A camping safari staying in small private mobile camps is one of the best ways to experience Kenya's natural attractions. The safari has been designed to include a variety of habitats and wildlife.
Game drives
Bush walks
Night drives
Private game sanctuaries
The camps are sited in private conservancies so that walking and night drives may be taken but are also conveniently located for easy access to Amboseli and Nakuru national parks and the Maasai Mara.
Transport is by four-wheel-drive Toyota Landcruiser with roof hatches. Your driver-guide is a wildlife and nature expert and member of the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association. Equipment is carried in a trailer behind the vehicle. When in camp the trailer is removed and game drives are done in the vehicle. Tents are heavy-duty canvas dome tents for 2 persons. You will need to bring your own sleeping bag and a towel, but all other camp furniture and equipment, including a high density sleeping mattress, is provided. Camps are set up on private, exclusive camp sites. At each camp, work like washing up, heating water for showers, doing the cooking and serving the food is done for you, but you would be required to help put up and take down your tent. An experienced safari cook travels with the safari. Food is of the same quality as in a luxury camp and is included in the price (ie. no extra kitty or local payment). Departures are every second Sunday.
Day 1 Amboseli National Park Meet and transfer to your safari vehicle to be driven from Nairobi to Selenkay Conservation Area (102 miles, 3 hours), arriving for a late lunch after setting up camp. Evening game drive to explore the Conservation Area. Dinner and overnight in the camp at Selenkay.
Selenkay Conservation Area and Amboseli National Park The Selenkay Conservation Area lies in the heart of Maasailand a few miles north of Amboseli National Park. It is an important dispersal area and rangeland for wildlife in the Amboseli eco-system. The local Maasai community has set aside the area for a reserve for wildlife so that the habitat can be protected and wildlife conserved. The community is receiving an income from leasing the area for ecotourism and also receives an entry fee for each tourist visitor. All roads have been constructed using local labour so that the members of the community gain employment from the Conservation Area. In addition to the road maintenance team, Game Scouts have been employed to carry out patrols to see that the wildlife is protected.
Selenkay Conservation Area is well off the beaten track and has not been visited by tourists until recently. The animals are truly wild and not fully habituated to the presence of vehicles, so their behaviour is more natural than in parks where they are accustomed to many visitors. The numbers of tourist visitors are being limited to under thirty per day to retain the wild and unspoilt nature of the area, and to minimise the impact on the environment. Visitors on our camping safari are unlikely to see any other tourist vehicles in the Conservation Area and will have the opportunity to walk with Maasai trackers and to take a night drive to see the nocturnal animals. Selenkay is linked to Amboseli National Park by a track through the bush so that we have the opportunity to spend some time in the park.
Day 2 Amboseli National Park Early breakfast and then drive through the bush into Amboseli National Park for good views of Kilimanjaro and close-up observation of elephants, as well as many other species. Return to Selenkay for lunch. Afternoon walk with Maasai trackers. Dinner followed by a night drive to seek out the nocturnal animals. Overnight in the camp at Selenkay.
Day 3 Lake Nakuru Morning drive back to Nairobi and on to Kigio Conservancy (165 miles), with a picnic lunch en route. Set up camp and then take an evening walk in the Kigio Conservancy. Dinner and overnight in the camp at Kigio.
Kigio Wildlife Conservancy and Lake Nakuru Kigio is located beside the Malewa River on 3,500 acres, about thirty miles south of Lake Nakuru. The expansive private conservancy area offers the opportunity to walk safely amongst wildlife. Learn how to identify animal spoor, and about the traditional use by the local people of medicinal properties of the many plant species in the conservancy. In addition to plains game like zebra, giraffe and antelopes, birdlife abounds and a walk along the river gives the opportunity to see hippo and maybe even a python!
Lake Nakuru, a shallow alkaline lake, lies about 30 miles north of Kigio on a tarmac road. The lake is world famous as the location of the greatest bird spectacle on earth, myriads of lesser flamingo - whose numbers are legion, often more than a million - and which literally turn its shores pink. They feed on the abundant algae which thrive in the warm waters. But flamingos are not the only avian attraction, as the lake environs are rich in other birdlife. There are over 400 resident species on the lake and in the surrounding park. Large numbers of pelicans concentrate by the fresh-water streams that flow into the lake, and thousands of other birds may be seen including African fish eagles, white-winged black terns, stilts, avocets, ducks and in the European winter, the migrant waders.
The national park surrounds the lake, offering a wide ecological diversity, from lakeshore, woodland, grassy plains to rocky escarpments and ridges. It now has one of the largest concentrations of rhinoceros in the country (both black rhino and white rhino), so the chances of spotting these are very good. There are also a number of Rothschild's giraffe, translocated for safety from western Kenya.
Day 4 Lake Nakuru Early morning departure after a continental breakfast for a full day in Lake Nakuru National Park, with a picnic lunch. In addition to the spectacle of the masses of flamingo we expect to see rhino in addition to many other species and have an excellent chance of sighting leopard. Return to camp in the evening for dinner and overnight.
Day 5 Masai Mara After breakfast, pack up camp and drive to Siana Springs Group Ranch in the Masai Mara (140miles) to set up camp. After lunch take an afternoon drive into the surrounding area to see some of the wildlife for which the Mara is famous. Return to the camp for dinner and overnight.
Siana Wildlife Conservancy and Maasai Mara The conservancy is a vast wilderness area owned by the local Maasai people and stretching alongside the Mara Reserve. This is prime wildlife country. From the private campsite you explore the surrounding savannah plains to seek out the huge variety of wildlife species for which the Mara is famous, in particular the large population of lions. Considered by many to be Kenya's finest wildlife area, the 650sq miles of the Maasai Mara adjoin Tanzania's well known Serengeti, forming one eco-system. The open rolling savannah grassland of the Mara is the home of numerous animals including elephant, rhino, lion, cheetah, leopard, hyena, jackal, buffalo, eland, topi, impala, gazelle, warthog and zebra. From June to September, the annual wildebeest migration takes place when thousands of these animals sweep across the plains and seek out new grazing areas.
Day 6 Masai Mara An early breakfast followed by a full morning in the Mara, taking a picnic lunch. Return to the camp for dinner and overnight.
Day 7 Masai Mara This morning we pack up camp and return to Nairobi (180 miles, 4 hours), arriving about 13.00.
Rate includes . transport in 4x4 . accommodation in two-person tent (sharing) . all meals . mineral water . all park fees . game drives and activities
Rate excludes . drinks other than mineral water (a stop is made en route to each camp to enable you to buy wine, beer or soft drinks as required) . medical insurance (it is compulsory that you have your own medical and accident insurance) . bring own sleeping bag and towel
