A Tour of Kenya’s Wildlife and Culture
On this camping excursion to northern Kenya, you’ll go to remote, wild, and secluded places that most tourists don’t see. Travel by 4×4 Land Cruiser along rough African roads to see Nairobi, Lake Turkana, and the stark Chalbi Desert. Then see the lush Marsabit National Park and the game-rich Samburu National Reserve. You can also explore Sibiloi National Park, Maralal, Sweet Waters, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Day 1: Get to Nairobi
Come to Kenya for the safari to see the gorgeous nation. Our guide will be at the airport to greet you and give you the keys to the Land Cruiser. You will go to Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi for dinner and a night.
Day 2: Explore Nairobi
Nairobi has some of the coolest things to do in a day. There are nature sanctuaries, museums, craft fairs, and cultural events. You can’t do all of these things, so we’ll pick a couple to do today. The Karen Blixen Museum located at the foot of the Ngong Hills. Go there first to learn about her life and work in Kenya. Then we went to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage to see a newborn elephant play in the mud and eat. After this, go to the Giraffe Center to feed the giraffes up close or even kiss one. The center is a safe place for the endangered Roth infant giraffe. The last stop on the tour will be a craft center where women manufacture exquisite crafts and pottery.
Day 3: Move to Samburu National Park
You will leave for your 6-7 hour trip to Samburu National Game Reserve after breakfast. You will get there about lunchtime. Eat your supper, relax for a little, and then go on an afternoon game drive in this beautiful reserve in northern Kenya. You will see numerous species, such as lions, zebras, hippos, reticulated giraffes, oryx antelopes, and more. Later, you’ll go back to Samburu Intrepids Tented Camp or Samburu Riverside Camp for dinner and a night.
Day 4: All day in Samburu National Reserve
In this beautiful reserve in the northern part of Kenya, you’ll wake up and shine. You’ll have breakfast and lunch packed because you won’t be going back to the lodge. After that, your Safari driver/guide will pick you up for a full day of game viewing in this lovely Reserve, where you will see a lot of wildlife, including the Big 5 animals, except for the Rhinos. In Samburu Reserve, you can see a lot of different species, such as Oryx, Zebras, Elephants, Buffaloes, Lions, Cheetahs, Gerenuk, and Leopards. After spending the whole day here, you will go back to your lodge for dinner and sleep, as described before.
You might also choose to visit the Samburu homesteads for a cultural tour or experience.
Day 5: Move to Marsabit
You have breakfast early today. Then you drive south to the Marsabit outpost. We stop along the road to take in the beautiful desert scenery and the gigantic crater of Gof Redo. When we got to our campsite in Marsabit, we set up tent and went to a resort in the adjacent Marsabit National Park. Marsabit is a town that is almost completely encircled by the lush hills of Marsabit National Park. It is much cooler than the low-lying desert plains in the area, which is why it is called “place of cold.”
We drive up to the lovely Lake Paradise and Little Lake, two of the gorgeous seasonal lakes on Mount Marsabit, if the roads are OK. Marsabit National Park is a magnificent oasis of native rainforest that rises above the sweltering plains. It is surrounded by desolate desert. The national park is home to a wide range of wild animals and birds, such as kudu and elephants with big tusks. We go back to the Lake Paradise campsite for dinner and the night after touring Marsabit Park.
Day 6: Kalacha/Chalbi
We woke up early this morning to eat breakfast before heading out into the Chalbi Desert (if the weather is good). We drive to Kalacha through North Horr if the weather is dry enough. If the roads are too wet, we go around the desert instead of through it.
Today, we’re going to the little, remote settlement of Kalacha, which is near an oasis on the edge of the Chalbi Desert. The Gabbra are an Eastern Cushite group of people that we meet here. These semi-nomadic pastoralists depend on camels for a lot of things, and you may see them walking around Kalacha. Tonight, we sit back and watch the sun set over the dry land. After that, the local Gabbra will perform, but you can choose to pay extra for it. Dinner and a stay at the Kalacha campsite
Day 7: Move to Sibiloi National Park
You will have to leave for Sibiloi National Park, which is 1,570 square kilometers (600 square miles) along the shores of Lake Turkana. The only water source in the area is the alkaline lake. The land around it is a mix of dry, semi-desert vegetation and open country approaching the desert. The national museums of Kenya helped start the park to safeguard significant paleontological and archeological sites, some of which are connected to the beginnings of mankind. Dinner and a stay at the Lobolo or Sibiloi campsite
Day 8: A full day of touring Sibiloi National Park
After breakfast this morning, go for a game drive in the park. Look for animals like Grevy’s zebras, Grant gazelles, lions, leopards, striped hyenas, Beisa Oryx, greater kudu, cheetahs, caracal, and northern topi. While you’re driving, enjoy the beautiful views of sand dunes that rise up to 40 feet and visit the park’s oasis, where hot rocks make water flow. After the game drive, you’ll have lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon, you’ll go to Lake Turkana Island, where crocodiles spawn. There, you can view the crocodiles and hippos, as well as many other birds that live around the lake. Come back for dinner and stay the night at your lodge.
Day 9: Move to Loiyangalani or Lake Turkana.
