Jungle Book Journey - India & Kenya

Take a game drives into one of the most unique game parks in the World, the Nairobi National Park.

Visits to see the orphaned elephants. Born from one family’s passion for Kenya and its wilderness, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is today the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world and one of the pioneering conservation organisations for wildlife and habitat protection in East Africa.

https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

Founded in 1979 as a core breeding centre of the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe it further escalated its conservation efforts in 1983, opening up an outstanding environmental education centre. Take a tour around the Centre and feed the giraffes.

http://giraffecenter.org

Nairobi is just around the corner for those who need to get last minute items. Although our boutique is fully stocked, we would be happy to take you to any of the local shopping areas in Nairobi. Our driver guides are not only wildlife specialists, they also understand the art of bargaining.

An interesting project to deter large predators such as lion, leopard, hyena and cheetah, from killing livestock held in enclosures. This simple project was invented by an 11-year-old boy, Richard Turere whose family and neighbors were faced with predator incursions and livestock depredation on almost a daily basis in Kitengela (an area bordering the Nairobi National Park).

The ‘anti predator’ scheme involved a solar lighting system which charges batteries during the day and at night powers lights around the homestead. The lights are low power LED’s which flash continually throughout the night and have so far proved to be a great success. A study was carried out on this scheme and predator attacks and so far homesteads which this lighting scheme have not had one single predatory attack since their implementation.

The Emakoko has purchased twenty two units which have been given to 10 homes in the area – and so far those households have not been attacked. There are however more homes which desperately need these and if you would like to make a donation towards one of these units the community would be very grateful. The cost per unit to buy and install is $240.

Don't miss the opportunity to visit the Emakoko garden and Netty’s (daughter of Anton and Emma) tree project. Starting with just a handful, the garden has grown to over 3,500 seedlings! The trees are donated throughout Nairobi to anyone who would like to start their own Shamba (garden), and contribute to the reafforestation of Nairobi and the surrounding suburbs.

Enjoy a massage from the comfort of your room (additional cost - paid directly). Feel your jetlag dissipate as you listen to the animal sounds of Nairobi National Park.

Enjoy gorgeous views over the Conservancy whilst enjoying a sundowner

A team of fully-qualified driver guides are on hand for vehicle safaris across the conservancy. The specially adapted open vehicles allow for excellent viewing but it is the richness of the game that our guests talk about. All the main safari predators, the rare Grevy zebra and of course the threatened rhino can be viewed in abundance. A particular favourite and well recognised aspect of the area near the lodge are the good elephant numbers and at least weekly sightings of the illusive wild dogs. The game drives are on your terms using our experience and are not limited to daylight hours. We often explore the conservancy by night using spotlight and the full moon when it obliges.

Game walks with Calum, a FGASA qualified Trails Guide, which we hope will open up the landscape and let you appreciate the smaller (or sometimes very large) animals as well as the tracks, trails, signs, sights, sounds and smells of the wilderness – something you often miss from the car.

Guests can also visit the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy headquarters to find out more about their pioneering conservation and community work such as a visit to the anti-poaching tracker dogs or a visit to the LWC sponsored local school or other community project.

The canopy walkway is a 40 ft. high aerial bridge of wiremesh and cables meandering through the tree canopy and extending 450 metres long. The walkway ends at a wooden platform 30ft. high, where you can relax and enjoy a view of the river from this elevated vantage point. Elephants and buffaloes frequently come here to drink and wallow, and one can enjoy a drink or a meal at the lofty leafy deck.

Visit the beautiful Ngare Ndare azure waterfalls and perhaps jump into the cool clear water.

Archeological remains of much earlier occupation of the area are found at Lewa and are some of Kenya’s best archeological sites outside the Rift Valley. The hill on which Lewa House is built is home to warrior graves many thousands of years old. They were a tall race who communicated with rock gongs. Later people developed these gongs into a game that’s now played all over Africa.

The Il n’gwesi people (Northern Masai) to our north, have a fascinating history and culture. Visiting them is an authentic and engaging experience.

Head out on a camel or by horseback for a unique safari experience.

The cornerstone of a safari experience at Serian is that each group has their own open-top safari vehicle, and their own dedicated guide and spotter. The freedom this grants you is key to getting the most out of your stay: go where the day takes you, without the limitations of fixed schedules, or fitting in with other peoples’ plans. Nothing but personal desire need dictate what you do.

Our vehicles are specially customised to be a climbing frame, and a photographer’s extra tool. They are comfortable, able to handle the terrain, and cover the distance…. And were designed for sun, rain, wind, and above all, the feeling of having as little as possible separating you from what’s out there.

Our guides and spotters are intimately familiar with these special places, so they know all its secrets and the ways the animals interact with it, from the subtle changes of the seasons, to the stages of an animals lifecycle, to the flora that sustains it all – they are the key that can unlock it all for you.

Although ‘Walker’ really is Alex’s surname, being born to such an identity turns out to have been a self-fulfilling prophecy. Spending his childhood days out on foot with his father’s trackers, then turning this into a full-time career as soon as he possibly could, Alex’s passion is walking, and it is without a doubt his preferred method of accessing the bush.

Walking safaris epitomise the golden chance to get away from the trails and beaten tracks, and immerse in the environment in a way that the noise and speed of vehicles don’t permit. Once you slow down, there’s a whole world that you never noticed before. The beauty of walking is that it engenders an appreciation of an ecosystem’s sheer perfection: every tiny element has its place, and plays its role.

Stripping away the layers between you and an untamed setting beckons forth your primal instincts: your hearing, sight and smell all sharpen in response – and your appreciation of what you perceive is heightened as a result.

At Serian, we walk in our own private conservation area – a strictly no-vehicle zone that only we have access to. Here, you are likely to have close encounters with elephant, buffalo, hippo as well as more rare species like Chandler’s Mountain Reedbuck, klipspringer and oribi.

We employ scouts whose job it is to patrol the area and look out for snares, and walking in their company yields an insight into the land from the point of view of someone who roams it every day and knows it intimately.

For so many, the definition of a night drive has come to be a quick scan around with spotlights en route back to camp after sundowners. For us though, it’s an exploration of the enigmatic nightlife that we are oblivious to as we sit around the dinner table and proceed to bed. Nocturnal creatures emerge, the heavens are festooned with stars, and the landscape mutates into a whole other world by the light of the moon.

Take a flask of soup and a picnic dinner, and set out with a spotlight: if nothing else, the solitude and silence by starlight is reason enough in itself. Using red-filtered bulbs to avoid dazzling the animals, scan the plains for that pride of lion looking ready to hunt.

Once you’ve spotted them, switch to infrared floodlights, and watch the scene unfold through our infrared cameras. This is as close as you’ll get to invisibility, watching the wildlife without the fact of your presence affecting it.

An early morning departure from Serian will see you at your launchpad. Suspended in a basket beneath the balloon's canopy, you float over the plains and above the forest alongside the Mara River, checking out hippos, crocodile and elephant from high above.

The flight time is generally in the region of one hour and ends with a champagne breakfast in the open grassland within the reserve. An unbeatable start to the day!