Kamili

Day 1: City In The Sun

NAIROBI Upon your arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, clear Immigration and Customs formalities. On exit from the Arrivals Hall, met and Welcomed by SawaSawa Africa representative and transferred to your hotel. Assisted with check-in at the hotel and provided with a safari briefing. Overnight at MOVENPICK HOTEL NAIROBI (Meals excluded) Nairobi; Situated along the Nairobi River in beautiful Kenya, the capital of Nairobi is East Africa's most cosmopolitan city. It serves as an excellent starting point for African safari trips around Kenya. Nairobi is Africa’s 4th largest city and is a vibrant and exciting place to be. There are some fascinating attractions: its cafe culture, unbridled nightlife, the National Museum, the Karen Blixen Museum and most notably, just 20 minutes from the city center, wild lions and buffalo roam in the world’s only urban game reserve. Make sure you pay a visit to the elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick's Wildlife Trust for a once in a lifetime experience.

Day 2: Welcome To Kenya

NAIROBI - SAMBURU / SHABA NATIONAL RESERVE At 07:00 hrs, depart Nairobi and drive towards northern Kenya, traversing the scenic and agricultural rich Central highlands of Kenya, awash with pineapple, tea and coffee plantations. Driving through Nanyuki Town, the airbase of Mount Kenya, then an hour later Isiolo Town, which is the last town before you get to Shaba. Afternoon game viewing drive in Bufallo Springs National Reserve. Dinner and overnight SAROVA SHABA GAME LODGE (Full Board Basis) Samburu, Buffalo Springs & Shaba National Reserve The sharp contrast of colours is the most remarkable feature of the trio of the Samburu, Shaba and Buffalo Springs National Reserves. The hazy blues of the surrounding hills and an infinite sky, the chocolate brown of the Uaso Nyiro River, the white dusty soils, interspaced with the vivid greens of semi-desert vegetation and the prehistoric looking Doum Palm- the only palm tree which has branches, scattered amongst the granite boulders and ancient black lava flows, found in the Shaba Reserve. The region’s animal life also pays tribute to the artist’s palette, with curious blue- legged Somali ostriches, chestnut coloured reticulated giraffes, black and white Grevy’s zebras, Gerenuk gazelles, and the grey-green Nile Crocodiles which inhabit the Uaso Nyiro River which flows through Shaba and Samburu. Samburu is often considered the country’s best leopard- viewing area, and sightings of prides of lions, cheetah, monolithic herds of elephants and buffalos in all the reserves is practically guaranteed. The birdlife in this area, ranging from the Sand Grouse to the multicolored kingfishers and spectacular eagles and falcons is striking for its diversity, as for its colourfulness……

Day 3: Views From A Treehouse

SAMBURU - ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK After breakfast enjoy a brief game viewing drive to capture the magical beauty of Northern Kenya. Thereafter, drive towards Mweiga located in the Central part of Kenya to arrive in time for lunch at the ABERDARE COUNTRY CLUB. Afternoon transfer to The Ark Lodge (in Club vehicles) for an evening and night of game viewing from the Lodge precincts Dinner and overnight at the THE ARK LODGE (Full Board Basis) NOTE: You should keep in mind that for the night at the Ark Lodge you must carry only a backpack with your essential personal items due to limitation of space the rest of the luggage will left at the base hotel Aberdare Country Club. Aberdare National Park Boasting a large number of elephants as well as black rhinos, Aberdare National Park lures those who want more than just a safari. With dense forests, 300m-high waterfalls and amazing hikes, this park is as much about the flora as it is the fauna. The Kikuyu name for the mountains is Nyandarua (drying hide), due to its distinctive outline. It is a 492 sq Km fairy tale paradise of dense highland forest and misty spaces of Afro-alpine moorland, deep gorges and ravines where icy rivers plunge in glorious cascades and waterfalls such as the Gura (791ft) or Karura Falls (894ft). The Salient, stretching out towards the nearby town of Nyeri, was once an elephant migration route. These great animals remain within the park together with buffalo, a wide variety of antelope, giant forest hog, the elusive bongo antelope, black rhino, lions, leopards and hyenas. Encountering a group of elephants at a narrow bend in the road, in the middle of this thick luxuriant vegetation is a completely new sensation. At 2000m, forest gives way to dense clusters of bamboo. At 3500m, the vegetation is already scarce and is mostly composed of tracts of heather. Here, Giant Lobelias and Giant Senecio, which grow to heights of 5m, flourish. The highest point is Ol Doinyo Lesatima, at 3999m. The region has three distinctive vegetation zones: thick highland forest, bamboo forest and Afro-alpine moorland. A visit to either of these areas provides a bird-watching opportunity of no less than 13 species of sunbirds; including the northern double-collared, golden-winged, tacazze, green-headed, variable and scarlet-tufted malachite, along with the larger birds of prey such as the Mountain Buzzard and African Goshawk.

