Wings Over Wilderness – Big 5 Tracking Adventure

Get picked up early in the morning at around 6AM and drive to the Nairobi National Park.

This is the best time to capture the morning sunrise and to observe early activities of predators as they pursue prey. Listen to the morning songs of birds and be on the lookout for wildlife including Rhinos, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, Lions, Hyenas, cheetah and the jackals, the park is richly endowed with nature and wildlife which is quite fulfilling.

Depart the park at around 10.30AM and head to the  elephant orphanage. Delight in the most adorable baby elephants as they are fed formula milk by their handlers. Observe as they tackle each other playfully in a mud bath (Booking should be done in advance)

Depart the orphanage at 12.20PM and head for lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant.

The afternoon promises more excitement and at around 2PM,we take you to the Giraffe Center, a facility set up for the endangered Rothschild’s Giraffes. On these stately grounds you can get up close and even feed these imposing creatures from a raised platform.

Later at around 4PM, we return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Depart Nairobi for an interesting drive eastwards enjoying breathtaking scenery of open plains and rural villages just after leaving the Nairobi metropolitan district. We proceed on with our drive heading south of the Athi basin passing through the towns of Machakos, Salama and Sultan Hamud. We take a break at Emali town for bathrooms and refreshments.

We then proceed on through the Masai plains of Meruesh and ibilkan to finally arrive at our Lodge in good time for lunch.

4:00pm: We proceed on our first game drive in Amboseli visiting the numerous swamps dotting the park where big concentrations of elephants and hundreds of other grazing herbivores can be found, our game drive will be easy and unhurried searching for game opportunities and how to capture the best views of Mount Kilimanjaro that forms a beautiful backdrop of this magnificent park.

Game drive lasts until sunset when we return you to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Overnight at Amboseli Serena lodge {FB}.

0630 hrs – early morning game drive in Amboseli National Park. This is the best time to capture the incredible views of Mount Kilimanjaro with the morning sunrise rays illuminating its snowy peaks. Follow the elephant caravans as they visit the numerous swamps dotting this park for a morning bath, watch as predators pursue unsuspecting prey, enjoy unlimited bird watching and study several primates. Return to the lodge for proper breakfast and relaxation. Your mid morning can be spent visiting a nearby Masai cultural village or taking a short nature walk with a resident guide. After lunch at the lodge, we shall proceed for an afternoon game drive from 15:30 hrs until dusk.

Overnight at Amboseli Serena lodge {FB}.

Early morning breakfast in Amboseli followed by a short drive to the Airstrip for your 45minutes flight to Nairobi. You shall be received at the Wilson airstrip by our guide and representative and immediately proceed on a road trip towards Lake Nakuru National Park.

Our drive takes us through the scenic countryside of central Kikuyu highlands, we shall have a brief scheduled stop for refreshments and for a breathtaking view of the great escarpment; a monumental geological formation dating some millions of years. We also take another stop at Lake Naivasha for an optional 1 hour boat ride exploring the Lake surroundings for hippos, a variety of birds and various wildlife grazing by the lake banks.

We check-in at our Lake Nakuru Sarova Lion Hill lodge in good time for lunch.

In the afternoon, embark on a game drive around the shallow alkaline lake, which is famous for its large population of flamingos, as well as other 450 bird species. Watch out for the rhinos, lions, the Leopard, Hyenas Buffalo, Zebra, water buck, Impalas and a variety of other grazing herbivores.

Lake Nakuru is also home to a large population of white rhinos, a few black rhinos, the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe, and a good population of primates including Baboons, Vervet monkeys and the colobus monkey.Game drive lasts until sunset when we return to the lodge for dinner and overnight at the Sarova Lion hill lodge {FB}.

We embark on an early morning and early afternoon game drives at Lake Nakuru National Park, creating time for a proper buffet breakfast and a hot lunch. A free midmorning can be spent relaxing by the pool or shopping. Despite it’s small size {approx. 188sq km}, Lake Nakuru is an impressive habitat with a huge variety of flora and fauna. We explore the park’s thick forest of yellow fever acacia trees for the elusive Leopard and also prospect to discover the tree climbing lions of this Park. We shall be looking for the special breed of giraffe {Rothschild} which was introduced in this park in 1963 and has done very well naturally. Large herds of buffalos are easily spotted in the open grasslands, both species of Rhinos are a common sight in this park. Observe a number of primates most of them Baboons and enjoy a wide variety of birds including the greater and lesser flamingos.

Return to the lodge by sunset after another great experience in Lake Nakuru.

Dinner and overnight at Sarova Lion hill.

We get into an early morning start after breakfast heading towards the Northern plains of Laikipia. Olpejeta is a 90,000-acre private conservancy situated on the equator between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. It is a remarkable destination famous for its largest black Rhino sanctuary.  We take an interesting drive along the great escarpment, climbing the wall at Subukia gorge to access the lush farmlands of Nyahururu and Naromoru. We check in at the Serena Sweetwater’s tented camp in good time for lunch.

Our afternoon game drive takes us to the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Kenya where resident guides take you on a tour to observe this wonderful primates, later we continue through acacia woodland and open grasslands in search of more wildlife found here in abundance, this includes Lions, Leopard, Elephants, buffalos, zebras, Giraffes etc. In a nutshell Olpejeta will offer you the best opportunity to watch both species of Rhinos in great numbers than any other park. We return to our camp for dinner and overnight.

