Upgraded - Highlights of Kenya

Arrive in Kenya's fast growing capital city, Nairobi, gateway to the country's famous national parks.



For those arriving on time our Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 6pm for the welcome meeting and after there will be the opportunity to have dinner. There are no other activities planned today, so you are free to arrive in Nairobi at any time. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which is 30 minutes from our hotel. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information at their earliest opportunity.



Our hotel is located just five kilometres from the city centre and a short fifteen-minute drive from the airport. It is the perfect location to relax and unwind after your flight, featuring a large outdoor swimming pool set in landscaped gardens and a welcoming open plan reception area with bright murals covering the walls. The hotel has a coffee shop, a lively bar and a restaurant. Alternatively you can get a taxi to one of the city's malls for a wider choice of eating options.

Heading north out of Nairobi and climbing steadily out of the Great Rift Valley, we head into the Aberdare Mountain range. With an altitude of over 2,500 metres, the air is noticeably cooler compared to Nairobi and the rolling hills are covered in dense forests and open moorland. After around two and a half hours we reach the Aberdare Country Club where we break for lunch. Originally a colonial family home, the country club retains much of its former grandeur and has breathtaking views of the plains below, the Aberdare Mountains to the west and Mount Kenya to the east.



After lunch it's a short transfer to one of Kenya's more unusual safari properties, The Ark. Modelled after Noah's Ark, The Ark features four viewing decks with balconies and vast viewing windows to provide superb game watching, all from the comfort of the lodge. Keep an eye out for your first glimpse of elephant on your way in. After settling into our rooms there is ample time to head to one of the viewing areas or down to the bunker to quietly watch the floodlit waterhole which attracts a host of wildlife including elephant, buffalo, monkey, warthog, baboon and on occasions hyena. There is also a wonderful range of forest birds to be spotted including hornbill, wagtail and giant kingfisher. Before dinner at the lodge, there will be an informal talk on the local flora and fauna and the wildlife that inhabit the Aberdare National Park.



Going to bed early does not mean missing the action either. During the night the resident ranger stays on watch and will buzz your room if an interesting animal comes to the waterhole with one ring for elephant, two for rhino, three for leopard and four for other unusual sightings. You're free to turn the buzzer off if you would rather have a full night's sleep.

Today is a longer travelling day driving to Nakuru, a journey of around four hours. En route we stop at the striking Thompson Falls on the Ewaso Ngiro river. The waters originate on the western slopes of Mount Kenya and descend over a seventy-meter waterfall just outside the town of Nyahururu.



We continue to Nakuru National Park and the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, our base for the next two nights. We'll have lunch at the lodge and then have our first game drive along the shores of Lake Nakuru on the lookout for both white rhino and the endangered black rhino as well as other mammals and birds. Our lodge for the next two nights is situated just above the lake, rooms are in cottages set in the landscaped gardens, there is a big swimming pool and terrace, a restaurant offering an extensive selection of dishes and a bar with an outdoor fire pit to which to retire to after dinner.

We maximise our time today to ensure we make the most of game drive opportunities in Nakuru National Park. Rising early before breakfast, we head out in 4x4 Land Cruiser safari vehicles, accompanied by our safari guides, on the lookout for both white rhino and the endangered black rhino. Sightings, whilst never guaranteed, are very likely at Nakuru National Park. It is not unheard of to see a dozen rhino in a day.



Lions and leopards are often seen, although rarely on open ground. The park hosts herds of buffalo, zebra and giraffe, as well as flocks of striking pink flamingo on the lake, although the latter do move between lakes in the Great Rift Valley, so may not be seen at Nakuru and numbers have been in decline following flooding in 2012.



Returning to our lodge for a late breakfast as the day starts to heat up, the hottest part of the day is spent at leisure at our camp, offering the chance of a siesta, a dip in the pool, relaxation time reading a book or birdwatching. Our afternoon activity departs after tea, usually around 4pm, to return in the early evening. Game drives will vary depending on sightings and animal activity. There is the option for sundowner drinks in the park this evening, see the budgeting section for more details.

Bidding Nakuru farewell, it's a five-hour drive to the world-famous Maasai Mara game reserve. Our journey takes us across the floor of the Rift Valley and then up and over the Mau Escarpment, travelling through open bushland interspersed with rural villages and farming communities. The major settlement on our journey is the bustling and colourful market town of Narok, a major trading post full of market stalls selling fresh vegetables and fruit as well as livestock.



We arrive in the Mara (as it is known by locals) early in the afternoon in time for a late lunch. Our lodge for the next three nights is located along the Talek River, at the confluence of the Maasai Mara's four wildlife viewing areas, on the northern boundary of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Afternoon game drives depart around 3.30pm and return at as the sun goes down, after which there is time to freshen up and meet for a drink at the bar before dinner. Dinner is usually a set menu with seasonal fresh produce sourced from around Kenya, served in the well-appointed restaurant. After dinner we can retire to sit around a roaring fire to relive highlights of the day and admire the amazing stars of the African night sky.

Covering an area of 1,500 square kilometres, the Maasai Mara hosts one of the largest concentrations of animals anywhere in the world. The wildlife is prolific at any time of year, but during the months between the end of July and October, huge herds of wildebeest and zebra migrate into the Mara from the adjacent Serengeti National Park, in search of fresh grasses that flourish after the rains, often pursued by predators such as hyena, lion and cheetah.



We will embark on two game drives today, one in the early morning and one mid-afternoon, with time in between at our comfortable lodge for taking a dip in the swimming pool or reading a book.

Remaining in the Maasai Mara for a third day, we drive further into the national reserve. Depending on sightings, our safari guides will generally spend the maximum time on game drives, trying to cover as large an area as possible. The result of this is that you'll get the best chances of seeing a variety of wildlife.



The Mara hosts an abundance of mammals including lion, elephant and wildebeest as well as numerous antelope species from eland, hartebeest, bushbuck, gazelle to impala and waterbuck to name but a few. For keen birdwatchers there is an astonishing variety of birds to spot. Be sure to keep an eye on soaring vultures and eagles on the lookout for a recent kill.

After an early breakfast we drive back to Nairobi, a journey of around five hours. We will make a stop at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), before continuing to Tamarind Tree Hotel some thirty minutes from the airport where the trip ends. The earliest your flight can depart is 4pm.