DAY 1 NAIROBI

Pick up from Nairobi airport (or central Nairobi) and transfer to Nairobi Tented Camp for 2 nights. This offers a superb alternative to staying in a hotel in the busy city centre. The camp is located in the heart of Nairobi National Park and it is the first accommodation of any sort to be allowed in this unique safari destination. There isn’t anywhere else in the world like it: a wilderness escape where you can savour the feeling of being in the wilds of Africa in the heart of thick forest but right on the doorstep of the city of Nairobi. Includes morning and afternoon game drives, lunch, dinner and drinks.

Deep within a riverine forest minutes from Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Wilson Airport and Nairobi City is a true wilderness experience. Visitors can arrive into Kenya and get ‘straight under canvas’ within 30 minutes of leaving the airport. Nairobi Tented Camp is an authentic tented camp in the heart of Nairobi National Park. It is the first accommodation of any sort to be allowed in this unique safari destination. There isn’t anywhere else in the world like it; a wilderness escape where you can savour the thrill of camping in the heart of thick bushland right on the doorstep of Nairobi. With sweeping plains on one side and Nairobi city on the other, Nairobi National Park is a wildlife haven unlike any other, with virtually guaranteed sightings of rhino a reason in itself to visit, and Nairobi Tented Camp offers guests the opportunity to really get to know this unique destination and its wildlife. International visitors will leave Jomo Kenyatta airport and within ten minutes start their wildlife encounter, with the last 20 minutes of their short half an hour journey filled with the excitement of their first game drive in Kenya. Whether you are in Nairobi for tourism, a night stopover, international business or conferences, producing a film or simply looking for a weekend break as a resident, Nairobi Tented Camp has something for everyone.

DAY 2 NAIROBI

Breakfast at camp. Enjoy a morning game drive or visit the renowned Elephant Orphanage to view the young elephants and learn more about these wonderful creatures. Lunch at camp. In the afternoon head out on a game drive in search of some of Africa’s iconic animals. Return to camp for dinner and overnight.

DAY 3 NAIROBI – AMBOSELI

Early breakfast then transfer to Nairobi’s Wilson (domestic) airport for the morning flight to Selenkay / Amboseli. Met at the airstrip and transfer to Porini Amboseli Camp for 3 nights. Take a game drive or walk, returning to camp for lunch. Later go out on an afternoon game drive to further explore the Selenkay Conservancy. All the big cats have been seen in the Conservancy as well as elephants and a wide range of species including large numbers of giraffes, zebra, and antelopes. There are also less common animals to be seen such as the long-necked gerenuk gazelle, lesser kudu and African wildcat. Enjoy a sundowner at a scenic spot overlooking Kilimanjaro then continue with a night game drive and return to camp for dinner and overnight.

Selenkay Conservancy shares the same eco-system as Amboseli and is established on lands leased from the local Maasai by Porini with the aim of protecting the wildlife habitat and encouraging wildlife conservation as an alternative to farming as a means for the local population to earn a living. Migrating species from Amboseli previously killed or driven off land set aside for farming are now encouraged to make the conservancy their home. Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in wildlife numbers with elephants returning to make the land their own after a 20 year absence. Porini Amboseli Safari Camp is small – with just 9 spacious guest tents – and retains all the charm and feel of the traditional mobile safari camps of days gone by. Tents are tastefully furnished and have solar powered electric lighting with en suite bathrooms including shower, wash basin and flush toilet. The camp provides an exclusive yet friendly experience with a maximum of 18 guests at a time and it is fully-inclusive of all meals, drinks (wine, gin & tonics, beer, sodas and mineral water) and activities (including day and night shared game drives, guided walks and sundowners). Game drives are in specially-designed, open-sided off-road (4×4) safari vehicles with expert safari guides.

DAY 4 AMBOSELI

After an early breakfast spend the morning on a game drive in the Selenkay Conservancy and an escorted nature walk with Maasai guides, returning to camp for lunch. In the afternoon you will visit a nearby Maasai Village where you will get to know more about the way of life of the Maasai people before having a night game drive with a spotlight to seek out the nocturnal animals such as aardvarks, serval cats, caracals, bat-eared foxes, African wild cats, and other species. Head back to camp for dinner and overnight.

