Africa Walking Safaris And Bird Watching Tours

11 Days Kenya Walking Safari: Rift Valley Lakes, Aberdares, Solio, Sangare And Samburu Game Reserves (Walking Safari 6)

Guided walking safaris in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. Have close-up views of Colobus monkeys, baboons, giraffes, elands, zebras, various gazelles and warthogs in private game conservancies away from mass tourism. Then move to the Aberdares / Mt. Kenya region for more game viewing hikes in the Aberdare game sanctuary and the Sangare ranch. Visit the Solio Ranch - which holds the highest concentration of Black Rhinos in Africa. Spend a night at a Tree Hotel in the Aberdares and see all the big game come to drink at a flood-lit water hole right below your room.

Samburu National park is the grand finale of this unique African walking safari that is designed for active nature travelers and bird watchers who want a different travel experience than the vehicle confined safaris. With renown Ontdek's ground logistics, accommodation in selected lodges and tented camps, knowledgeable local guides and options of small group or private departures the time is right to book this nature tour. See our notice board for tour dates.

Day 1: Nairobi

Arrival at the airport at night and reception by Ontdek Kenya. Transfer from the airport to the La Mada or equivalent hotel in Nairobi.

Day 2: Crescent Island. O/N Lake Naivasha Country Club

After breakfast there is the briefing by the guide about the program. By 8.30 a.m. 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 a viewpoint we will be able to see our whole route for the next days.

We arrive at the Lake Naivasha Country Club, our base for three days, in time for lunch. 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.

In the afternoon we do our first African game viewing walk at the privately owned Crescent Island, which is a peninsula on the Eastern shore of Lake Naivasha. There is a lot of easy to see game e.g. giraffes, waterbucks, elands, zebras and impalas. It is also a heaven for birds with +200 species recorded. The walk is gentle and satisfying. We return to the Lake Naivasha Country Club in time for afternoon tea. Today's program should be taken as light as possible to wear off the jet lag.

Day 3: Hell's Gate National Park. O/N Lake Naivasha Country Club

We wake up for breakfast with the sun giving a wonderful effect over the lake. An early morning here should not be missed by anyone with an eye for birds since the lake boasts a wide variety of water and woodland birds.

After breakfast we do a short transfer to the gate of the park. This is a unique park where walking is done in the middle of wildlife. Giraffes, zebras, warthogs and many types of gazelles are found here. The first part of this walk is done in typical flat African savannah in a volcanic area with huge rock boundaries. There are camphor and acacia trees all over and this is where to look for the giraffe as they mainly feed on them. A picnic lunch provided by the hotel will be at the Rangers post.

The last part of the walk is done in the Hell's Gate Gorge by descending into a steep canyon with running water from geysers and wild vegetation. The climax of the day is in walking in the Side Gorge where the rocks have split to leave only a walking path. We climb back to the Rangers post for transfer back to the Lake Naivasha Country Club.

Day 4: Crater Lake. O/N Lake Naivasha Country Club

An early rising will ensure that one gets another magical display of the various birds. After breakfast we do a transfer by bus to the nearby Crater Lake Game Sanctuary. It is a lesser lake in the Rift Valley but a place where nature is at its best.

We do a walk in the sanctuary followed by a circular trek on the top of the crater from where we see the lake from various angles. Pleasant interruptions on the walks will be from giraffes, black and white Colobus monkeys, elands and a range of gazelles.

Day 5: Aberdare Sanctuary Walk. O/N Sangare Tented Camp

We now leave the Rift Valley for the central Kenya highlands, with stops at the equator crossing and the Thompson Falls in Nyahururu.

We arrive at the Aberdare Country Club in time for lunch. In the afternoon we will walk in the Aberdare game sanctuary with opportunities to see warthogs, Thompson and Grant's gazelles, zebras, reticulated giraffes and the biggest antelopes: elands. On their own these animals are a wonder to watch but to do so while you are walking is an experience that has always brought joy to our guests. Warning: kindly reserve your films or memory space! There is a big temptation to take all the pictures on this day but take our word: there will still be other opportunities. Transfer to the Sangare Tented Camp for overnight.

