KENYA 10 Day

Nairobi – Amboseli National Park – Loisaba Conservancy – Masai Mara
10 Days / 9 Nights

Introduction

The warm, dry-grass smell of the heat-hazed savannah, a lion’s roar rumbling through the star-streaked night, mighty peaks piercing gigantic skies, near-endless bush teeming with life – Kenya is the Africa of your imagination. Planet earth on an epic scale. A place that fills your nostrils, kisses your skin, tingles your spine.

And we’ll deliver you directly into this soul-stirring wilderness, not a minute wasted. Make your way to Meru National Park. Meru National Park offers a diversity of animals unrivalled by any other park in East Africa. Take off for Loisaba, where cutting-edge conservation helps preserve landscapes as dramatic as they are biodiverse. Fly right to the matchless Masai Mara for arguably the finest game-viewing in the world. Our carefully curated Premier Safari  Kenya delivers maximum variety and adventure in high style, with high efficiency. There’s no needless waiting or stops enroute: you’ll be driven straight onto the strip to board our elegant private aircraft – which seat only eight passengers – to soar straight to your next exquisite home, deep in the wilderness. That means more time tracking big cats on foot, learning bird calls, searching for the Big Five and chinking G&T glasses as the sun sinks below the horizon.

Our combination of executive plane, direct flights, top-class guides and luxurious camps and lodges in the most magnificent of locations is A-list decadence at an affordable price. It’s kind to the planet too: we ensure we compensate for your Premier Safari  flight emissions, road transfers and our operational head office power consumption  through  partnerships  with Carbon Tanzania, but you also contribute to Land & Life, a foundation committed to creating a better future for African wildlife and communities. You will help ensure that animals and habitats are protected, that locals see tangible benefits from tourism and that generations to come will also be able to experience the spine-tingling, jaw-dropping, nothing-quite-like-it thrill of a safari adventure.

So travel with Swahiki Village Safaris  to explore deeper, to help conserve more and to spend longer immersed in the sights, smells, sounds and sensations of the African bush

Day 1: Hemingways Nairobi, Nairobi

Nairobi

Situated in along the Nairobi River in beautiful Kenya, the capital of Nairobi is East Africa’s most cosmopolitan city. It serves as an excellent starting point for African safari trips around Kenya. Nairobi is Africa’s 4th largest city and is a vibrant and exciting place, and although it has developed a reputation which keeps tourist visits brief, there are some fascinating attractions: its cafe culture, unbridled nightlife, the National Museum, the Karen Blixen Museum and most notably just 20 minutes from the city centre wild lions and buffalo roam in the world’s only urban game reserve. Make sure you pay a visit to the elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Day Itinerary

Welcome to Kenya!

You shall arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, where you will be welcomed and met by your Premier Safari  representative.

Kenya’s capital and the tech hub of Africa, with a national park spread beneath its skyscrapers, Nairobi is unique. We’ll whisk you away from the hubbub to Hemingways, a sumptuous haven of calm, built on an old coffee plantation at the foot of the Ngong Hills.

It’s ideally placed for exploring – perhaps to feed the inmates at the Giraffe Centre, meet orphaned elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust or visit the Karen Blixen Museum. Or you might simply feel like relaxing on site, where you can wander the bird-filled gardens, dip in the pool, take afternoon tea on the terrace or sip cocktails in the Hemingways bar.

Overnight: Hemingways Nairobi

Hemingways Nairobi, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the world, is an elegant boutique hotel situated in Nairobi’s Karen residential area with magnificent views of the nearby Ngong hills. Sensitively designed for the discerning business and leisure traveller, Hemingways Nairobi offers the full facilities expected in a modern day luxury boutique hotel. The hotel offers forty-five luxury suites which include the Hemingways suite, The Blixen suite, 19 Executive rooms and 24 deluxe rooms. The Hemingways Nairobi Brasserie serves classic dishes and the very best of local and international cuisine and is open everyday for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

Day 2:            Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli, Amboseli National Park

Amboseli National Park

Located in the southern reaches of Kenya, the Amboseli National Park is renowned for its excellent variety of wildlife such as Maasai giraffe, elephant, lion and cheetah and not surprisingly it is one of Kenya’s most popular parks. The landscape of Amboseli is dominated by the majestic snowcap of Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as open plains, acacia woodland, swamps and the massif of Ol Doinyo Orok. The birding is excellent, especially closer to the lakes and swamps. The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to large herds of elephants among other wildlife species. Other attractions include opportunities to meet the Maasai people and soak up spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

Day Itinerary

After a delicious breakfast at Hemingways Nairobi, check-out and transfer to Wilson Airport Nairobi which is the gateway to the flying safaris in Kenya. Time to board the Elewana Executive Grand Caravan. Your Premier Safari  will now take to the Air!

