Journey to Kenya Safari – 10 day Safari

This trip will visit four of Kenya’s most famous national parks. We will start by venturing north of Nairobi, past the equator to Sweetwaters reserve at the base of mount Kenya. Then pushing further north to Samburu National Park, populated with unique species that cannot be seen south of the equator. Next we turn south-west into the Great Rift Valley to the flamingo filled, Lake Nakuru and ends with a visit to the great plains of Masai Mara. Driving between destinations allows us to see much more of the Kenyan wilderness, small towns and villages.

Day 1
You will be met at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport by Jon Moyer and our ground team. You will then spend the rest of the day relaxing and exploring the grounds of the Safari Park Hotel where you will spend your first night in Kenya. An oasis of tranquility in the heart of Nairobi, the Safari Park Hotel blends stylish elegant architecture, supremely luxurious accommodation, sparkling water gardens, an inland beach, beautifully landscaped gardens and a wide choice of international restaurants. After a delicious dinner at one of the Safari Park's seven restaurant, we will enjoy some drinks around the campfire and have our first team meeting to prepare for our extraordinary safari.

Day 2
After a good nights rest our safari drivers will load our 4x4 vehicles and we will depart for Ol Pajeta Conservancy. This is a short 3-hour drive north of Nairobi across the equator to the base of Mount Kenya. A sheltered oasis, clustered around a waterhole and set in the pristine calm of a private wildlife conservancy, Sweetwaters Tented Camp is in a class of its own. Abounding with wildlife, unfettered by the more rigorous strictures of the Kenyan National Parks and designed to offer a charming blend of under canvas ambiance and uncompromising luxury, it has long been the preferred retreat of wilderness and safari lovers alike. One of only four private game reserves in Kenya, Ol Pejeta Conservancy excels in the provision of privileged seclusion and private game viewing. Thanks to its private status it also allows such unforgettable pleasures as the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary (the only place in Kenya to see these highly endangered animals), visits to Morani, a tame black rhino, night game drives, guided bush walks and camel-trekking across game-teaming plains.

Today’s itinerary will include a game drive in the afternoon and a night drive after dinner where we will be able to see some of the nocturnal creatures that cannot be seen during the day.

Day 3
After an early morning game drive we will return to the lodge for a big breakfast and to load up for our next destination. The drive to Samburu National Park is an easy 3 hour drive and we will arrive to Samburu Game Lodge in time for lunch. Samburu Game Lodge is set in 10 acres of pristine riverine forest on the western bank of the Uaso Nyiro River within the Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya at an altitude of 857 meters above sea level. This is true wilderness, and home to a variety of animals and birds rarely seen in other parts of the country. Here you will find the Beisa Oryx, Gerenuk, Grevy’s zebra, the Reticulated giraffe and Blue Shanked Somali ostrich.

Day 4
Today we will enjoy three game drives to experience all of the wilderness that has made Samburu famous. The sun baked landscape is breathtaking with surrounding mountains shimmering on the horizon as temperatures rise. To the west, the sheer sided slopes of majestic Ol Olokwe Mountain form a perfect back drop to any photograph.

Day 5-6
We will return to the lodge for breakfast after our early morning game drive. We will then depart for Lake Nakuru National Park. It is set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and grassland next to Nakuru town. The landscape includes areas of marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs and outcrops, stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides covered with a Euphorbia forest on the eastern perimeter.

This small, beautiful park has ecosystems that include an acacia forest, woodlands, and a famous soda lake that draws flocks of greater and lesser flamingos. Nakuru is full of wildlife and you have the opportunity for sightings of giraffe, rhino, buffalo, zebra, lion, leopard, colobus monkeys and many antelope species including waterbuck, eland, reedbuck, dik dik, impala, as well as Thomson and Grant gazelles.

Day 7-9
Today we depart for the northern section of the Serengeti ecosystem, the Masai Mara. The vast savannah grassland of the Serengeti extends for over five thousand square miles into Tanzania, forming one of the world’s largest wildlife refuges. Herds of animals follow the seasonal rains traveling from the Serengeti into the Mara, sometimes migrating as much as 300 miles a year. The Mara is the most famous reserve in Kenya with open plains, teeming with vast numbers of game. During the months of July to September the spectacle of the migration unfolds as a million and a half wildebeest and zebra move across the vast open plains. Elephants are plentiful and it is common to see hippos and croc idles basking in the rivers. It is the superabundance of prey in the Mara that accounts for the Mara’s big predator populations. The Mara savannahs with their open country and grasslands support a healthy cheetah population. Cheetahs face increasing pressure from humans and land encroachment – with between 9,000 to 12,000 left in the world. You’ll be scouting for cheetah in one of the two remaining cheetah strongholds in the world: the Mara/Serengeti ecosystem.

At the southern end of 1,510 sq km Mara paradise, directly in the path of the annual migration of wildebeest and zebra, lies Keekorok Lodge. There is always plenty of activity around the waterhole but during the migration, the lodge is enveloped by the swarming mass of animals. One need hardly venture from ground to game view. From the verandah and from Kiboko Bar, there is plenty to see.

We will explore Africa’s most populated park with wildlife by having three game drives a day.

Day 10
After our last early morning game drive and breakfast we will travel back to the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi where we can relax and prepare for the trip home to share our incredible photos and stories.

Day 11
Today we say goodbye to our ground crew and friends that we have met along the way and head back to the Airport to return home to share our amazing photos.

Reserve your space on this trip by emailing reservations@kenyajon.com