ELEPHANT FOOTSTEPS SAFARI 2025

Day notes

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 in Karen where you will stay for 2 nights.

Day notes

Awake, have a sumptuous breakfast courtesy of the House of Waine 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 shopping and lunch at the Matbronze Wildlife Art gallery. You will then head the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Nairobi Elephant Nursery for a 3PM Private visit. 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 our experience with the Ellies we head back to relax at our bed and breakfast spot – dinner at leisure, overnight at House of Waine

Day notes

On day 3, 

On day 5, you will have an early breakfast after which you will be transferred to Wilson Airport  to catch your scheduled flight to Samburu Game Reserve where you will stay for 3 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. On one of the days you will visit Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. 

While at Samburu National Reserve, we will host you at Elephant Bedroom Camp 

Day notes

Today you will awake have an early breakfast and drive to Kalama Airstrip to catch your flight to Wilson Airport to connect onto another scheduled flight to Tsavo West National Park. Here you will indulge in Game drives, explore the Shetani Lava Flow that came from Mt. Kilimanjaro volcanic activity years ago, visit to the renown Mzima Springs  and so much more. Here you will be hosted for 3 nights at the now awaiting to be open - Sheldrick's Wildlife Trust Rhino Valley Lodge. 

Day notes

Today you awake early have breakfast and check out of Rhino Valley Lodge for your drive to Voi aiming to make the Voi 11AM Mud bath session. After the mud bath session you will drive to Galdessa Little Camp for check in, lunch and a relaxing afternoon. You will spend 3 nights in Galdessa doing optional game drives, visits to the mud bath area and perhaps visit to the stockades on one of the evenings. 

Day notes

On day 12, you will awake have your breakfast and Galdessa farewell embarking on a leisurely 2.5-hour drive to Ithumba – Tsavo East which will be your home for the next 3 nights. Ithumba is one of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant re-introduction locations located in the Northern Area of Tsavo East for elephants who have graduated from the Nairobi Nursery.  This experience will give you exclusivity of elephants, keepers, and a lush, lax tented home all to yourself, having early morning/evening visits to the elephant stockades and 11am mud baths sessions topped up with amazing sundowners at their infinity pool. You will explore Ithumba area for 3 nights 

Day notes

On day 15 you will awake head to the stockades to bid the elephants and the keepers farewell, return to camp for breakfast, freshen up, pack, and embark on a leisurely 2.5hour drive to Umani Springs Lodge which will be your home for the next 2 nights. ***Recommendation to leave early so that you make it for the 11am elephant mud bath session*** Umani Springs is one of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant re-introduction locations for elephants who have graduated from the Nairobi Nursery.  This experience will give you exclusivity of elephants, keepers and a lush, lax home all to yourself, having early morning/evening visits to the elephant stockades and 11am mud baths sessions topped up with amazing sundowner settings at Umani Springs Sundowner deck. 

Day notes

On day 18, you will awake early, have breakfast, freshen up, pack, and embark on a 3-hour drive to Amboseli National Park where you will stay for the next 3-nights. This is where you get to see elephants in the wild, living in harmony with other animals. Amboseli National Park is an open ecosystem boasting huge herds of elephants, zebras, buffaloes, hyenas, lions, giraffes, gazelles, and numerous bird species not to forget the magnificent Mt. Kilimanjaro. Here you will indulge in mostly morning and late afternoon game drives as this is when you get action of the elephants getting into and leaving the swamps and crossing the park roads from or to where they call home. There is an opportunity to visit the Amboseli Elephant Trust to get enlightened about the work of Cynthia Moss universally recognized by her work researching elephants from the 1980’s. The talk and visit to AET must be pre-arranged early and pre-booked

Day notes

Today you awake at leisure, have an early breakfast, and bid Amboseli farewell. A drive to the airstrip to catch your scheduled 45-minute flight back to Nairobi. Arrive Wilson Airport. On arrival at Wilson Airport, you will be transferred to the Airport Hotel where you will have a day room to re-group and relax awaiting your transfer later to JKIA terminal to catch your flight back home.