AAKY27 Best Of Kenya – 6 Nights (ST76)

Day 1 Nairobi – Samburu (LD)

Drive north to the semi-arid Samburu National Reserve arriving in time for lunch. Later, enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Reserve.

The Reserve is within the lands of the colourful Samburu people, close relatives of the Maasai, and harbours a number of wildlife species rarely found anywhere in any numbers. These include Grevy's zebra, the reticulated giraffe and the Beisa oryx found only north of the equator.

Overnight at Samburu Lodge or Larsen’s Tented Camp.

Samburu Lodge is set in a rugged landscape with a backdrop of jagged mountains and its own indigenous wildlife unique to the region.

At Larsens you taste the flavour of the early years of the pioneers and it feels as though you have stepped back into an earlier and more gracious time.

Day 2 Samburu (BLD)

Morning and afternoon game drives are enjoyed today.

Scenically and faunally dramatic, for most of the year Samburu is seared under the unsympathetic equatorial sun. But relief comes from the wide swathe of the Ewaso Ngiro River which rises some hundreds of kilometres to the west on the foothills of the Aberdares and which vanishes beyond Samburu in the recesses of the Lorian swamp.

Overnight at Samburu Lodge or Larsen’s Tented Camp.

Day 3 Samburu – Aberdares (BLD)

Drive to Treetops where you have an opportunity to watch the animals come to the lodge’s flood-lit waterhole.

The Aberdare wildlife is awesome, the rich forest sustains populations of elephant, buffalo, warthog and several species of antelope, a healthy population of black rhino and also offers the chance to see some of the typical forest species, such as the giant forest hog or the shy and beautiful bongo, perhaps the rarest and most splendid of all Kenyan antelopes. Regarding the felines, lions show their mountain adaptation, tree-climbing behaviour and a longer and speckled coat.

Overnight at Treetops.

The Treetops is the original tree lodge, and is world famous for its location facing a water hole and a salt lick in the Aberdares National Park as well as its historical royal connection.

Day 4 Aberdares – Lake Naivasha (BLD)

Drive to Lake Nakuru for lunch and a game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park. Then continue to Lake Naivasha for the night.

Lake Nakuru is home to thousands of pink flamigoes and pelicans. This exotic park boasts of a rich concentration of wildlife including black and white colobus monkeys and is also a Rhino sanctuary. Look for temperamental black rhinos browsing in the bushes, and larger white rhinos cropping grass along the lakeside. No where else will get a photo of a rhino with a back drop of pink flamingoes sifting food from a shimmering lake.

Spread out over 110 square kilometres, a pearl in the bosom of the Kenya Rift, the waters of Lake Naivasha glisten silver as the sun slopes swiftly towards the west. Purest and highest of all the Rift lakes, Naivasha is also a bird sanctuary without peer. Over 400 species have been recorded here.

Overnight at Lake Naivasha Country Club.

The hotel offers a wonderful mix of tranquility in serene surroundings and a varied number of sporting activities for both the energetic and the more laid back.

Day 5 Lake Naivasha – Masai Mara (BLD)

Ascend out of the Rift Valley and drive into the Masai Mara, arriving at lunch time. Enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Reserve.

Probably the most famous of the reserves, the Masai Mara boasts an astonishing amount of game. Gazelle, wildebeest and zebra graze in large numbers and where prey is found so are predators. Not only is this a great place in which to find game, but the wide greeny-gold savannahs spotted with thorn trees make it ideal for photography.

Overnight at Keekorok Lodge.

At the southern end of Mara paradise, and right in the path of the annual migration of wildebeest and zebra, lies Keekorok Lodge.

Day 6 Masai Mara (BLD)

Morning and afternoon game drives are enjoyed today.

The famous black-maned Mara lions are possibly the stars of the Mara show, but cheetah, elephant, kongoni, topi, Thompson's gazelle, waterbuck, hyena, and primates are all here too. As with the rest of Kenya's, the birding is good.

Overnight at Keekorok Lodge.

Day 7 Masai Mara – Nairobi (B)

After breakfast, return by road to Nairobi arriving at midday.