Land of Great Wildebeest Migration & Big Cats Safari

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta Int’l airport –Nairobi (NBO), gateway to your thrilling Kenya safari; you will be transferred by our representatives to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to acclimate to your new time zone as you prepare for the African adventure that awaits you. Overnight at Tamarind Tree Hotel. Meal Plan: Breakfast

The day trip begins at 07.00hrs AM by picking you up from your hotel and depart to Nairobi National Park for an exciting 4-hour game viewing drive. The drive is timed to spot the big cats when they tend to be more active. Wide open grass plains and a backdrop of the city scrapers, scattered acacia bush play host to a wide variety of wildlife including the endangered black rhino, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, buffaloes, giraffes and diverse birdlife with over 400 species recorded. After your game drive, we will exit the park and enjoy a short drive to the conservation center at the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. It is here that orphaned or injured baby elephants and rhinos are taken to rehabilitation in their natural habitats. Baby elephants of all ages delight guests as they feed and play. Feeding time is from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thereafter, we will head to Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens for lunch (at traveler’s expense).

After lunch we will visit the nearby Giraffe Center and have a completely up close and personal interaction with the endangered Rothschild giraffes, as well as feeding them from an elevated platform. Then we visit the beautiful Kazuri pearl factory which employs disadvantaged members of Kenyan society, especially single mothers.

Kazuri means "small and beautiful" and that's exactly the kind of pearls they produce here. The mission of the factory is to provide sustainable employment for local women in Nairobi and to contribute to the fair-trade market. After the trip, we return to the hotel arriving in the evening. Overnight at Tamarind Tree Hotel. Meal plan: Breakfast.

Breakfast in the Hotel. 0700hrs depart with your dedicated safari driver guide to Amboseli National Park arriving in time for lunch at Kibo Safari Camp with game viewing en-route. The Lodge is Set against the magnificent backdrop of Africa's highest mountain, the glittering Mount Kilimanjaro.

Amboseli is a place of stark contrast, the name meaning “salty dust” in Maasai. Amboseli, despite its sometimes dry and dusty appearance, has an endless supply of water filtered through thousands of feet of volcanic rock from Mt. Kilimanjaro’s snow melt. These underground streams converge into clear fresh water springs in the heart of the park. If you are lucky, you may get to see the shimmering dry lakebed with false mirages of populated horizons.

Do not miss the dawn game drives, when the plains are golden with the new day’s sun and the predators are most active. This is truly a magical time. Overnight at Kibo Safari Camp or Similar. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Full day in Amboseli National Park with morning and afternoon game viewing drives. Up at dawn – the Amboseli plains are golden with the new day’s sun. This is also the time that the lions go on their hunts. Every turn will bring a new wildlife surprise. Elephant are a dominant presence in Amboseli. Here, you are able to spot some of the older “tuskers” lumbering almost delicately before the backdrop of highest free-standing mountain in the world - Mount Kilimanjaro. Herds of zebra and wildebeest are easily seen. Amboseli is also the home to Cape Buffalo, hippo, eland, giraffe, as well as cheetah. Overnight at Kibo Safari Camp or Similar. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

After an early breakfast in the Lodge, check-out and depart to Nairobi then proceed north to the edge of the escarpment over the Rift Valley before descending into the valley and to Lake Naivasha, a large freshwater lake surrounded by grassy banks and olive trees. Cruise the lake on a boat, watching for hippos, crocodiles, and buffalo; and peer through your binoculars to spot lovebirds, ibis, and the African fish eagle. Step ashore at Crescent Island—a peaceful wildlife sanctuary located in the middle of the lake— and enjoy a guided stroll in search of wildebeest, zebras, and giraffes. Overnight at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge or Similar. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Travel to the legendary Masai Mara National Reserve and arrive in time for lunch at our Lodge, located in the heart of the reserve. This afternoon we will enjoy the first of several game drives in this remarkable game area. Returning to the lodge for dinner. Throughout the year the Maasai Mara is a place of natural drama, a kaleidoscope of color and life. The famed "Big Five" - elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo - roam the reserve, together with hundreds of other species, from the fastest animal on earth, the cheetah to crocodiles and magnificent birds of prey. Overnight at Mara Prideinn Club Villas Tents. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Special Activity:
Hot Air Balloon Safari
We highly suggest the balloon safari at dawn over the Maasai Mara with a champagne bush breakfast, from $530 per person.

Enjoy full day game drive in Mara. Technically Mara is an extension of Tanzania's renowned Serengeti National Park. The park stands Centre-stage to one of the most spectacular phenomena of the natural world -The Great Annual Wildebeest Migration, futured as one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”. The Great Migration is the largest herd movement of animals on the planet. In fact, with up to 1,000 animals per km², the great columns of wildebeest can be seen from space.

The numbers are astonishing: over 1.5 million wildebeest and 300,000 zebras along with topi and other gazelle move in a constant cycle through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in search of nutritious grass and water, every year from July to September.

Guided by survival instinct, each wildebeest will cover 800 to 1,000km on its individual journey along age-old migration routes. Hungry predators including lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, wild dog and crocodiles make sure only the strongest survive in this natural spectacle also known as ‘the greatest show on Earth’. The journey is beset with danger: young calves are snatched by predators, the slow are brought down by prides of lion, brave beasts break legs on steep river slopes, crocodiles take their share of the stragglers, and the weak and exhausted drown.

The three groups of migrant grazers have different grass-eating habits: as one group eats the top of the tallest grass, the next group will eat away some of the medium-height grass, until finally it is almost completely eaten, and the herds move on. This means each group sticks to their own kind with only a small overlap in their distributions. The grasses of the plains have the highest protein content in the whole of the Mara, as well as being high in calcium.

It is unclear how the wildebeest know which way to go, but it is generally believed that their journey is dictated primarily by their response to the weather; they follow the rains and the growth of new grass. While there is no scientific proof of it, some experts believe that the animals react to lightning and thunderstorms in the distance. It has even been suggested that wildebeest can locate rain more than 50km away. In the evening after game drive, Visit to a Maasai Village for a glimpse into the lives of this semi-nomadic tribe. Kenya recognizes over fifty tribes of native people. The Maasai were the dominating tribe at beginning of 20th century. They are one of the very few tribes who have retained most of their traditions, lifestyle and lore. In common with the wildlife with which they co-exist, the Maasai need a lot of land. Unlike many other tribes in Kenya, the Maasai are semi-nomadic and pastoral: they live by herding cattle and goats. A Maasai warrior is a fine sight. Those young men have, to the utmost extent, that particular form of intelligence which we call chic; daring and wildly fantastical as they seem, they are still unswervingly true to their own nature, and to an immanent ideal. Their style is not an assumed manner, nor an imitation of a foreign perfection; it has grown from the inside, and is an expression of the race and its history, and their weapons and finery are as much a part of their being as are a stag’s antlers. Overnight at Mara Prideinn Club Villas Tents. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Breakfast in the Lodge. Later depart and drive to Nairobi, on arrival we proceed to Carnivore Restaurant for lunch / dinner (at traveler’s expense). Meats are roasted on traditional Maasai swords over a huge charcoal pit that dominates the restaurant's entrance. The rough-hewn beams combine the rustic feel of a rural setting with that of a medieval banqueting hall. The Carnivore doesn't conform to the familiar restaurant traditions.  After dinner, we shall transfer you to the airport for your homebound flight. Meal Plan: Breakfast

Enjoy your Safari experience!!