We start the long trip to Lake Turkana after breakfast on the second day. We drive through Baragoi and South Horr today to get to the little village of Loiyangalani on the southeast bank of Lake Turkana.
Later this afternoon, we get to our next campsite in Loiyangalani and pitch up camp. Then you can rest and soak in the empty landscape of this hot and secluded area. Lake Turkana is the biggest alkaline lake in the world and the biggest desert lake in the world, with a surface area of around 7000 km². The lake is in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, which runs 288 kilometers across northern Kenya and slightly into Ethiopia. The Chalbi Desert is to the east of Lake Turkana, which is also called the Jade Sea. Dinner and a stay at the Elmolo campground
Day 10: Looking around Lake Turkana
On day ten, you will explore Lake Turkana, its dry surrounds, and the intriguing civilizations that live there. You can go around and swim at the resort nearby, or you can pay extra for any of the other activities that are available here. You can rent a boat if you want to view more of the lake and look for Nile crocodiles and birds. To learn more about life in this tough climate, go to el Molo and Loiyangalani town or one of the other Turkana settlements. Visit the Desert Museum to learn more about the natural history and native cultures of Lake Turkana. We will gather back at camp for dinner after a fun and relaxed day at the lake.
Day 11: Move to Maralal
After breakfast, you’ll go to Maralal. We can stop at Thompson Falls to see the beautiful 74m tall cascade, which you can pay for directly. We stop for lunch on the way and get to our campsite in the late afternoon. After putting up the tents for our first night of camping, we sit down to eat and get some sleep after a long trip. Ngari Hill guest house and campsite for dinner and a night
Day 12: Walking and riding camels
After breakfast, you will go on a camel ride or see animals. There are zebras, elands, hyenas, and other species in the park. You will witness the Samburu people, who live in this hard area, on the route. Most of the people that live in the small market town of Maralal are Samburu. You will watch them going about their everyday lives. The Samburu are a smaller group of the well-known Maasai people of Kenya. These semi-nomadic people are noted for being friendly and have kept their traditional traditions more than the Maasai.
Day 13: Move to Sweet Waters
After breakfast, we drive from Samburu to the magnificent Sweet Waters Private Sanctuary in the morning. Check in and have lunch at the magnificent camp, which is located on a private ranch and chimpanzee sanctuary in the middle of nowhere. With your guide, spend the afternoon visiting the game sanctuary. Dinner and a night at the Sweet Waters Serena Camp.
Day 14: Visiting Sweet Waters
After breakfast, you can spend the whole day exploring the sanctuary, which is home to the big five, many birds, a black rhino, and a water hole that faces your rooms. This water hole draws animals during the day and night. The camp offers night game drives.
Day 15: Move to Lake Naivasha
Play a game in the early morning, eat a big breakfast, and then drive to Lake Naivasha. Take a break and have lunch. After that, go on a boat ride on Lake Naivasha to look for hippos and birds. After the boat journey, you’ll have time to relax or wander to the adjacent hamlet to meet some people before you enjoy a great meal at Naivasha West Beach Camp or Fisherman’s Camp.
Day 16: Move to Lake Nakuru National Park
You will check out of the accommodation after breakfast and then go to Lake Nakuru National Park. When you get there, check in at Enjoro camp for lunch. Then, in the afternoon, go on a game drive to see a lot of animals, like rhinos, buffaloes, and many others, but not elephants. You will also see a lot of birds. Drive back to the camp site for dinner and a night’s stay.
Day 17: Discovering Lake Nakuru
You will go on a game drive around the lake shore after breakfast. In addition to the iconic flamingos, almost 400 other kinds of birds come to the lake. The park is home to a lot of different types of wildlife, such as the Rothschild’s giraffe, black and white rhino, waterbuck, reedbuck, lion, buffalo, leopard, baboon, and many types of plains game.
Day 18: Move to Masai Mara
After breakfast, go down the escarpment to Narok Town. Stop for a brief snack before continuing on to Masai Mara. Get there in time for lunch and relax while you wait for the afternoon game drive. In the afternoon, we go on game drives across the Mara plains, which are known for their large cats. You can stay the night in Ol Moran tented camp or Talek camp site and have dinner.
Days 19 and 20: Exploring the Masai Mara
Have breakfast at the lodge, then go on a full day game drive with a picnic lunch. Spend the day at Kenya’s most popular wildlife refuge, Masai Mara, where you have a good chance of seeing the Big Five: lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino, and elephant. You can go on game drives whenever you choose. You can spend the whole day in the park with picnic lunch boxes, or you can go on game drives in the morning and evening. You can pay extra to visit a nearby Masai community and witness how they live as nomads. The Masai are known for being fearless because they have lived with animals for a long time. You can also go for a hot air balloon ride.
Day 21: Go to Nairobi
You will leave the Masai Mara National Reserve for Nairobi after breakfast. Please drop off at the airport before you go.
END OF 21 DAYS IN KENYA
The Package has:
Transportation on the ground
Campgrounds and food
Fees for parks
Drives through the game
Walks in nature or games
English-speaking driver services and meals on the way
Not including:
Insurance for travel.
Airline tickets
Fees for Visas
Insurance for You
Personal costs including beverages, tips, laundry, phone calls, and cigarettes.
Fees for tips.
Drinks that are soft or have alcohol in them.