Day 6: Sangare Ranch Walk. O/N Sangare Tented Camp

Leaving the camp on foot we will enter the open grassland by taking a right turn from the lake, where the big herd of the resident waterbucks, elands and bushbucks will make us stop for pictures and just for the sheer beauty of this antelope that is found in wet areas.

The walk is on a service road (used for game drives) and we move on towards the Sangare hill on relatively flat terrain before we get to the bottom of the hill. From here we use a path in the bush to climb up the hill where we get a one-off view over the whole area. We have a good view of the Sangare camp and the lake, the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Kenya and the Aberdare range. Picnic lunch is at the Sangare Hill.

We then circumnavigate the hill and enter back into the Sangare Ranch. Taking a different road through the ranch we will walk back looking for giraffes, impalas, zebras, warthogs, Thompson's and Grant's gazelles.

Back to the camp for overnight.

Day 7: Solio Ranch + Aberdare National Park. O/N Treetops

After breakfast we drive to the nearby Solio Ranch for an extensive game drive in the rhino sanctuary, which has the world's largest concentration of black rhinos. The white rhino is also found here as well as the reticulated giraffe, leopard, Lion and a wide range of plains game and bird life. We will drive around in the ranch but since this private sanctuary is little visited by the main tour operators, we will not have cars surrounding us.

Lunch is at the Outspan Hotel in Nyeri, which is also the check in place for Treetops.

Many people who come to the Aberdare National Park expressly visit the tree hotels for game viewing. Their interest is highly justified: to see Elephants, Buffaloes, Rhinos and other game coming to a floodlit waterhole right below the balcony of the hotel is really amazing.

Our hotel of choice is Treetops, which is designed for game viewing on a 3-storey structure standing on stilts. Treetops gets its name from the original hotel in which Princess Elizabeth arrived on Feb 5, 1952 and checked out on Feb 6 as the queen of England after her father, King George died in London during the night. The game viewing is an all-night show and many visitors pass the time focused on the waterhole where among the species frequenting are elephants, rhinos, hyenas, various gazelles, warthogs, giant forest hogs, the elusive bongo and with luck a leopard or a lion may pay a visit.

Day 8 & 9: To Samburu / Shaba Reserve. O/N Sarova Shaba Or Samburu Lodge

We drive up north to the Samburu / Shaba Reserve which without doubt measures up with Masai Mara when it comes to wildlife viewing. The habitat is dry but with the Ewaso Nyiro that runs through the park there is enough vegetation to sustain a wide variety and huge numbers of animals. Our 2.5 days will be spent on very relaxed game drives looking for elephants, buffaloes, reticulated giraffes, the unique gerenuk (also known as giraffe-neck gazelle), Grevy's and Burchell zebra and various gazelles.

For bird watchers Samburu is really exciting with rare species of the Northern Kenya found here. We are on the lookout for White-headed Buffalo-weaver, White-bellied Go-away bird, Red-billed and Von der Decken's Hornbills, Magpie and Fisher's Starling...

Day 10: Naro Moru. O/N Naro Moru River Lodge

To avoid the very long drive to Nairobi we will break the journey with a night in Naro Moru at the base of Mt. Kenya. This means that we can enjoy a last leisurely game drive in Samburu / Shaba and only leave the park after 10 a.m. Lunch will be at a garden restaurant in Nanyuki town. We arrive at the Naro Moru River Lodge in the late afternoon.

The Naro Moru area is very dry but there is a remaining patch of the Mount Kenya Forest and the lodge is set just on the forest border. The gentle flowing Naro Moru River separates the lodge from the forest and all the cottages are facing the river.

Dinner and overnight at the Naro Moru River Lodge.

Day 11: Naro Moru + To Nairobi For Outbound Flight

A walk in the garden and along the river trail reveals a colorful assortment of birds which are residents in this area such as African Green Pigeon, a range of Sunbirds like the Tacazze, Bronze and the Variable Sunbird, Rufous Chatterer, Chin-spot Batis, Giant Kingfisher, Mountain Wagtail, Turacos, White-Headed Wood-Hoopoe, Golden-Breasted Bunting and Northern Pied Babblers among others.

After lunch transfer to Nairobi for the evening flight out.

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 11, 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 at the table, tips and expenditure of personal nature.

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Contact us (Please quote that you are interested in Walking Safari 6).

Departures are at the traveler's convenience.

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