Kenya Walking Tours, Bird Watching Safaris And Wildlife Holidays
Africa Senior Safaris > Kenya Senior Safari 1
Senior Tours
Other Tours
Women Tours
Senior Tours
Family Tours
Private Tours
Club Tours
Educational Tours
General Information
Photo Gallery
Sitemap
Tour Reports
References
Hotels & Tented Camps
Kenya National Parks
Senior Birding Tours To Africa
Kenya Bird Watching Safari: Lake Naivasha & Masai Mara (Senior Tour 1)
Kenya remains one of the world's best birding destinations and we would encourage senior birders to consider it in their "must-visit" or the repeat visit. To enjoy the Kenyan bird life we encourage our clients to take itineraries that only have few destinations but spend quality time exploring the bird life as well as the wildlife in them. Remember however good an alternative itinerary that is packed with destinations looks, on the ground it will be exhausting and with less time for quality birding.
This 7 days Kenya birding tour for seniors has only 2 bases: Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara. With minimal transfers in the Rift Valley you can use all of your day light hours for bird watching. Naivasha with different habitats: fresh water lake, open savannah grasslands and acacia woodlands presents an opportunity to record a high number of species in a very relaxed way. Masai Mara will not only be for birds but also for excellent game viewing. As always you can depend on our competent birding guides who will accompany you throughout the tour to be worth companions in finding, interpretation and appreciation of the many bird species you will find on this bird watching tour in Kenya. It combines good birding, top luxury accommodation and a lot of relaxation.
DAY 1: NAIROBI
Arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the evening. Transfer to the La Mada or equivalent hotel.
DAY 2: HELL'S GATE NATIONAL PARK - Lake Naivasha Country Club
After breakfast we leave Nairobi via the Nakuru road to the Rift valley. The Nairobi - Nakuru road is on a contour along the rim of the Rift valley and on viewpoints we will be able to see our whole route for the next days. Our destination is Lake Naivasha: a fresh water lake in the Rift Valley.
On the way we stop at the Limuru Swamp where we do our first bird count: Little Grebe, Yellow-billed and Maccoa Duck, Pelicans, Coots, Egrets and Herons. Soaring are Black Kite, Augur Buzzard and Pied Crow.
After lunch we drive to Hell's Gate National Park. The first part is open grasslands bordered with steep rock cliffs in which the Rüppell's Griffon Vulture nests. Easy sightings here are the Verreaux's or Black Eagle, Common Ostrich, Black-shouldered Kite, White-fronted Bee-eater, Grassland and Long-billed Pipit, Northern and Schalow's Wheatear, Lilac-breasted Roller...
The narrow gorge has a completely different habitat and hence very different birds: Yellow, Grey and African Pied Wagtail, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Purple Grenadier, Common Drongo, Superb Starling, Brimstone Canary, Common Waxbill, White-browed Robin-Chat...
Accommodation is in the Lake Naivasha Country Club. This lodge opened in 1937 as a staging post for Imperial Airways' flying boat service from Durban to London. The 55-acre property boasts green lawns shaded by mature acacias and spreading fever trees, that stretch down to the lake's shore.
DAY 3: CRESCENT ISLAND - Lake Naivasha Country Club
We start our day with a boat ride on Lake Naivasha on the look out for a range of fish eaters: both the Long-tailed and Great Cormorant together with the Fish Eagle and the Pied, Malachite and Giant Kingfisher.
To have the best sightings of the bird life in Lake Naivasha, Crescent Island is the place of choice. It is a lagoon from where we should be able to see Red-capped Lark, Spectacled and Baglafecht Weaver, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Brimstone Canary and Red-billed Firefinch.
DAY 4, 5 + 6: MASAI MARA - Mara Simba / Sarova Mara / Keekorok
We head to the famous Masai Mara National Reserve, which borders Serengeti in Tanzania. Mara is the gem of birding and game viewing in Kenya with 450 species recorded. We will drive through Masai land, home to one of the most fascinating cultures in Africa.
In the vast grasslands we expect to see Elephants; the large Cats - Lion, Leopard, and Cheetah; the herd animals - Zebra, Wildebeest, Thompson's and Grant's Gazelles; and specialties like the Hartebeest and the Topi.
Expected Kenyan bird species are the highly conspicuous Common Ostrich, the small but still conspicuous Cardinal Quelea, Sooty Chat, Ground Hornbill, Open-billed Stork, Temminck's Courser, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse and Denham's Bustard. Lilac-breasted Rollers are common. If we find a kill, we may see six species of vultures all dining together: Egyptian, Hooded, Griffon, Nubian, White-backed and White-headed. It will be a double reward should a Hyena or a Jackal join in the scramble for the kill.
In addition we will encounter numerous raptors such as Bateleur, Martial and Tawny Eagles, as well as Pale Chanting Goshawk, Augur Buzzards and Black-chested Snake Eagles. Along the Mara River we'll watch for African Finfoot, Schalow's and Ross' Turaco, Woodland Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Barbet, Black-billed Weaver, Violet-backed Starling, and perhaps with luck, Pel's Fishing Owl. Any tapping noise on the trees may be indicative of the relatively uncommon Woodpeckers (Golden-tailed, Green-backed and Fine-banded).
Hopefully we will be lucky enough to see some of the more difficult to see mammals such as Bat-eared Fox, Hunting Dog, Serval and the delightful Banded Mongoose.
DAY 7: BACK TO NAIROBI
Transfer back to Nairobi in time for lunch. Day rooms are at your disposal until 6 p.m. Evening transfer to the airport where we say goodbye.
Itinerary changes may be made due to local conditions beyond our control.
Price:
Our attractive price based on the size of your party includes all accommodation as per itinerary, all meals from breakfast of day 2 through lunch of day 7, all transport Nairobi-Nairobi and airport transfers, bottled water during the walks, services of guides, the park entrance fees and a Flying Doctors Evacuation cover. The only extras on you are spendings on airfare to Kenya, airport taxes, visa, insurance, drinks, tips and expenditure of personal nature.
For A Price Quote:
Contact us (Please quote that you are interested in Senior tour 1).
Departures are at the traveler's convenience.
KINDLY REVIEW THE TOURS on the menu on the right of this page and let us know which one suits you best. Consider that we can tailor-make an itinerary to suit your interests.