Suggested Itinerary
Highlights
- Adopt an elephant at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
- Meet conservation pioneers at Elephant Watch Camp
- Explore Amboseli National Park, full of habituated herds
- Classic safari game drives in the wildlife-dense Maasai Mara
DAY 1: ARRIVE NAIROBI
EMAKOKO
Begin your wildlife experience upon landing in Kenya, staying at the luxurious Emakoko Lodge in Nairobi National Park.
The Emakoko is uniquely positioned on the side of a valley overlooking the Nairobi National Park with the Mbagathi River running directly below. The drive through the park itself, with its beautiful scenery and abundance of plains game is a spectacular way to start any East African safari. The park is a surprise so close to the city, boasting a spectacular assortment of birds and wildlife.
DAY 2: NAIROBI SIGHTSEEING
EMAKOKO
Begin your day with a visit to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, a sanctuary for lost and orphaned baby elephants, many of whom have lost their mothers to poaching. You’ll have a chance to watch these sweet darling elephants feed and play and can even choose one to adopt!
Afterwards, visit the Giraffe Center, a breeding project for Rothschild giraffes and enjoy lunch at Karen Blixen Coffee Garden, the previous home of the esteemed author of “Out of Africa.”
Enjoy some additional afternoon local sightseeing before returning to your hotel for dinner. If you prefer, you can sample a lovely romantic local restaurant, The Talisman.
DAY 3: NAIROBI – SAMBURU
ELEPHANT WATCH CAMP
A quick flight to the achingly beautiful and remote Samburuland takes you to Elephant Watch Camp, your home for the next three nights.
Elephant Watch is an ultimate eco-luxury and an unrivaled wildlife experience, thanks to the owners’ long history of elephant conservation in Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve. The gentle elephant herds in this region are amenable to close observation. Spend languorous days with them in the company of the camp’s charming professional guides and meet leading conservationists in the field. The luxury of this camp is highly sensitive to the environment’s fragility and you will feel immersed in the surrounding nature and its beauty.
Saba Hamilton-Douglas and her husband, Frank and their children are the owners and also the stars of the BBC series “This Wild Life,” which describes their life in the bush and their work with the conservation group Save The Elephants.
DAYS 4-5: ELEPHANT WATCH CAMP
Enjoy activities at Elephant Watch Camp. Your focus is likely to be to spend as much time with the elephants as possible. Your schedule will be adapted to match their daily rhythms. You might find them, early in the morning, ambling down towards the water from where they were browsing at night, or at midday in the shade of the woodland along the river’s banks.
Aside from the wildlife, many of our guests tell us that some of their most cherished memories are of the moments they spent getting to know the Samburu people, the local inhabitants of the region.
DAY 6: SAMBURU – AMBOSELI
TORTILIS CAMP
Today you’re off to Amboseli National Park, renowned for its massive elephant herds. A population of over 1000 elephants resides in the park’s ecosystem.
Game drives, walks, sundowners and bush meals all take place both inside the Amboseli National Park and within a private 30,000 acre game concession, offering fantastic opportunities for wildlife photography.
Your home for the next two nights will be Tortilis Camp, where the tents are spacious, with elegant en suite bathrooms. There is a main lounge, bar and dining area, all exquisitely built with natural materials and thatched roofs, with magnificent views of Kilimanjaro.
DAY 7: AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
TORTILIS CAMP
Enjoy a full day of game drives in this elephant-laden area! Many of Amboseli’s elephant herds have been followed and documented by world-renowned researcher Cynthia Moss. Amboseli has some of the largest elephants in Africa, and the guides at Tortilis Camp know the individual elephants, their family history, and are able to get very close to the habituated herds.
DAY 8-10: MAASAI MARA
REKERO CAMP
Spend your final days in Kenya at Rekero Camp in the Maasai Mara. The Maasai Mara is second to none in terms of volume and diversity of wildlife. This will give you a further chance to immerse in the splendor of Kenya’s game—elephants and more!
Rekero is a traditional East African camp, which evokes the romance of safaris from a bygone era. The elegant tents form a tranquil oasis perched above the mighty Talek River. The sweeping views from camp take in the surrounding plains, which support some of the greatest concentrations and diversity of wildlife in Africa.
DAY 11: DEPARTURE
A quick midday flight to Nairobi will bring you to a day room where you can shower and nap before your departure home. If you like, you can spend a final afternoon doing a little more touring and shopping before wistfully taking leave of Kenya.
Interested in booking or customizing this itinerary? Get in touch with a private travel designer!
