DAY 1 TREE HOTEL

Leave Nairobi in the morning to reach the small market town of Nyeri in time for lunch. The founder of the Boy Scout movement, Lord Baden – Powell, spent the last years of his life in Nyeri and is buried there. After lunch drive through the forest to the hotel of your choice (Ark, Treetops Mount Lodge) and spent the night comfortably watching forest games as it comes to drink and lick at the floodlit waterhole below.

The Aberdare National Park covers the higher areas of the Aberdare Mountain Range of central Kenya of 766sq km and the Aberdare Salient to their east. Aberdare National Park is located in Nyeri / Nyandarua District and was created in 1950. The Park covers an area of 766Km2 and occupy the volcanic range that form the eastern wall of the rift valley. The Aberdares range is dominated by two peaks separated by a saddle of moorlands. The Northern Ol Donyo Lesatima (3,999m) and the southern peak Kinangop (3,906m). Other significant elevations in the park are Chebuswa( 3364m), Table Mountain(3791), Maratini Hill (3698m) and the Elephant (3590m). The terrain of the park is diverse with deep ravines that cut through the forested eastern and western slopes with numerous clear streams and waterfalls.

Wildlife and Bird watching at the Aberdares National Park, Kenya

Animals easily observed include the lion, leopard, baboon, black and white Colobus monkey, and Sykes monkey. Rarer sightings include those of the golden cat and the bongo – an elusive forest antelope that lives in the bamboo forest. Animals like the eland and spotted and melanistic serval cats can be found higher up in the moorlands. The Aberdare National Park also contains a large population of the black rhino. Visitors can also indulge in walking, picnics, trout fishing in the rivers and camping in the moorlands and even bird viewing due to the presence of over 250 species of birds in the park, including the endangered Aberdare Cist cola, Jackson’s Francolin, sparry hawk, goshawks, eagles, sunbirds and plovers.

The lodges are one of the main attractions of the Aberdares. Both Treetops and The Ark are built above the ground beside floodlit waterholes with salt licks. Visitors must book in advance and cannot make their own way to the lodges in private vehicles. Instead check-in is at the Aberdare Country club for The Ark and the Outspan Hotel for Treetops, from where guests are bused to their respective lodges.

DAY 2 TREE HOTEL – SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE

After breakfast drive north to reach Samburu, which lies on the edge of the vast semi desert lands of northern Kenya, in time for Lunch. An afternoon game drove will introduce you to the animals which are peculiar to this area – the reticulated Giraffe, Grevy’s Zebra and the Somali Ostrich. Dinner and overnight at a lodge or camp in the reserve.

DAY 3-SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE

Another exploration of this harshly beautiful reserve where game bounds, especially in the forest fringes of the Uaso Nyiro River, which flows gently through the dry landscape. Lunch is followed by an afternoon leisure, perhaps by the pool. Dinner and overnight at your lodge or camp.

Samburu National Reserve lies 325 kilometres north of Nairobi in the hot and arid fringes of the arid northern region of Kenya. The Reserve is within the lands of the colourful Samburu people, close relatives of the Maasai, and boasts a number of wildlife species rarely found elsewhere. These include the Grevy zebra, the reticulated giraffe and the Beisa oryx all species found only north of the equator. The long-necked gerenuk is a graceful antelope, which spends much of its time in a bi-pedal stance seeking succulence among the withered scrub, which dots this harsh terrain. Other animals commonly seen are elephants, lions, cheetahs, gerenuks, buffalos, grants gazelles, dik diks and waterbucks. There are over 350 varieties of birds. These include the famous Somali Ostriches (distinguished by their unique purple/blue legs during mating season), kingfishers, humming birds, eagles, guinea fowls and vultures.

Scenically and faunally dramatic, for most of the year, Samburu National Reserve is under the unsympathetic equatorial sun. But relief comes from the wide swathe of the Ewaso Nyiro River which flows for some hundreds of kilometres to the west on the foothills of the Aberdare ranges and which vanishes beyond Samburu in the recesses of the Lorian swamp. The river is at its best in the Reserve, broad and sluggish with a large population of crocodile seen on sandbanks at almost every bend.

In the lower reaches, where permanent pools have formed as a tributary joins the river, are hippos. The river is fringed with giant acacias, figs and doum palms all of which provide shade and sustenance to the wildlife, which comes to water here. Elephant roam the gaunt hills, which punctuate the scrubland and where occasional clusters of the vividly coloured desert rose challenge the arid surroundings. These elephant seek solace and contentment in the shallow waters of the river and from time to time a visitor finds herds bathing and drinking in a spectacle of unconscious pleasure.

Day 4 SAMBURU – LAKES NAKURU – NAIVASHA

Leave after breakfast and drive past the Northern tip of the Aberdare mountains to descend into the Great Rift Valley where Lake Nakuru is located. Visit the works famous bird sanctuary in Lake Nakuru National Park noted for its huge concentration of flamingoes. Lunch and overnight at a lodge or camp in the park or proceed to Lake Naivasha where the night is spent at a lakeside hotel.

Lake Nakuru National Park was first gazette as a bird sanctuary in 1960 and upgraded to National Park status in 1968. A northern extension was added to the park in 1974 and the lake was designated as a Ramsar site. Lake Nakuru is world famous for its stunning flocks of lesser flamingo, which literally turn its shores pink. Its birdlife is world renowned: a beacon for leading ornithologists, scientists and wildlife film-makers. The park spans an attractive range of wooded and bush grassland around the lake offering wide ecological diversity, from lake water, woodland to the rocky escarpments and ridges.

