The Best of Kenya Wildlife Safari: ultimate wildlife safari in Maasai Mara, L. Nakuru, L. Naivasha, and Amboseli landscapes in Hell’s Gate
Maasai Mara
Overview
The world-renowned Maasai Mara Game Reserve is a northern extension of Serengeti National Park, which is located in Tanzania. Maasai Mara covers an area of 1510km². The Maasai Mara ecosystem is composed of two rivers, i.e. the Talek River and the Mara River. This is the main water supply for the ecosystem. The Mara River is a hurdle to wildebeest migration, as the wildebeests have to cross the river from Serengeti. Most of them perish in the jaws of crocodiles and big cats.
In the western part of Maasai Mara lies the Siria escarpment, the Loita plains, and the rest is Maasai pastoral land. The Maasai Mara game reserve is owned and run by the county council of Narok, which is the richest county council in Kenya due to the revenue collected as park entrance fees. Part of the Maasai Mara, called the Mara Triangle, is contracted out and privately run. Park fees are paid by the number of nights one spends in the Mara Conservancy.
The Maasai Mara lies at an altitude of 1500 to 2100 metres. It rains twice a year in the game reserve: during the long rains that fall in March and May. During the short rains that fall in October, November, and part of December. June and July are the coldest, and January and February are the hottest. Temperatures during the day rarely exceed 85°F (30°C), and during the night they hardly drop below 60°F (15°C). Maasai Mara is a mosquito-prone area, but the campsite is sprayed with mosquito repellents. The tents have treated mosquito nets.
Maasai Mara has a large population of wildlife. All the big five can be seen in this reserve, and a large number of ungulates are also easily visible. They include the wildebeest, Thomson gazelles, grant gazelles, buffalos, rhinos, impalas, topis, elands, zebras, giraffes, and duikers. The common predators include lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, jackals, and foxes. Maasai Mara has over 450 identified species. Some common birds include the common ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, hornbills, storks, eagles, and vultures.
The wildebeest migration happens annually; this spectacle is considered one of the 7th wonders of the world. More than a million wildebeests, accompanied by topis, zebras, gazelles, and elands, make their journey from Serengeti National Park to Masai Mara Game Reserve.
Many of them perish while crossing the Mara River, where crocodiles and big cats make a kill on the vulnerable ungulates. The migration happens every year in July, after the long rains. At this time the grass is big and plenty, and for the next three months. The wildebeests will clear the lush grass of the Maasai Mara. The migration varies annually due to climate change. If the climate changes and it doesn’t rain as usual, the wildebeest may delay crossing over since there isn’t grass to feed on.
The Masai people, who by definition speak the Maa language, hence the name Maasai, have held on to their culture even in these times of modernization. A Maasai’s home is called a manyatta, where he lives with his wives and children. From childhood, boys are obligated to look after their father’s cows. While girls are obligated to do house chores, fetch water, and milk the cows.
After every fifteen years, there is an initiation where boys are circumcised and they become young morans, and the existing morans graduate to junior elders. The Maasai enjoy eating meat and milk mixed with blood during rituals such as initiation and marriage. The use of herbs as medicine is still embedded in their day-to-day life. The Maasai are an attraction in Kenya since they have managed to stick to their culture.
Day 1: Nairobi – Maasai Mara.
We depart Nairobi after breakfast, stopping at the viewpoint of the Great Rift Valley. After checking in at our hotel, we are served lunch. As the day’s heat subsides, we proceed for an evening game drive in this park. This is an extension of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park as an artificial border only separates the two. Dine and stay overnight at the camp or lodge.
{Meals plan = Lunch, Dinner}
Day 2: Maasai Mara –Full Day Game Drive
Early breakfast is followed by a full day of game drive within the reserve. The Maasai Mara is famous for its black-manned lions, elephants, and buffalo, making three out of the ‘big five’ though luck is essential for spotting the other two. The park’s animal concentration and abundance are second to none. We will cater a picnic lunch at the hippo pool. If you are lucky, you may spot crocodiles basking on the rocks.
Numerous plains game include antelopes, wildebeests, and zebras. Maasai giraffes can be seen as well as scavengers like hyenas and vultures. In the late afternoon (at an extra cost), go for optional activities like having a nature walk, visiting Maasai villages to see the nomadic lifestyle, or swimming in the nearby lodges. The rest of the meals and overnight at the camp/lodge.
{Meals plan =Breakfast, Picnic lunch, Dinner}
Day 3: Maasai Mara – Nakuru
We start the day with a pre-breakfast morning game drive at 6:00 am. After a full breakfast, depart the Mara region for Nakuru National Park. We embark on the evening game drive. Dine and stay overnight in WCK house or lodge.
{Meals plan =Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}
Overview
Lake Nakuru is one of the alkaline lakes of the Great Rift Valley. Lake Nakuru is also known as “Pink Lake” or Africa’s Bird’s Paradise. The lake is ideally located in central Kenya, within Lake Nakuru National Park. The park occupies an area of 188 km2 while the lake occupies an area of 62 km². The lake is famous for the millions of flamingos that flock to it. Although flamingos are unpredictable birds and are not always to be found in the lake in such vast numbers,. From a distance, i.e. the baboon cliff, the lake looks pink in colour due to the flamingos.
The topography at Lake Nakuru is comprised of grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs and outcrops, acacia woodlands and a forest made up of Euphorbia trees. In the early 1960s, Tilapia Grahami was introduced to the lake and it flourished despite the alkaline nature of the lake. There are two species of flamingos namely lesser flamingos and greater flamingos. They feed on algae, which flourishes due to the warm alkaline waters of Lake Nakuru.
