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Sunday
February 7, 2010
Today, we all arrive in Nairobi to stay at the InterContinental Nairobi Hotel. A five-star icon in the city center, InterContinental Nairobi is an oasis of luxury for safari travelers. The Parliament buildings are a short stroll away, Kenyatta International Convention Centre is right next-door and Nairobi National Park, Museum Hill and the Elephant Orphanage are within easy reach. The hotel boasts five restaurants, a spa and fitness center.

Because we will all be arriving in Nairobi at different times today, you will have the option to either take it easy, relax and enjoy all the amenities of the InterContinental Hotel or we can give you suggestions of some great things to do such as visiting the Kazuri Bead Factory. Kazuri is the Swahili word for “small and beautiful.” They produce a wide range of handmade, hand-painted ceramic jewelry in an array of African colors. Kazuri’s beautifully finished products are sold worldwide. The Kazuri Bead Factory began as a help center for the needy women, especially single mothers who had no other source of income. In 1988, Kazuri expanded into a factory with over 120 workers. Kazuri trains women to produce unique beads and jewelry. The beads are made with clay from the Mt. Kenya area, adding to the authenticity of their craft. Kazuri is a member of the Fair Trade Act.

Dinner tonight is not included. Choose from one of five fabulous hotel restaurants. Please note that it is not recommended to venture outside of the hotel for dinner.

Monday
February 8, 2010
After breakfast, we have a full day excursion to acquaint you with Kenya’s diverse wildlife and culture. Our first stop is the St. Lazarus School, where we will donate supplies to the school and students. St. Lazarus Community School in Kibera provides nutrition and education to disadvantaged children. St. Lazarus Community School was formed in 1996 when a group of people from the Silanga village of the Kibera slums and Rachel Lomosi, who is now the executive director, wanted to help the numerous disadvantaged children in their community have a place to receive an education, shelter and health care. The only place that was available was a couple of small rooms located in a dangerous area, just a few feet away from the main railway line.

We’ll enjoy a tour of the school (it’s not very big). You’ll have the opportunity to ask teachers and students questions about the school and life in Kenya. The children love to welcome visitors, often favoring them with a song or skit.

Next, we visit Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphange. Widow of pioneer wildlife ranger David Sheldrick, Daphne has set up an orphanage on the edge of the Nairobi National Park. She raises orphaned wild animals (mainly elephants and rhinos) and reintroduces them into the wild. We will have the chance to watch the elephant calves feed while learning about their behavior and histories. We plan to arrive between 11am and noon when the animals return to the waterhole where they are bottle fed with milk.

We’ll enjoy lunch at the Famous Carnivore Restaurant. Carnivore is considered “Africa’s Greatest Eating Experience.” This open-air meat specialty restaurant has strikingly different food, service and atmosphere than anything else we will see in Kenya. Every type of meat imaginable, including four choices of wild game, is roasted on traditional Masai swords over a huge, visually spectacular charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant. While some may feel slightly squeamish about visiting Kenya and consuming the local wildlife, all of the game served is from eco-friendly game ranches that play an important role in conservation. Game ranching has far less impact on local habitats than farming cattle or other livestock. Vegetarians do not fear, despite its reputation and carnivorous menu, the restaurant also offers vegetarian fare.

After lunch, we will visit the Giraffe Centre, headquarters for the African Fund for the Endangered Wildlife. The centre was made famous by “Daisy Rothschild,” a giraffe calf that was rescued from Soi, on the border of Western Kenya. Giraffe Manor was established in 1983 as a sanctuary for the then-endangered Rothschild giraffe. The breeding program has been a great success. We will have a chance to watch these gentle giants at eye level from a raised platform. There is also the opportunity to learn more about giraffes at the interpretation center and hand-feed them while watching the semi-tame family of warthogs snuffle around their hooves in search of dropped tidbits.

“Out of Africa” fans rejoice! Today, we visit the Karen Blixen Museum. Located in Karen, the beautiful Nairobi suburb that was once part of Karen Blixen’s vast coffee estate, “Mbogani” was Karen’s home from 1917 until 1931. Restored by the Danish community of Kenya, the house and grounds were made famous by the film “Out of Africa.” We will have a glimpse of typical colonial life in Kenya at the turn of the 20th century. As well as many of Karen’s original belongings, replicas replace items that have been lost over the years. From the beautiful gardens, there are magnificent views of the Ngong Hill, held dear by Karen and described so tenderly in her writings. At the front of the house, the original millstone tables can be seen, from which Karen conducted much of her farm business.

