Day 1: Saruni Samburu
On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by your Saruni vehicle which will transfer you to Wilson Airport for your flight to Samburu. The flight takes one hour and you will be met by your Saruni Samburu guide who will transfer you to the lodge, or take you on a game drive. You will spend the afternoon on a game drive on Kalama Conservancy exploring over 200,000 acres of pristine wilderness in total privacy, whilst during the early evening you will sip sundowners and admire the breath-taking views. Saruni Samburu works closely with Ewaso Lions - http://ewasolions.org / which is a local project in Samburu land and dedicated to the protection of lion. A talk or visit will be arrange and you will see some of the lion collared as part of the monitoring project.
Overnight Saruni Samburu
Day 2: Saruni Samburu
Early this morning you will go on a game drive into the Samburu National Reserve to seek out the ‘Samburu Special Five’: the reticulated giraffe, the Grevy zebra, the beisa oryx, the Somali ostrich and the gerenuk, which are all rare species which only occur in this part of the country, and look for its well-known larger wildlife including elephants, lion and leopard. A picnic lunch will be served in the bush before heading back to the lodge to relax for the rest of the afternoon. You can enjoy a complimentary half hour Back & Neck massage upon arriving back at the lodge at the Samburu Wellbeing Space. This evening you will go on a game drive in the Kalama Conservancy ending with a bush dinner under the stars in the middle of the wilderness, and a night game drive back to the lodge. The Samburu warriors dancing, candles and fire under the vast African skies, make this a truly magical experience, and one of the highlights of your stay at Saruni Samburu.
Overnight Saruni Samburu
Day 3: Saruni Rhino
This morning you will depart Saruni Samburu accompanied by your Samburu guides for Sera Conservancy and Saruni Rhino, which is located amidst swaying doum palms along a sandy ‘lugga’ dry river bed. You will arrive in time for lunch in camp with breath-taking views of a waterhole frequently visited by wildlife. You will start your Rhino Tracking Experience, when you can drive to within a short distance of the endangered black rhino, leaving the vehicle on foot to track the rhino in the safety of a guide and a ranger. After an exhilarating, ‘up close and personal’ experience, you will have a game drive back to camp where a lantern-lit bush dinner awaits you in the idyllic setting of the dry river bed, as the night sounds reverberate around you. At Saruni Rhino – in participating in the on foot rhino tracking, you are directly giving back to the community and to the protection of the rhino. The Rhino Sanctuary in Sera Community Conservancy is the first community-owned, run and managed wildlife sanctuary in Kenya (and possibly East Africa), rather than an NGO/charity/private investors. The daily conservation fee, tracking fee goes back to the community. The rangers who accompany guests on the tracking are all from the local Sera Community.
Overnight Saruni Rhino
Day 4: Saruni Rhino
You will leave early this morning with a picnic breakfast on a game drive to the nearby Fifty Wells or the Singing Wells, where you will witness pastoralists watering their livestock at a series of natural wells as they have done for centuries. Birders and non-birders alike will delight in the incredible spectacle that is thousands upon thousands of sand grouse dipping to take water in the natural wells and waterholes throughout Sera Conservancy, a truly astounding sight and sound show. You will go on a game drive into the Rhino Sanctuary from a different entrance, possibly spotting more rhino on the way from your vehicle. You will return to camp for lunch. In the afternoon, you will visit the nearby Reteti Elephant Orphanage in the neighbouring conservancy – Namunyak Conservancy, approx. 1.5 hours’ drive away from Saruni Rhino. You will visit the rescued elephants from the region and currently baby male rhino from Sera - http://www.retetielephants.org/ before returning to camp for dinner.
Overnight Saruni Rhino
Day 5: Saruni Mara/Saruni Wild
After breakfast in camp, or equipped with a picnic breakfast, you will leave early morning from Saruni Rhino for your departing onward flight to the Mara, arriving in the Masai Mara an hour and a half after take-off. You will go on a game drive with a picnic lunch to enjoy under an acacia tree or by the river next to a pod of hippos. Alternatively you can head to Saruni Wild for some rest and an exclusive game drive later in the afternoon in Mara North Conservancy – over 30,000 acres of plentiful, protected land bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve. Enjoy a completely different and less-explored corner of the Mara ecosystem in total privacy, brimming with wildlife.
