After breakfast, head to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Elephant Orphanage to learn about their conservation work and meet the elephant orphans in their care. In the afternoon, we will take a short ride to Nairobi National Park, where we will set out on our first game drive. Among the wide-open grass plains and acacia bush you’ll have a chance to see your first buffalo, giraffes, zebras, and wildebeests of the trip.

Rise with the sun this morning. After a nourishing breakfast, we will head to Kenya’s premier Samburu National Reserve. This vast wilderness is an arid reserve where nearly all of the trees and most wildlife are found along the Ewaso Ng’iro River. Several species of wildlife that are rarely seen elsewhere are common here, including reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, beisas oryx, and leopards. In the evening, settle into your accommodations at the Samburu Simba Lodge.

In the morning, we will take in the rich and diverse collection of African mammals by exploring the outer reaches of the Samburu National Reserve. During the afternoon, you will have time to rest and relax by the hotel pool and comfortable accommodations.

After breakfast, drive to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, home to Sweetwater’s Chimpanzee Sanctuary. During your exploration, you’ll encounter chimpanzees, rhinos, and elephants as you take an evening game drive. Spend the night among the wildlife and surrounded by awe-inspiring natural beauty in the Sweetwaters Serena Camp.

Rise and leave early for Lake Nakuru, stopping along the way to explore Aberdare National Park, home to elephants, serval, and colobus monkeys. Continue to Nakuru National Park for an afternoon game drive and overnight stay at Lake Nakuru Lodge, which offers unobstructed views of the lake and wildlife.

After breakfast, drive to Lake Naivasha, famous for its hippos and flocks of pink flamingos – a birder’s paradise. You’ll have the chance to stretch your legs with a hike among the towering cliffs and water-gouged gorges of Hell’s Gate National Park before settling into your accommodations at Kongoni Lodge.

After hot tea and breakfast, your group will join our Maasai hosts for activities such as taking livestock out to graze, blessing ceremonies, and warrior training. Walk down to visit the local school before heading off to the Maasai Mara Reserve – the picturesque landscapes unique to Africa. Rolling plains stretch as far as you can see and provide sightings of all the “big five” African mammals.

Spend the day exploring the Maasai Mara Reserve. Located in the Great Rift Valley, the reserve is primarily open grassland and regarded as the jewel of Kenya’s wildlife-viewing areas. There have been some 95 species of mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, and over 400 bird species recorded on the reserve. Nowhere in Africa is wildlife more abundant, and it is for this reason a visitor hardly misses seeing the big five – buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, and rhino.

In the morning, you’ll visit the Mara River, walk a few steps into Tanzania, and trek along the riverbanks. Today, you can take a full-day game drive or choose shorter drives in the morning and afternoon.

Your group will venture back to Nairobi, stopping for scenic vistas of the fertile Great Rift Valley along the way. For dinner in Nairobi, you’ll have a chance to taste local game and drink dawa cocktails, the perfect end to an amazing African adventure day!

On this last day, you’ll visit the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Giraffe Centre and explore a lively Nairobi market before catching your evening flight.