Dinner will be on your own this evening. We encourage you to try one of the five wonderful restaurants at the InterContinental Hotel. Again, we do not recommend that you go outside of the hotel for dinner.

Tuesday
February 9, 2010

Video from Amboseli.

Say goodbye to Nairobi’s big city lights. All aboard the bus for Amboseli and our first day in the bush. Amboseli lies northwest of Mt. Kilimanjaro, on the border with Tanzania, Kajiado District and South Kenya. It was established as a reserve in 1968, achieving National Park status in 1974. The park covers 392 square kilometers and forms part of the much larger 3,000 square kilometer Amboseli ecosystem. Large concentrations of wildlife graze and hunt in the dry season, making Amboseli a popular tourist destination. It’s surrounded by six communally owned group ranches.

Hooray, our first game drive! We’ll get our first taste of the bush and our first fantastic pictures of the wildlife that roam the Amboseli National Park. The National Park features diverse terrain with five main wildlife habitats — open plains, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bush country, swamps and marshland — and covers part of a dry Pleistocene lake basin. Within this basin, there’s a temporary lake, Lake Amboseli, that floods during years of heavy rainfall. Amboseli is famous for its big game and its great scenic beauty — the landscape is dominated by Mt. Kilimanjaro. The climate is mainly hot and dry. The maximum average temperature of the warmest month is 91 degree Fahrenheit during the day, while that of the coldest month is 81 degree Fahrenheit. An annual rainfall of 12 inches per year is distributed in two seasons: April-May and November-December.

Tonight and tomorrow, we are staying at the Amboseli Porini Camp that is located near the northern boundary of Amboseli National Park. The camp consists of nine spacious tents, sited among shady Acacia Tortilis trees, in a spot once favored by big game hunters. It is small and exclusive, accommodating a maximum of 18 guests. It is set up along the lines of the traditional hunting safari bush camp, so there are no permanent structures like a bar, restaurant or swimming pool. It is real camping in the bush, but with much more comfortable bathroom arrangements than were available to the hunters of yesteryear. The tents are large and comfortably furnished, each with a double and a single bed, solar-powered electric lights and en suite bathroom with safari shower, washbasin and flush toilet.

Wednesday
February 10, 2010
A whole day in the bush! We’ll enjoy game drives at Amboseli Selenkay Conservancy. Before heading out, we will have an early wake up call for a light breakfast. We’ll board safari vehicles (usually specially equipped Range Rovers) and drive into the bush in search of wildlife. The drives can last from a couple of hours to full day excursions with picnic lunches out in the veldt. The vehicles can hold up to six passengers and everyone has a window seat. Often, the vehicles have open or canvas tops that enable guests to stand up for better viewing and photos. Our guides and drivers are experts on the topography of Kenya and have a deep understanding of the wildlife in the area.

Dr. Cynthia Moss, Amboseli’s most famous researcher, was born and educated in the United States. She has spent more than 30 years in Africa, studying elephants and working for their conservation. In 1962, she graduated from Smith College with a degree in philosophy. Early on, she worked for Newsweek as a theater reporter. In 1967, she went on an extended trip to East Africa. While visiting Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania, she met Iain Douglas-Hamilton. She became a research assistant for him. In 1972, she started the now famous Amboseli Elephant Research Project at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Since then, she and her research associates have identified and recorded more than 1,400 elephants. Without formal scientific training, but armed with a passion for learning, she has become the world’s leading expert on African elephant family structure, life cycle and behavior. Her research efforts also contributed significantly to the conservation of the precious and dwindling African elephant population.

Thursday
February 11, 2010
Now that we’ve gotten a taste for the bush and all its wonders, we’re off via small plane to a new location, Sweetwaters, where we are staying for the next two nights. Located in a sheltered oasis, clustered around a waterhole and set in the pristine calm of a private wildlife conservancy, Sweetwaters Tented Camp is in a class of its own. It is designed to offer a charming blend of under canvas ambiance and uncompromising luxury. Built in the 1970s, the camp’s main building was originally the residence of the ranch manager. It has 39 luxuriously appointed tents. Each tent has a thatched roof, an en suite bathroom and its own verandah with views over the waterhole.

Abounding with wildlife and free of the more rigorous strictures of the Kenyan National Parks, Sweetwaters has long been the preferred retreat of wilderness and safari lovers alike. Upon arrival, we take full advantage of all that Sweetwaters has to offer with a game drive in the conservancy. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is an important “not-for-profit” wildlife conservancy in the Laikipia District of Kenya. It’s the largest sanctuary for black rhinos in East Africa. It was once the private domain of famed multi-millionaire Adnan Khashoggi.

