Iconic Kenyan Wildlife Tour

06:00 hrs.  Your driver/guide will pick you up from your Nairobi hotel or Nairobi airport. We’ll take the Mombasa/Nairobi Highway in our private Land Cruiser Jeep for Tsavo East.

Along the way, we’ll make stops to stretch and enjoy the scenery.

Arriving at Tsavo East you’ll know you’ve come to a large and legendary park, home to tales of the Man-Eating lions. Notice the oxide-red soil – the red dusted elephants like to roll in it and give themselves a unique rosy coat.

We’ll begin our first game drive of your 9 - day safari looking for the big animals like lion, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, and more, over this vast and rugged terrain.

Your driver/guide will point out the special sites and of course, all the wildlife you’ll be tracking.

Tonight, we’ll stay in Tsavo East safari lodge/ tented safari camp.

Today we start off with an early morning game drive.

You may have heard of Tsavo’s red dust elephants. The soil here has a rusty colour from oxidation so when the herds are ready for a dirt bath, they roll in this ruddy earth presenting a colourful coat for us to admire.

The park will offer us opportunities to find other “Big Five” like the black rhino, Cape buffalo and leopard. On our game drives through Tsavo’s rugged plains we’ll also be tracking the famous maneless Tsavo lions, whose man-eating reputation from a century ago still sparks fascination and a little excitement.

A sure spot to find some of this wildlife is at the Aruba Dam, a beautiful structure that has formed an impressive watering hole. Thousands of animals are attracted to its waters, and we’ll be there as they nourish themselves at this life-giving oasis.

Overnight at your Tsavo East safari lodge or tented safari camp.

Now that we’re on a safari schedule, we’ll be up with the birds to hear their song and catch the first breaking light upon the park. It’s time for an early game drive to search for the wildlife as it awakens to the new day.

We’ll breakfast and then enjoy another game drive as we exit the park for the short trip to Tsavo West.

The look is different here with more colours to the landscape and the inclusion of all the Big Five. That means Tsavo West features rhinos and we’ll head over to the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary to track these fascinating but sometimes elusive creatures.

We’ll spend our safari night at your Tsavo West safari lodge or tented safari camp.

Before our breakfast, let’s see who we can spot on the way to their breakfast with an early morning game drive.

The park and its natural features are stunning this time of day as the light is soft at this golden hour.

Some of the park’s population may be headed for Mzima Springs, a natural, fresh oasis. We’ll join them to view hippo, crocodile, fish, and birds amidst the crystal waters and green canopy of this lush spot.

It’s soon time for the short drive to Amboseli National Park and we’ll have lunch, relax and head out for an afternoon game drive.

Amboseli’s signature landmark is the grand form of Mt. Kilimanjaro soaking up the south view of the park. With the great herds of elephants and other wildlife, it all combines to create postcard views throughout the reserve.

We’ll spend the night at your Amboseli safari lodge or tented safari camp.

We’ll be up early for a final shorter game drive and bid farewell to our many elephant friends as we leave the park and journey through the Great Rift Valley. Seeing this exciting landscape with its dramatic escarpment will inspire us to stop and enjoy the views (Lunch enroute).

We should arrive at freshwater Lake Nakuru in time for game viewing drives.

Lake Nakuru dazzles with its birdlife but also its scenic beauty. You’ll find storks, herons, and eagles in this bountiful spot and one of Kenya’s largest populations of black rhinos.

We’ll take game and bird watching drives around the lake, through the forest and over the woodland. Look for the big predators like lion, leopard, and cheetah, but also smaller wildlife in the forests like hyena, waterbuck, olive baboon, and colobus monkey.

Please note that due to some progressive natural factors like increasing water levels , the flamingo numbers have been reducing  but the park itself remains  stunning – one of Kenya’s finest. Great rocky escarpments tower over acacia forest, waterfalls, wooded hills and euphorbia trees dot the lake.

Following the rich topography of the park, we’ll also be on the lookout for the rare Rothschilds giraffe, gazelle, jackal, and mongoose. This is a vivid natural environment and you’ll be struck by its density and diversity.

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

The birdlife here will inspire us to rise early so we may enjoy the dawn and the park as it gradually awakens to the new day.

We’ll head in our 4 x 4 along the floor of the scenic Great Rift Valley for more dramatic vistas as we journey to Lake Borgoria National Park.

The park is an enchanting mix of bubbling geysers, steaming hot springs, and an alkaline lake hosting thousands and sometimes millions of pink flamingoes.

Wildlife like gazelle, impala, and dik-dik roam here and we may spot them in the vicinity of the busy lake.

Your second night will be either at Lake Bogoria or Lake Baringo depending on your choice of safari lodge or tented camp.

We will depart early from Lake Naivasha to maximize our time at our next and Kenya safari destination, Masai Mara National Reserve. This is one of the top African photographic safari destinations with excellent game viewing all year round.

But now it’s time to buckle up and head out for the mighty Masai Mara National Reserve – call it the best African wildlife safari destinations in the world.

The Masai Mara may well be the world’s most famous wildlife park. It’s certainly one of the most popular. There is a dense concentration of wildlife on these rolling hills and golden savannahs, with a special emphasis on lions and other big cats.

We’ll get here in time for an afternoon game drive to get you familiarized with the park’s beautiful terrain, complete with Africa’s iconic acacia trees.

The sunsets here are also spectacular.

Return for dinner and overnight at your Masai Mara tented safari camp/ safari lodge.

We’ll get started early to take advantage of this natural wealth on the first of unlimited game drives throughout the day. Just speak with your driver/guide as to how you’d like to plan your time in the park.

Another signature feature of the Masai Mara is the occurrence of the Great Migration (July – October) – simply the greatest procession of wildlife animals on the planet. During the season you’ll see uncountable hordes of gazelle, wildebeest, and zebra fording the Mara River in a timeless cycle as they search for more vegetation.

We’ll take our lunch down at the Mara River perhaps viewing the migration but also looking for hippo and crocodile who make the river their home. While nearby in the hills and on the plains other predators lie in wait for the grazers in the natural order of the wild.

For a spectacular finish to your 9-day adventure, we offer an optional pre-dawn hot air balloon safari over the park. There’s nothing like rising with the sun over the great park and watching it come alive in the dawning day. You’ll be talking about it for years. Your guide will be happy to make the arrangements.

Enjoy dinner and overnight after return to the Masai Mara tented safari camp/ safari lodge.

Wrapping up your African safari package today is a leisurely morning breakfast at your tented safari camp/ safari lodge, afterward you have an option to visit the Masai village before starting your journey back to Nairobi.

Your dedicated expert driver guide will assist you with the checkout process and proceed to Nairobi with stops along the way. We’ll depart Masai Mara with a hot lunch stop along the way, arriving in Nairobi during late afternoon hours (approximately 15:00Hrs, typically 3:00 Pm) and bring you to your Nairobi hotel, or the Nairobi airport.

Drop off at your Nairobi City hotel /Nairobi airport.

We hope you soaked up plenty of Africa’s wildlife sightings on this busy tour. It’s been our pleasure to have you as our guest and from all of us at African Vulture Safaris, a big thanks!