Overnight Saruni Wild
Day 6: Saruni Mara/Saruni Wild
Early this morning you will go on a game drive to look for the big cats and other predators of the Mara, returning to the camp for lunch. In the afternoon, a game drive will take you to a special area where the largest tower of giraffe can be seen, followed by dinner at the camp and an optional night game drive. During your stay you will also visit the Mara Elephant Project which is based near to Saruni Wild https://maraelephantproject.org/ Saruni Wild also arranges conservation talks for guests interested in the conservancy model (the benefits of private conservancies) in the Mara by a member/Head of Mara North Conservancy. You can also visit Ol-Chorro – and visit the white rhino (Queen Elizabeth & Kofi Annan) that are in the care there, and meet the rangers.
Overnight Saruni Wild
Day 7: Saruni Mara/Saruni Wild
This morning you will walk through the valleys and plains surrounding Saruni Mara, accompanied by a vehicle, or a game drive up to the top of Kilileoni, the highest mountain in the Serengeti- Masai Mara ecosystem - led by your skilful and knowledgeable Maasai guides. In the afternoon you will discover more of Mara North and its neighbouring conservancies and experience first-hand what makes the Mara one of the most exciting wildernesses in the world. Weather permitting, you can experience a bush dinner in the middle of nature under the vast African sky, with Maasai warriors singing and dancing around the fire.
Overnight Saruni Wild
Days 8: Departure
This morning you can visit the rhino sanctuary on the way to the airstrip and once again admire the hippos and the crocodiles of the Mara River. The flight back to Nairobi leaves the Mara at 11:00 AM and arrives in Nairobi at 12:20 PM. Transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with Saruni driver and vehicle. Depending on the time of your international flight, stop at the Talisman or Carnivore restaurant for dinner.
Sleepouts And Treehouses
A treehouse! A sleepout! Surely both words make an instant connection to the child in every adult as well as to children themselves? Treehouses and sleepouts can seriously extend the fun and enjoyment, in a clement climate of course, of time spent in the bush, in the desert or even by the ocean.
Fly-Camping
Fly camping is, for many, the ultimate bush experience and is for those people who don’t want to be “stuck in a vehicle” or just want an exciting and adventurous change from staying at, especially, a permanent camp or lodge. Flycamping also works well for those who want to explore a region mainly on foot, by canoe, on horseback or walking with camels, which could easily be a multi-night experience.
Classic Authentic Permanent Tented Camps
If you are looking for that essential experience in the African bush which offers perfect comfort whilst not losing the essence and feel of being properly “on safari” then a classic permanent camp fits the brief!
Design Inspired Lodges
Design, style, comfort, excellence, location. Shake - don’t stir! – these ingredients and blend in varying quantities for perfection to suit all tastes. Luxury lodges in Africa, especially the uber-stylish, are ideal for anyone wanting to celebrate a “big” anniversary or birthday, or just those who simply place a high importance on design and style, in whatever measure, as part of their visit to Africa.
Luxury Tented Camps
Africa is a continent that evokes the senses, the “feel” of the bush challenges one’s sight, hearing and smell especially. Being in a lodge removes to a great extent one essential part of this trio: the sound of the bush, especially at night. Canvas walls allow the sounds of the bush to permeate one’s room, without losing any iota of luxury; the best of all worlds and a huge layer of extra value.
Ranch Houses
If one is looking for adventure, whether as a couple of a family, or somewhere that’s just vast fun with plenty of variation in activity for a group of friends mixed with wonderful hosting and a totally relaxed atmosphere, then a ranch is the answer.
Robinson Crusoe Chic Hideaways
The ultimate in barefoot luxury has to be a Private Island or Coastal Retreat where the essence of “barefoot living” is mixed with perfect comfort, service and style. The oft-used image of miles of white-sand beach with just “you” leaving a pathway of footprints etched into the damp sand at the water’s edge may be slightly hackneyed but, in real life, it is a perfect antidote to the mad, rushed, “real” world. It is attainable!
Bush Camps
Bush Camps are perhaps the ideal balance between more rustic “fly” or “mobile” camps and more permanent camps offering a more advanced luxury experience. Bush Camps tend to be a southern African phenomenon, because they are often closely allied to walking in certain parts of Zambia and Botswana.
