Tour Overview
Get the heart-pounding thrill of a safari while still enjoying the comforts of luxury accommodations on this nine-day Kenya adventure. Depart early morning for a game drive just as the dawn sunlight begins to stir the sleeping lions, zebras, and giraffes. Stop for a delicious lunch mid-day, then it's back out for an afternoon drive on the vast grasslands of the Masai Mara. This is when the elephants, wildebeest, and hippos are most visible as they take to watering holes to cool off. Return to your rooms and sip a sundowner on your private verandah as inky darkness washes over the landscape and the night sounds of the Masai Mara come alive. A gourmet dinner ends each day of this perfect safari adventure.Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Nairobi, KenyaKaribuni! Arrive Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. After clearing customs and immigration formalities you are met and transferred to the Norfolk Hotel. Probably Kenya’s most famous hotel – and certainly its oldest – The Norfolk has been drawing the rich and famous to its hallowed doors since they first opened on Christmas Day 1904. In many respects, Nairobi grew up around the Norfolk, which occupies a central but quiet location opposite the National Theatre. The comfortable, newly refurbished rooms and cottages circle a large inner garden laden with flowering shrubs and heavy with birdsong. The hotel’s renowned restaurants, the Lord Delamere Dining Room and the Ibis Grill, offer delectable dining in elegant surroundings, while the front terrace is a popular location for watching modern Nairobi go by. Dinner under own arrangements.
Norfolk Hotel Day 2: Nairobi- Amboseli National Park After breakfast you’ll be transferred to Wilson Airport for scheduled flight to Amboseli National Park (0730/0810). On arrival you’ll be welcomed by Tortilis driver-guide and take a game drive en-route to your base for the next two nights, Tortilis Camp. Named after the trees from which it takes shade (acacia tortilis), Tortilis Camp lies on the boundary of Amboseli National Park. The omnipresent snow-domed Mount Kilimanjaro sets the stage for excellent game viewing and magnificent sunrises. The 15 accommodation tents are spacious and thoughtfully spaced at some distance from each other offering total privacy and breathtaking views across the plains to Africa’s highest mountain. Perched on a look out hill, the main house offers relaxation, attentive service and delightful home-cooked Italian food. As well as game drives, guests at Tortilis can enjoy bush walks with a Maasai guide – an experience which brings the sights, sounds and smells of the bush to life. In between game viewing, guests can relax by the swimming pool or sit on their verandah and watch a dazzling array of bird life. Afternoon is free to relax before taking your first game drive.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tortilis Camp Day 3: Amboseli National Park
A full day to explore Amboseli with morning & afternoon game drives. Amboseli National Park, at the foot of Africa's highest mountain 5895m (19,340ft) Kilimanjaro is one of the most popular of all Kenya's national parks. It lies some 240 kms (145 miles) southeast of Nairobi. The snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rising above a saucer of clouds dominates every aspect of Amboseli National Park. The Tanzania border runs along its base and also forms the boundary of the Park. Years ago this was the locale around which such famous writers as Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark spun their stories of big-game hunting in the African wilds. It is also the home of the famed Maasai people, those tall, proud nomadic warriors whose legendary prowess in battle and single handed acts of bravely in fights with wild animals has spread across the world. Perhaps more than any other community in Kenya, however, they have learned to live in complete harmony with their environment and the wildlife that surrounds them. The group that numbers more than 240,000 has many fascinating traditions that form part of their ages-old culture. Their diet is a simple one, consisting mainly of meat and milk and also the blood of cattle - drawn by firing a collared arrow into the beast's jugular vein - mixed with milk. The snows of Kilimanjaro, white and crystalline, also form a backdrop to one of Kenya's most spectacular displays of wildlife - lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, cheetah, buffalo and hosts of plains game and the combination makes the park a photographer's paradise. Part of the Park is composed of a dried-up lakebed that in the shimmering heat produces mirages. Swamps and springs, fed by underground rivers from Kilimanjaro's melting snows, form permanent watering places for the wildlife in times of drought. Many attractive birds can be easily seen and equally easily photographed around the lodges. This is one of the few places where the rare and beautiful Taveta Golden Weaver is found.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tortilis Camp Day 4: Amboseli National Park- Samburu Game Reserve
After an early breakfast, you will be transferred to the airstrip for scheduled flight to Nairobi. On arrival at Wilson Airport, connect the scheduled flight to Samburu Game Reserve. On arrival, met by the camp driver-guide and transferred to Larsen’s Camp. Larsen’s Camp is a small, luxurious tented camp set in lush lawns on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River in the heart of Samburu Game Reserve. Named in honor of safari pioneer Eric Larsen, the camp offers a rustic step back in time to the days of the earliest safaris, with all the public ‘rooms’ under green canvas. The 17 en-suite tents are simply but elegantly furnished, with private wooden decks overlooking the rushing river, where elephant, buffalo and a multitude of antelope species come regularly to drink. Larsen’s offers a surprising degree of comfort, with hot showers, complimentary aperitifs, and first-class dining. In the bar, Eric’s old cabin trunks and pith helmets help you to imagine yourself back to the earliest days of safari – while you play backgammon or chess on one of his original boards. Enjoy an afternoon game drive.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Larsen’s Camp Day 5: Samburu Game Reserve
You have the full day to enjoy game viewing activities in Samburu. You will have an early morning and afternoon game drive. Samburu Game Reserve offers what is arguably Kenya’s greatest – and least changed – encounter with the wild Africa of yesteryear. This harsh, savagely beautiful wilderness depends on the steady flow of the Uaso Nyiro River for its existence; the river waters a wide variety of animal species not found south of the Equator, including the majestic Beisa oryx, the reticulated giraffe, the thin-striped Grevy’s zebra, and the ‘giraffe-necked’ gerenuk antelope, which stands on its hind legs to feed. Elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard can all be seen along the river, and the 400-plus species of birds are positively spectacular. Together with neighboring Buffalo Springs and Shaba national reserves, Samburu comprises 833 sq. km of protected semi-desert land. This is the home of the Samburu tribe, cousins of the Maasai, who share the same nomadic, cattle-herding existence, and an even stricter adherence to their age-old rites and customs.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Larsen’s Camp Day 6: Samburu Game Reserve- Maasai Mara Game Reserve
After breakfast, transfer to the airstrip for your scheduled flight to Maasai Mara.
