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Secluded Kenya - Natural Habitat
Tour Type: Mobile Tented - Kenya
Days: 10
Group Size: 10
Dates: 9/20/2010
Highlights:
A one-of-a-kind safari through Kenya's remote and renowned reserves and national parks: Samburu Game Reserve, Lewa Downs, and the Maasai Mara.
Summary: Isak Dinesen, better known as Karen Blixen, wrote in her memoir of early 20th-century Kenya, Out of Africa, that it was a “landscape that had not its like in all the world,” with “crooked bare old thorn trees scattered upon the great plains” and air that was “alive over the land, like a flame burning.” Then, as today, that was the natural backdrop for Kenya’s greatest spectacle. Herds of elephants, prides of lions, the stripes and spots of zebras and giraffes and cheetahs – these are the icons of Africa, still thriving here in Kenya, Africa’s most celebrated safari destination.
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Prices from:
$8,795
View: Rates
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Itinerary - In Brief
Itinerary - Detailed
Day 1:
Nairobi, Kenya
Arrive in Nairobi and transfer to the Karen Blixen Cottages on the site of Isak Dinesen’s original hunting lodge and home, Swedo House. The historic home is a fine example of early colonial architecture in Kenya, while the cottages are set among one of the country’s oldest colonial gardens, shaded by jacaranda, candelabra and bottlebrush. Each cottage has beamed ceilings and an inviting verandah, evoking the character of Kenya in the early 1900s. Now, as then, they are the site of vivid conversation and tales of bush lore, as guests prepare for and return from safaris. This evening, gather with your Expedition Leader for a welcome dinner.
Days 2-4:
Samburu Game Reserve
Fly north to one of Kenya’s most remote and least-visited wildlife areas, the Samburu Game Reserve. Less accessible than the country’s betterknown parks, Samburu is watered by the Ewaso Nyiro River, providing a green lifeline through an arid region of dry plains, rock kopjes and hills, a distinct contrast to the savannah of southern Kenya. Elephants and other mammals gravitate beneath the Doum palms along the river, coming throughout the day to drink. Besides classic African animals such as Cape buffalo and the big cat predators, Samburu is home to uniquely desertadapted species such as gerenuk, Guenther’s dik-dik, reticulated giraffe and the Beisa oryx, not found elsewhere in Kenya. You may also see striped hyena and aardwolf. Your private campsite is shaded by acacias and umbrella thorns, and is not far from where the Douglas-Hamiltons conducted conservation work with elephants of National Geographic fame. Your camp also offers proximity to neighboring Shaba and Buffalo Springs reserves, placing you in the heart of a magnificent wildlife corridor with access to rarely visited sites.
Days 5-6:
Lewa Downs
Today you fl y to Lewa Downs, one of Africa’s most extraordinary conservation success stories. This private reserve has played an instrumental role in returning black and white rhinoceros from the brink of extinction. The region is also a sanctuary for endangered Grevy’s zebra, of which just 3,000 remain, and sitatunga, a rare aquatic antelope. You see a multitude of game on safari drives and bush walks, in view of Mount Kenya’s snowy summit. By concentrating on private reserves you avoid the more heavily visited parks, guaranteeing a personalized experience reminiscent of Kenya a half-century ago. Your small camp offers simple luxuries that make bush life feel quite refined.
Days 7-9:
Masai Mara
The legendary Masai Mara is one of Africa’s most acclaimed game reserves, renowned for its annual wildebeest migration. The Mara is the northern portion of the Serengeti, and you find excellent wildlife viewing all year long in these grasslands on the Kenya-Tanzania border. The reserve is named for the Masai tribespeople, the traditional inhabitants of the area who still graze cattle here, and the Mara River that runs through it. You stay at your private mobile camp, which allows access to a number of extraordinary campsites, most of which are near the wildebeest crossing during the migration. Your camp overlooks large pools populated with hippos and crocodiles and offers some of the best cat viewing in Africa. Game drives take you among myriad plains animals, including gazelle, impala, wildebeest, hartebeest, topi, zebra and giraffe. Predators flourish here; the Mara is famed for its lions, which you may see hunting in the early morning or evening, or resting beneath the trees in the heat of the day. Hyenas also patrol the plains in some of the largest numbers in Africa.
Day 10:
Nairobi / Home
You take one final game drive before flying back to Nairobi for a farewell dinner.
Notes:
Getting There & Getting Home:
You must arrive in Nairobi, Kenya before 5pm on Day 1 and can depart Nairobi, Kenya after 3pm on the final day. Please contact ExpeditionTrips to confirm schedule before purchasing air tickets.
Physical Requirements :
There is no strenuous activity involved while on safari; however, a safari vehicle sometimes offers a bumpy ride. It is recommended that travelers have an adventurous spirit; as they will often enjoy the closest animal encounters.
Included:
Internal charter flights; accommodations; all meals from dinner on Day 1 to lunch on final day; bottled water; house alcohol; services of Expedition Leaders; local guides and lodge staff; airport transfers on Day 1 and final day; some laundry; permits and entrance fees; all taxes.
Not Included:
Travel to and from start and end point of trip; premium alcoholic beverages; all gratuities; passport and visa fees; optional activities; items of a personal nature (phone calls, souvenirs, etc.); airline baggage fees; airport and departure taxes; optional travel insurance; required medical evacuation insurance.
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