Dream Safari & Beach Paradise

After a wonderful breakfast, it’s time to depart for the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. The respected magazine National Geographic brilliantly describes the meeting with the elephant orphanage; You will have the opportunity to get up close to the elephants, watch them eat and play, while a zookeeper will tell you more about their lives, how they cope and their future opportunities.

From there you drive on to the Giraffe Centre. It is a small park where you are allowed to hand-feed a giraffe and really get the feeling of the size of a giraffe.

Lunch is taken at the legendary Carnivore, where you can satisfy your hunger with a delicious meat buffet.

After lunch you drive to the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen moved to Kenya in 1914 to marry and become Baroness Blixen, you will get a guided tour. A beautiful garden has been laid out around the house and the view of the Ngong mountains in the distance is still as beautiful as when the baroness herself lived in the house.

After the museum tour, you must visit Kazuri Beads. Kazuri means “small and beautiful” in Swahili, which is very indicative of the beautiful jewellery that is produced here. It will be possible to visit the factory and greet some of the over 100 women who help produce jewellery and pottery. Afterwards, it is possible to visit the shop and buy some souvenirs to take home at a favourable price.

After breakfast, it is time to drive to the Ol Pejeta private nature reserve, still called Sweetwaters by many after the original and smaller part of the reserve, which is located at the foot of Mount Kenya. In clear weather there is a spectacular view towards the regularly snow-covered peak, which with its 5,199 meters is Africa’s second highest mountain. You will spend the rest of the day is at your leisure, where you can relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Today you have to get up early to go on a game drive and see the animals when they are most active. Ol Pejeta contains all the classic savanna game you can think of, and on top of this a number of specialities/rarities. There is a good population of elephants and buffaloes here, and you can also experience both the black and the white rhinoceros.

You will experience a large population of the world’s tallest animals – giraffes. In the reserve live the so-called reticulated giraffes, hippos as they grunt and communicate with each other, a large variety of antelopes and gazelles, where you may be lucky to see the rare but beautiful species such as oryx and hartebeest. All the big predators also thrive in Ol Pejeta: lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and striped hyenas, while the rare African wild dog can also be seen with some luck.

Several species of monkeys live in the area, with velvet monkeys and baboons as the most common, but there are also a few specialties such as the slender and elegant house colobus and chimpanzees. In the afternoon, you will visit the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a charming oasis established by the Jane Goodall Institute to provide protection for orphaned and abused chimpanzees.

Finally, you will also visit the Rhino Sanctuary, which was home to the world’s last 3 northern white rhinos. Unfortunately, the last male – Sudan – has passed away, and thus there are only 2 females left. You will hear more about the work to protect the endangered rhinoceros from poachers.

After breakfast it is time to drive to Nakuru. It is Kenya’s 4th largest city and the provincial capital of the Great Rift Valley. The drive takes approx. 6 hours and along the way there will be an opportunity to stop so you can take pictures of the fantastic view over parts of the valley. The Great Rift Valley is an almost 6,000-kilometer-long valley that runs all the way from northern Syria down to Mozambique.

You make a stop at Thomson’s Fall at Nyahururu. The 72-meter-long waterfall is named after the Scottish explorer Joseph Thomson. In 1880, the Royal Geographic Society in England gave him the task of finding the shortest route from Mombasa to the shores of Lake Victoria. Approaching Nyahururu, he discovered the waterfall in a dense forest. The sight fascinated him so much that, in a state of pure euphoria, he named the waterfall after himself.

In Nakuru it is possible to go on a bit of sightseeing in the city or take a trip up to Menengai Crater (at your own expense). The crater is the largest volcanic caldera in Kenya (second largest in Africa) and offers stunning views over the area.

After a good night’s sleep, it’s time for an experience out of the ordinary when you go to visit a primary school and experience a completely ordinary school day. In terms of grades, Kabarbesi is the school that the other schools in the district benchmark themselves against, as the students do very well in the national tests. Therefore, there is both a natural pride and humility about the results they create.

You will participate in the classes so that you can get an idea of how classes are conducted in Kenya. It is also possible to participate in various play activities with the children. You eat lunch in the company of the teachers, where you can exchange experiences with the school system in Denmark. With your visit, you also help to ensure that all the school children get lunch that day.

After an eventful day with many memorable experiences, it’s time to drive on to your hotel in Narok, close to the Masai Mara.

After breakfast, drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve. Masai Mara National Reserve is probably the best-known national park in Kenya, partly because of the unique wildlife and the chances to see the animals in their natural environment, and partly because of the name that covers the colourful tribe, the Masai.

