13 Day Walking/Game Viewing Tour

This is a tour that shows the different habitats in Kenya. With walks in the rain forest on Mt. Kenya and in the game rich Aberdare sanctuary, the tour then progresses to scenic places in the great Rift Valley for more game and walks in the Crescent Island, Crater Lake, Hell's Gate and Elementaita. In Mara we add culture to the walks as we visit a Masai village guided by Masai Morans.

Day 1 Nairobi

Arrival at the airport at night and reception. Transfer from the airport to the La Mada Hotel in Nairobi.

Day 2 Aberdare Country Club.

Eland giraffe A 3 hrs transfer takes you to the Aberdare Country Club (ACC) in Central Kenya, home of the Kikuyu tribe. You will drive through the main farming areas of Kenya with a lot of coffee and pineapple plantations. Game viewing will start at the gate of the ACC: the Warthogs and Impalas roam free on the golf course of the sanctuary.

After settling in the luxurious cottages, from where you will have unchallenged views of Mount Kenya, the Aberdare Range and the plains below, we will enjoy a hearty lunch.

In the afternoon you will walk in the game sanctuary with a lot of nice interruptions because you will encounter Thompson and Grant's Gazelles, Zebras, Reticulated Giraffes and the biggest antelopes: Elands. On their own these animals are a wonder to watch but to do so while you are walking is an experience that has always brought joy to our guests. Warning: kindly reserve your films or memory space! There is a big temptation to shoot all the pictures on this day but take our word: there will still be other opportunities.

Day 3 Mount Kenya forest walk. Aberdare Country Club.

Mt Kenya forest walk It's only a short bus transfer from the Aberdare Country Club to Mount Kenya. We start our walk from the park gate. Through dense tropical rain forest we climb to the Met Station at 3050 m, where we have our picnic provided by the Country Club. The avid walkers can climb higher, to reach the tree line, about 1.5 hrs later. Descend is through the same route. Accommodation for the second night at the Aberdare Country Club.

Day 4 Solio Ranch + The Ark (Aberdare NP).

After breakfast we drive to the nearby Solio Ranch. This is an 18000-acre private reserve and it is Kenya's main Rhino conservation sanctuary. It has the world's largest concentration of Black Rhinos. The White Rhino is also found here as well as the Buffalo, Giraffe, Leopard, Lion and a wide range of plains game and bird life. We will drive around in the ranch but since this private sanctuary is little visited by the main tour operators, we will not have many cars surrounding us. Back to the ACC for lunch.

Many people who come to the Aberdare NP expressly visit the tree hotels for game viewing. Their interest is highly justified; to see Elephants, Buffaloes, Rhinos and other game coming to a floodlit waterhole right below the balcony of your room is really amazing.

Resembling and named after Noah's Ark, the hotel has numerous balconies and lounges for game viewing. A ground level bunker provides excellent photographic opportunities and takes you closer than you would believe possible to the animals. The comfortable cabins are fitted with buzzers to announce the arrival of one of the "Big Five" at the waterhole. This explains why some beds are still found neat in the morning, their owners having decided that this is their night of a lifetime and they will miss nothing.

Day 5 To Lake Elementaita. O/N Lake Elementaita Lodge

A three hour bus transfer takes us to the Rift Valley, where we will stay for 2 nights at the Lake Elementaita Lodge. We interrupt the ride with a visit to the Thomson Falls in Nyahururu. Optional descend to the foot of the falls (a 20 min walk).

Free afternoon or visit to a Masai manyatta (=village) in the vicinity of the lodge. Here you can see how the Masais still live like they've done it for hundreds of years.

Day 6 Lake Elementaita. O/N Lake Elementaita Lodge

Elementaita hot springs This lake may not have the big name of Lake Nakuru but its scenic beauty is unmatched. We walk up to the shores of the alkaline lake. From there we proceed up to the hot springs and into the Kikopey Hills surrounding the lake.

