Kenya
Kenya is the origin of the safari, and has some marvellous wildlife areas with good infrastructure. Amboseli has magnificent views of Mount Kilimanjaro across the border in Tanzania, and has some of the most studied elephant families on the continent.
Samburu Reserve has real dry area oddities such as the long necked gerenuk antelope, the scimitar-horned oryx and Somali ostrich, as well as good populations of elephant and giraffe, making it a fascinating area. Kenya’s most famous reserve is the Masai Mara, the northern extension of the Serengeti National park, which has good year-round concentrations of wildlife, but when the migrating wildebeest, zebra and gazelle are present normally from July to September, the game is truly spectacular. Lion, leopard and cheetah are all in the Mara in good numbers and particularly during the migration, seeing hunters in action, or the migration crossing the Mara River, is by no means uncommon.
Whilst there are a number of large lodges in Kenya, and it is possible to drive around the country, poor roads make this a harder option and there are now regular scheduled flights to the major parks and any number of smaller, more exclusive camps and lodges on offer to suit most budgets.
Click below to see two sample Kenyan safari itineraries:
Itinerary
Nairobi, 1 night. Transfer from Nairobi Airport to the Norfolk Hotel.
Amboseli, 2 nights. Fly from Wilson Airport to Amboseli National Park and to Porini Camp, Game drives in Amboseli Park and walks and drives in the concession area. Lion, antelope. Giraffe, but above all elephant are Amboseli’s speciality. Porini Camp, Amboseli.
Samburu, 2 nights. Fly from Amboseli to Samburu National Park. Sightings at Samburu may include lion, leopard, crocodile and elephant as well as such oddities as reticulated giraffe, oryx, genenuk and Grevy’s zebra. Larsens Camp.
Lewa Downs, 3 nights. Fly from Samburu to Lewa and onto Lewa Downs, a privately-owned ranch which has been turned back to wildlife, providing a sanctuary to many varied species of animals including rhino, lion, cheetah and buffalo. Game drives by day and night, game walks as well as camel and horse riding for the more adventurous, are available here. Lewa Safari Camp.
Masai Mara, 3 nights. Flying into the famous Masai Mara, featured on so many wildlife documentaries, including the Big Cat diaries, and staying at Little Governors Camp, considered one of the best areas for game viewing. Lion, cheetah, leopard, elephant, hippo and croc and a wealth of antelope species can be found. Little Governors’ Camp.
Nairobi. Afternoon departure for flight to Nairobi to connect with onward flights.
Land Cost: US $ 6,775 per person, minimum group size 2. Single supplement $1,225.
Peak season price during wildebeest migration in Masai Mara, August/September.
Itinerary
For those short of time this safari takes in Kenya’s finest park and the rare mountain gorillas of Rwanda in just one week.
Nairobi 1 night.
Masai Mara, 3 nights. Fly from Nairobi to the Mara for three days of spectacular game viewing. Little Governor’s Camp.
Volcanoes National Park, 1 night. Fly to Nairobi and onto Kigali in Rwanda. Drive to Volcanoes Park. Gorilla Mountain View Lodge.
Kigali, 1 night. Morning gorilla tracking; afternoon return to Kigali. Laloo Umbano Hotel.
Nairobi. Fly back to Nairobi for onward connections.
7 day Masai Mara and Rwanda Gorilla Safari from $3,276 per person, plus $500 for the gorilla permit, based on a minimum of two people.
Amboseli National Park
This is the park where those iconic shots of elephants underneath Mount Kilimanjaro are usually taken. Situated in a dry area, Amboseli’s swamps attract great herds of elephant making for terrific viewing, along with good birding and opportunities to see lion and other predators. Concession areas around the park also give good interactions with the local Masai communities.
Masai Mara National Reserve.
The Mara is Kenya’s premier park and the northern extension of the Serengeti ecosystem, with beautiful, rolling parkland scenery with woods and riverine forests, providing habitats for virtually all the East African wildlife. The Mara has much resident game year round, such as waterbuck, bushbuck, topi, hartebeest, giraffe and warthog and this supports good populations of predators, particularly lion, leopard cheetah and hyena. During the dry season from July until late September the resident populations are swelled by hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle migrating northwards from Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. During this period the game viewing can be phenomenal as the big herds avoid the perils of the waiting predators and the major crossings of the Mara River, with its attendant crocodiles.
Mount Kenya and the Laikipia District
Mount Kenya offers mountain trekking, lodges and horse riding on its lower slopes and with a wealth of bird-life and interesting animals including colobus monkeys, buffalo, zebra and other antelope. Private game ranches such as Lewa Downs can produce magnificent game viewing including both black and white rhino, elephant, Grevy’s zebra, lion and cheetah. Game walks are also possible in these areas.
Samburu National Reserve
Samburu has a wealth of species not found in other major East African parks, mainly desert-adapted species such as the long-necked gerenuk antelope, oryx, reticulated giraffe and the Somali ostrich. The area is beautiful with the Matthews Mountain range to the north and the Ewaso Nyiro river attracting many animals, along with good numbers of both lion and leopard, making Samburu a fascinating part of a Kenyan safari itinerary.
