Kenya Family Discovery

A privately driven vehicle with guide is made available for usage today in Nairobi. 

Stop in for a visit to the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage at the Nairobi Game Park headquarters. The elephants are fed from 11am to noon. Visit these and other endangered animals like the black rhino.

Enjoy a visit to the Giraffe Center where you can hand-feed the giraffes. Then stop at the Karen Blixen house, once lived in by Karen, and made world familiar as the movie set for “Out of Africa” with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. (Try to see the movie again!) Ms. Blixen’s good works, among and for the local people, have made her into a legend. If you are interested in the local jewelry you can visit the Kazuri Bead Factory, it's an all-woman craft workshop that is renowned for making fabulous clay beads and jewelry. The Factory is a co-operative enterprise founded several decades ago by an Englishwoman who wanted to help single mothers become self-supporting. The clay beads are as amazing as the story of the Factory’s evolution.

This morning you'll meet up with your guide and head off to Laikipia. The drive from the urban center of Nairobi, through the fertile highlands, the semi-arid frontier of Kenya is breath-taking and great way to see the countryside. The drive will be about an 4 to 5 hours.

Time permitting, there are many optional activities. Depending on which lodge you're staying at, activities range from nature walks to cultural village visits. Some of these can be prebooked through your destination specialist while others can be booked directly with the lodge upon arrival.

Game viewing in Laikipia private reserve with your skilled guide. You can stop for a visit at the chimp sanctuary. Drives are typically done in the morning at 6:30am for a few hours, and 3pm for a few hours, since the animals are most active at dawn and dusk. Includes game reserve fees.

Time permitting, there are many optional activities. Depending on which lodge you're staying at, activities range from nature walks to cultural village visits. Some of these can be prebooked through your destination specialist while others can be booked directly with the lodge upon arrival.

Your guide will drive you from Laikipia to Lake Naivasha, through the rift valley. This drive will take about 5 hours.

Prepare for an excitingly unique excursion to the Crescent Island Wildlife Sanctuary whilst in the Lake Naivasha area today.  Admire the scenery as you take a short boat trip from the mainland to this dynamic location where you’ll have the opportunity to get in some wildlife viewing at a very relaxed pace.  As there is little to no threat from some of the “Big 5” predators, the various species of wildlife, birdlife and flora live quite freely here, providing visitors with some great photo opportunities.  Some of the many mammals that can be seen here include zebras, impalas, buffaloes, giraffes, and hippos.  Resident bird species include herons, black cranes, lily trotters, ospreys and fish eagles.

Your guide will drive you from Naivasha to Masai Mara. This drive will take about 5 to 6 hours. Drive times may be longer in the rainy season (April to early May and November). Stop for refreshments and souvenir shopping at roadside stands along the way or head straight to the park. Enjoy game viewing as you enter Masai Mara and drive to your camp.

Head out this afternoon, accompanied by an experience tracker-guide, on an exciting game viewing adventure.  Search some of the area`s wildlife hot-spots determined by your guide, as they`ve learned and now understand the games daily routines through tracking.  Some wildlife is more difficult than others to spot, for instance the Leopard.  These spotted cats blends almost seamlessly into the tall grass and shrubbery, and are even more challenging to spot up in their favorite hangout, the trees.  Your guide will take you to nearby watering holes, where on a hot day, you`ll spot many bird and wildlife species, including the elusive Leopard.

The famed Masai Mara Game Reserve was named after the indigenous inhabitants of this land, the Maasai, and the provider of life to the area, the Mara River.  Game viewing is almost guaranteed at some point along the Mara River, and your experienced tracker-guide will know all the best spots to go to maximize this chance to see some of the many bird and wildlife species here.  Have your camera handy, as some amazing photo opportunities will present themselves from elephants on the river banks to hippos in shallow water.

On today’s afternoon game drive the choice is up to you: search for the Big 5 or expand your horizons to discover something different. Masai Mara not only has a rich mix of animals – it also has an incredible array of bird life with almost 450 different species.

Your guide will drive you from Masai Mara to Nairobi, with short stop-overs for refreshments and souvenirs. Be aware that during this commute you will drive across some unfinished patches of road. This drive will take approximately 6 hours.

The opportunity to explore the local markets and shops presents itself today as so you can interact with the local vendors in search for the perfect handicraft or souvenir for yourself or your loved ones. 

Before leaving that night, stop by the Kensington office for free use of Internet and lounge. If you like, we can make reservations for dinner at a local restaurant as well. Please let us know in advance and if you are vegetarian.

A privately driven vehicle will provide you with a transfer to & from the airport.