7 Days Chimp & Wildlife Kenya Safari

Day 1: Arrive Nairobi

Touching down in Nairobi, our Trip Leader meets you and handles your transfer to the Tamarind Tree Hotel booked on bed and breakfast, the legendary starting point for Grand Safaris since the days of the earliest explorers. Located in Nairobi, Tamarind Tree Hotel provides an outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre and garden. Featuring a terrace, the property is located within 5 km of Kenyatta International Conference Centre. Guests can enjoy a selection of seafood dishes in the on-site restaurant. All units in the hotel are fitted with a flat-screen TV with satellite channels. With a private bathroom, rooms at Tamarind Tree Hotel also feature a garden view. The rooms will provide guests with a desk and a kettle. A buffet breakfast is available daily at the accommodation. Speaking English and Swahili, staff at the 24-hour front desk can help you plan your stay. Nairobi National Museum is 6 km from Tamarind Tree Hotel, while Freedom Heights Mall is 700 m away. Overnight at Tamarind Tree Hotel Nairobi.

Meal plan: {Breakfast the following day}.

Main Destination: Nairobi

Accommodation: Tamarind Tree Hotel Nairobi

Meal plan: {Breakfast and Dinner}

Day 2: Nairobi – Olpajeta Conservancy – Sweetwaters Game Sanctuary
Today we travel to the exotic Sweetwaters Tented Camp in the secluded heart of Ol Pejeta Ranch and Rhino Reserve. Here, these magnificent beasts are given sanctuary from those who would take their lives to sell their horns. Here too, the Jane Goodall Institute operates a remarkable Chimpanzee Sanctuary where we meet the primates face to- face. Our camp also overlooks one of the busiest waterholes in the area and offers elephant, giraffe and myriad plains game. This is Africa as Teddy Roosevelt saw it years ago when he led one of the first safaris to tour Africa in comfort and splendor. Our tents at Sweetwaters will remind us of this bygone era. We get a closer look at the conservancy during two extensive game runs. On the plains are enormous herds of grazing animals plus predators—cheetah and black-maned lion— hiding amidst acacia trees. The combination of amazing wildlife and stunning views across the open plains of Ol Pejeta guarantees an unforgettable safari experience. Ol Pejeta Conservancy boasts an astounding variety of animals including the non-indigenous chimpanzees and the rare endangered black rhino, Somali Ostrich, Gravy Zebra, Beisa Oryx and Jackson’s Hartebeest.

Main Destination: Olpajeta Conservancy – Sweetwaters Game Sanctuary

Accommodation: Sweetwaters Serena Tented Camp

Meal plan: {Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner}

Approximate Transit time: 3 hours

Day 3: Olpajeta Conservancy – Sweetwaters Game Sanctuary- Aberdare National Park

Rise and shine in the peaceful Olpajeta Conservancy and Sweetwaters Game Sanctuary after a good night’s sleep surrounded by nature. After breakfast at the lodge we travel up into the cooler Aberdare Mountains, making our way to our next game viewing destination in the 4×4 vehicle. Arriving in the Aberdare Highlands we have lunch at the Aberdare Country Club which looks out over the surrounding wilderness. Once we have had lunch we move on to our nearby accommodation, The Ark Tree Lodge. Watch the animals that frequently visit the lively waterhole beside the lodge, from a series of viewing decks and areas at different levels. Spotting animals at the floodlit saltlick and watering hole into the night, with common visitors including elephants, buffalos, rhinos and even leopards. Wind down with dinner and drinks in the bar, overlooking the active waterhole.

Main Destination: Aberdare National Park

Accommodation: The Ark Lodge

Meal plan: {Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner}

Approximate Transit time: 3hours

Day 4: Aberdare National Park -Lake Nakuru National Park

Wake up with a refreshing tea or coffee at The Ark, and then we head to the Aberdare Country Club for a tasty breakfast. After breakfast we collect our belongings at the lodge and drive down to Lake Nakuru, one of the Great Lakes of East Africa’s Rift Valley. Reaching the Lake Nakuru National Park we make our way to our next safari lodge, game viewing en route. Tuck into lunch at Flamingo Hill Camp, inside the national park, and take a nap or dip in the pool. This afternoon we go game viewing in Lake Nakuru National Park, set around the shallow soda lake. Originally established as a bird sanctuary Nakuru is a Ramseur Wetland Area, known for its spectacular birdlife. When water levels are high enough massive flocks of flamingoes have been known to gather at Lake Nakuru. Highlights on our 4×4 game drives may include sightings of tree-climbing lions and both black and white rhinos, for which the reserve is better known today. Commonly sighted animals include giraffes, baboons, zebras, buffalos, antelopes and hippos, with rare finds including leopards. Return to the safari lodge after our wildlife viewing adventure in Lake Nakuru Park to have dinner and watch a traditional dancing show.

Main Destination: Lake Nakuru National Park

Accommodation: Flamingo Hill Camp

Meal plan: {Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner}

Approximate Transit time: 5hours

Day 5: Lake Nakuru National Park – Masai Mara National Game Reserve

Goodbye central Kenya and hello Masai Mara, safari land of legends. Drive southwest and straight into the world-famous Masai Mara National Reserve. We overnight at Mara Base Camp, lunch and dinner included. Settle in and take a dip in the pool, then it’s time to experience one of the finest game viewing destinations in the world. We head off in our 4×4 with pop-up roof; each passenger guaranteed a window seat as before. We drive across the open plains in search of the Big Five and the abundance of other wildlife in this beautiful game reserve. The game viewing in Masai Mara is outstanding all year, but the highlight is the Great Migration when masses of herbivores stampede across plains and rivers. More than a million wildebeest, gazelles, zebras and other plains game move between Mara and Serengeti every year, with numerous predators in tow.

Main Destination: Masai Mara National Game Reserve

Accommodation: Mara Base Camp

Meal plan: {Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner}

Approximate Transit time: 6hours

Day 6: Discover Masai Mara National Game Reserve

A full day of game viewing in Maasai Mara lies ahead. Note you can  opt to have an early morning game drives with picnic breakfast or have an early breakfast and depart with picnic lunch thus having the entire day for game drives returning back at the lodge before dark falls. You can also opt to visit Maasai village to learn about their culture (optional at USD$30). We roam the savannahs in our 4×4, on early- and mid-morning game drives then back to the lodge for lunch before the grand finale – one last game drive in Kenya’s top game park. At the end of an awe-inspiring day of wildlife watching we sit back and have dinner and a drink at the bar.

Main Destination: Masai Mara National Game Reserve

Accommodation: Mara Base Camp

Meal plan: {Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner}

Day 7: Masai Mara National Game Reserve – Nairobi

Wake up in the Masai Mara and tuck into a scrumptious breakfast at the lodge. Sadly the time has come to bid farewell to the grand landscapes of Africa and drive back to Nairobi in the 4×4 safari vehicle. We get to the city in the afternoon, dropping you off at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport again, or your post-safari accommodation.

Main Destination: Nairobi

Meal plan: {Breakfast}

Approximate Transit time: 5hours