AMBOSELI & THE MARA 6days/5nights

 
6Days/5Nights

 Amboseli NP, Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara National Reserve

In this 6 days adventure, journey through Amboseli National Park, home of the largest tuskers you will ever see, under the watchful Kilimanjaro. Stop for a night in the idyllic Lake Naivasha on your way to the last leg of the trip: the Mara, probably the most prolific wildlife destination on the planet.


Day 1. Nairobi-Amboseli NP (4h). Early Morning start and drive to Amboseli National Park, check in at your accommodation, day spent at leisure or have an afternoon game drive. Amboseli National Park is situated due south of Nairobi, most of the park consists of a dry, ancient lake bed and fragile grassland with patches of acacia woodland, while in the southern area there is a number of small, rocky, volcanic hills. Around the swamps Ol Kenya, Ol Tukai and Enkongo Narok, the vegetation is lush with yellow-barked acacias and phoenix palms. Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.


Day 2. Explore Amboseli. Rising early for good views of Mount Kilimanjaro before clouds build up over the summit, with packed lunch provided, an optional visit to a Maasai village can be planned after breakfast. A visit reveals the singing and dancing that are part of their daily lives and sacred rituals. A glimpse into their homes and social structure is a poignant experience. Amboseli is undoubtedly the best place to meet the most majestic elephants with the most impressive tusks in the world, the “Big Tuskers” and from where you will have the most spectacular view of Mount Kilimanjaro!
Spending as much time as you'd like to observe these gentle giants as they feed and bathe in the marshes is one of the highlights of an Amboseli safari.
Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.

Day 3. Amboseli-Lake Naivasha (5h). An early morning drive to Lake Naivasha, it is the highest and the most beautiful of the Rift Valley lakes. At 1910m the water is fresh and the lake is fringed with dense clumps of papyrus (ancient Egyptian once used this to make paper). Kingfishers use the papyrus as a perch, herons hide in it while searching for food. Naivasha is yet another area popular for bird watching (over 400 species have been recorded). It is also a favourite weekend retreat for Nairobi residents, who come here to sail, water ski and fish. There are no crocodiles in the lake as the water is too cold for them, due to altitude but there are a number of hippos. Along the lakeshore, vineyards produce grapes for the country's fledgeling wine industry. Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.

Day 4. Lake Naivasha-Masai Mara (5h). An early morning drive to Maasai Mara National Reserve, it holds on as one of the few places left on earth where wildlife still lives comparatively undisturbed, in the numbers that once roamed the plains and forests of Africa. As the northern tip of the vast Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara hosts the spectacular seasonal migration of many thousands of Wildebeest, Zebras and attendant predators.
Have lunch en-route, the evening is spent at leisure. Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.

Day 5. Masai Mara. Today we have a full day game drive, with packed lunch provided. The reserve is well known for its black-manned lion, as well as its abundant resident wildlife and its one of the few places where it's possible to see the big five during a morning's game drive. Here lives the formidable coalition of cheetahs who arrived in the Mara Game Reserve in 2016, known all over the world for their incredible success in taking down huge prey. The “Tano Bora”, the magnificent Five, now left in Four, the “Nne Bora”! For the bird enthusiast, almost 500 species have been recorded: among these 16 species of eagle, plus many hawks and falcons, 6 species of vultures, 8 species of storks 4 of bustard (including the Kori bustard, the world's heaviest flying bird), and 9 species of sunbirds.
Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.

Day 6. Masai Mara-Nairobi. We wake up at 6 am for a sunrise game drive. At 9 am, we drive back to accommodation for brunch then depart for Nairobi (5h). Lunch en-route and arrival in Nairobi in the late afternoon.