Land of The Masai

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Tour starts; elephant orphanage & giraffe centre

The tour starts at the Nairobi hotel. You will receive full details of exactly where to meet your Group Leader on the Joining Instructions which will be sent to you 2-3 weeks before your trip starts. The Kenyan capital stands at an altitude of 1670m above sea level on an elevated plain at the heart of the country, surrounded by fertile land that yields coffee and maize. You meet your Group Leader for a tour briefing in the morning, before you head off to visit Sheldricks Elephant Orphanage and the giraffe centre. These are conservation projects where you get to view the animals in close proximity and learn about them and their plight in the modern world. The David Sheldricks Wildlife Trust was set up in 1977 in Memory of David Sheldricks, who was a founding warden of the Tsavo East National Park. The Trust takes in and cares for orphaned elephants and rhinos, who are ultimately released back into the wild.

You can meet The Adventure Company's own sponsored elephant orphan, named Shukuru. Shukuru arrived at the Trust after being found by a herdsman trapped down a manhole when she was only a few days old! Having been rescued and taken to the nursery in Nairobi she has since settled in well and now enjoys playing games and taking mudbaths with all the other orphans. It is possible to sponsor your own elephant; you can then add an extra dimension to your visit by meeting your own orphan and following its progress – a charming addition to any family! Hotel (AAA) - 1 night (Swimming Pool)

Naro Moru, Mount Kenya Area

This morning you travel to Naro Moru (2 ½ hrs drive) on the watershed between the Tana and Ewaso Nyiro river basins. Your accommodation is located beside a trout stream in excellent bird watching country. The afternoon is free to relax in the lodge’s pretty gardens and of course its pool. You will see views of Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest mountain (5200m). Some three and a half million years old, it was once a live volcano. Now the peaks are permanently covered with snow and glaciers.

River Lodge (AAA) - 2 nights (Swimming Pool) (BLD)

Naro Moru; game drive Sweetwaters Game Reserve

Kenya’s Central Highlands boast a number of game ranches that have been instrumental in saving the highly endangered black rhino. Today you visit the privately-owned Sweetwaters Rhino Sanctuary to learn about its breeding programme and witness its remarkable success with your own eyes. Between 1970 and 1990 Kenya’s rhino population was drastically reduced as a result of extensive poaching. The demand for rhino horn to use in traditional Chinese medicine or for making ornamental dagger handles in the Middle East still threatens the rhinos’ survival. Only now are the first tentative signs of recovery being seen as reared animals from high security sanctuaries such as this are used to restock national parks. You’ll see the tame (well, relatively tame…!) rhino that goes by the name of Max, and delve into the world of the primate when you visit a chimpanzee sanctuary. You will also take a game drive through the reserve. (BLD)

Lake Nakuru

This morning you drive 250km (approx. 4-5 hours) on good roads to Lake Nakuru, arriving in time for lunch. The alkaline waters of this lake once supported an extremely large colony of flamingos - reckoned to be anything up to two million strong! Over the course of the year the lake changes size considerably, shrinking to its minimum in March at the end of the dry season. Changes in water level and chemical concentration caused the permanent population of flamingos to move elsewhere in the 1970s - they now reappear periodically, but never stay for long. In the afternoon, you will enjoy a game drive around the shore of the lake and look for the white rhinos that can usually be found around the shores.

Lodge (AAAA) – 1 night (Swimming Pool) (BLD)

Situated in the Great Rift Valley, in the South East Ecological niche of the park is Lake Nakuru Lodge, an oasis of comfort and excellent service, with commanding views of the lesser flamingo dotted with the Greater Flamingo for which Lake Nakuru is justly famous.

Lake Naivasha; optional boat cruise & hippos

This morning you take a game drive. There’s a lot of wildlife to see on the salty mudflats and wooded hills around Lake Nakuru, including giraffe, hippo, black and white rhino (both of which have been reintroduced), buffalo, warthog, zebra, various species of antelope and the ubiquitous waterbuck. Due to the relative absence of predators, and the consequent low risk, waterbuck and impala thrive here. Indeed one of the possible derivations of Nakuru’s name is “the place of the waterbuck”. However there is just a chance that you’ll see lion and the extremely elusive leopard. Later you drive to Lake Naivasha. Afternoon wind and storms can cause the lake to become suddenly rough and produce high waves. For this reason, the local Masai christened the lake Nai'posha meaning ''rough water'', which the British later misspelt as Naivasha. The waters of the lake draw a great range of game; giraffes wander among the acacia, buffalo wallow in the swamps and colobus monkeys call from the treetops while the lake’s large hippo population while away the day in the shallows.
Lodge (AAA) – 1 night (Swimming Pool) (BLD)

Masai Mara; game drives & meet Masai

Your destination today is the finest of Kenya’s reserves, the Masai Mara (150km, approx. 5 hours drive). The Mara is effectively a northern extension of the Serengeti, the most famous of neighbouring Tanzania's national parks, which lies just across the border. Animals, of course, recognise no border and immense herds of blue wildebeest migrate across the savannah driven by the innate urge to find new grazing land - to arrive here each July/August; then in October start to head south again! At these times the plains teem with animals on the move, and the photographic opportunities are unrivalled. You should arrive at your lodge in time for lunch, followed by an afternoon game drive. You’ll explore the extensive grassy plains where elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, and various gazelles - with attendant predators of lion, cheetah, jackal and hyena can be seen.

The following day you take a game drive in the early morning, return to camp for a leisurely brunch, then have some free time to relax before setting off again in the afternoon. You will also get to meet the local Masai warriors and they will teach you about their life and culture, even showing you how to throw a spear – careful mum, stand well clear please! This is invariably one of the highlights of the trip as you spend the day walking with your Masai guides. The Masai are probably the best known of Kenya’s tribal peoples - largely due to their highly photogenic appearance. The young males in particular wear a striking costume of bright red cloth, with a cape slung from one shoulder, beads and jewellery, and carry a spear, sword and club. Originally nomadic herders, the Masai used to live on a diet of fresh and curdled milk. Live cattle represent wealth, so much energy was devoted to cattle raiding. They have a fearsome reputation as warriors and hunters, but in the face of immense pressure are gradually - if reluctantly - starting to accept a more settled lifestyle.
Tented Lodge (AAA) – 2 nights (Bx2,Lx2,Dx2)

Nairobi; tour ends

After one last early morning game drive, you set off late morning to re-cross the plains of the Mara and climb the Rift Valley’s eastern wall past Mount Suswa to make your way back to Nairobi (300km approx. 6 hours drive). En route there may be opportunities to stop and make some final purchases. (B)

Please note - It is necessary to leave the Masai Mara in the morning in order to get to Nairobi in daylight, as travelling after dark is not allowed.

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Key: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner