Amboseli is the perfect start or end to your safari, a must-see for any traveler visiting Kenya. The swamps here are the only source of water for the elephant during the dry season and the whole west Kilimanjaro/Amboseli ecosystem depends on water from the Amboseli springs and swamp.
Observation Hill and Enkongo Narok Swamp are usually teeming with elephants, and there’s good general game viewing, with plains game and even buffalo, cheetah and hyena.
11 DAYS:BEST OF KENYA LODGE SAFARI
DAY 1:NAIROBI – SAMBURU GAME RESERVE
Depart from your hotel at 7.00am for the dramatic semi-arid scrub land of the Northern Frontier and arrive at the Samburu Sopa Lodge by lunch time. After lunch, embark on a game drive to see the resident wildlife species like the Reticulated Giraffe, Grevy’s Zebra, Beisa Oryx and the Blue Necked Somali Ostrich that are rare elsewhere in the country. The Samburu National Reserve is located on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River. On the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve. The park is 165 km² in size. The reserve is a rugged and semi-desert park located in Samburu district in the Rift Valley province of Kenya. The park neighbors the homes of the Samburu tribe, known for their remote culture, pastoral and nomadic way of life. Due to its remote distance and the fact that it was inaccessible for many years, the park has retained a naturally serene and quiet feeling. Besides the numerous wildlife found in this game reserve, the park is also a bird haven. Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge.
Meal plan – Lunch and dinner
Driving time – 4.5 hours
Host camp – Samburu Sopa Lodge
DAY 2:SAMBURU GAME RESERVE FULL DAY
You will spend the full day in the Samburu National Park. You will have early morning and evening game drives. All your meals and overnight will be at your Samburu Sopa Lodge. The highlights of Samburu game reserve are the spectacular scenic beauty, rivers and forests. It is an area where the local people have a rich and colorful heritage. The reserves have numerous permanent springs and a wealth of wildlife which includes leopard, hippo, elephant, lion, reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra and crocodile in the Ewaso Nyiro River. Over 365 species of birds have been identified in the sanctuaries. Dinner and Overnight at the Samburu Sopa
Lodge.
Meal plan – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Host camp – Samburu Sopa Lodge
DAY 3:SAMBURU NATIONAL PARK FULL DAY
Start very early in the morning for a game drive. This is the best time to view the predators hunt. It’s also the best time to see the sun rise over the African savannah. Return to the lodge for breakfast and thereafter proceed for another game drive. Come back to the lodge in time for lunch where you will relax until 3pm then take a final game drive in this park. Dinner and Overnight at the lodge.
DAY 4:SAMBURU GAME RESERVE – LAKE NAKURU>
After an early breakfast depart from the lodge at 7.00am and drive to Nakuru National park. You will have a brief view stop at the Thomson falls and later. Procee to the escarpment for spectacular views of the Great Rift Valley then proceed to The Flamingo Hill Tented Camp for lunch. Lake Nakuru is famous for its pink Flamingos and many other types of birds. There are rare species of animals the white rhino and Rothschild giraffe among a wide variety of game. This park is dominated by a gentle undulating terrain with open bush and woodlands, typical of the dry rift valley vegetation. 27% of the park is composed of the Lake Nakuru waters. Lake Nakuru was declared a rhino sanctuary in 1983. The Rhino stocking program which ensued received white rhinos from South Africa. Currently the sanctuary has approximately 45 black and 31 white rhinoceros. Dinner and overnight at the camp.
Meal plan – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Driving time – 5 hours
Host camp -Flamingo Hill Tented Camp
DAY 5:LAKE NAKURU – LAKE NAIVASHA
Start very early in the morning for a game drive. This is the best time to view the predators hunt. It’s also the best time to see the sun rise over the African savannah and the beautiful Lake. Return to the camp for breakfast and thereafter exit the Lake Nakuru National Park and drive to Lake Naivasha to arrive by 11.30am. Here get a boat ride to Crescent Island and a guided game walk. Lake Naivasha is a fresh water lake which is also inhabited by birds and other game. From the top of a small hill at the Crescent Island, the scenery is magnificent. There is a 360 degree view across Lake Naivasha and one can see Mt. Longonot, Hells gate, the Mau Escarpment and the Aberdares in the distance. Walking along the ridge in the golden hour before sunset whilst watching the animals grazing with the water shimmering beyond, is what Africa is all about. Crescent Island is one of the most beautiful parks in Kenya, and is Naivasha’s best kept secret. Lunch will be at the Lake Naivasha Crescent Tented Camp from 1pm. Later leave at 2.00pm for Hells Gate National park. Take a game drive to the gorge where you will take a 1.5 hours walk to the magnificent Ol Njorowa Gorge. Exit the park at 6.30pm and get back to Naivasha Crescent Tented Camp for dinner and overnight.