Early morning game drive is scheduled for this day. We have a great opportunity to get clear views of Mount Kenya, the second tallest free standing mountain in Africa. The Aberdare mountain range to the south also present magnificent views from this massive conservancy. It is also a beautiful morning to visit ‘Morani” a resident tame but blind black Rhino, here they allow you to get as close touch and feed him, we continue with the morning game drive before getting back to the camp for proper breakfast and to prepare for our departure to Samburu.

Our drive to the northern frontier district of Samburu commences around 10am, this tour takes us through a beautiful countryside dotted with large and impressive farmlands of wheat, corn and barley. Samburu is semiarid and fiercely beautiful, it comprises three different reserves;-the Samburu, Buffalo springs and the Shaba. We arrive in good time for lunch and check in at the Sarova Shaba game lodge. Afternoon game drive starts shortly after in the Shaba national reserve, we explore the thick acacia bush shrubs, dry woodlands and grasslands in search of rare animal species and birds. Our game drive lasts until sunset when we return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Wake up to the incredible sounds of nature and after a full continental breakfast we head out to explore the 113sq km Buffalo springs national reserve, part of the greater Samburu ecosystem, the reserve is named after an oasis of a natural spring that produces warm and clear sparkling water formed from rising underground streams from Mount Kenya. The features of this reserve includes Rowland plain of old lava, volcanic soils of olivine basalt and the Ewaso Ngiro River dotted with doum palms on its banks. We are on the lookout for the Samburu special animals, only found in this area. This includes the reticulated Giraffe, Somali Ostrich, Beisa Oryx, Gerenuk Gazelle, Vulturine Guinea fowl and the Grevys Zebra, apart from these we encounter a huge number of elephants, buffalos, impalas, and many more herbivores not forgetting a good number of predators; Lions, Leopard, Jackals, wild dogs and hyenas. We return to our lodge for a hot lunch and afternoon relaxation.

Our next game drive will commence around 15:00hrs now heading to the Samburu national park, a 165sq km of pristine wilderness and the home to kamunyak, a lioness that was famous for adopting Oryx calves, several large game species will be found here including the Samburu special, animals are seen frequenting the Ewaso Ngiro river as the only main source of water, you will also enjoy a wide variety of birds, about 350 species some of which are endemic to this area, if time allows we can indulge in a dynamic traditional encounter with the nomadic community of this semiarid area. In a nutshell Samburu ecosystem is generally rich, beautiful fascinating and exciting.

Our game drive lasts until sunset when we return to our Sarova Shaba game lodge for dinner and overnight.

Early breakfast in Samburu, then you are transferred to the private Kalama Airstrip for your midmorning flight to Masai Mara, this is a comfortable 1 hour flight over the beautiful landscape of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. You land in the middle of Masai Mara game reserve and are met and welcomed by our guide and representative. The Mara offers a dramatic landscape of an endless glorious savannah grassland dotted by spots of baranite trees, acacia bush shrubs, riverine forests and rolling hills, this is the ultimate game arena with the highest population of big cats. You are driven straight to our reserved Mara Serena safari lodge for you check in and lunch. Take a brief afternoon relaxation enjoying the lodge strategic location set on a hill and offering guests great views of the larger reserve.

At 1600 Hrs. we proceed on our first game drive in the sprawling Mara reserve, the huge concentration of wildlife here is awe inspiring, you will possibly see different prides of Lions, cheetahs, a Leopard, Hyenas and Jackals and also observe different variety of herbivores. We return to our safari lodge for dinner and overnight.

Opt for an optional early morning Balloon Safari over the Mara plains, this is a one in a lifetime event to explore the width and breath of this magnificent reserve from a bird’s eye view, you will get a 360 degrees sight of the entire reserve, this is complemented by a champagne breakfast in the wilderness upon landing. Alternatively you can take an early morning and afternoon game drives taking midmorning and early afternoon breaks for relaxation, visiting a local traditional village or taking a nature walk and also to enjoy a sumptuous hot lunch in the Lodge. Your exploration in the Mara will be a rewarding experience for the abundance of wildlife and birdlife found here, and if your stay coincides with the annual wildebeest migration you are assured of witnessing this great phenomenon which is a thrilling life changing experience. At an extra cost a sundowner or a bush meal can be arranged and presented in the wilderness. Enjoy the Mara game drives returning to the Lodge by sunset for dinner and overnight.

At 06:00Hrs we arise to undertake a sunrise early morning game drive, this is the last game drive in Masai Mara as we wind up our safari. Great sightings can happen and it could end up as another extra ordinary game drive. We enjoy 2 hours of uninterrupted game viewing adventure before returning to the lodge for proper breakfast and to prepare for our departure back to Nairobi. We shall clear and drive to the Airstrip for our scheduled flight to Nairobi which will take about 45 Minutes. Our guide will be waiting to pick you from Wilson Airport and drive you to a restaurant for Lunch. Later you can spend your afternoon shopping around the city before finally being dropped at your hotel or to the Airport for your onward flight.

This marks the end of your Big 5 tracking adventure full of exciting memories.