Day 4: White Rhino Sightings

ABERDARES - LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK After breakfast at the Ark, return transfer to the Aberdare Country Club, where you re-join your Safari driver/guide and depart for Lake Nakuru National Park, with a brief visit/stop at Thompson Falls in Nyahururu. Arrive at Lake Nakuru in time for lunch at the Lodge. Late afternoon game viewing drive in the Park, where you are almost guaranteed sighting of White Rhinos and the African Buffaloes! Dinner and overnight at SAROVA LION HILL GAME LODGE (Full Board Basis). Lake Nakuru National Park Lake Nakuru is among Kenya's finest national parks. Flanked by rocky escarpments, patches of acacia forest and at least one waterfall, the park is often described as an ornithologist’s paradise. It was once christened the ‘Pink Lake’, due to the over 1 million Lesser flamingos that resided on the shores of the shallow, alkaline lake. But the rising water levels in 2014 forced the flamingos to flee (although they are slowly returning). Hundreds of other water birds, including pelicans, marabou storks, seagulls, avocets, plovers and stilts can also be found at the lake itself, while the acacia trees and rocky cliffs of the park house Verreaux’s eagles, splendid fish eagles, vultures and wood hoopoes. The parklands are filled with numerous buffaloes, waterbuck, gazelles and impalas, while the majestic and rare Rothschild giraffes roam the riverine forest of acacias, occasionally walking across the open plains. Lions, leopards, hyenas and jackals are commonly sighted, as are the black and white rhinos, who have found refuge in Kenya’s prime rhino sanctuary.

Day 5: The Big Five

LAKE NAKURU - MAASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE After breakfast, depart for the world famous Maasai Mara National reserve to arrive in time for lunch at the Camp. Afternoon game viewing drive in the Reserve, generally acclaimed as the finest game viewing area in the world! Dinner and overnight at SAROVA MARA GAME CAMP (Full Board Basis) Maasai Mara National Reserve Offering superb plains scenery, unmatched safari activities and diverse wildlife, Masai Mara National Reserve is considered Kenya’s best park and one of Africa’s highest wildlife density region for predators. The reserve covers 583 square miles (1510 square kilometres) of outstanding wilderness in South West Kenya. The location, wildlife, activities and comfortable moderate climate puts Mara at the top of the list, even for the most discerning traveller to Kenya. When the public reserve was first established, it covered 645 square miles (1672 square kilometres). Strategically, the size of the reserve was later reduced in 1984 to accommodate Maasai cattle grazing on their ancestral lands. Although the decrease in land area may be considered a let-down for wildlife conservation and protection at its infancy, the animals and habitats of the reserve found new allies to ensure their survival for generations to come. Many private conservancies have been introduced to protect the land that surrounds the reserve, thereby providing more area for wildlife. The lands not only protect habitats for resident species, but also preserve a critical part of the route used by wildebeests and zebras during the Great Migration that traverses the Masai Mara via the Serengeti National Park. Recognized as one of the most spectacular wildlife events on the planet, the migration is a continuous route that is followed by an over 1.5 million wildebeests and thousands of zebras, gazelles and elands. In their never-ending pursuit for the finest grazing and watering grounds, the gnu relocate on an almost constant basis. The perseverance of these wildebeests is demonstrated in their ability to mate while on the move, and many cows are pregnant during part of the migration. Additionally, even the youngest wildebeest calves are expected to keep up with the herd. Standing and walking within minutes are critical to its survival

Day 6: The Great Wildebeast Migration

MAASAI MARA Morning and afternoon game viewing drives in the extensive Maasai Mara Game Reserve, if lucky, a chance to sight the big five in one day! OR optional full day game viewing drive with picnic lunches. All meals and overnight at SAROVA MARA GAME CAMP, DELUXE TENT (Full Board Basis).

Day 7: Kwaheri Goodbye

MAASAI MARA - NAIROBI - DEPART After breakfast, return drive to Nairobi. Drop off at your respective City Hotel (Room charges and Meals NOT included) OR Drop off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. (Drop off 3 - 4 hrs. before flight departure time)