Meal plan – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Driving time – 2.5 hours
Host camp – Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp
DAY 6:LAKE NAIVASHA – MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE
Depart from the camp at 7.30am and drive through the beautiful landscape of the Great Rift Valley with a brief stop to see the scenic views, past the extinct volcanoes of Longonot and Suswa, to Narok for a short break and refuelling. Continue across the Loita Plains past Masai manyattas (nomadic Masai villages) and arrive at Masai Mara Ilkeliani Tented Camp for late lunch. Later at 3.00pm, proceed for a game drive. Dinner and overnight at the camp.
Meal plan – Lunch and dinner
Driving time – 5 to 6 hours
Host camp – Ilkeliani Camp, Masai Mara
DAY 7:MASAI MARA FULL DAY
Carrying picnic lunch, leave the camp at 8.00am and brace yourself for a full day of viewing game across the rich, tree studded savannah
grassland and rolling hills. The famous Masai Mara is renowned for its great herds of plains game, black maned lion, leopard, cheetah and
elephant. Have lunch at Hippo Pool. Proceed with the search of great predators and perhaps even cubs during extensive game runs. Masai Mara is the place where visitors come to follow the great wildebeest migration. On the plains are enormous herds of grazing animals plus the elusive cheetah and leopard hiding amidst acacia boughs. Masai Mara remains the most exciting wildlife eco-system in the world. Our mid-day meals will be picnic. You will visit a Masai Village at about 4.00pm or opt to do it in the morning. Dinner and overnight at the camp (Masai Mara Ilkeliani Tented Camp).
Meal plan – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Host camp – Ilkeliani Camp, Masai Mara
DAY 8:MASAI MARA – AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
After Breakfast, leave the lodge for the gate with a game drive en-route. Drive to Nairobi for lunch at the Pampa Grill – Panari Sky
Center. Thereafter, proceed to Amboseli National Park and arrive at 3.00pm for the evening game drive. Amboseli National Park, despite its small size (392 sq.km) and a fragile ecosystem, supports a wide range of animals (over 50 of the larger species) and birds (over 400 species). The waters from Mt. Kilimanjaro drain down the mountain under lava flows and surface in Amboseli, creating a green belt of swamp land amidst dusty plains. Amboseli lacks the profusion of animal species found in the Mara, but the landscape provides limited cover so you have a better chance of seeing some of the larger Animals. Elephant, buffalo, lion, gazelle, cheetah, wildebeest, hyena, jackal, warthog, giraffes, zebra, baboon and waterbuck are all present in the park. Dinner and overnight at the Kibo Safari Camp Amboseli.
Driving time – 6 hours
Host camp – Kibo Safari Camp
DAY 9:AMBOSELI – KILAGUNI TSAVO WEST
Start very early in the morning for a game drive. This is the best time to view the predators hunt. It’s also the best time to see the sun rise against the majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro. Go back to the camp for breakfast. Later, depart Amboseli for Tsavo West National Park crossing the now extinct dramatic lava flow at the park boundary. Arrive at Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge in time for lunch. Take a short rest followed by a game drive in this Kenya’s largest park, noted especially for its enormous elephant population. Also visit Mzima Springs, an oasis where hippo and crocodile can be seen. Dinner and overnight at the lodge (Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge).
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Meal plan – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Driving time – 3 hours
Host camp – Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge
DAY 10:TSAVO WEST NATIONAL – TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK
Depart from the lodge after an early breakfast and take a morning game drive en-route to the Tsavo East National Park. Picnic lunch will be served while visiting the Luggard Falls, a part of amazing landscapes in this park. Take afternoon and evening game drives in this vast and least explored national park. The enormous northern region of Tsavo East was closed to the public for many years and, although it is now open again, distances are vast. In practice, it’s an area for adventurous explorers, not game drives. Tsavo East is mostly a vast flat plain of sandy soil, split by the shallow trough of the Galana River. Nearly all visits take place south of the Galana, where seasonal streams form tributaries that run into the river, their banks lined by small areas of thicker bush. Another watercourse, the seasonal Voi River, runs east through this part of the park, feeding the shallow Aruba dam and then meandering to the coast. The Galana River, which rises in the central highlands and whose upper reaches are known as the Athi, is one of Kenya’s biggest rivers. Its valley, rocky in much of its western course, sandy and doum palm fringed further east, is one of Tsavo East National Park’s defining physical features. You will be back to your lodge at 6.30pm. Dinner and overnight at the Ashnil Aruba Tented Camp.
Meal plan – Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Driving time – 4 hours
Host camp – Ashnil Aruba Lodge
DAY 11:TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK – NAIROBI
After Breakfast proceed for a final game drive as you exit the park and then proceed to Nairobi arriving by 5pm.
