Day 1  Masai Mara

Be ready for collection between 7.30 a.m. - 8.00 a.m.

Leaving after an early breakfast you climb up out of Nairobi to the top of the eastern escarpment wall where the views down into the Great Rift Valley are magnificent. Wind down to the floor of the valley (passing a small church built by the Italian prisoners of war in the 1940s) and turn left  across the rift valley floor to climb up to Narok, the provincial centre for the district. Drive through Narok and on across the Loita Plains, possibly viewing concentrations of grazing animals, and then continue on to enter the Maasai Mara itself. You arrive at Sarova Mara Lodge which is your base for two nights, in time for lunch and a chance to relax before your evening game drive.

The Maasai Mara Game Reserve is the home of the largest concentrations of animals in Kenya, and is the northern extension of the famous Tanzania Serengeti National Park. It is in this area that the annual migration of wildebeeste, accompanied by the predators, takes place (normally between June and September). Resident wildebeeste always dot the plains. Huge prides of lions live in the Mara;  cheetah are often found on the plains. There are large herds of elephant and buffalo (but sadly few rhino remain). Impala, zebra, giraffe, the unusual topi, and many other antelope graze across the famous grassy plains. The birdlife in the Mara is fantastic.

In the early evening you depart on a game drive, returning to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

2 Masai Mara

An early morning game drive (or you may prefer to take advantage of the optional balloon ride) and then a leisurely breakfast, followed by time for relaxation or to enjoy the swimming pool.

NOTE  :  The early morning calm of the  Mara  has made  possible the operation of BALLOON  flights, available  as an optional extra if  not  included in  your programme, from the leading  properties of the Reserve.  Please enquire and book early to avoid disappointment.

After lunch, in the late afternoon, another game drive. On one of these drives you are almost certain to visit the hippo pools to watch these huge animals lazing in the pools and maybe see a crocodile sunning itself on a sand bank.  All meals and overnight will be at Sarova Mara Lodge.

Day 3, The Ark

Leaving after an early breakfast, you drive to Lake Naivasha where you stop for lunch at the Lake Naivasha Country Club, set in large lawned grounds on the edge of a lake at the foot of the Rift Valley. Drive on along the Rift Valley and then up the eastern escarpment wall, passing alongside the Aberdare range of mountains (the scene for the Happy Valley crowd of the 1930s) to arrive at the Aberdare Country Club. Here you have a late check‑in for Ark and  join the transport which departs for Ark, leaving your large bags in safe storage at the Aberdare Club  and taking only your overnight bags.

NB: Warm clothing is advisable as nights tend to be chilly.

The Ark is built high on stilts, overlooks floodlit waterholes, regularly visited by elephant, buffalo and the occasional lion or leopard. Spend time on the open air verandah watching the scenes unfold below before dinner. At night you can opt to be called if a favourite animal visits the waterhole after you have gone to bed.

4 Samburu

After an early breakfast, you return to the Aberdare Country Club to retrieve your luggage.

Then you drive past Mt. Kenya and Nanyuki, dropping down in the Northern Province and reach the small frontier town of Isiolo. Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserve is only a short way further on on an earth road.

Samburu and Buffalo Springs are the home of the unique northern species of animals, the shy gerenuk, Beisa oryx, Somali blue‑necked ostrich, the reticulated giraffe and Grevy's zebra as well as large numbers of elephant and buffalo which water on the edges of the wide flowing Ewaso Nyiro river which runs through the Reserves. There are lion and cheetah and leopard are regularly seen on baits which are floodlit by the main lodges. Lunch is at Samburu Serena, which is your base for two nights.

After lunch, time for relaxation and maybe a swim before your late afternoon game drive, returning to the Lodge in the early evening.

5 Samburu

An early morning game drive and then a morning to relax and perhaps sit and watch the birds and smaller animals in the grounds of the Lodge. An early evening game drive with the possibility of finding one of the cat's searching for prey for evening dinner. Leopard regularly visit the bait hung by the lodge in a tree across the river which is floodlit for photographic purposes.

6 Nairobi

After breakfast you leave for your return drive to Nairobi where you arrive before lunch at the end of your safari.