Amboseli, Lake Naivasha – Hell’s Gate, Lake Nakuru & Masai Mara

We’ll pick you up early from your Kenya beach hotel or residence and bring you to the Mombasa Railway Station.

0800 hrs.  Depart Mombasa for Emali (near Amboseli Park) on the new Madaraka Express.

We’ll pass through Tsavo East & West National Parks, enjoy scenic views and perhaps spot some wildlife as well.

10:52 hrs.  Arrive at Emali Train Station where your safari driver/guide will meet you and bring you to Amboseli National Park.

The drive from Emali Station to Amboseli will introduce the first taste of safari life. Look for the local farms along the way and Maasai tribesmen herding their cattle.

The sight of great Mt. Kilimanjaro will welcome you to the park. We’ll stop at our accommodation to freshen up for lunch.

Then we’re off on the first of many game drives. You’ll see elephants tromping on their way to a favorite watering hole, their young and babies in tow. Look for Africa’s Big Five – they’re all here.

As evening approaches the cloud cover sometimes obscuring Kilimanjaro’s snowy summit may drift off, leaving one of Africa’s most stunning and iconic views.

We’ll be spending two nights at Amboseli at your choice of safari lodge or tented camp.

We’ll enjoy plenty of game drives today but also relaxation time as you choose. Just tell your driver/guide what you’d like to do.

But we’ll begin the day with an early morning game drive – the perfect time to appreciate the park coming alive with the first stirrings of wildlife.

We’ll enjoy breakfast at our accommodation and then set out again for more game viewing. The foliage at Amboseli is sparse which makes the animal spotting more accessible. There’s plenty of wildlife in addition to the elephants and many sightings are common.

Lunch will follow and then perhaps some relaxation at your lodge or tented camp. But your driver/guide is always available for more game drives.

Check out Observation Hill for views of the park and sightings of elephant, buffalo, hippo, and the waterfowl frequenting the marsh.

Our second night at the park at your lodge or tented camp.

We’re on a safari so we’ll enjoy another early morning, breakfast and then a short game drive as we exit the park.

We’ll be traveling through the Great Rift Valley and arrive at Lake Naivasha around lunchtime.

After lunch, we’ll take a boating safari on freshwater Lake Naivasha, gliding past mighty hippos and enjoying the rich birdlife.

The feeling is easy here, with the sounds of nature all about. We’ll next take a guided walking safari to nearby Crescent Island Sanctuary and visit the grazing zebra, buffalo, giraffe, and impala.

The evening is spent at Lake Naivasha at your lodge or tented camp.

(You can choose to go to Lake Bogoria instead if you’d like to view the larger flocks of flamingoes there.)

Let’s get up early and bicycle over to Hell’s Gate National Park where we’ll pass close to peacefully feeding antelope, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and more.

Then a quick one-hour drive will bring us to Lake Nakuru National Park to view the lake with its busy birdlife including kingfishers, ostriches, herons, eagles, and some flamingoes.

This park is quite diverse, offering us the chance to spot large predators like lion and leopard, but also the rarer and more endangered black and white rhino.

We’ll overnight here at your choice of safari lodge or tented camp.

We’ll be up with the birds… or even earlier to make the most of our time here. And then some game spotting as we take an exit drive from the park.

We’re on the road to our final destination, the world’s most famous park and Kenya’s most popular – Masai Mara National Reserve.

We’ll arrive in time for an afternoon game drive.

Look out over the vast stretches of the Mara with its rolling hills, golden plains, and picture-perfect acacia trees throughout the landscape. This is a special place, natural in its setting and filled with wildlife as it has been through the ages.

We’ll enjoy the first of two nights in the park at your safari lodge or tented camp.

Get ready for a day of rich game viewing. The Masai Mara has one of the densest concentrations of wildlife anywhere in the region. The Big Five are here with an unusually large population of lion.

This is a rich and varied eco-system, rewarding safari-goers with a wonderful variety of sightings. Should you be in the park during the Great Migration (July – October) you’ll be witness to a vast invasion of zebra, wildebeest, gazelle and more – tens of thousands of grazers streaming in, continuing their endless cycle of sustenance.

We’ll head down the Mara River, site of the crossing animals, and witness predators lying in wait – crocodiles, lions, and more. It’s the entire drama of the natural order, all playing out before us.

While at the park, you can join several optional activities for your enjoyment. Visit the local Maasai at their nearby village to learn about their culture, lifestyle and perhaps pick up some of their beautiful, beaded handiwork. For a once-in-a-lifetime experience, opt for the early morning hot air balloon ride over the Mara. Seeing the land and wildlife emerge into the day is a stunning and never forgotten adventure.

Our final safari night will be spent here at your Mara accommodation.

After a leisurely breakfast at your lodge/camp, your dedicated driver guide will assist you with the checkout process and proceed to Nairobi – Kenya’s colorful capital city.

On the way, your guide will point out the Longonot extinct volcano which is a strato volcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s and its name is derived from the Maasai word Oloonong’ot, meaning “mountains of many spurs” or “steep ridges “.

You can opt to drive via Naivasha for lunch/excursions at an extra cost or drive straight to Nairobi and pass by Kiambethu farm for the tea farm tour inclusive of a three-course buffet lunch (at an extra cost) OR drive straight back to the capital and later transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International airport for your back home.

We will bring you to your hotel, residence or the airport.

It’s been a week of non-stop safari action filled with lots of memories, stories and maybe some photos too. We hope you had a spectacular time. On behalf of all of us at African Vulture Safaris, thank you for your trust and patronage. And let us know when you’re ready to embark on your next safari!