DAY 1: ARRIVE NAIROBI
You arrive in Nairobi with your flight ***Preferable PM flight***. You will be met by an Absolute Vantage representative who will then facilitate your transfer to your Bed & Breakfast accommodation – Macushla House in the suburbs of Karen for overnight.
DAY 2: EXPLORE NAIROBI
Awake, have a sumptuous breakfast courtesy of Macushla House and make your way to the Giraffe Centre for an up-close and personal touch with the endangered Rothschild’s Giraffes. The Giraffe Centre also known as African Fund for Endangered Wildlife have played a pivotal role in breeding the Rothschild Giraffes and re-introducing them back into the wild ever since the late 1970’s and double up as a Conservation Education centre for the Kenyan Youth. A 1 hour stay here is enough to be followed by a pre-booked 11AM public visit to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to see the baby elephants. This visit puts you in touch with elephants under the age of 2 years who have gone through traumatizing near death situations, lost their families and parents
and are now orphaned – thanks to the Trust for having given them hope, a new home and family for them to grow and later own will be introduced back into the Wild. After this we head to the an pre-booked spot for lunch and afterwards some souvenir shopping. We then head back to our accommodation to digest all we had for the day as we look forward to the safari days to come.
On Day 3, after an early breakfast you will be transferred to the Railway station for a 4-hour train ride to Voi Station. There you will be picked up and driven to Galdessa Camp in Tsavo East which will be your home for the next 3 nights. Galdessa Camp is Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s newest property composed of two separate camps: Galdessa Camp and Galdessa Little. With its safari-style setting and front row view of all the wildlife activity on the Galana River, Galdessa Camp invites guests to immerse themselves in the untouched corners of Tsavo. Foster parent guests also have special access to the SWT’s Voi Reintegration Unit with prior written permission from Nairobi office, you will have a firsthand look at SWT’s work raising and rehabilitating orphaned elephants. Galdessa was originally built in the early 1980s, but it was later purchased by SWT. It was completely rebuilt in 2018, incorporating luxury touches while preserving the integrity of the property and the old-world charm it evokes
DAY 6: TRAIN RIDE BACK TO NAIROBI
On Day 6, after an early breakfast, you will be transferred to Voi Train Station to board your train back to Nairobi. Upon arrival in Nairobi, you will be met by an Absolute Vantage driver guide who will transfer you to the Tamarind Tree Hotel for check in and lunch. An easy afternoon at the Tamarind Tree Hotel or better still if you need to move around Karen or Nairobi for shopping and any sight-seeing, the driver guide is at your disposal for the day. Overnight at the Tamarind Tree hotel.
DAY 7 – 10: EXPLORE SAMBURU
After your Amboseli experience, on Day 7, you will be transferred to Wilson Airport to catch your flight to Samburu Game Reserve where you will stay for 4 nights. The Samburu National Reserve was one of the two areas in which conservationists George and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness, made famous in the best-selling book and award-winning movie Born Free. The reserve is rich in wildlife with fame for abundance in rare northern specialist species such as the Grevy Zebra, Somali Ostrich, Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk and the Beisa Oryx (Also referred as Samburu Special). The reserve is also popular with a minimum of 900 elephants. Large predators such as the Lion, Leopard and Cheetah are an important attraction (Kamunyak the Miracle Lioness that adapted the baby Oryx is a resident in the reserve). Wild dog sightings are also a common attraction to this unique protected area. Birdlife is abundant with over 450 species recorded. Birds of the arid northern bush country are augmented by several riverine forest species. Lesser Kestrel and the Taita Falcon are species of global conservation concern and they both utilize the reserve. Five species categorized as vulnerable have been recorded in the reserve. These are African Darter, Great Egret, White-headed Vulture, Martial Eagle and the Yellow-billed Oxpecker. Critically endangered species under CITIES – Pancake tortoise (malacochersus tornieri) is found in the reserve.
DAY 11 - 14: EXPLORE MAASAI MARA
After your Samburu experience, On Day 11, you will be transferred to Kalama Airstrip where you will fly to the Maasai Mara for 4 nights stay. The Maasai Mara is well known for the annual wildebeest migration in which we have crossings take place in the Mara River between the months of July and September thereabouts. As a result, the Mara is home to the big cats and a range of herbivores not to forget the big five. Some of the famous wild animals in the park you are likely to encounter include lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, buffalo, leopard, cheetah, many kinds of birds, antelopes, and elephants.
At an extra cost of approximately $500, you have the option of taking an early morning balloon ride over the Mara plains that will be crowned with a champagne bush breakfast. As you ascend aerially, beautiful features unfold before your eyes – gentle rolling hills, meandering rivers, and lush grasslands. From this vantage point, you realize that you can locate wildlife with little guidance – giraffes, elephants, gazelles, hippos and many other grazers and foragers. If you are lucky, you may even spot the lordly predators like lions, hyenas, cheetahs, and other hunters You also have the option of visiting a Maasai Village to get enlightened about the Maasai Culture
DAY 15:
Today you awake at leisure, have breakfast and bid the Maasai Mara farewell. A drive to the airstrip for your scheduled 1-hour flight back to Nairobi. Arrive Wilson Airport after which you will be transferred to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for a day room/refresh moment at an Airport Hotel. There you will re-group as you await your transfer to the terminal to catch your international flight back home