The almost iconic local population, the Maasai, are a semi-nomadic warrior tribe known for their brightly coloured clothing and decorations, and not least their jumping warriors. Despite the warlike lineage, the Maasai are a very friendly and hospitable people.

After lunch, you will spend the afternoon in a village with the Maasai tribe, participating in their normal daily activities. You hear them talk about their lives and traditions, and you also participate in the preparations for the cooking, where goats are to be slaughtered for the famous barbecue “Nyama Choma”. By the glow of the fire, stories and anecdotes are exchanged. After an eventful afternoon with many memorable experiences, you drive back to your lodge.

You leave early from your lodge to go on a full-day game drive in what is probably the most beautiful safari park in Kenya in search of The Big Five – the rhinoceros, the lion, the leopard, the elephant, and the buffalo. The term dates back to the 1800s, when big game was hunted on foot. The hunters judged that these five animals were the most difficult and dangerous to kill. So even though the term originates from a bygone era, nothing has changed in that it is still an achievement and requires a lot of luck to spot these five animals.

Masai Mara is part of the fantastic ecosystem Masai Mara National Reserve – Serengeti National Park (Tanzania), where the world’s most spectacular animal migration – The Great Migration – takes place. Millions of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles wander between the 2 parks every year in search of water and grass.

The day is devoted to another all-day game drive. The Masai Mara is particularly known for its population of big cats: lions, cheetahs, and leopards. In fact, the area is the place in Africa with the most lions.

You have a picnic basket with you so you can have lunch somewhere along the Mara River and enjoy the view of the hippos relaxing on the surface of the water. The Mara River is also home to the largest Nile crocodiles in Africa.

On the way to the airport, you drive through the savannah, where you may be lucky enough to witness the predators hunting their prey.

You are flying to Mombasa. You will have a stopover in Nairobi, where you will change to the flight that departs for Mombasa. The flight with a stopover takes approx. 4 hours in total.

You will arrive at your hotel around lunchtime, where you will have the opportunity to relax by the hotel swimming pool. The resort is located north of Mombasa close to the Indian Ocean. Off the beach is the world’s second longest coral reef – it is possible to sail out to the corals, where you can snorkel, but it is also possible to experience the beautiful sight on board a glass bottom boat.

The day is devoted to doing whatever you want. You can choose to stay at the hotel and relax by the swimming pool, so you can really get into gear. Or you can choose to go on different excursions. As inspiration can be mentioned:

Fort Jesus: Mombasa’s largest museum and attraction. The fort was built in 1593 by Portuguese sailors and was used to defend the city against possible attacks from outside. Mombasa was at the time a transit point for trade and the gateway to India. Part of the trade were slaves, and the fort contains prison cells and torture rooms that were used for the slaves before they were traded.

The old town: In the old town it is possible to experience Mombasa’s very varied architecture, which tells about the city’s history with its strong European, Arab, and African influences.

Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park: The marine park was established to protect the scenic islands and special habitats for a large number of endemic marine animals and migratory birds. It is considered the most magnificent of all Kenyan marine parks. The park covers an area of 39 km² and includes 4 small islands surrounded by coral reefs. The main attractions are dolphins (bottleneck and humpback dolphins), sea turtles, seabirds, and a host of coral fish.

The day is devoted to doing whatever you want. You can choose to stay at the hotel and relax by the swimming pool, so you can really get into gear. Or you can choose to go on different excursions. As inspiration can be mentioned:

Fort Jesus: Mombasa’s largest museum and attraction. The fort was built in 1593 by Portuguese sailors and was used to defend the city against possible attacks from outside. Mombasa was at the time a transit point for trade and the gateway to India. Part of the trade were slaves, and the fort contains prison cells and torture rooms that were used for the slaves before they were traded.

The old town: In the old town it is possible to experience Mombasa’s very varied architecture, which tells about the city’s history with its strong European, Arab, and African influences.

Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park: The marine park was established to protect the scenic islands and special habitats for a large number of endemic marine animals and migratory birds. It is considered the most magnificent of all Kenyan marine parks. The park covers an area of 39 km² and includes 4 small islands surrounded by coral reefs. The main attractions are dolphins (bottleneck and humpback dolphins), sea turtles, seabirds, and a host of coral fish.

After breakfast it is time to take the train back to Nairobi. The train journey takes 5 hours and on parts of the route you drive through national parks, where there is an opportunity to experience some wildlife.

Outside the train station in Nairobi, your guide will be waiting for you, who will take you to the airport to fly home. Nicely relaxed and filled with lots of good holiday memories and, of course, unique spot shots.