Kenya, Africa Safari
 

8-night Kenya Safari

July 20th - 31st
counting departure and arrival days

COST $3,495 (land only)
See below for group air

This will be our 6th Africa safari to Kenya and this is a wonderful tried and true package that everyone has been delighted with. You must see and experience what life is like in Kenya. I am very confident that this trip will more than meet your expectations, and at a very reasonable price. We work direct with the tour operator in Kenya and stay at the nicest, 4-star game lodges. This itinerary has it all, with plenty of up close big game safaris in a great variety of settings. Get your camera ready - this is the African safari you've always dreamed of taking.  This year we are upgrading our vehicles to land rovers which will be very comfortable. And yes, I took all these photos on our past two trips.

No feeling in the world matches the sheer exuberance of being on a safari - you will be spellbound by your first sightings of Cape buffalo, cheetah, elephants and giraffes. Experience the exhilaration of being in the wild, the wonder of seeing these wonderful animals unhindered by bars or fences. This is also the time frame of the annual migration, which will be seen in our 2 days at the end of the trip in the Masai Mara.

All photos on this page were taken by me, Ed Reder, on this same safari!

ITINERARY

July 22nd        Arriving in Nairobi on July 22nd

 After clearing with customs and immigration, our safari vans will be waiting for us. We will load up and begin our drive to the first safari camp.

Upon arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport you will met by our Tour Guide - Anthony and later board our Safari minivans and depart Nairobi driving north past the lush pineapple, coffee and tea plantation in Kenya's reach highland arriving Aberdare Country Club, base hotel for the tree lodge in time for lunch. After lunch transfer in lodge vehicles to The Ark located right in the Aberdare National Park with small overnight bags while the rest of baggage is left at the base hotel. The decks and balconies at the Ark are geared towards affording easy game viewing and photography.

Overnight: Ark Lodge. Meals HB: Lunch & Dinner. Distance: Nairobi - Aberdare: 180 km / 2.5 hours.

July 23rd After breakfast at the Ark you rejoin your driver guide and drive north to reach Samburu Shaba Lodge arriving in time for Lunch. Lunch and leisurely afternoon before enjoying scheduled evening game drive in Samburu where Joy Adamson, author of Born Free spent her final years, returning a leopard to the wild. This was the subject of her final book, Queen of Shaba. Overnight: Sarova Shaba Game Lodge. This is a wonderful lodge with a very nice pool. There is a river running right next to the lodge with lots of wildlife and alligators.Visit the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River, in the heart of Shaba National Reserve, famous for the Out of Africa film by Joy Adamson It has now been made famous once again with the shooting of the third edition of America’s television phenomenon, SURVIVOR having been filmed on this location.

Meals FB: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Distance: Aberdare - Samburu: 220 km / 3 hours.

July 24th Today depart for full day game watching to the Buffalo Springs & Samburu National Reserve. Buffalo Springs is linked to Samburu to the south by a bridge crossing the Ewaso Ng'iro which was built in 1964. It shares much of the same wildlife as Samburu but intriguingly is also home to the common zebra not found just over the bridge on the north side of the river.   A crater in the park was created by some misjudged bombing by an Italian pilot in the Second World War. It has since become a clear water pool and is apparently safe to swim in. Vegetation is limited to a narrow stretch of doum palms tamarind and some woodland bordering the Ewaso Ng'iro River. Away from this is hot dusty scrubland and acacia woodland. Termite mounds and weaver bird nests are common Samburu sights.

Some mammals are well adapted to this desolate landscape and are rarely seen in less harsh climes. The rare Grevy's zebra, Beisa Oryx and reticulated giraffe are among these. Crocodile and hippo dwell in the river. The long necked gerenuk or 'giraffe necked antelope' as it's also known, can often be seen on its hind legs seeking food from desiccated bushes. Leopards are rarely seen, birdlife however proliferates with large flocks of guinea fowl drinking from the riverbanks in the afternoon.

Overnight: Sarova Shaba Game Lodge. Meals FB: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.      

July 25th Samburu/Lake Nakuru. Leave after breakfast and drive past the Northern tip of the Aberdare mountains with a brief stopover at the Equator where you'll be able to experience the warmth of an annual warm temperature and feel the exhilaration that comes with knowing you're standing in the Middle of the world. Drive further into the floor of the great rift valley to descend into the Great Rift Valley where Lake Nakuru is located. Lunch at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge and later game drive visit the famous bird sanctuary in Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru National Park is famous for its abundant birdlife. The Park offers a great chance to see thousands of greater & lesser flamingoes, pelicans around the shores of the lake alongside abundant mammals that include endangered rothchild giraffe, black & white rhino, buffaloes, waterbuck, elands, zebras among other species.

Overnight: Sarova Lion Hill Lodge. Meals FB: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Distance: Samburu - Lake Nakuru: 345 km / 5.5 hours.

July 26th -Lake Nakuru /Maasai Mara. Depart Lake Nakuru after breakfast driving through the floor of the Great Rift Valley arriving Maasai Mara in time for lunch. Lunch and leisurely afternoon before enjoying scheduled evening game drive. Maasai Mara Reserve is the most popular reserve known for the big skies, open savannahs as featured in the film ''Out of Africa''. Also accorded the status of the seventh wonder of the world because of the annual wildebeest migration, where over 2 millions of wildebeest cross from Serengeti to the Mara. Besides these the reserve boasts of the ''big five'' (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion & leopard) plus plenty of plain wild animals that include zebra, giraffe, impala, topi, giraffe, thomson's gazelle, hyenas, cheetah, jackal, bat-eared foxes and birdlife. No wonder it is the shooting sight for BBC Big Cat Diary every year.