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes and generate income through wildlife tourism and complementary enterprises for reinvestment in conservation and community development.

Friday
February 12, 2010
As luck would have it, we have the entire day to spend in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. One of only four private game reserves in Kenya, Ol Pejeta Conservancy excels in the provision of privileged seclusion and private game viewing. Thanks to its private status, it’s home to such unforgettable experiences, like the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary (the only place in Kenya to see these highly endangered animals), Morani (a tame black rhino), night game drives, guided bush walks and camel-trekking across game-rich plains.

Opened in 1993 in a negotiated agreement between the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Jane Goodall Institute, the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary has been compelled to keep accepting chimpanzees rescued from traumatic situations bringing the total number of chimpanzees in the sanctuary to 43. At Sweetwaters Sanctuary, chimpanzees are being carefully nursed back to health so they can enjoy the rest of their days in the safety of a vast natural enclosure. Sweetwaters is a chartered member of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), an alliance of 18 sanctuaries in 12 African countries, which currently care for over 800 orphaned and/or confiscated chimpanzees.

Saturday
February 13, 2010

Today, we fly to Nanyuki for the final portion of our safari and stay at the Porini Lion Camp. Situated in the exclusive 20,000 acre Olare Orok Conservancy only a few kilometers from the Mara Game Reserve and a 30-minute drive from the Talek Gate, Porini Lion Camp is an eco-friendly camp. It has no permanent construction and is situated along the Ntiakatiak River, a seasonal river with permanent hippo pools nearby. With 10 guest tents, the camp is very exclusive and gives you a real “in the bush” experience. The tents are very spacious with private verandahs along their length, providing a secluded and private space for you to relax and enjoy the beauty of this African wilderness. Each tent has en suite bathrooms with flush toilets and hot bush showers. The food is excellent with fresh baked bread and mouth-watering meals prepared by the camp chef.

Upon our arrival, we have a little bit of time to get situated and have lunch before going on an afternoon game drive in the Olare Orok Conservancy. Olare Orok Conservancy borders the Masai Mara Game Reserve. It is home to an abundance of animals, including the Big Cats for which the Mara is famous. The conservancy is accessible to only three camps, including our Porini Lion Camp. Minibus vans are not permitted in the park. This keeps the game drive experience small, exclusive and personal.

Sunday
February 14, 2010
After breakfast, we will head out to spend the entire day in the Masai Mara (also spelled Maasai Mara) including a wonderful picnic lunch. The Masai Mara is a large park reserve in Southwestern Kenya. Effectively it is the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania.

Named for the Masai people and the Mara River, it is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of zebra and wildebeest from the Serengeti every year from July to October. It is a migration so immense that it is called the Great Migration.

The Masai Mara is not the largest game park in Kenya with an area of 583 square miles, but it is probably the most famous. The entire area of the park is nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley that extends from the Mediterranean Sea South Africa. The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with seasonal rivers, which makes it a prime place to spot wildlife on our full day game drive.

Monday
February 15, 2010
It’s our last full day of game drives in the Masai Mara looking for the “Big Five” — lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. The Masai Mara is perhaps most famous for its lions, but all other members of the “Big Five” are found here, too. The population of black rhinoceros is severely threatened. As in the Serengeti, the wildebeest are the dominant inhabitants of the Masai Mara. Their numbers are estimated in the millions. Many different types of antelope can be found, including Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelle, impala, topi and Coke’s Hartebeest. There are large herds of zebra that can be found throughout the reserve. The plains are also home to the distinctive Masai Giraffe as well as the common giraffe. The Masai Mara is a major research center for the spotted hyena. Additionally, for those bird lovers, there are over 450 species of birdlife in the park, including vultures, marabou stork, secretary bird, crowned crane, ostrich, African pygmy falcon and the long crested eagle.

Tuesday
February 16, 2010
On our last morning, we will have breakfast together before taking in one last game drive. After we get back to camp, we will be transferred to the airstrip for our flight back to Nairobi. Upon arrival in Nairobi, we will be transferred from the Nairobi Domestic airport to the InterContinental Hotel Nairobi where we will have a chance to relax and freshen up in our day rooms before being transferred to the Nairobi International airport for our flights home.

overview | itinerary | pricing | pack | read | faq