Birding Safari

Birding Safari

Itinerary at a Glance

Day	Location	Accommodation	Meals	Activity
1	Nairobi	The Panafric Hotel		Trf
2	Meru	Leopard Rock Lodge	B,L,D	P
3	Meru	Leopard Rock Lodge	B,L,D	A,P
4	Aberdare	Sangare Tented Camp	B,L,D	P
5	Aberdare	Sangare Tented Camp	B,L,D	A,P
6	Lake Nakuru	Flamingo Hill Camp	B,L,D	P
7	Lake Baringo	Lake Baringo Club	B,L,D	P
8	Masai Mara	Mara Sentrim Camp	B,L,D	P
9	Masai Mara	Mara Sentrim Camp	B,L,D	A,P
10	Masai Mara	Mara Sentrim Camp	B,L,D	A,P
11	Amboseli	Amboseli Sentrim Camp	B,L,D	P
12	Amboseli	Amboseli Sentrim Camp	B,L,D	A,P
13	Tsavo West	Ngulia Safari Lodge	B,L,D	P
14	Tsavo West	Ngulia Safari Lodge	B,L,D	A,P
15	Depart

KEY: B- Breakfast, L- Lunch, D- Dinner, Trf – Transfers, Flt - Flight, E- Game drive before breakfast, A- Morning game drive, P – Afternoon game drive

Detail Itinerary
Day -1 – Nairobi
Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – Nairobi, you will be welcomed by Naked Wilderness representative and assisted for your transfer to your hotel in Nairobi. Overnight at The Panafric Hotel on bed and breakfast basis.

Day 2 – Meru National Park
Depart after breakfast from Nairobi and cross the equator, heading Northward to the grassland area, which forms the bridge between Kenya lush south and parched north. As you drive to your lodge watch out for herds of impalas, Grant gazelles, and African buffalo as you enter Meru National Park. Dinner and overnight at Leopard Rock Lodge (LDBB)

Day 3 – Meru National Park
A full day of game driving includes outings at dawn, when animals are most active, and in the late morning and afternoon, when the light is best for photography. Meru National Park had seen leaner times in the early nineties when poaching was rampant. Thanks to the efforts of Kenya wildlife Service and in particular its Senior Wardens both past and present, the Park has gone back to its previous richness of wildlife. Nowadays, lions, cheetahs, elephants, buffalo, and of course, rhinos can be seen regularly. Apart from eradicating poaching from the Park, the Kenya Wildlife Service has also reintroduced thousands of wild animals such as zebras, impalas, reticulated giraffes, elephants, and rhinos. Therefore Meru National Park is today a rewarding wildlife experience equal to any other Park in East Africa. In addition, Meru offers a variety of landscapes unparalleled in Kenya and arguably in East Africa. An environment that is normally dry, as is most of Northern Kenya, is transformed by the thirteen perennial rivers flowing through it, which originate in the Nyambeni Hills to the west. These waters are the main reason for the Park’s spectacular diversity of wildlife and landscapes. All meals and overnight at Leopard Rock Lodge

Day 4 – Aberdare National Park
After breakfast drive to the foothill of Aberdare ranges. Arrive at Sangare Tented Camp in time for lunch. The camp is located in a 6500 acre private ranch in the northern foothills of the Aberdare Mountains in Central Kenya. The camp situated in the Aberdare's most exquisite settings, overlooks a magnificent fresh water lake against the backdrop of Sangare hill.The spectacular views across the vast savannah make Sangare one of the richest private wildlife sanctuaries.The terrain hosts elephants, buffalos, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, leopards, warthogs amongst many others. Enjoy and afternoon game drive and return to the camp at sunset. Dinner and overnight at Sangare Tented Camp.