DAY 5 AMBOSELI

Awake to the noisy calls of the birds. After an early breakfast, we drive through the bush on our private track into Amboseli National Park, for a full morning of game viewing. Following a picnic lunch in the park, we return to camp later in the afternoon. In the evening you will go on a game drive in Selenkay Conservancy, stopping for a sundowner at a scenic viewpoint, followed by a night game drive. Return to camp for dinner and overnight.

The location of Amboseli National Park is probably its biggest attraction. The whole park is overlooked by the world famous views of Mount Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro is undoubtedly best seen at dusk or dawn when low hanging clouds thin out to reveal the iced summit of this continent’s highest mountain. This backdrop has contributed to this park being amongst the most visited in Kenya, which has brought its own drawbacks. Years of tourism and off-road excursions have impacted on the park making it appear rather dusty, overused and eroded. A program to improve access with new roads and a much tougher stance taken against off-roading are gradually remedying the situation. Lake Amboseli, after which the park is named, is usually a dull looking crusted stretch of volcanic soil. Even during the wettest years its depth rarely exceeds 50cms and would not merit a mention were it not for the spectacular mirage of a shimmering ghost lake it creates making the horizon appear fluid. The parched dry lake bed is offset by the contrasting lush green vegetation in the marsh and swamp areas which are created by underground springs rising to the surface through the porous soil. High doses of toxic salts from a raised water table are partially responsible for the decline in the number of acacias that used to tower around the marsh area, a decline that had previously been totally blamed on Elephants stripping the bark for food. The park’s open landscape is home to large herds of elephants whose population is one of the few in Africa that has been spared the butchery of poachers. Elephant numbers are now well over 1000 and they live in their natural social structures of matriarchal families and bull elephant groups. Predators in the park include hyenas, jackals; lions, leopards and cheetahs. Birdlife in abundance flourishes particularly in the marshes and swamps. Over
420 species have been counted within the park as a whole including 6 species of vulture, 12 species of heron and 10 varieties of eagle.

DAY 6 AMBOSELI – NAIROBI – OL PEJETA

Early breakfast and then drive through the Conservancy to the airstrip for the flight to Wilson, connecting onto the 10.20h flight to Nanyuki (arriving at 11.30h). You will be met at the airstrip and transferred to Porini Rhino Camp, located in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, in the foothills of Mount Kenya. Lunch and afternoon tea in camp and then head off on a game drive with your driver-guide in the camp’s 4×4 safari vehicle. Return to Porini Rhino Camp for dinner and overnight.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 364sq km wildlife conservancy situated between the foothills of Mount Kenya and the Aberdares and its game-to-area ratio tops the Kenyan park and reserve league. Ol Pejeta has over 10000 large mammals and it is the only park where the big 5 and chimpanzees can be seen. It is also where the fastest growing population of rhino in Africa can be found. There are southern white rhino, about 80 endangered black rhino and in a special sanctuary there are three of the world’s last four remaining northern white rhino. Porini Rhino Camp is in a secluded valley, on the banks of a seasonal river and under the shade of acacia trees. The camp consists of just seven spacious and comfortable guest tents, each having been carefully sited to take advantage of the wonderful surrounding views. Each tent is tastefully furnished and has solar-power lighting and ensuite hot shower and flush toilet. The camp is specially designed to have minimum environmental impact (with no permanent structures and using eco-friendly fuel). The camp is fully inclusive of meals, drinks (gin & tonics, beer, wine, sodas and mineral water) as well as day and night shared game drives, escorted walks, sundowners, a visit to Baraka the Black Rhino & Information Center and a visit to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The Conservancy ensures excellent game-viewing and game drives – with “proper” open-sided, off-road (4×4) safari vehicles and expert safari guides.

DAY 7 OL PEJETA

Full day in Ol Pejeta with game drives and walking activities from camp. Dinner and overnight at
Porini Rhino Camp.

DAY 8 OL PEJETA – MASAI MARA

Depart Porini Rhino Camp and fly from Nanyuki on the 09.45 Safarilink flight to Mara arriving at 11.00. You will be met and transferred to Porini Mara Camp, arriving for lunch. In the afternoon you will have a game drive with a sundowner at a scenic spot followed by a night game drive with spotlights to search for nocturnal animals, including the elusive leopards which are resident in Ol Kinyei Conservancy, before heading back to camp for dinner. Overnight at Porini Mara Camp.

