaurant before being transferred back to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your departure flight back home.
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