21st June: Nairobi to Lewa

On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport on Kenya Airways at 10h30 you will be met by a representative from Tradewinds and escorted through immigration & customs and out to your East African Air Charters private aircraft to fly straight up to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

21st to 23rd June: Sirikoi

On arrival at Lewa airstrip you will be met by a driver/guide from Sirikoi and taken on a short game drive through the conservancy and across to the Lodge. Here you will have time to settle into your luxury tents before enjoying a delicious lunch on the dining deck overlooking the often plentiful wildlife which may be visiting the wetlands and waterhole in front of the lodge.

Sirikoi is surrounded by 68,000 acres of the pure wilderness of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and the location of the lodge is truly exceptional. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an award-winning model for community conservation. Today there are 89 black and white rhino protected on the conservancy, as well as other endangered species including Reticulated giraffe and the largest resident population of Grevy’s zebra in the world. Lewa Conservancy is a vital wildlife corridor connecting Kenya’s wild and arid north with the lush Mt Kenya ecosystem, and wildlife is abundant here.

You will spend the next two days enjoying this spectacular lodge and the many activities they have to offer.

23rd to 25th June: Tumaren Camp

At 09h00 this morning you will be met at Lewa by a Karisia driver and transferred by road down to Tumaren (approx 3hrs).

Set on the edge of a wide plain this beautiful camp looks west towards granitic inselbergs that define our local landscape. Each tent is furnished uniquely and all the tents offer sweeping verandas from which most of our plains game can be spotted. The grasslands are rich with wildlife and you can spend hours watching animals wander by or photographing the huge variety of birds coming to the bird bath.

Tumaren is rich in wildlife and our Samburu and Masai guides provide a great perspective on not only the game but also the local cultures of Northern Kenya. Our guides will plan the days according to your desires, wildlife and the local calendar. Each day can include guided walks, camel rides, visits to the camel creche, game drives, birdwatching, picnics, tracking, visiting a local manyatta or market (if the day is right), visiting a school and rock climbing.

25th to 28th June: Luxury Walking Safari

Day 1: Nayasura.

This morning, we will set off from Tumaren Camp after breakfast and arrive at our mobile-tented camp where we will be greeted by our team of Laikipia Masai and Samburu staff. The local Laikipia Masai call these rocks Nayasura and stone chippings suggest that they have been used as a camp for millennia. We too will use the rocks starting with a refreshing lunch and short afternoon rest in our classic roomy safari tents. Once it cools off a little we will head out on a walk looking for game and getting a feel for the country. As the sun begins to set we will find ourselves at the crest of Nayasura with drinks and bitings, watching the baboons come back to roost on the face of the rock. Back at camp after hot showers and drinks around the fire we will have a sit down dinner under the stars.

Day 2: Nyarara.

From Nayasura we will head out early after breakfast to see as much game as possible on our walk north towards Nyarara Camp. Nyarara means cheetah in Masai and the camp was given this name because of a large male that has been seen in the area. We will walk across large plains as well as mixed bush looking for herds of Common and Grevy’s zebra, oryx and Grant’s gazelle, which predominate on the large plains. In the mixed bush we find Dik Diks, Gerenuk, Impala and Lesser Kudu if we are lucky enough to see them. The pack camels with our camp will have taken a more direct route than us and they will have arrived and set up the camp before our arrival. We will arrive at camp in time for lunch and a cold drink. After lunch we will relax and walk to a pretty spot for sundowners. Along our walk we will walk across large plains as well as mixed bush. Herds of Zebra, Oryx and Grant’s gazelle predominate on the large plains. In the mixed bush we find Dikdiks, Gerenuk, Impala and Lesser Kudu if we are lucky enough to see them.

Day 3: Tumaren Ewaso Camp

Today we will be heading down toward the Ewaso Nyiro River, which runs along the eastern edge of the Laikipia Plateau and then turns eastward toward Samburu National Reserve. Along the way we will be looking for Eland, Steinbuck and Giraffe and enjoy the changing scenery. When we arrive at the river
we may want to take a quick swim before lunch. After lunch we can visit a local manyatta and watch the livestock coming in for the night or head to a pretty rock for some rock climbing with trained guides and a sundowner.

