| Full Itinerary
DAY 1
NAIROBI
Whenever you arrive, you'll be personally
met and escorted to the city's finest hotel, the Norfolk.
In the afternoon, Jim takes you on a privately guided walking
tour of the city. You'll see Parliament, enjoy tea at the
legendary Thorntree Cafe, and visit the famous National Museum.
Jim then hosts a welcome dinner at one of the city's finer
restaurants.
DAYS 2 & 3
TSAVO
Quick charter flight from Nairobi into Kenya's
largest national park, Tsavo. We'll be staying for two nights
at the famous Kilaguni Lodge, Kenya's first, opened in 1948
and refurbished to preserve all of its early charm. Tsavo
satisfied the most demanding imaginations of what Africa should
be: endless vistas of bush and old red-dusted volcanic hills
and valleys. The park is specially famous for its elephant.
There will be time to visit Mzima Springs, where several underground
rivers coming from Mt. Kilimanjaro erupt over a lava bed creating
a beautiful clear lake filled with hippo and croc.
DAY 4
AMBOSELI
After breakfast drive across the fascinating
Shetani Lava Flow into the lush Chyulu Hills, with spectacular
views of Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro. Lunch at
Tortilis Camp before an afternoon game drive. Amboseli is
one of the most scenic places in Africa. Actually a huge usually
dry soda lake, the large central swamps and forests attract
abundant game. This is where so many important scientific
studies of elephants were made, and the park is packed with
jumbos. Classic pictures of herds of zebra or a sleeping lion
in front of the backdrop of Mt. Kilimanjaro have graced more
postcards of Africa than any other park.
DAY 5
AMBOSELI/LAKE NAKURU/LAKE NAIVASHA
Dawn game drive, then in mid-morning charter fly to the Great
Rift Valley lakes. These are a series of beautiful lakes that
formed as Africa began splitting apart millions of years ago.
One of the most spectacular is Lake Nakuru, home to tens of
thousands of flamingoes. Nakuru is significant as a national
park bucking modernization as the nearby town of Nakuru leaps
into the modern age. Carefully managed, Kenyan authorities
have fenced in this national park, and as a result, it has
become one of the world's most important reserves for rhino
and the rare Rothschild Giraffe. We'll have an elegant picnic
in the park and in the afternoon travel to the sister Lake
Naivasha for dinner and overnight in an old colonial homestead,
Loldia House.
DAYS 6 & 7
LAKE NAIVASHA/SAMBURU
Glide over the silver waters of Lake Naivasha at dawn as
the hippos and birds awaken to another African day. Then,
a quick charter flight into the Great Northern Frontier, and
the contrast of terrains is startling. The flight alone is
spectacular, as it skirts the great glaciers of Mt. Kenya,
Africa's 2nd highest mountain. The verdant highlands give
way to the frontier desert, and you may wonder why on earth
we're heading into this part of Kenya, but there is a great
river that cuts through the desert at Samburu. The veld blooms
and great numbers of animals are attracted to the palmetto
forests and flowering bush that spreads from its banks. For
two days we'll game view in this remarkable place, filled
with so many rare animals, like the Grevy's zebra, and the
world's most handsome giraffe, the reticulated. Outstanding
birdlife and striking desert scenery.
DAYS 8 & 9
LAKE TURKANA
Today we charter fly towards the Ethiopian and Sudanese
borders. Only 14% of Kenya is arable; the rest is mostly desert,
and for the next two days we explore one of the most remote
and mysterious places in all of Africa, the great Jade Sea,
or Lake Turkana. Several million years ago, this was probably
a part of the Nile, and judging from the many precious early
man discoveries along the current lakeshore, it was a Garden
of Eden. Today this massive 180-mile long lake is surrounded
by harsh desert. Primitive Turkana and other nomadic tribes
carry on a lifestyle as they have for millennia. During our
two days here we'll visit Central Island, where the world's
largest crocodiles live. In fact, everything up here is beyond
measure: the 25-foot crocodiles, 400-pound perch, and the
indescribable vistas. As remote and inhospitable as the area
is, we'll enjoy extraordinary comfort at Lobolo Lodge on the
lakeshore.
DAYS 10, 11 & 12
MAASAI MARA
Kenya is a study in a contrasts, and our charter flight
from Turkana into Kenya's best game park, the Maasai Mara,
is one of the most remarkable changes you've ever experienced.
For three days we'll explore the gently rolling grassland
plains and great river systems that have provided such oustanding
game viewing for so many people for so long. The density of
lion in the Mara is greater than anywhere else in Africa.
Its plains are often filled with game from horizon to horizon.
And we'll stay at one of the most eloquent camps in all of
East Africa, Il Moran. (The Mara's famous hot air ballooning
lifts off right across the river from camp.)
DAY 13
NAIROBI/Depart
After a final morning of game viewing,
fly back to Nairobi where individual rooms are available at
The Norfolk prior to Jim's farewell banquet and your transfer
to the airport.
Departures
Any time based on a minimum
of 4 people
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