6 Days Best of Kenya Wildlife Trails

(Maasai Mara, Aberdare National Park)

Trip highlights:

This is a six days safari into Maasai Mara, one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in Kenya and Aberdare National Park. The trip will start immediately after your arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport onto Maasai Mara National Reserve through the Great Rift Valley and end in the same airport. You will be able to see plenty of wildlife varying from Kenya's big five; the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and the leopard among a host of other different animal species; not to forget the great interest in the park, the migration of wildebeests, making it the seventh wonder. You will also be able to see other nature’s wonders like waterfalls at the Aberdares and also wildlife. Furthermore, you will travel in a private 4x4 and stay in lodges while on this safari.

6 Days Best of Kenya Wildlife Trails

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival - Nairobi -Maasai Mara National Park

On arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by our tour manager who will brief you on your safari as you depart for Maasai Mara National Reserve, arriving in time to check in at the lodge, take your Lunch and then depart for an afternoon Game viewing drive till dusk.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve, now the New 7th wonder of the world and 4th preferred tourist destination in the world, is a home to wildlife in such abundance and variety that it is difficult to imagine. The most spectacular event of the natural world takes place here; The annual migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra from the Serengeti (Tanzania) in search of water and pasture while being followed on their heels by the predators of the savanna; lion, cheetah, wild dog, jackal, hyena and vulture. It hosts over 450 species of animals which include lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, warthogs, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, buffalo, leopard, many kinds of antelopes and elephants.

Dinner and overnight at Keekorok Lodge or similar

Day 2: Maasai Mara National Park
Depart early in the morning for a pre-breakfast Game Viewing drive followed by breakfast there after at the campsite. Later in the afternoon you will depart for an afternoon Game viewing drive after your lunch till dusk.

OR,

Optional Balloon Flight
You can opt to carry out your game viewing activity on an adventurous and unforgettable balloon flight over the spectacular Mara at an extra cost in the morning. This package includes a champagne drink in the wild

The park inhabits a great number of wildebeests migrating from Serengeti National Reserve, Tanzania, which makes the park almost the same with the same animal species. Their numbers are estimated in the million as this migration starts in July each year when over one million wildebeest along with large numbers of Thompson's gazelles, zebra and other herbivores migrate from the Serengeti plains in Tanzania to fresh pastures in the north and then back south again in October.

Dinner and overnight at Keekorok or similar

Day 3: Maasai Mara National Park
Depart early in the morning for a pre-breakfast Game Viewing drive followed by breakfast there after at the campsite. Later in the afternoon you will depart for a drive or a walk to the Maasai villages near the reserve. You will experience their indigenous lifestyle starting from their mode of dressing, dances, Manyattas (houses) and experience their unique hospitality.

Starting from their dress code, the color red is so significant in that they scare away wild animals as they co-exist with them. They believe that God, Enkai, gave them cattle, therefore they believe that all the cattle belongs to them. That's the reason why they have been known due to their cattle rustling A Maasai Homestead (enkang popularly known as the Manyattas) is made from cow dung and wooden sticks from the leleshwa plant. Women are the ones responsible for putting up these magnificent homes. However, a homestead contains several Maasai houses which are surrounded by a fence made also by branches of the leleshwa plant where the herds of goats and cows are confined in during the night hours.

Dinner and overnight at Keekorok Lodge or similar

Day 4: Maasai Mara- Aberdare National Park (The Ark)
After breakfast, depart for Aberdare National Park having a final game drive en route. You will arrive at the Aberdares Country Club in time for late lunch before you transfer to the Ark. You will sit at the balcony of the Ark watching the animals arriving to quench their thirst at the waterhole in front of the resort in the evening.

The foothill of the Aberdare National Park is covered with huge trees which, the higher you go, gradually give way to bamboo forests. From about 3000 meters upwards the landscape consists primary of Alpine moor land, still higher is an area of grassland with form to time giant lobelias presenting an attractive contrast. The rich vegetation of this park is blessed with crystal clear streams, waterfalls and lakes teeming with fish. This means an ideal habitat for a wide variety of mammal and birds, although the wild life here is still very shy and the lodges often have to put out salt – licks to attract the animals. With a bit of luck it is possible to see the “big five” whereas it may be somewhat more difficult to sight the local black varieties of leopards and servals.

Lunch at Aberdares Country Club, Dinner and Overnight at Sapper Hut

Day 5: Aberdares
Have a full day game viewing after breakfast. You will have a chance to watch wildlife, the waterfalls, the culture of the surrounding Kikuyu Community and find out the significance of the Park to Kenya’s history. You will have a picnic lunch in the wild.

In the Aberdares you find icy rivers, spectacular waterfalls and rain forests. Here elephants, buffalos and other animals visit you at the floodlit waterholes of The Ark. Aberdares National Park has a diverse topography that includes icy rivers, spectacular waterfalls and rain forests. The flora and fauna is quite unique and is not found elsewhere in the country, expect on Mount Kenya. Leopard, elephant, serval, waterbuck, reedbuck, dikdik, rhino and the rare bongo can all be found here. You are sure to see elephants, buffalos and some other animals at the floodlit waterholes of Treetops Lodge. Birdlife is also plentiful, including the monkey eating crowned eagle.

Dinner and Overnight at Sapper Hut

Day 6: Aberdares- Nairobi-Departure
After breakfast, you will depart for Nairobi, with game viewing en route. You will arrive in Nairobi in the afternoon, where you will be treated to a farewell lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant. After lunch, you will be transferred to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your flight home.

End of Safari

Cost Includes:

• Airport transfers
• Accommodation as stipulated in the itinerary
• Transport in a tour minivan
• Services of an English-speaking tour driver/guide
• Game viewing drives and parks entrance fees as per itinerary
• All Government taxes and levies

Cost exclude: -

• Hot air balloon flight in the park- US$ 450 per person extra
  ( Price is subject to confirmation at the time of booking)
• All items of personal nature e.g. telephone call bills, fax / email bills etc.
• Tips and gratuities to hotel, lodges, camp staff and driver- guide.
• Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
• Any local or international flight and departure taxes
• Laundry services
• Any other item not included in our itinerary