6-Day Amboseli, Lake Naivasha and Mara – Luxury

• You’ll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

After pickup from the airport, you’ll have an early morning start and drive to Amboseli National Park. On arrival, check in at your accommodation and have lunch. Then have an afternoon game drive. Amboseli National Park is situated due south of Nairobi. Most of the park consists of a dry, ancient lake bed and fragile grassland with patches of acacia woodland, while in the southern area there is a number of small, rocky, and volcanic hills. Around the swamps Ol Kenya, Ol Tukai and Enkongo Narok, the vegetation is lush with yellow-barked acacias and phoenix palms.

You’ll rise up early for good views of Mount Kilimanjaro before the clouds build up over the summit with packed lunch provided. An optional visit to a Maasai village can be planned after breakfast. The visit reveals the singing and dancing that are part of their daily lives and sacred rituals. A glimpse into their homes and social structure is a poignant experience. Despite its changing habitat, Amboseli National Park is possibly the best wildlife area in the whole of Africa to experience elephants at close range. Less unharassed by poachers, elephants feeding and bathing in the swamps must form the highlights of any safari.

Have an early morning drive to Lake Naivasha. It is the highest and the most beautiful of the Rif Valley lakes. At 1910m (6200f), the water is fresh and the lake is fringed with dense clumps of papyrus (ancient Egyptians once used this to make paper). Kingfishers use the papyrus as a perch, herons hide in it while searching for food.

Naivasha is yet another area popular for bird watching (over 400species have been recorded). It is also a favourite weekend retreat for Nairobi residents, who come here to sail, water ski and fish. There are no crocodiles in the lake as the water is too cold for them, due to the altitude there are a number of hippos. Along the lakeshore, vineyards produce grapes for the country’s fledgeling wine industry.

Depart early in the morning to Masai Mara National Reserve. Arrive in time for lunch then have an afternoon game drive. Mara holds on as one of the few places on earth where wildlife still lives comparatively undisturbed, in the numbers that once roamed the plains and forests of Africa. As the northern tip of the vast Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara hosts the spectacular seasonal migration of many thousands of wildebeest, zebras and attendant predators.

After breakfast, we’ll have a full day game drive, with packed lunch provided. The reserve is well known for its black-manned lion, as well as its abundant resident wildlife and its one of the few places where it’s possible to see the Big Five during a morning game drive.

Many of the cheetahs are so tame that they seek shelter from the hot sun under one’s vehicle and several even climb onto the roof to get a better view of prospective prey. For the bird enthusiast, almost 500 species have been recorded: among these 16 species of eagle, many hawks and falcons, 6 species of vultures, 8 species of storks 4 of bustard (including the kori bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird), and 9 species of sunbirds.

Have a morning game drive in Mara and in the afternoon, transfer to Nairobi at arriving at about 5:00 pm. Lunch will be en route.

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• You’ll be dropped off at the airport.