Situated along the Nairobi River in beautiful Kenya, the capital of Nairobi is East Africa's most cosmopolitan city. It serves as an excellent starting point for African safari trips around Kenya. Nairobi is Africa’s 4th largest city and is a vibrant and exciting place to be. There are some fascinating attractions: its cafe culture, unbridled nightlife, the National Museum, the Karen Blixen Museum and most notably, just 20 minutes from the city centre, wild lions and buffalo roam in the world’s only urban game reserve. Make sure you pay a visit to the elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for a once in a lifetime experience.
One of Africa’s finest wildlife reserves, Solio Game Reserve, also called Solio Ranch, is a privately-owned wildlife conservancy. It rests in the southern fringes of Laikipia, near the foothills of the Aberdare range. Best known as Kenya's oldest rhino sanctuary, it is renowned for its major role in the breeding and protection of black rhinos in Kenya. This family-run, private 71-square-kilometre sanctuary is also home to an array of other African wildlife including white rhinos, gazelles, oryxes, giraffes, lions, hartebeests, hyenas and buffaloes. Visitors can soak up the incredible landscapes scattered with wild marsh and yellow-fever acacia meeting wide-open skies, stay overnight in the inviting Solio Lodge and spot wildlife on a dawn game drive. Other Solio activities include hiking, horse-riding and cycling near the airstrip and in safe areas.
Resting at the foothills of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Mountain Range, in central Kenya's Laikipia County, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa. It is also home to some of the last remaining northern white rhino in the world. Originally a working cattle ranch in colonial Kenya and now a pioneering wildlife conservancy, Ol Pejeta works to protect wildlife and provide a sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees. The Conservancy is a popular safari destination and is home to the renowned ‘Big Five’ as well as a wide selection of other African animals including zebra, giraffe, hippo, cheetah, jackal, serval, hyena, vervet monkey, and many more. Visitors can look forward to an assortment of outdoor activities such as horse rides, game walks, and nocturnal game drives.
Elmenteita, meaning ‘place of dust’, is a photogenic, little soda lake situated in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. Famously attracting many visiting flamingos as well as many other birds, it has been named as a World Heritage Site for its prolific birdlife. This is where Kenya’s most famous settler Lord Delamere lived and he was responsible for much of Kenya’s early agricultural experimentation in this fertile area; it is still inhabited by some of his descendants. The shores are often filled with wildlife and the surrounding forests are perfect for long walks and bird watching. Visitors can look forward to visiting the idyllic Kekopey hot springs, game viewing along the lake’s edge, and numerous other activities. Look out for eland, kudu, zebra, gazelle, and warthog families.
The Masai Mara together with Tanzania’s Serengeti form Africa’s most famous wildlife park, the Masai Mara National Reserve. The image of acacia trees dotting endless grass plains epitomises Africa for many, then add a Maasai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need go no further. The undeniable highlight of the Masai Mara National Reserve is undoubtedly the annual wildebeest migration traversing the vast plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. It is known as the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. Large prides of lions, herds of elephants, as well as giraffes, gazelles and eland can also be spotted in the reserve. Aside from horse riding safaris and traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Mara plains has become almost essential.