Amboseli is Africa at its most iconic. This vastness of open plains, swampland, thorn bush and fever trees unfurls below snow-capped Kilimanjaro, the world’s highest freestanding peak and an unrivalled safari backdrop.

And what a safari: part of a two million acre ecosystem, crossing from Kenya into Tanzania, Amboseli is one of the best wildlife-viewing locations around. Most notable are its 100-strong herds of elephants – including big old tuskers – but there’s an abundance of other species too, from buffalo and hyena to lion and cheetah as well as over 600 types of birds.

The opulent thatched tents of Elewana Tortilis Camp, your Amboseli base, nestle in a private conservancy, gazing across at Kilimanjaro. An ecotourism award- winner, Tortilis delivers high comfort with a low environmental impact. It also employs some of the best guides in the business, who will reveal both Amboseli’s star attractions and its minute, magical details.

Overnight: Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli

Amboseli is best known for its unrivalled views of Kilimanjaro and the local elephant population. There are over 1000 elephants in the park’s eco-system, featuring some of the largest in Africa. Tortilis Camp is situated in one of Amboseli’s areas of Acacia Tortilis woodland, with the majestic backdrop of Africa’s highest mountain, and the World’s highest free-standing mountain, snow-capped Kilimanjaro. Game drives, walks, sundowners and bush meals take place both inside the park, and within a private 30,000 acre game concession. The tents are all spacious, with king or twin beds and elegant ensuite bathrooms. There is a main lounge, bar and dining area, all exquisitely built with natural materials and thatched roofs.

Activities

Game Drives

With only 10% of Amboseli National Park utilized by most safari vehicles, combined with Tortilis Camp’s unique location on the western edge of the park (most lodges are outside of the eastern gate of the park), guests can enjoy an almost private Amboseli. We also have private gamedriving within our own 30,000 acre Kitirua Conservancy, which is the western part of the Amboseli ecosystem. Tortilis Camp boasts an elite fleet of custom-designed safari vehicles, and highly-qualified guides with intimate knowledge of their “backyards”. Game drives are included in Game Package.

Day 3:            Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli, Amboseli National Park

Day Itinerary

Set your alarm early for the morning game drives. This is when the plains stir, the animals are most active, the big cats are returning from a night of hunting. These are also the golden hours for photographers, as dawn light rose-tints the savannah and Kilimanjaro is most likely to be free of cloud. A lavish breakfast, devoured out in the bush, more than makes up for the 5am start.

Your days don’t end there. Head out on afternoon drives for more encounters – maybe elephants up- close, giraffes drinking at the waterholes and raptors swooping above. Or stride out on a walking safari for a fresh and exhilarating perspective: follow animal tracks, taste bush herbs, meet the Small Five and be amazed by the antics of insects, while completely (but safely) exposed to the bush.

As the day draws to a close, raise a classic African Sundowner: nothing says safari like an ice-cool G&T, sipped as the sun disappears.

Activities

Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli

Amboseli is best known for its unrivalled views of Kilimanjaro and the local elephant population. There are over 1000 elephants in the park’s eco-system, featuring some of the largest in Africa. Tortilis Camp is situated in one of Amboseli’s areas of Acacia Tortilis woodland, with the majestic backdrop of Africa’s highest mountain, and the World’s highest free-standing mountain, snow-capped Kilimanjaro. Game drives, walks, sundowners and bush meals take place both inside the park, and within a private 30,000 acre game concession. The tents are all spacious, with king or twin beds and elegant ensuite bathrooms. There is a main lounge, bar and dining area, all exquisitely built with natural materials and thatched roofs.

Day 4:            Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp, Loisaba Conservancy

Loisaba Conservancy

Set in Northern Laikipia in Kenya, East Africa, Loisaba Conservancy stretches over 20 000 hectares of magnificent African landscape. The terrain is traversed by two permanent rivers and abundant springs which make it a perfect habitat to sustain a myriad of wildlife. It is known as a world-class ecotourism destination offering a variety of unique opportunities for visitors looking to immerse themselves in nature. Spot majestic elephants journeying along the elephant migration corridor, stay overnight in a tented camp under the stars, soak up the incredible views and enjoy a thrilling game safari. Other popular activities include camel-trekking, mountain biking, horse-riding, fishing, guided bush walks, and cultural visits to Samburu villages.

