Itinerary
Day 1: Nairobi – Samburu Game Reserves
JAMBO – KARIBU KENYA!!
Ashford Tours representatives will warmly meet you upon arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport `with our traditional, unique & special welcome (bubbly, wet towels and presentation of authentic safari hat and a beautiful authentic canvas pouch filled with safari essentials). We will then transfer you to the Wilson airport for your morning scheduled flight to Samburu. You will be warmly met by the camp guide driver & land cruiser at the airstrip in Samburu, enjoy an enroute game viewing drive to intimate 12-tent Elephant Bedroom Camp to a warm welcome then lunch, short siesta before heading for an afternoon game viewing drive.
The Samburu region is the best place to find several endemic Northern species; including the Gerenuk (Twiga gazelle) due to her long neck, the beisa Oryx, the Reticulated Giraffe, the Somali ostrich and Grevy’s Zebra. Samburu is also an ornithological paradise, home to many birds including local species such as the Palm Nut Vulture and the Vivacious Dove. Enjoy dinner and overnight at our camp or lodge.
Day 2: Samburu Game Reserves
Enjoy morning and afternoon game viewing drives in both Samburu and Buffalo Springs game reserves. Leopards are often seen at dusk. The Samburu culture is a truly fascinating one, sharing a great deal of ancestral and linguistic ties to the Masai. The entire Samburu region is a place of breath-taking and magical beauty, a place where the vision of a deep red sunset silhouetting the doum palms along the river as a leopard emerges to hunt brings the perfect end to a day on safari…… Enjoy meals and overnight at our camp or lodge.
Day 3: Samburu Game Reserves – Masai Mara Game Reserve
After breakfast, the camp guide drivers will drop you at the airstrip for your morning scheduled flight to Masai Mara. The Camp guide driver & vehicle will meet you at the Ole Kiombo airstrip; transfer to the intimate, 20-tent Tipilikwani Camp to a very warm welcome, check-in then lunch. This afternoon is the moment we have been longing for – we depart with the camp’s guide driver & vehicle an exciting game viewing drive. The Rolling plains and grasslands, stretching far into the horizons as far as the eye can see is home to the black-manned lion, the savannah elephant, the Cape buffalo, wildebeests, the elusive leopard, cheetah, the spotted & stripped hyena, the rhino, topi,burchelle’s zebra, the Masai giraffe among many others. The Mara game reserve is one that can never disappoint. One is spoilt by the variety of bird and wildlife species in this game reserve….. For a long time, Mara Game Reserve has stubbed her authority as the ‘granary’ of wildlife in Kenya. We return back to the Camp or lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Masai Mara Game Reserve
Enjoy morning and afternoon game viewing drives & adventure. Be on the look-out for the big five that Masai Mara is famous for. These include the lion, savannah (African) elephant, the Cape buffalo, the leopard and the black rhino. We may even be so lucky to witness a leopard or a cheetah sprint and make a kill! We return back to the camp for dinner and overnight.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY:
c) Balloon Safari over the Mara plains
d) Visit a traditional Masai Manyatta (off the beaten track) and experience the culture of this world famous community.
Day 5: Masai Mara Game Reserve – Nairobi
This morning we enjoy our breakfast then check-out. Unbelievable but true, our good bush moments have come to an end. We bid farewell to our wonderful lodge manager and his team then transfer to the Ole Kiombo airstrip for your scheduled flight to Nairobi. Not empty handed though. With us are photographs – a capture of the special moments we have had on this tour to immortalize the experience. Ashford Tours guide driver will meet you at the Wilson Airport, transfer to the Carnivore restaurant for lunch (depending on time availability before your next flight) then on to the Jomo Kenyatta International airport for your onward flight.
Tour Accommodation
Samburu – Elephant Bedroom Camp
Masai Mara – Tipilikwani Mara Camp