Overnight: Sarova Mara Camp. Meals FB: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Distance: Lake Nakuru / Maasai Mara: 350 km / 5.5 hours.

July 27th - Maasai Mara Full Day. Today you will do a full day's safari in one of the world's most famous reserves visiting Mara River where the annual migration will be happening. Maasai Mara offers an abundance of herbivores, this makes the ideal hunting ground for Kenya's famous 'big cats' and hosts her largest population of lions. Historically teeming with wildlife, the Mara is famous for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that wander its plains, and for the annual migration of the wildebeest.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Overnight: Sarova Mara Camp.

July 28th Maasai Mara Full Day. Another full day's safari in one of the world's most famous reserves visiting Mara River where the annual migration will be happening.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Overnight: Sarova Mara Camp.

July 29th - Maasai Mara / Lake Naivasha. Today wake up early for morning game drive and amazing Africa sunrise before returning to the camp for full breakfast and check out. Afterwards we descend down towards the Great Rift Valley arrival at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge in time for a delicious hot lunch. The remainder of the afternoon will be at your leisure, with the opportunity for optional nature walk, boat ride for bird feeding, or simply relaxing by the swimming pool.

Overnight: Naivasha Sopa Lodge. Meals FB: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Distance: Maasai Mara / Lake Naivasha: 200 km /4 hours.

July 30th - Lake Naivasha / Nairobi. After breakfast depart for 2 hour boat ride at Lake Naivasha. Afterwards drive back to Nairobi stopping enroute at the Great Rift Valley view point for photo session. Later drive through the highlands of Nairobi arriving in time for lunch at Nairobi Carnivore restaurant - "THE BEAST OF FEAST". We will check in at 1:30 am for our 4:25 am flight

Optional Masai Mara Balloon Ride:


For those going for the balloon safari,  you will be going for the early morning balloon, you will be picked at the hotel by the Balloon Company at 5.30am and drive to the balloon launch site where you will gather for takeoff. Enjoy early morning ballooning over the plains, getting a birds eye view of the game below as the sun creeps slowly over the horizon. After approximately one hour aloft, the balloon lands while a breakfast is being prepared for us nearby.  The smell of bacon, sausages and eggs drift on the breeze as we sample exotic Kenyan fruits and homemade pastries and, if you wish, glasses of bubbly to toast our flight, a tradition initiated by the Montgolfier brothersThis is an optional tour:. Cost Person: $400

 

In Nairobi we will have an option to visit the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. The Orphanage helps to save the lives of orphaned Elephants and Rhinos who are ultimately released back into the wild is just some of the many wildlife commitments The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is involved in. This is a special after hours tour. There is a cost of $60 but for that cost you will become an elephant adopter for that fee. Again, this is an optional tour.

In the evening we will enjoy a special farewell dinner at famous Carnivore restaurant.

 

 

 

 

GROUP AIR:

FROM LAX:
Flight:Turkish Airlines 10 Departure: Los Angeles 20JUL/635P Arrival:ISTANBUL AIRPORT 21JUL/535P
Flight:Turkish Airlines 607 Departure: ISTANBUL AIRPORT 21JUL/820P Arrival:Nairobi 22JUL/255A
Flight: Turkish Airlines 608 Departure:Nairobi 31JUL/425A Arrival:ISTANBUL AIRPORT 31JUL/1105A
Flight: Turkish Airlines 9 Departure:ISTANBUL AIRPORT 31JUL/115P Arrival:Los Angeles 31JUL/455P
Base fare $650 plus taxes $626.97 = $1276.97 (*Total Fare Estimate per seat with taxes and fees at time of booking*)

FROM JFK:
Flight: Turkish Airlines 12 Departure:New York Kennedy 21JUL/1210A Arrival:ISTANBUL AIRPORT 21JUL/450P
Flight:Turkish Airlines 607 Departure: ISTANBUL AIRPORT 21JUL/820P Arrival:Nairobi 22JUL/255A **Arriving with LAX group**
Flight: Turkish Airlines 608 Departure:Nairobi 31JUL/425A Arrival:ISTANBUL AIRPORT 31JUL/1105A **Departing with LAX group**
Flight: Turkish Airlines 1 Departure:ISTANBUL AIRPORT 31JUL/130P Arrival:New York Kennedy 31JUL/520P
Base fare $747 plus taxes $552.97 = $1299.97 (*Total Fare Estimate per seat with taxes and fees at time of booking*)


TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM OUR LAST TRIP
CLICK HERE

DEPOSIT TO SIGN UP  - $200

 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $895
 

Cost is inclusive of the following:

1. Accommodation as stipulated in the itinerary or similar.
2. Transportation in a chauffeur driven land rover with window seat with pop-up roof for easy game viewing & photography.
3. Services of an English-speaking driver-guide, game viewing drives as indicated in the itinerary.
4. All Government taxes and levies.
5. Farewell dinner
6. 1 free mineral water per person per day in the safari vehicle.
7. All meet and greet services.
8. All arrival and departure transfers.
9. 24 hours stand-by contact number.
10. Meals as indicated in the itinerary.
11. Guaranteed window seat in each vehicle.
12. Two-way long-range high frequency radio communication in each vehicle.
13. Boat ride in Lake Naivasha
14. Safari accessories in each vehicle: - First-aid kit, wildlife books, a pair of binoculars, cool box and fire extinguisher.
15. Flying Doctor insurance in Kenya. This covers you within Kenya for a period of 3 months. In the unlikely event of a medical emergency, you will be airlifted to Nairobi where you will be taken to a hospital. Hospital bills are born by the patient.

 

Sign up for this Trip!

 

 

 

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