NDOVU SAFARI: Nairobi – Samburu – Mt. Kenya/Aberdare – Lake Naivasha – Masai Mara


SSB02: NDOVU SAFARI: Nairobi – Samburu – Mt. Kenya/Aberdare – Lake Naivasha –

Masai Mara

 

ITINERARY

Day 1    Nairobi – Samburu 380 km / 5½ hours

Pick up from Nairobi and drive north of Nairobi up the Great Rift Valley to the Samburu/Buffalo Springs National Reserve arriving in time for a late lunch at the at the camp/ lodge. Followed by an early afternoon at leisure evening game drive will follow, Dinner and overnight at the camp/ Lodge.

Day  2    Samburu National Park

Enjoy a full day on safari in Samburu (morning and afternoon game drives). Later in the evening, there will be an option of sundowners before dinner in the central dining room.

Samburu is a place of endless skies, dust-red plains and palm-fringed rivers, the National Reserve lies on the fringes of the vast and arid desert once known as the Northern Frontier District, whose heat-scorched scrublands extend all the way to the jade-green waters of Lake Turkana and beyond. Physically dramatic, the 104 sq km landscape of the Reserve features rocky battlements, craggy scarps, dry river beds and fallen boulders rising out of the thorn scrub against a backdrop of the far-distant hills and the great red table mountain known as Ololokwe.

Day 3   Samburu – Olpejeta

Check out after breakfast and drive to south to Nanyuki and check-in at Sweetwaters Tented Camp. A sheltered oasis, clustered around a water hole and set in the pristine calm of the private Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Sweetwaters offers an attractive blend of under-canvas ambiance and safari luxury. Located on the plains of Mount Kenya, the camp features thirty-nine luxury tents, each with its own private veranda overlooking the water hole. The central Rhino Restaurant, housed in the former manager’s house of this once colonial farm offers both regional and international cuisine. Also within the house is the Kashoggi Bar and lounge, which centers on a blazing log fire. The Waterhole Bar, built in the style of a game-viewing hide, overlooks the waterhole and offers unrivalled wildlife-watching

Day 4   Olpejta – Naivasha ( 220KM – 04.00 HRS)

After breakfast at Sweetwaters Tented Camp, depart for Naivasha via Thompson’s falls. The beautiful waterfall and head to Lake Naivasha National Park with en-route views of Lake Elementaita before arriving at your destination. Check in on arrival followed by Lunch at the lodge. Afternoon will be spent at leisure with an option of enjoying an evening boat ride at an extra cost. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 5   Naivasha – Masai Mara ( 230 KM – 05.30HRS)

Check out after breakfast and drive past the great rift valley from Naivasha drive south via Narok, a masai town to the Mara reserve, upon arrival enjoy an enroute game drive to your lodge or tented camp. Lunch at the Camp/ Lodge later enjoy an evening game drive to get a closer look at the Mara. Masai Mara has incredible wide-open landscapes and fertile riverine woodland following the looping meanders of the Mara and Talek rivers. Wherever you go in the Mara you will see a frequent amount of wildlife such as Masai giraffe, baboons, warthogs, bat eared foxes, grey jackals, spotted hyena, topis, impala, hartebeests, wildebeest. Elephants, buffaloes, zebras and hippos also exist in great numbers. It is also common to see lions either basking after a heavy meal, or surveying the plains for their next meal. Cheetahs and leopards are harder to spot but are still reasonably common.

Day  6    Masai Mara

This day enjoy an early morning game drive in the Masai Mara this is ideal time to see game as temperatures are cooler and hopefully lion, cheetah and leopard will be roaming the vast grasslands in search of prey. Return to the lodge for breakfast. The rest of the morning will be at leisure or  you can enjoy some optional activities such as a visit to Masai village at an additional cost.  Lunch at the lodge followed by an afternoon game drive to get a closer look at the Mara and to look out for the ‘ Big 5 ‘. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay at the Lodge/Camp.

