Kenya Safari

DAY 1 : Arrive at Ol Pejeta Ranch

After having had a few beers the night before, there’s no rush this morning and after a leisurely breakfast we will be picked up by a Land Cruiser or minivan and taken to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy just west of Nanyuki, about 3 hours’ drive along good roads. Ol Pejeta is not a national park but a large ranch conservancy (in common with several similar systems across Kenya) that seeks to integrate wildlife conservation and wildlife tourism with sustainable farming. It is financially self-sustaining and doesn’t rely on any government handouts. It is East Africa’s largest black rhino conservancy, the only place in Kenya to host chimpanzees, and has one of the highest big predator densities in Kenya. The vast ranch maintains a very small number of camps of various levels, of which Sweetwaters Camp is one and which will be home for the next 2 nights.

Sweetwaters sits on a natural waterhole at the centre of the 110,000 acre conservancy and has a small number of permanent tents most with views of the waterhole so you can kick back and watch the giraffes and rhino visiting the waterhole from the comfort of your bed! The former colonial farm manager’s house also has a laid back bar and restaurant, a pool and for those of you with aching legs after your efforts on the mountain, you can also grab a massage. After we have settled in we will head out for an afternoon game drive and with the cool evening air we hope to spot quite a few of the famous big five.

(BLD)

DAY 2 : Safari at Sweetwaters

We’ll be woken early for the pre-breakfast morning game drive and can watch the sun rise over Mount Kenya as we search for game. The drives are dictated by the movement of the animals but the guides are always in contact with each other and share locations of the game. Elephants, giraffe, buffalo, leopards and rhinoceros and lions all wander freely through the reserve and there will be plenty of opportunities to get some great photographs. We’ll be back for a late breakfast and then have time to relax – as the heat kicks in the animals retreat into the shadows and disappear until it begins to cool down once more.

Sweetwaters is also home to a Chimpanzee Sanctuary, initially established to receive and provide lifelong refuge to orphaned and abused chimpanzees from West and Central Africa, the Sanctuary is now home to 42 chimpanzees being carefully nursed back to health so they can enjoy the rest of their days in the safety of a vast natural enclosure, this is a great place to visit during the daytime whilst the majority of the game are taking a siesta. Late afternoon we will again head off on safari before we crack open the Tusker beers and relax into dinner.

(BLD)

DAY 3 : Naivasha Park and transfer to Nairobi

Another early start for a final game drive, exploring a different area of the conservancy before a late breakfast.

After we have eaten and packed we head to Naivasha where we will have an early lunch in the country park and an afternoon visit to the Crescent Island game park.

Naivasha is one of the most beautiful parks in Kenya situated on the shores of the fresh water Lake Naivasha. The lake is 18 metres at its deepest and attracts huge amounts of wildlife. Crescent Island is actually a peninsular accessible by boat – the lake is home to many hippos that will clearly be visible as we cross the lake – before taking a a leisurely walk and getting seriously up close and personal with zebra, giraffe and impala in this predator-free park. The shores of the lake abound with birdlife especially huge numbers of pelicans, cormorants and fish-eagles with their haunting cry. We plan to depart at Naivasha around 6:00pm for our transfer back to Nairobi so as to catch the late night flight back home arriving into the UK the next day,  (if no night flight we’ll be catching the early morning flight on Day 4).

(BL)

DAY 4 : Arrive UK

Today you arrive back in the UK early morning, or afternoon if on the day flight.

On some occasions, there are no night flights and if that’s the case you will leave early this AM on a day flight and arrive back in the UK later this evening.