The jewel in Africa’s crown, Maasai Mara is host to the most spectacular array of wildlife. Her 320 square kilometers of open savannah, woodlands and tree-lined rivers creates an eco-system that supports huge numbers of bird and mammal species. The western border of the park is the spectacular Siria Escarpment, and together with the acacia dotted plains, creates scenery of stunning beauty. Lion are found in abundance throughout the park, as are elephant, giraffe, a variety of gazelle species and zebra. Cheetah and leopard are also regularly seen and, if lucky, you may also find rhino. Game viewing is never dull in the Mara, and patience is often rewarded with unique sightings: a pride of lion stalking their prey; a solitary leopard retrieving its kill from the high branches of an acacia tree; male wildebeest sparring to attract females into their harem; or even a herd of elephant protecting
their young from opportunistic predators. The annual wildebeest migration traditionally is present in the Mara from July-September and at this time nature’s dramas unfold before your very eyes at every turn. As well as wildlife, the Maasai Mara is also home to many members of the colorful Maasai tribe who may be seen around the borders of the park – morans (warriors) loping across the plains, young boys herding goats, or elders grouped under a tree discussing matters of the day.
On arrival you will be met at the Kichwa Tembo Airstrip and transferred to Olonana, your base for the next three nights. A luxury camp idyllically nestled in the heart of Kenya’s big game country, Olonana extends a service and style reminiscent of the romantic safari era at the turn of the 19th century, and a peaceful haven from which to explore the Maasai Mara, one of nature’s most thrilling eco-systems. Whilst retaining an old world charm, Olonana is at the forefront of eco-tourism in Kenya with solar power, bio degradable products and an ingenious wetlands project which allows for all used water to be totally recycled. The camp comprises just 12 spacious and airy en suite accommodation tents (all with 2 queen size beds, floor to ceiling mosquito net ‘windows’ and verandah) located on the banks of the Mara River, where the resident hippo pods spend their days wallowing.
The main cottage’s lounge and dining area offers a ‘home from home’ feel enhanced by the hosts and resident Safari Guides, whilst its spacious verandah provides the perfect setting for after dinner stargazing.
This afternoon take your first game viewing drive in the Maasai Mara, a reserve abundant in plains game, predators and a myriad of birds.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Olonana Camp Days 7 & 8: Maasai Mara Game Reserve
You have another two full days to enjoy the splendors of the Maasai Mara. There will also be the option to take a balloon safari over the Mara plains (at an extra cost.) Guests at Olonana enjoy an intimate and relaxed atmosphere where the pace of your safari can be as active or as leisurely as you wish. A wide range of ‘a la carte’ activities is offered including bush/tracking walks, Maasai walks, visits to the nearby Maasai cultural village, picnic lunches, sundowners and game viewing drives. The flexibility of Olonana allows guests to take both activities and meals as and when they wish. Optional Balloon Safari As the balloon is inflated against the first rays of sunrise your pilot will go through safety procedures. It’s then time to climb aboard. Once aloft, the balloon floats gently over the plains, giving a bird’s eye view of the game below as the sun creeps slowly over the horizon. Spread beneath you is a panorama of Africa – elephants looking improbably small; giraffe browsing amongst the treetops; antelope grazing; a pair of lionesses stalking a herd of wildebeest; an eagle guarding his eerie; and cheetah glancing up as the shadow of the huge balloon crosses their paths. After around one hour the balloon lands and nearby breakfast is already being prepared. The smells of bacon, sausages and eggs drift on the breeze as you begin breakfast with platefuls of exotic Kenyan fruits and homemade pastries and, of course, glasses of bubbly to toast your flight in a tradition initiated by the Montgolfier brothers. The afternoon is available for a game viewing drive and/or other activity in the Mara whether or not you take the optional adventure.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Olonana Camp Day 9: Maasai Mara Game Reserve- Nairobi- Depart
You have an option of an early morning game drive. Breakfast at the camp and transfer to the airstrip for the scheduled flight to Nairobi. On arrival at Wilson Airport, met and transferred to Bahati, for lunch. Thereafter proceed to Norfolk Hotel where dayroom is reserved. Afternoon at leisure for last minute shopping with dinner under own arrangements. Evening transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your departure flight.
Breakfast, Lunch
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