Kenya safari, Masai Mara safari
| country: | Kenya |
| location: | Masai Mara, Rift Valley |
| departures: | 2008: 6 Jul, 3 Aug, 17 Aug, 31 Aug, 14 Sep, 28 Sep, 12 Oct, 26 Oct |
| price: | From US $1575 (7 days) excluding flights on our regular scheduled small group departures. Private departures can usually be booked to depart on any date to suit you or your group |
read 19 travellers reviews
the amazing things you'll be doing
A journey of discovery through Kenya that is more than just one wildlife park after another. Discover the contrasting scenery, wildlife environments and cultures of the Maasai savanna, Kikuyu Lake areas and the Great Rift Valley.
As well as superb wildlife viewing opportunities we include insights into the way of life and cultures of local communities. This way you get a much more rewarding and richer safari experience and the local people get a more direct share of the benefits that foreign visitors can bring.
Accommodation is in a bush camp (fully supported), permanent tented safari camps (with beds and hot water showers) small bungalows and optional night in local villager's house. The bush camping section on this trip allows us access to wilder areas. We do not generally use the luxury lodges but neither do we compromise on health, safety or reasonable comfort. Lodge accommodation can be arranged for private group departures if required. Equipment is carried by vehicles or local porters, you only carry a day-pack with personal gear. When camping you will not have to participate in camp chores. We buy fresh produce locally and to ensure good standards of hygiene all food is prepared by our own staff. We can cater for special dietary requirements and there are no extra food-kitty payments.
As well as superb wildlife viewing opportunities we include insights into the way of life and cultures of local communities. This way you get a much more rewarding and richer safari experience and the local people get a more direct share of the benefits that foreign visitors can bring.
Accommodation is in a bush camp (fully supported), permanent tented safari camps (with beds and hot water showers) small bungalows and optional night in local villager's house. The bush camping section on this trip allows us access to wilder areas. We do not generally use the luxury lodges but neither do we compromise on health, safety or reasonable comfort. Lodge accommodation can be arranged for private group departures if required. Equipment is carried by vehicles or local porters, you only carry a day-pack with personal gear. When camping you will not have to participate in camp chores. We buy fresh produce locally and to ensure good standards of hygiene all food is prepared by our own staff. We can cater for special dietary requirements and there are no extra food-kitty payments.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Drive from Nairobi via the Maasai town of Ewaso Ngiro for lunch and colourful market visit. Then into the bush to a small Maasai homestead (“boma”) for insights into their fascinating culture and way of life. Our stay here supports their small primary school and we can arrange visits during term times. Overnight camp under acacia trees by a small spring – dinner round camp-fire, starlit skies and sleep to the sounds of the African night – often lions and hyenas roaring in the distance. (Don’t worry! – our camp is guarded by the Maasai all night). |
| Day 2: | Optional 2-3 hour walking safari along small river course and through the savanna for wildlife viewing with the Maasai as guides and interpreters of their lands, where you will often walk amongst giraffe, impala, zebra and wildebeest. Drive to a natural hot spring at Maji Moto (where you can take a dip or just dip your toe in) and then on to our secluded camp in the Masai Mara and late afternoon game drive. Or option to hike all or part-way up nearby Naumare Hills to watch an invariably stunning sunset over the Mara. Overnight in our comfortable permanent tented safari camp. |
| Day 3: | Ecologically the Masai Mara is an extension of the great Serengeti plains and teems with wildlife. We spend all today in the reserve on game drives and this is where you can see elephant, buffalo, lion, cheetah, leopard, zebra, giraffe, hippo, crocodile and a whole ark-full of other animals. Our expert naturalist guides and 4WD vehicles ensure you have the very best chance of seeing them all. From July to September, the Mara is home to the great wildebeest migration. Overnight again in our permanent tented safari camp. |
| Day 4: | After another morning game drive in the Mara (to spot any animals you may have missed yesterday) we drive up and over the forested Mau Escarpment, and descend to Lake Elementaita, a soda lake on the floor of the Great Rift Valley and overnight in small bungalows right by the lakeside with thousands of pink flamingos just a few metres away. |
| Day 5: | Early start for short drive to Lake Nakuru. This is a smallish but spectacularly picturesque park with abundant wildlife and where there is an excellent chance of seeing the rare rhino – both black and white species, vast herds of buffalo and the unusual Rothschild's giraffe. It has also had nearly 400 species of birds recorded within its boundaries. Return to bungalows again at the Elementaita lakeside for overnight. |
| Day 6: | A day exploring the lakeside environment. There won’t be time for everything but there are options to bathe in hot springs (with amazing heat tolerant fish); explore an archaeological site where early humans sat and made stone tools; visit a school (in term times); visit nearby Kikuyu farms and homesteads. There is also a possibility of an overnight stay in a villager’s house for fascinating and personal insights into the lives of the locals, enhancing your African experience and providing an additional income for the homeowner (no extra cost but advise in advance please). Or relax in the afternoon watching the flamingos and pelicans, while the sun goes down over the lake. Bungalows overnight. |
| Day 7: | After early breakfast drive to Lake Naivasha, a vast freshwater lake, famed for its bird life particularly fish eagles, love-birds and pelicans. There are also many hippos and we take a morning boat trip to see some of them. Leave mid morning for return to Nairobi arriving around lunchtime. |
travellers' tales
It could have been the Wildebeast crossing the river, or the pride of lions with cubs at a kill, or the cheetahs, or the 2.2 million Flamingo's or the Sea eagle as it swooped down beside our boat to grab a fish. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
 There are no woolly "wherever possible" or "if available" caveats to our commitments to responsible travel practices benefiting local communities. We believe that all members in local communities must see rewards from tourism if they are to have an interest in safeguarding their environments. In Kenya we have negotiated directly with local community leaders to provide the services we require. These enable our clients to share village life and cultural insights with the Maasai or Kikuyu (including home-stays) and the community benefits directly from the visit. In addition, we have a number of schemes in primary schools to provide books, uniforms, building materials and pay school fees and our clients have the chance to visit these during the safari if they wish. These schools are Morijo, Ololulunga, Olanganaiyo, Sekanani and Githero Primary schools. All of our hotels and bush campsites, are locally owned and staffed by Kenyans. In the Mara we lease our permanent campsite direct from the Maasai run Siana Wildlife Trust. All of our foodstuffs are bought locally - often involving our clients in the shopping from markets along the way. Our drivers and guides adhere to the behaviour guidelines for conservation as set out by Friends of Conservation. Our staff are paid well above average wages and have contracts of employment with agreed conditions of service. We do not recruit on tribal or cultural allegiance grounds. We employ many local guides and camp assistants en-route. Treating our staff fairly creates loyalty to our company and commitment to providing our clients with superb service. We provide our clients with advice on responsible travel behaviour and encourage them to share their cultures with the peoples they meet as a way of improving understanding of our two very different life-styles. With the exception of the overheads for a small UK office - all of the money paid for this safari remains in Kenya - and with Kenyans. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |