Travel to Kenya: Kenya Photo Safari: Maasai Mara Migration

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Kenya Photo Safari: Maasai Mara Migration

			DAYS: 12 GRADE: I define PRICE: $8695 per person (Includes Local Air) HIGHLIGHTS: Professional Wildlife Photographer Trip Leaders Maasai Mara Game Reserve Samburu National Reserve Lake Nakuru National Park ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels/Lodges Wilderness Camp MEALS: As noted  [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch,   D-Dinner] Prices, Departure Dates and Included Services Send to a Friend Print this Itinerary

Join professional wildlife photographers Diane Kelsay and Bob Harvey for a photographic safari that is timed for the migration of the wildebeest and zebra in the Maasai Mara! This custom planned safari is paced for photography, has been carefully coordinated to enable recharging and downloading, and has a great selection of lodges that offer both rustic comforts and photographic opportunities in a diverse range of habitats. We will also visit and photograph both the Samburu and Maasai people as we explore Samburu National Reserve, Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Lake Nakuru National Park, and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. In the Mara enjoy the chance to witness and photograph the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River, dodging lions and hyenas on land and crocodiles in the river. We will also have the opportunity to shoot from a hot air balloon in the early morning. Overland travel is in retrofitted 4 x 4 Land Cruisers, fully equipped with window seats and open hatches, which will assure unencumbered wildlife observation and optimal photography, aided by knowledgable local driver-guides. All lodges and camps have en suite bathrooms with hot running water.

Click here to see images from our 2010 Tanzania adventure!

DAY 1 :  ARRIVE NAIROBI

Arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi where we are met after passing through customs. Transfer to the Nairobi Serena for your overnight stay, overlooking the Central Park and the downtown Nairobi skyline. Lush gardens, a refreshing swimming pool and health spa, and fine dining all make it easy for guests to recuperate from a long flight. Hotel decor features both traditional and modern African art and guest rooms offer fine amenities including air-conditioning, in room safe, mini bar and signature bath products. Enjoy your meals on the veranda overlooking the pool and gardens or take afternoon tea in the Cafe Maghreb.  [Meals on your own]

DAY 2 :  SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE
This morning transfer to the domestic flight for the scheduled charter flight north to Samburu National Reserve. Rugged and remote, this wildlife reserve provides some of the best and most colorful game viewing in the country. After lunch at our lodge, we will rest and unpack before our first game drive in Samburu as the heat of the day fades and the wildlife wakes up from their midday slumber. Evening lecture on the culture of the Samburu-Maasai people and their views on conservation. Overnight Samburu Intrepids Tented Camp. [BLD]

Note: Luggage is restricted to 33lbs on domestic flights: excess luggage will be taken by your driver guide who will meet you in Samburu in the afternoon.

DAYS 3-4 :  SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE
The Samburu Reserve is one of three reserves in this semi-arid northern province and is a haven for rare species such as the endangered Grevys zebra, the unique Somali ostrich, the Besia Oryx and the reticulated giraffe. Leopards are often spotted in the trees along the Uaso Nyiro River and bird life is abundant, with over 350 species in the area. Cheetah, lion, and gerenuk, an antelope that feeds from high tree branches on its hind legs, are also frequently seen. We will meet and interact with some local Samburu people here as well. The Samburu are semi-nomadic pastorialists who are distantly related to the Maasai but mantain their own unique culture. Overnights Samburu Intrepids Tented Camp. [BLD]
 

DAY 5 :  SWEETWATERS GAME RESERVE
We leave the Samburu Reserve this morning for our 3 hour journey by road south to the Sweetwaters Reserve and Tented Camp, arriving in time for lunch. This afternoon our game drive in the 24,000 acre private reserve, home to lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo as well as general game. We will also visit The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The Sanctuary opened in 1993 in a negotiated agreement between the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Jane Goodall Institute. Orphaned and abused are being carefully nursed back to health so they can enjoy the rest of their days in the safety of a vast natural enclosure. The chimpanzees live in two large groups separated by the Ewaso Nyiro River. Please note that only way of viewing the chimps is from behind a fence.

Spend the night at Sweetwaters Tented Camp, where each tent faces a waterhole where animals regularly come to drink. Each tent has twin beds and private en suite facilities. Overnight at Sweetwaters Tented Camp. [BLD]

DAYS 6-7 :  LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK
Depart Sweetwaters Reserve this morning and drive four hours down to the floor of the Great Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park. A seasonal home to thousands of pink flamingos, Nakuru is also habitat for large numbers of reedbuck, waterbuck, zebra and gazelle. The shore of the lake is a good spot to see both both black and white rhino, and the woodland interior is home to the Rothschild giraffe and a particularly large population of leopard. A visit the baboon cliff lends a spectacular overview of the park. Overnights Mbweha Camp. [BLD]

DAYS 8-11 :  MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE
Leaving flamingo-fringed Lake Nakuru behind, head southwards and turn right at Maai Mahiu to ascend up over the top of the Mau Escarpment. Continuing due south, we travel towards Narok, gateway to the Maasai Mara and district headquarters of this part of Maasai land and on across the 'breadbasket' of Kenya, covered with acres of wheat and barley. We arrivie in camp in time for lunch; total driving time is approximately 5 hours.

For the next few days we'll explore the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, part of the vast Serengeti ecosystem spanning Kenya and Tanzania. No other place on earth compares to the multitudes of wild animals found in the Maasai Mara. Here herds of zebra, wildebeest, and topi mingle on the short grass plains keeping an eye out for numerous predators including lion, cheetah, leopard, and hyena. Maasai giraffe and impala graze in the woodlands and hippos and crocodiles bask along the shores of the Talek and Mara Rivers. Keep an eye out for herds of Cape buffalo as well as black rhino as we spend time on half and full day game drives. During the winter months (approx July September) the Great Migration comprised of 1.5 million wildebeest and several hundred thousand zebra make the Maasai Mara their home. One morning you will rise before dawn to experience an African morning from a hot air balloon over the Maasai Mara. Overnights Mara Intrepids Tented Camp. [BLD]

DAY 12 :  DEPART KENYA OR BEGIN EXTENSION

After an early breakfast in the camp, we depart the Maasai Mara by scheduled charter flight back to Nairobi. Arrive in Kenya's bustling capital city for lunch and time to rest in a dayroom at the Nairobi Serena before your transfer to the airport this evening. [BL]

Possible extensions to this trip are gorilla trekking in Rwanda, the beautiful coastal beaches at Lamu or the pictureasque villages, great bird watching and fishing on Lake Victoria.

Note: Luggage is restricted to 33lbs on domestic flights: excess luggage will be taken by your driver guide who will meet you in Nairobi in the afternoon.

Questions? Ask Our Program Directors.

. C o n t a c t Julia Nesbitt 1(800)345-4453