We walk mainly in open savannah land and occasionally we will stop for a chat with a Masai herdsman. The gentle sloping hills give a good panorama. The walk should be for 4 hrs after which we go back to the Lodge in time for lunch.

Day 7 Crescent Island. O/N Lake Naivasha Country Club.

Naivasha town is less than an hours drive away from Elementaita. Here we visit the colorful market. You find everything ranging from vegetables to clothes and from hardware to souvenirs. We reach the Lake Naivasha Country Club, our base for the next 3 nights, before lunch. This lodge opened in 1937 as a staging post for Imperial Airways' flying boat service from Durban to London. The 55-acre property boasts green lawns shaded by mature acacias and spreading fever trees, which stretch down to the lake's shore.

In the afternoon we walk in the privately owned Crescent Island, which is a peninsula on the Eastern shore of Lake Naivasha. There is a lot of easy to see game e.g. giraffes, waterbucks, elands, zebras and impalas. It is also a heaven for birds with +200 species recorded. The walk is gentle and satisfying. We return to the Lake Naivasha Country Club in time for afternoon tea.

Day 8 Hell's Gate National Park. O/N Lake Naivasha Country Club

We wake up for breakfast with the sun giving a wonderful effect over the Lake. An early morning here should not be missed by anyone with an eye for birds since the lake boasts a wide variety of water and woodland birds.

Hiking in Hell's Gate After breakfast we do a short transfer to the gate of the park. This is a unique park where walking is done in the middle of wildlife. Giraffes, zebras, warthogs and many types of gazelles are found here. The first part of this walk is done in typical flat African savannah in a volcanic area with huge rock boundaries. There are camphor and acacia trees all over and this is where to look for the giraffe as they mainly feed on them. A picnic lunch provided by the hotel will be at the Rangers post.

The last part of the walk is done in the Hell's Gate Gorge by descending into a steep canyon with running water from geysers and wild vegetation. The climax of the day is in walking in the Side Gorge where the rocks have split to leave only a walking path. We climb back to the rangers post for transfer back to the Lake Naivasha Country Club.

Day 9 Crater Lake. O/N Lake Naivasha Country Club.

An early rising will ensure that one gets another magical display of the various birds. After breakfast we do a transfer by bus to the nearby Crater Lake Game Sanctuary. It is a lesser lake in the Rift Valley but a place where nature is at its best.

We do a circular trek on the top of the crater from where we see the lake from various angles. Pleasant interruptions on the walks will be from Giraffes, Black and White Colobus Monkeys, Zorillas, Aardvarks, Leopards and a range of Gazelles, all which are easily found in the sanctuary.

Day 10 To Masai Mara. O/N Fig Tree / Sarova Mara / Keekorok / Base Camp.

We now take a break from walking to put all our attention to watching wildlife. To see the best of Kenyan wildlife Masai Mara is the place to be. Elephants, rhinos, giraffes, buffaloes, gazelles and all the big cats are found here. So, after breakfast we start our journey passing through Narok Town; a colorful Masai town.

Birders along Talek River Our game viewing does not actually start at the park gate. We will be able to see many animals along the way grazing side by side with the Masai livestock. We reach the tented camp or lodge, our home for the next three days, in time for lunch.

Day 11 and 12 asai Mara. O/N Fig Tree / Sarova Mara / Keekorok / Base Camp.

Masai Women These are our cultural and activity days in Masai Mara. We do a morning game drive through the park and hike to a Masai manyatta (=homestead). Here we will see how the typical Masais live. An afternoon game drive makes the day complete. On day 11+12 we do a morning and an afternoon game drive. We break from the driving with an optional walk through the dry bush along the Talek River, always on the look out for birds and small game.

Day 13 Transfer to Nairobi

Return to Nairobi in time for lunch. Day rooms are provided at the La Mada hotel for use until 6 p.m. Evening transfer to the airport where we say goodbye.

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