Day  7   Masai Mara – Nairobi ( 270 KM – 05.00 HRS )

Check out after breakfast and enjoy an enroute game drive to Nairoibi, Lunch at a Carnivore restaurant at your own account. Later transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

THE ULTIMATE SAMBURU & MASAI MARA 7 DAYS SAFARI

OVERVIEW:

Start/End: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with Saruni driver and vehicle (or alternative location – additional cost)

Duration: 7 days/ 6 nights

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BRIEF ITINERARY:

DAY 1: Saruni Samburu

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where a uou will be met by our representative and you will transfer you to Wilson Airport for your flight to Samburu. Depart in the morning arriving at Samburu an hour later, where your Saruni Samburu guide will meet you and transfer you to the lodge, or take you on a game drive. Check in on arrival for Lunch followed by an afternoon game drive on Kalama Conservancy exploring over 200,000 acres of pristine wilderness in total privacy and sundowners with a breathtaking view.

DAY 2: Saruni Samburu

Early morning game drive into Samburu National Reserve to seek out the ‘Samburu Special Five’: the reticulated giraffe, the Grevy zebra, the beisa oryx, the Somali ostrich and the gerenuk, all rare species that occur only in this part of the country, and look for its well-known larger wildlife including elephants, lion and leopard. Enjoy a picnic lunch before heading back to the lodge to relax for the afternoon. In the afternoon you choose to enjoy a complimentary half hour Back & Neck massage at the lodge at the Samburu Wellbeing Space.

DAY 3: Saruni Samburu

Continue to explore the wonders of Samburu with a morning game drive and after lunch possibly head out on a nature walk discovering animals, plants and the caves in the local area with rock paintings, led by your skillful and knowledgeable Samburu guides. Evening game drive in Kalama Conservancy, the 200,000-acre private wildlife conservancy in which Saruni Samburu is located, ending with a bush dinner under the stars in the middle of the wilderness, and a night drive back to the lodge. The Samburu warriors dancing, candles and fire under the vast African skies, make this a truly magical experience, and one of the highlights of your stay.

DAY 4: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

Check out after breakfast and transfer to the airstrip for your departure flight to Masai Mara in the morning which will later arrive in the Masai Mara an hour and a half later. Upon arrival enjoy a game drive with a picnic lunch under an acacia tree or by the river next to a pod of hippos. You may also opt to head to Saruni Mara or Saruni Wild for some rest and enjoy an exclusive game drive later in the afternoon at the Mara North Conservancy – over 30,000 acres of plentiful, protected land bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve. Enjoy a completely different and less-explored corner of the Mara ecosystem in total privacy, brimming with wildlife.

DAY 5: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

Enjoy an early morning game drive looking for the big cats and other predators of the Mara, returning to the camp or lodge for lunch and treatments at the Maasai Wellbeing Space. In the afternoon, a game drive will take you to a special area where the largest tower of giraffe can be seen, followed by dinner at the lodge or camp and an optional night game drive.

DAY 6: Masai Mara / Saruni Wild

Walk through the valleys and plains surrounding Saruni Mara, accompanied by a vehicle, or a game drive up to the top of Kilileoni, the highest mountain in the Serengeti-Masai Mara ecosystem – led by your skillful and knowledgeable Maasai guides. In the afternoon you will discover more of Mara North and its neighbouring conservancies and experience first-hand what makes the Mara one of the most exciting wildernesses in the world. Weather permitting, experience a bush dinner in the middle of nature under the vast African sky, with Maasai warriors singing and dancing around the fire.

DAY 7: Departure

Visit the rhino sanctuary on the way to the airstrip and once again admire the hippos and the crocodiles of the Mara River. The flight back to Nairobi leaves the Mara at 11:00 AM and arrives in Nairobi at 12:20 PM. Transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with Saruni driver and vehicle. Depending on the time of your international flight, stop at the Talisman or Carnivore restaurant for dinner.

OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS: Please inquire

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Included: All-inclusive accommodation (Full board accommodation including soft drinks, beers, house wines and select non-luxury spirits), one complimentary Back & Neck massage (30 min) per room per stay at our Wellbeing Space, airport assistance, temporary Flying Doctors cover, shared day & night game drives in 4×4 vehicles, guided bush walks, bush meals, sundowner & picnic excursions, limited laundry service, cultural visits transfers, all internal flights and return airstrip transfers, conservation fees, VAT & taxes.

Excluded: Additional Wellbeing Space treatments, exclusive use of vehicle, premium drinks, (champagne, luxury spirits and special wines), any payable extra, activities, entry fees to cultural visits, childcare,