It is believed that flamingos consume about 250,000 kg of algae per hectare of surface area per year. The abundance of algae in the lake is what attracts millions of flamingos to Lake Nakuru. Apart from flamingos, other bird species include ducks, pelicans, cormorants, plovers, vultures, eagles, and buzzards. Lake Nakuru has over 50 animal species which include hippos, reedbucks, waterbucks, and Rothschild giraffes. White rhinos, baboons, black and white Columbus monkeys, hyenas, cheetahs, leopards, lions, gazelles and impalas among others.
Day 4: Nakuru – Hells gate, Naivasha
Pre-breakfast game drive at 6:00 am, full breakfast will be served. Exit the park with a game drive en route heading to Hell’s Gate National Park. We explore the features and the game in the park. We descend and hike through the spectacular Ol Njorowa Canyon. This hike takes about three {3} hours. You will come across hot and cold waterfalls, hot water springs and very beautifully coloured rock strata and formations.
Optional activities include cycling in the park, technical rock climbing, horseback riding, swimming in a naturally heated swimming pool at Olkaria, and a boat ride on Lake Naivasha.
We check in at Olkaria Geothermal Spa for refreshments. Proceed to our overnight camp. Dine and stay overnight in the camp.
{Meals plan =Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}
Overview
Hell’s Gate National Park lies to the south of Lake Naivasha in Kenya, northwest of Nairobi. The park, which is mainly comprised of a savannah ecosystem, harbours a wide variety of wildlife. There are over 100 species of birds in the park, including vultures, Verreaux’s Eagles, augur buzzards and swifts. African buffalo, zebra, eland, hartebeest, Thomson’s gazelle, and baboons are also common.
The park is also home to Klipspringer antelope and Chandler’s Mountain Reedbuck. Hell’s Gate National Park provides a truly panoramic picnic site, camping stopover, and endless biodiversity, allowing walking or cycling without an official KWS escort. It has spectacular scenery, despite its rather alarming name, due to its intense geothermal activity within its boundaries. The scenery includes towering cliffs, water-gouged gorges, stark rock towers, scrub-clad volcanoes, and belching plumes of natural geothermal steam.
It is a relatively small park, cleft deep in the central quarter of the Rift Valley’s floor. The geothermal steam makes it one of the most atmospheric parks in Africa. In the undulating grasslands, you can walk or cycle alongside herds of buffalo, zebra, giraffe, eland and hartebeest and Thompson gazelle. The park has a unique bird viewing hide which allows visitors to view and photograph the birds of prey at a close range. Fischer’s Tower is a high, jagged volcanic plug that remained of an ancient volcano. It is named after the German explorer, Gustav Fischer.
According to the local Maasai tradition, the rock is the petrified figure of a chief’s daughter who turned around, against the dictates of tradition to take one last look at her village before leaving to be married. The Olkaria Geothermal Station also lies in this park and is one of the hottest sources of natural steam in the world with an underground water temperature of 304 ºC. The KenGen Olkaria Geothermal Spa is located inside Hells Gate National Park which is managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
Ol Njorowa Canyon is a narrow sandstone gorge that was sculpted by water and light. In some places, it can be slippery, and you need to know where to put your feet. A local guide will take you around the maze. In the event of rain, take extra care of flash floods in the narrow canyon, but there are several emergency exits.
Day 5: Naivasha – Amboseli
After breakfast, depart for Amboseli National Park and have lunch in Nairobi. We check in at our camp or lodge before embarking on the evening game drive. Dine and stay overnight in the camp or lodge.
{Meals plan =Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}
Overview
Amboseli National Park is located south of Nairobi, 140 kilometres (3 ½ hrs. drive). The park occupies an area of 392 km². The ecosystem is made up of a seasonal lake called Lake Amboseli, where the park derives its name from, swamps, open plains, acacia woodland, rocky outcrops, thorn bushes and marshes. The backdrop of the majestic snow-cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, dominates the landscape. The snow caps are visible when the clouds are clear, mainly in the early morning and late evening. This scene allows one to capture wonderful memories on camera for friends and loved ones back home.
Amboseli National Park is considered Kenya’s second best after the Maasai Mara game reserve by many tourists and is the only national park in Kenya that has the biggest population of elephants. The ecosystem of Amboseli, though small compared to other parks, sustains a large number of bird species and game. Amboseli offers some of the best opportunities to see African animals because its vegetation is sparse due to the long, dry months. The park is considered ideal for writers, filmmakers and researchers.
The Maasai are the local habitat of this area, which they call Empusel, meaning “Dusty place”. Other community tribes have moved to Amboseli in search of greener pastures. Besides game viewing and the ecstatic views of Mount Kilimanjaro, one can visit a local Maasai village to learn about their way of life and to interact with the locals.
Day 6: Amboseli – Full-day game drive
After breakfast, embark on a full-day game drive where plains game namely zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and various antelopes, can be seen. You will have a picnic lunch at an observation point. You will have a great sighting of the majestic snow-capped Kilimanjaro in the morning. During a clear day’s weather from the observation hill, the panoramic view of the plains is worth yearning for. Large herds of elephants and hippos can be seen bathing in the swamp grounds, whose water source is Mt. Kilimanjaro.
{Meals plan =Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner}
Day 7: Amboseli – Nairobi
We have two options:
(a) You take a three {3} hour early morning pre-breakfast game drive at 6:00 am. After a late breakfast, which is served as brunch, depart Amboseli for Nairobi. Arrive in Nairobi in the early evening.
(b) On condition that the route to Meshanani gate is passable, you traverse the park while doing the game drive. You exit through Namanga, having done a complete circuit
Bid goodbye and proceed to the next destination after a memorable trip.
{Meal Plan = Breakfast}
Options are, of course, many and varied, and in many cases, we can be flexible about the itinerary for accommodation facilities and the extension of the safari destinations.