Day Itinerary

After breakfast fly from Amboseli to Loisaba across the equator.

Great game, good looks, high adventure, an exclusive feel and a groundbreaking attitude to conservation make the Loisaba Conservancy one of the most exciting destinations in Kenya. Sitting within Northern Laikipia, it’s a ravishing landscape of rolling river valleys, rich forests and open plains, home to one of the highest densities of leopard, endangered rarities like wild dog and more than 260 species of birds.

As the wildlife is varied here, so are your options for getting out among it. The contemporary-luxe Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp – perched on an escarpment, with unhindered views to Mt Kenya – offers excellent game drives, of course.

Overnight: Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp

Opening in May 2016, Loisaba Tented Camp is one of the most exciting new properties in Kenya, situated on the beautiful Loisaba Conservancy in Laikipia. Perched on the edge of an escarpment, the camp is designed to capitalize on unhindered views across Laikipia’s mottled landscape all the way to Mt Kenya. All accommodations and main areas enjoy a breathtaking vantage point over an expansive panorama. African-themed sophistication and style is the flavour of Loisaba Tented Camp. Spacious and airy tents are custom-built with large top-to-bottom doors and windows, high ceilings and polished wood floors. The tent suites are adorned in chic Africana furniture with a modern European twist. The bathrooms are luxurious with flush toilets, double-basin vanity and solar-heated hot water cascading from a rainfall shower to deliver a revitalizing cleanse after an action-packed day. The inviting main areas of Loisaba Tented Camp include a large open dining area, separate open lounge and bar, a large wooden decking area for outside dining, relaxing and enjoying the view, and one of Africa’s most picturesque infinity pools. Recently purchased by The Nature Conservancy and partnered with Space For Giants elephant foundation, Loisaba Conservancy, a functioning ranch, is a success story of conservation. Home to elephant, a healthy population of lion, the rare wild dog and an abundance of other species, Loisaba is a prime example of successful collaboration between conservation, communities, ranching and tourism. Visitors to Loisaba are offered a myriad of activities to experience the wildlife and landscape on many different levels. Loisaba boasts a fleet of brand new custom-designed Land Rover safari vehicles for game driving both day and night. Other activities include horse-riding, camel-trekking, guided bush walks, fishing, mountain biking, cultural visits to Samburu villages and visits to the anti-poaching sniffer dogs.

Activities

Elewana Elsa’s Kopje Meru

Elsa’s Kopje remains one of the most elegant lodges in Africa, in one of the most spectacular settings. It is one of the best upmarket locations to view rhino in their natural habitat in Kenya. Every cottage has a spectacular view and is uniquely designed and crafted, incorporating the natural features of the rocky hillside. Elsa’s Kopje offers ensuite cottages, honeymoon cottages, a family cottage and a private house. Rooms feature standard amenities and come with spacious double or twin beds with elegantly appointed bathrooms. Facilities include an open bar, lounge and dining room with an exceptionally inviting infinity pool overlooking the Meru plains. Elsa’s Kopje is renowned for its delicious cuisine. Guests can eat at their own individual tables and dinner is almost always outside, with candlelit tables laid out under the stars. Private romantic dinners can also be arranged. A wild and semi-arid landscape, dotted with doum palms and traversed by weaving green lines of the 13 life-giving rivers, Meru National Park offers wonderful game watching opportunities, and is one of the best locations to view rhino in their natural habitat.

Day 5:            Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp, Loisaba Conservancy

Day Itinerary

The day is full of activities you can choose from, ride through the bush on horse-back – a thrilling way to get unusually close to wild animals. Or you could bound down the ridges by mountain bike, have a leisurely morning bush walk and take a sunset trek by camel.

Or witness Loisaba’s cutting-edge conservation first- hand. Visit the conservancy headquarters to see the extraordinary work being done here and meet the sniffer dogs and the anti-poaching team to find out how they safeguard the wilderness.

Activities

Elewana Elsa’s Kopje Meru

Elsa’s Kopje remains one of the most elegant lodges in Africa, in one of the most spectacular settings. It is one of the best upmarket locations to view rhino in their natural habitat in Kenya. Every cottage has a spectacular view and is uniquely designed and crafted, incorporating the natural features of the rocky hillside. Elsa’s Kopje offers ensuite cottages, honeymoon cottages, a family cottage and a private house. Rooms feature standard amenities and come with spacious double or twin beds with elegantly appointed bathrooms. Facilities include an open bar, lounge and dining room with an exceptionally inviting infinity pool overlooking the Meru plains. Elsa’s Kopje is renowned for its delicious cuisine. Guests can eat at their own individual tables and dinner is almost always outside, with candlelit tables laid out under the stars. Private romantic dinners can also be arranged. A wild and semi-arid landscape, dotted with doum palms and traversed by weaving green lines of the 13 life-giving rivers, Meru National Park offers wonderful game watching opportunities, and is one of the best locations to view rhino in their natural habitat.

Basis

Fully Inclusive – Bed, All Meals, Fees and Activities
All Local Brands (excl Spirits) Included

Day 6:            Elewana Loisaba Starbeds, Loisaba Conservancy

Loisaba Conservancy

As previously described

Day Itinerary

For the ultimate unwind, sink into the camp’s infinity pool before a very special night’s sleep… Roll a four- poster Elewana Starbed out onto your decking and drift off to the tweets, snaps, howls and bellows of the bush, with nothing between you and the galaxies above.

Overnight: Elewana Loisaba Starbeds

The Star Beds are unique to Loisaba. Located among a kopje of rocks in one of the eastern valleys, the Star Beds afford dramatic views overlooking the “Kiboko” waterhole, home to resident hippo and frequented by passing wildlife. The Star Beds are handcrafted four-poster wooden beds on wheels. They sit on raised wooden platforms that jut out from a thatched-roof accommodation. Guests can opt to sleep under the roof or have the bed wheeled outside where they can sleep under the endless African night sky. The Loisaba Star Beds have 3 ensuite double platform rooms, and one ensuite family platform room with two double beds. Each are uniquely and rustically designed to meld in with the surrounding rocky environment. The bathrooms are designed using the existing natural rock features, and are open plan for that ultimate shower-with-a-view. Guests are hosted at the the Star Beds by a team of traditional Samburu and Laikipiak Maasai warriors. The main areas comprise of a sitting room with log fire and comfortable Africana decor, a verandah for relaxing and outside dining, and a shared dining area for meals served in a convivial atmosphere. With a maximum of 10-12 guests, a welcoming and friendly team of traditional staff, a homely atmosphere, and one of the most memorable sleeping experiences available, Loisaba Star Beds is a truly authentic and intimate African experience. Recently purchased by The Nature Conservancy and partnered with Space For Giants elephant foundation, Loisaba Conservancy, a functioning ranch, is a success story of conservation. Home to elephant, a healthy population of lion, the rare wild dog and an abundance of other species, Loisaba is a prime example of successful collaboration between conservation, community, ranching and tourism. Visitors to Loisaba are offered a myriad of activities to experience the wildlife and landscape on many different levels. Loisaba boasts a fleet of brand new custom-designed Land Rover safari vehicles for game driving both day and night. Other activities include horse-riding, camel-trekking, guided bush walks, fishing, mountain biking, cultural visits to Samburu villages and visits to the anti-poaching sniffer dogs.

Day 7:            Elewana Sand River Masai Mara, Masai Mara

Masai Mara

The Masai Mara together with Tanzania’s Serengeti form Africa’s most famous wildlife park, the Masai Mara National Reserve. The image of acacia trees dotting endless grass plains epitomises Africa for many, then add a Maasai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need go no further. The undeniable highlight of the Masai Mara National Reserve is undoubtedly the annual wildebeest migration traversing the vast plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. It is known as the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. Large prides of lions, elephants, giraffes, gazelles and eland can also be spotted in the reserve. Aside from horse riding safaris and traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Mara plains has become almost essential.

Day Itinerary

This morning,  depart for the Masai Mara on your Premier Safari  flight. After flying about 90 minutes, you will land in the middle of the Masai Mara Reserve.

Nowhere in Africa is wildlife more abundant than the magnificent Masai Mara. Creatures galore roam these sweeping, acacia-dotted plains. And while the seasonal migration of two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle crossing from the Serengeti is one of Mother Nature’s greatest spectacles, the profusion of wildlife here – from 450 species of bird to the Big Five makes it one of the best safari spots year round.

Elewana Sand River Masai Mara, it goes above and beyond. You’ll feel a little bit movie star at this opulent 1920s-style camp, with its dark wood, draped four-posters and antique furnishings adding bygone glamour to the bush.

Even better is the camp’s location, on the banks of the serene Sand River: you might spot herds of ungulates crossing from the comfort of your own verandah.

Overnight: Elewana Sand River Masai Mara

Situated along the banks of a river from which it has taken its name, Sand River Masai Mara is located within the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya on a secluded and picturesque site. The camp enjoys stunning views over the Sand River and out to the neighbouring grassy hills and plains of Tanzania. The camp sits on the migration route for the millions of wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle that move between Serengeti and Maasai Mara every year. Guests enjoy the privilege of exclusive views of the plains and hills dotted with thousands of animals as well as being in the thick of the excitement of frenetic and famed river crossings, all from the comfort of camp. Comprising of 16 tented accommodations, Sand River Masai Mara replicates the heyday of exclusive permanent tented camps of the late 1920’s. Divided into two separate but adjoining campsites of 10 and 6 tents, each area possessing its own designated dining and public areas, Sand River Masai Mara provides an atmosphere of exclusivity and class.

Activities

Game drives

The Masai Mara is renowned for its spectacular game viewing and wildlife interactions. Why not enjoy it with the most traditional of safari activities – a game drive! With a knowledgeable guide, a custom-designed car and a car fridge full of cold drinks, enjoy a morning, afternoon or full day out in the grassy plains, and riverine forest of the Masai Mara. Game drives are included in Game Package

Basis

Fully Inclusive – Bed, All Meals, Fees and Activities
All Local Brands (excl Spirits) Included

Day 8:            Elewana Sand River Masai Mara, Masai Mara

Day Itinerary

The Mara will never disappoint. The animal encounters – often so close you hardly dare breathe are just too good.

Todays activities are game drives and/or a Masai Village visit.

Activities

Elewana Sand River Masai Mara

Situated along the banks of a river from which it has taken its name, Sand River Masai Mara is located within the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya on a secluded and picturesque site. The camp enjoys stunning views over the Sand River and out to the neighbouring grassy hills and plains of Tanzania. The camp sits on the migration route for the millions of wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle that move between Serengeti and Maasai Mara every year. Guests enjoy the privilege of exclusive views of the plains and hills dotted with thousands of animals as well as being in the thick of the excitement of frenetic and famed river crossings, all from the comfort of camp. Comprising of 16 tented accommodations, Sand River Masai Mara replicates the heyday of exclusive permanent tented camps of the late 1920’s. Divided into two separate but adjoining campsites of 10 and 6 tents, each area possessing its own designated dining and public areas, Sand River Masai Mara provides an atmosphere of exclusivity and class.

Masai Mara

The Masai Mara together with Tanzania’s Serengeti form Africa’s most famous wildlife park, the Masai Mara National Reserve. The image of acacia trees dotting endless grass plains epitomises Africa for many, then add a Maasai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need go no further. The undeniable highlight of the Masai Mara National Reserve is undoubtedly the annual wildebeest migration traversing the vast plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. It is known as the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. Large prides of lions, elephants, giraffes, gazelles and eland can also be spotted in the reserve. Aside from horse riding safaris and traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Mara plains has become almost essential.

Day 9:            Elewana Sand River Masai Mara, Masai Mara

Day Itinerary

Head further afield, in the camp’s custom-designed 4WDs, with expert Maasai guides, to look for roaming elephants and lions on the hunt. Then return to base for the most dazzling of endings: a private table, set up in the wilderness, for dinner under the stars.

Activities

Masai Mara

The Masai Mara together with Tanzania’s Serengeti form Africa’s most famous wildlife park, the Masai Mara National Reserve. The image of acacia trees dotting endless grass plains epitomises Africa for many, then add a Maasai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need go no further. The undeniable highlight of the Masai Mara National Reserve is undoubtedly the annual wildebeest migration traversing the vast plains of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. It is known as the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. Large prides of lions, elephants, giraffes, gazelles and eland can also be spotted in the reserve. Aside from horse riding safaris and traditional vehicle safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Mara plains has become almost essential.

Basis

Fully Inclusive – Bed, All Meals, Fees and Activities
All Local Brands (excl Spirits) Included

Day 10:          End of Itinerary

Day Itinerary

Relax over breakfast before jetting back to Nairobi. Depending on your outbound flight departure, unwind and repack at a town hotel with a hearty meal – whether you’re about to fly home or continue your journey, you’ll want to toast this sublime Kenyan adventure.