28th June: Laikipia to Masai Mara

This morning you will be transferred across to Loisaba airstrip to meet the Safarilink scheduled flight departing at 09h10, arriving in the Mara approx 11h00 where you will be met by a driver/guide from Richard’s Camp and taken on a game drive into Camp to settle in before lunch.

28th June to 1st July: Richard’s Camp

The Masai Mara is located in South Western Kenya. Together with Tanzania’s Serengeti it forms one of the world's most diverse and spectacular eco-systems. With riverine forest and short grass plains, this area is renowned for the most exceptional big game viewing worldwide.

Richard’s Camp was initially established as Richard and Liz’s ‘home away from home’ in 2006. Perfectly situated on the banks of the Njageteck River in the private Mara North Conservancy, the camp allows for total privacy and exclusivity. The Ngoyanai springs provide permanent water, drawing in large numbers of animals to the area around camp. This camp is also particularly known for its resident lion pride which can often been seen hunting right in front of the camp, and most always can be heard roaring during the night.

With only seven tents, this camp offers guests the Masai Mara experience in a personal intimate setting. Beautifully appointed with furnishings and fabrics collected by Liz on her travels - the result is a casually luxurious tented camp, combining exceptional wildlife with a contemporary ‘Out of Africa’ experience.

Richard’s Camp offers day and night game drives, birding and scenic bush walks, sundowners, bush meals and cultural visits to a local Masai Village nearby.

1st July: Masai Mara to Tsavo

After a leisurely final morning at Richard’s Camp, you will be taken across to the airstrip to catch your 14h00 Mombasa Air Safaris scheduled flight to Tsavo, where a Galdessa driver and guide from Karisia will be waiting to collect you (your driver/guide will be with you for the next 3 days) and transfer you across to the lodge.

1st to 4th July: Galdessa Little

The first thing you might notice from the air when you are approaching the airstrip in Tsavo is the grand size of this park. These are big expanses and very wild country.

Fringed with doum palms and overlooking the Yatta Plateau, Galdessa offers a luxurious yet wild experience for travellers seeking to immerse themselves in a hidden and untouched corner of Tsavo East National Park. Enjoying a position on the Galana river, wildlife sightings are frequent, whether you enjoy a game drive or stay at the camp watching hippos, elephants and more as they come to cool off in the river. Galdessa Little has just three tents and is exclusive to your family for the next three nights.

The Sheldrick Trust that runs Galdessa Camp as well as the Elephant Orphanages at Voi, Nairobi, Ithumba, Kibwezi is a not for profit organization that has done more to relieve elephant suffering in Kenya than any other conservation operation on earth. The trust was begun by Dame Daphne Sheldrick who pioneered not just the physical methods of raising an elephant but also the emotional investments that these social animals require to survive. All the orphan elephants within the Sheldrick Trust’s care underwent severe trauma when they became separated from their mothers and herds. Many experienced violence and cruelty that is hard to imagine. To see the beaming happiness of these same animals as they wallow in their ponds, interact with their keepers, or roll in the mud is genuinely reaffirming and brings tears to many a visitors eye. To hear directly from the keepers their latest elephant stories and to understand how these young animals are learning to fend for themselves in Tsavo, gives a far deeper understanding of their beautiful and complex intelligence.

4th July: Hemingways Nairobi

This morning at 10h00 you will be collected from Galdessa by a private charter aircraft with East African Air Charters to Wilson Airport, Nairobi, where you will be met by a driver from Airports & Beyond and transferred across to Hemingways hotel.

5th July: Depart

Today you will be able to relax and enjoy the facilities at Hemingways. There will also be a driver from Airports & Beyond available should you like to explore Nairobi, and after supper he will transfer you across to Jomo Kenyatta Airport to check-in for your Kenya Airways flight departing at 23h35.

CONTACT NUMBERS:

Kerry +254 721 836792

Kennedy +254 722 738228