Lake Nakuru Natio0nal Park rivals Amboseli as Kenya’s second-most-visited park. This is one of the best places in Kenya to see leopards, white rhinos and black rhinos and the endangered Rothschild Giraffe. Lake Nakuru National park’s most famous attraction is the flamingos that ring the lake in thousands.

Notable game within the lake includes hippo and clawless otters. On the shores roam waterbuck, Bohor’s Reedbuck and zebra. The woodlands and forest are now home to both black and white rhino. In 1987, only two black rhinos remained following the ravages of poaching. By creating a rhino sanctuary within the park and reintroducing a breeding herd from Laikipia, the K.W.S. has now successfully re-established rhino in the park. Lake Nakuru National Park is also a sanctuary to the endangered Rothschild Giraffe.

Game viewing is relatively easy: buffalo, leopard, lion, Rothschild’s giraffe, Black and White Colobus monkey are plentiful in the forest. The bushlands offer eland, steinbok, impala, Chandler’s reedbuck and dik dik, whilst rock hyrax and klipspringer occupy the cliffs and escarpment.

Lake Naivasha is one of Kenya’s most stunning Rift Valley freshwater lakes. It is surrounded by feathery papyrus, marshy lagoons and grassy shores and without any known outlet – a prerequisite for a freshwater lake. The highest of the Rift Valley lakes, Lake Naivasha’s incredibly blue waters reflect off sun-drenched mountains and is also home to an incredible variety of bird species.

Much of Lake Naivasha is surrounded by forests of the yellow-barked Acacia tree, full of birds and black and white colobus monkeys and offers guests an opportunity to adventure with boat trips and reach the hippos, pelicans and fish eagles ground that is a close quarters to get to Crescent Island – a protected reserve where you can walk amongst zebra, antelope and giraffe that come to the water’s edge to drink. There are no predators, so this is one of the few places in Kenya offering the opportunity to walk amongst the animals.

Other Attractions near Lake Naivasha include

Crater Lake Game Sanctuary – Surrounding a beautiful volcanic Crater Lake, on the western side of Lake Naivasha and north of the village of Kongoni, is this small sanctuary, with many trails including one for hikers along the steep but diminutive crater rim.

Crescent Island Wildlife Sanctuary – The protruding rim of a collapsed volcanic crater forms this island on the eastern side of Lake Naivasha. It’s a private sanctuary, where you can walk beneath yellow-barked acacias (yellow fever trees) in search of giraffes.

Elsamere Conservation Centre – A couple of Kilometers past Fisherman’s camp on Moi South Lake Rd you’ll find Elsamere conservation centre, the former home of the late Joy Adamson of Born free fame.

Hell’s Gate National Park lies beside the lake. Named for its pair of massive red tinged cliffs the park frames a geothermically active interior of steam vents and bubbling springs and is home to a profusion of plains game and birdlife. Famous for it’s natural hot geysers, eagle, buzzard and vulture breeding grounds, visitors have a choice of driving or walking within the park. Rock climbing and horseback safaris can also be arranged. Over 100 species of birds have been recorded in the park and thousands of Swifts are seen daily in large flocks.

Wildlife and Bird Watching in Lake Naivasha National Park

Game viewing includes: giraffe, buffalo, Colobus monkeys, large lazy hippos, hartebeest, lion, leopard and cheetah. Birdlife at the lake includes Long-tailed and Great Cormorants, Fish Eagles and Pied Kingfishers, Black Herons, Babblers and Lovebirds.

DAY 5 LAKE NAIVASHA – MASAI MARA

Leave the beautiful lake to drive across the lunar landscape of the Great Rift valley to reach Kenya’s best-known game reserve the Masai Mara in time for lunch. In the afternoon explore the rolling hills and plains for wonderful sights for the great difference species found here. Dinner and overnight at a lodge camp in or near the reserve.

Masai Mara National Reserve (also known as Masai Mara or The Mara) is situated within the Great Rift Valley (a fault line some 3,500 miles (5,600km) long that extends from the Mediterranean Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and to South Africa)in the southern part of Kenya. Measuring approximately 1510sq. kilometres (approx. 938sq. miles) in size. The Masai Mara is one of the best known and most popular reserves in the whole of Africa. The reserve’s topography is mainly open savannah (grassland) with clusters of acacia trees along the southeastern area of the park. The Mara and Talek rivers grace the rolling plains of the reserve. Myriad seasonal rivers appear during the rainy season but dry out once the rains are gone.

Wildlife and Game Viewing in The Masai Mara National Game Reserve

The Mara is also home to the richest concentration of wildlife, including the “Big Five” (elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and buffalo), zebras, antelope, gnus, Oribis, hyenas, giraffes, warthogs, gazelles, hartebeests, hippos, crocodiles and others. The park has the largest concentration of African lions, including the black-manned lion.

Birdlife is as plentiful as wildlife at the Masai Mara, which boasts over 400 different birds species. In the Mara and Talek rivers you’ll find crocodiles as well as Hippos.

The Great Wildebeest and Zebra Migration of The Masai Mara National Game Reserve

Then of course there is Wildebeest and Zebra migration which has made the Masai Mara famous. The trek happens with a fair share of animal drama as the migrating herds attract the attention of hungry predators – the hyenas and lions that prey on the lame and sick animals along the way. The Masai Mara Wildebeest and Zebra migration last for four months (July-October) towards the Mara. The months of July and August are the best times to see what is truly the world’s most spectacular wildebeest migration and the dramatic sights that occur during the mass crossing of the swollen Mara River

DAY 6 MASAI MARA

A morning of game viewing followed by lunch and an afternoon leisure. Dinner and overnight at your lodge or camp.

DAY 7 MASAI MARA – NAIROBI

After breakfast return to Nairobi to arrive around 1.00 p.m