Located within the Serengeti-Mara eco-system, Ol Kinyei is renowned for its unspoilt and breathtaking scenery with diverse terrain offering on one hand open savannah plains and rolling hills on the other. The land, with its abundance of water sources in the form of springs, streams and rivers, coupled with spectacular views across the Mara plains, is home to a wide variety of animal species. There is a resident lion pride of over 20 animals and several leopards also have their territories within the conservancy and are often sighted by guests from Porini Mara Camp on evening or early morning drives. Cheetahs are frequently seen and it is not rare to come across large numbers of giraffe as well as Cape buffalo and elephants.

DAY 9 MASAI MARA

Awake to the natural sounds of the Mara’s birdlife. Leave camp soon after dawn to explore the Ol Kinyei Conservancy on the lookout for elephants, buffalo, giraffe, plains game and the big cats. Breakfast. Later return to camp for lunch. Afternoon game drive, followed by a sundowner and night game drive on the way back to camp. Dinner and overnight at Porini Mara Camp.

DAY 10 MASAI MARA

Morning walk in the Ol Kinyei Conservancy. After breakfast leave camp and spend the day game-viewing in the famous Masai Mara Reserve with a picnic lunch in the park and then moving on to Porini Lion Camp arriving in the late afternoon. Later in the evening have a sundowner in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy and night drive then dinner and overnight at Porini Lion Camp.

The Olare Motorogi Conservancy (comprised of the former Olare Orok Conservancy and Motorogi Conservancy) is 33000 acres of outstanding natural beauty and ecological importance. The conservancy directly borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve and it contains the lower valleys of the Olare Orok and Ntiakitiak rivers, riverine forest, the Ntiakitiak Gorge and a 12km escarpment below which are large areas of acacia woodland. The conservancy ensures a true wilderness experience with one of the lowest tourist densities in the Mara region. The only safari vehicles on the land are the few 4x4s related to the handful of small camps within this vast area and there is a rich and diverse wildlife population with good numbers of predators and herbivores. The eco-friendly Porini Lion Camp has no permanent construction and is situated along the Ntiakatiak River, a seasonal river with permanent hippo pools near camp. With ten guest tents the camp is small and exclusive, giving you a real “in the bush” safari camping experience. The tents are very spacious and have private verandas along the length of the tent, providing a secluded and quiet place for you to relax and enjoy the beauty of this African wilderness. Each tent has en-suite bathrooms with flush toilets and hot showers. Food is excellent with fresh baked bread and high quality meals prepared by the camp Chef.

DAY 11 MASAI MARA

Morning and afternoon game drives in the exclusive Olare Motorogi Conservancy, away from the minibuses and tourist vehicles seen in the park, and with an excellent chance of sighting lions, cheetahs and leopards all of which are found in the conservancy. Sundowner and night game drive. Dinner and overnight at Porini Lion Camp.

DAY 12 MASAI MARA

Another day with morning and afternoon game drives in the exclusive Olare Motorogi Conservancy. Sundowner and night game drive. Dinner and overnight at Porini Lion Camp.

Kenya’s Maasai Mara is one of the greatest wildlife destinations on Earth and its profusion of plains game and stealthy predators has made it synonymous with the safari. For decades it has been a favourite location for film-makers producing nature documentaries as well as feature films. This is a diverse landscape harbouring varied habitats within its majestic plains, rocky outcrops, ancient woodland and life-giving rivers. It adjoins the northern sweep of neighbouring Tanzania’s Serengeti plains thus forming one huge ecosystem. The Mara lands are famous for the annual Wildebeest Migration (one of the Natural Wonders of the World) which occurs from June to October when the Mara becomes host to an almost unimaginable half a million wildebeest seeking the grasses raised by the Spring rains of April and May. Having exhausted the grazing in the northern Serengeti the wildebeest head north en masse. This is an awesome sight in the true meaning of the word which, when coupled with the sound of thousands upon thousands of hooves pounding the earth, makes it an unforgettable spectacle. The Wildebeest are not the only tenants of the land. The Mara is also the home to among others, zebra, elephants, and to the big cats; cheetahs, lions and leopards. Hyena, jackal, buffalo, eland, topi, impala, gazelle, warthog add to this huge diversity of wildlife.

DAY 13 MASAI MARA – NAIROBI

Early morning game drive in the conservancy returning for breakfast. Mid-morning transfer to the airstrip for the 11am flight back to Nairobi’s Wilson airport (arriving 12.15h). Transfer to the international airport or a Nairobi hotel (hotel not included but can be added at a supplement).