9 days – A week in Kenya

After collecting at two points in Nairobi, we stop for shopping before heading out of the capital on the scenic drive to Nakuru in the beautiful Kenyan Rift Valley. We are based in Nakuru for two nights. A Departure Meeting is held to find out about our trip including further details as to life on an overland truck.

Day Two we are on safari entering Nakuru National Park for our first game drives. Nakuru is a sanctuary for both black and white rhino, and boasts lion, leopard, waterbuck, impala and buffalo, as well as the rare Rothschild’s giraffe. It is also famous for its flocks of flamingo. Depending on the season, thousands, and at times, millions of greater and lesser flamingo can be found here attracted to the algae and plankton that live in the warm alkaline waters of the lake. We have a full day of game drives here in special safari vehicles.

Distance: 162 kms
Est Drive Time: 4.5 hours
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners

Included wildlife activity: Full day of game drives in Nakuru National Park.
Vehicle for game drives: 4×4 minivan with pop up roof

Naivasha is the highest freshwater lake of the central Rift Valley, and we spend a couple of nights here to relax and enjoy a hippo cruise on the lake, as well as the choice of other activities.

You can have afternoon tea on the grassy lawns at Elsamere, where the resident troop of black and white colobus monkeys are often on view. A guided walk to the jade green Crater Lake Sanctuary is another option, or hire a bike to ride through Hell’s Gate National Park through the red cliffs of Njorowa Gorge and other fascinating features in this park. This excursion is a great way to stretch your legs in the African bush amidst plain’s game such as zebra, eland, harbebeest, Thomson’s gazelle and giraffe, as well as buffalo. The scenery in this park is stunning due to past volcanic activity 35 million years ago. It can get hot in this
park though so take plenty of water.

Distance, Day 3: 70 kms
Est. Drive Time, Day 3: 3 hours incl. stop for shopping
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners

Included wildlife activity: Hippo cruise Lake Naivasha

Optional excursions: Elsamere for afternoon tea, cycling in Hell’s Gate National Park, guided walk to Green Crater Lake.

From Naivasha we make our way towards the Masai Mara reserve. We stop overnight at Loita Hills for a stay with the Masai, East Africa’s most reknowned ancient people who proudly retain so many of their traditional ways.

This afternoon we walk in the hills with the warriors to learn about traditional life in the bush. We will also visit a woman’s village and the local hot springs. Traditional dancing is performed, and in the evening we spend time with some of the warriors around the fire to find out more about their culture.

Distance: 154 km
Est. Drive Time: 5 hours incl. stop for shopping
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Up early we have time for some “warrior training” this morning before we say goodbye to our Maasai hosts.

Then we head on to the Masai Mara, Kenya’s premier game park, for two days of game drives in special safari vehicles with a local guide.

The Masai Mara is one of the natural wonders of the world and is perhaps best known for being part of the setting for the famous wildebeest migration, a mass movement of over 2 million wildebeest, zebra and Thomson’s gazelle. The migration moves between the plains of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, and the Masai Mara in Kenya. On the months when the migration arrives in Kenya, any time from late June, the vast herds can be regularly found on the grassy plains, tending to stay on through to October.

Apart from the ever-watchful crocodiles found in and by the rivers, the other ever-vigilant predators, particularly lion, cheetah and hyena, closely follow the herds on their seasonal migrations as well to add to the drama. The Mara is particularly famous for its “Big Cats- its lion population, as well as cheetah and leopard.

Regardless of the season though there is always plenty to see here. Large herds of elephant and buffalo wander the plains and fat pods of hippo wallow in the mud-brown rivers. The park offers as well a wonderful chance to see impala, topi, reedbuck, eland, warthog, bat-eared foxes, jackal and giraffe as well as an immense variety of bird life with well over 550 recorded species of bird noted here. There are also a few treasured black rhino in the park.

Distance, Day 6: 60 km
Est. Drive Time, Day 6: 2 hours to the park gate, then slow transit to camp
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners

Included wildlife activity: X1 morning and X2 afternoon game drives in the Masai Mara
Vehicle for game drives: 4×4 open landcruiser with pop up roof

Optional excursion: Balloon safari

The day starts with a final drive through the Masai Mara. Leaving the park, we travel to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, stopping off at the Rift Valley lookout on the way.

The next day we spend in Nairobi to visit the Giraffe Centre and Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage in the morning, the afternoon is then free to explore the city.

That evening we can have a night out in Nairobi to try one of its many restaurants.

Distance, Day 8: 300 km
Est. Drive Time, Day 8: Short morning game drive, then 6.5 hours to Nairobi incl. lunch stop and photo stops
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners (incl. contribution to night out)

Included wildlife activity: Morning game drive, Masai Mara, Giraffe Centre, Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage
Vehicle for game drive: 4×4 landcruiser with pop up roof

Optional excursions: Meal out at a restaurant

Please note this itinerary is given as a guide only. A safari is a journey and true journeys unfold. They are of an adventurous nature. The unexpected can arise, so do allow for this. Feel free to give us a call about your overland safari plans. We look forward to your further enquiries.