Beach Lodges
Oh my word! Where to start? We have such an array of styles in our beach lodges. Tell us what comes to mind, what your mind conjectures in terms of “Beach Lodge” and we can almost certainly fill the brief.
Boutique Hotels
Boutique Hotels are always wonderful, mixing sympathetic and often unusual décor and style with a very personal hosting ethic – and all in a small and intimate package. So often such properties are also owner-run, which fits brilliantly well with our - and your, as our clients - own preferences. In the same vein, Africa has some examples of the boutique hotel genre that rival anything available anywhere else – and not all are in cities even if many are more urban.
Private, Mobile tented camps
Travelling as a family? Perhaps a small group of friends or just two couples spending some time together on holiday? Wanting to be able to get “close to the action” in terms of game, or be near a specific activity? Do you feel a yearning for something authentic in terms of Africa-bush-living and yet not wanting to give up any basic comforts (Heaven forbid!)?
Private Villas & Houses
Time off in this manic, I’m-always-available, information-driven, day and age is precious; a bracket around a few days or weeks that may be the culmination of a long period of work and a considerable amount of planning. No matter how hard we try, with all the pressures that surround us it can be a tough balancing act to make enough time to “spend” (what an apposite word that is!) with those who matter and doing the things we wish.
Yachts, Catamarans & Houseboats
Some of us are just drawn to the magic of water and for many people the relaxing effects of being on or by the water are part of the rejuvenation that comes with a holiday. So, for those who like to take to the water, whether it’s for the gentle soothing of the sound of the ocean, or being on a river, or taking the helm and sailing under the guidance of a skipper, the sailing and houseboats that we have to offer add another dimension!
This country offers some truly life-changing experiences, perfect perhaps for a horse riding safari in Kenya, or a family luxury safari.
It is a country of great diversity and beauty with some of the most welcoming people, but above all, Kenya offers some of the finest wildlife in Africa, perfect for a luxury safari. Think of the wildebeest migration, one of Africa’s greatest wildlife spectacles documented on television channels by David Attenborough. Then combine that with some of the most fascinating culture and you have the perfect Kenya adventure safari!
We can also arrange for a day spent with scientists in the field. Whether you’re interested in our luxury, old-style adventure camping private safaris, an exclusive-use homestead where you can sit around a table and have lively discussions, or being pampered at a designer lodge, you will have the finest of guiding throughout and the quality will be unsurpassed.
For the more active, there is world-class horse-riding for a horse riding safari in Kenya, fishing both inland and on the coast, and superb Kenya walking safaris assisted by camels with the Samburu tribes. These Kenya cultural safaris enable you to learn more about the local culture and give you the freedom to roam this country on foot whilst seeing the wildlife. For the truly adventurous we offer fly-in safaris by helicopter to Lake Turkana. The coast is superb and we have a variety of beautiful places to stay, from chic, gorgeous Robinson Crusoe retreats to a private, luxury villa.
(Rendille men picture by courtesy of Sirikoi Wildlife Conservancy)
A Fixed Wing Flying Safari is a unique concept of travel in Africa. It introduces another dimension to a typical African safari, that of the beauty of the continent from the air. Accompanied and guided by experienced pilots who are also experienced safari guides a Fixed Wing Flying Safari is a truly memorable and exclusive experience.
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Epic helicopter journeys exploring corners of Africa that few have been to or even ever heard of. We specialise in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, the Congo and Namibia. Our tailor-made safaris cover wild and spectacular mountains, valleys, forests and deserts, with a focus on ‘remote and unknown, unexplored and unforgettable’.
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- Utterly designed and tailored around you and your requirements
- Totally unique every time you travel with us
- The very best hand picked guides which can make the difference between a good and an outstanding holiday
- Established over 30 years ago we have been around longer than most
- Our specialists come from, have lived in or travelled extensively in the regions we cover
- Unparalleled knowledge provides you with the best possible experience
- Philanthropy is our philosophy
- Our founding principle is to always ‘put something back’
- An amount from each holiday is donated to our selected conservation and humanitarian charities
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By Marcela Kunova - 20th April 2017
Nicola Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, organises unusual trips for HNW and UHNW clients ranging from birthday parties at an Indian Maharajah's palace to reliving Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1950s expedition to the South Pole. Citywealth caught ...
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