Day 5 – Aberdare National Park
Enjoy a superb game drive in our wild vast plains as you admire the different species of animals, including giraffes, elephants, leopards, zebras, buffalos, antelopes, zebroids amongst others. Sangare Lake is home to over 300 species of African as well as migratory birds.
Enjoy a walk through the variety of birds with our qualified naturalist with lectures on the Surrounding areas. All meals and overnight at Sangare Tented Camp

Day 6 – Lake Nakuru National Park
Depart from Aberdares and head for Lake Nakuru Park, regarded by avid birders’ as one of the greatest ornithological spectacles on the Earth. The park is famous for its millions of pink flamingoes lining the lake shore, arriving by mid morning at Lake Nakuru for a game drive en route before checking-in at flamingo camp for Lunch. Afternoon game drive followed by a drive along the shores which will also allow us to see the many wild animals in the park which is also a Sanctuary for Black Rhino,White Rhino and the Rothschild Giraffe. Here we’ll have the chance to look out at some of the common species like the Lesser and Greater Flamingoes, African fish Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Green Wood Hoopoes, Cliff Chat, Great White and Pink Backed Pelicans plus other intra- African Migrants. Dinner and Overnight stay today will be at Flamingo Camp.

Day 7 - Lake Nakuru/Lake Baringo
All morning will be spent in Lake Nakuru National Park. More bird possibilities include Hamerkop, Cape and Hottentots Teals, Tawny Eagle, Kittlitz's Plover, Red-chested and Klaas' Cuckoos, Nyanza Swift, Greater Honeyguide, White-browed Robin-chat, Arrow-marked Babbler, Grey-crested Helmet-shrike, Rüppell's Glossy-starling, and Golden-breasted Bunting. Our next destination is a fresh-water lake in the north called Lake Baringo. Here the combination of a large lake in semi-desert country and the nearby Baringo cliffs provide the perfect habitat for a great diversity of bird life. Specialities in this area are Dark Chanting-goshawk, Heuglin's Courser, Northern White-faced Owl, Greyish Eagle-owl, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Jackson's and Hemprich's Hornbills, Black-throated Barbet, Red-fronted Warbler, Brown-tailed Chat, Somali Tit, Beautiful Sunbird, Bristle-crowned Starling, Golden-backed and Little Weavers, Northern Masked-weaver and Northern Red Bishop. Other possibilities in the area include Lanner Falcon, Verreaux's Eagle, Blue-naped Mousebird, Madagascar Bee-eater, Red-fronted Barbet, Northern Crombec, Pygmy Batis, Cardinal Quelea and Eastern Paradise-whydah. Overnight at the Lake Baringo Country Club.

Day 8 – Masai Mara Game Reserve
The morning will begin with an exciting boat trip on Lake Naivasha. Specialty birds we will be looking for while out on the lake include Pink-backed Pelican, Goliath and Purple Herons, Southern Pochard, African Marsh-harrier, Purple Swamphen, Lesser Moorhen, Three-banded Plover and Lesser Swamp-warbler. Thereafter traverse the Rift Valley and ascend its western rim into the Masai land.

The Mara is the northern extension of the famous Serengeti plains. Here we will find a wide assortment of bird life, as well as some of the most spectacular mammals on the continent. Complimenting the wildlife is the dramatic scenery of endless grasslands, lush river valleys, and steep rock strewn escarpments. Birds we can expect in this area of the Mara are Rufous-bellied Heron (depending on the situation of the locals), Saddle-billed Stork, Wahlberg's Eagle, Coqui and Red-necked Francolins, Grey Crowned-crane, Temminck's Courser, Wattled Lapwing, Ross' and Schalow's Turaco, Malachite and Woodland Kingfishers, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Rufous-chested Swallow, White-tailed Lark, Familiar Chat, Silverbird, Red-faced, Trilling and Tabora Cisticolas, Green-capped Eremomela, Black-crowned Tchagra, Hildebrandt's and Violet-backed Starlings, Yellow-fronted Canary and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. This is the best area in the Mara to see big game up close and some of the many mammals to be seen here include Black-backed Jackal, Bat-eared Fox, Banded Mongoose, Spotted Hyena, Serval Cat, African Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Bush Hyrax, African Elephant, Common Zebra, Hippopotamus, Common Warthog, Masai Giraffe, African Buffalo, Eland, Steinbuck, Bohor Reedbuck, Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles, Impala, Topi, Coke's Hartebeest, and thousands of Wildebeest. We will also see many massive Nile Crocodiles, some over 15ft in length, basking in the sun along the banks of the Mara River. Overnight at Mara Sentrim Camp

Days 9 & 10 – Masai Mara Game Reserve
Spend the day in the Mara. We will make a stop at the well-named Hippo Pools to see these huge beasts at close range. While birding the bush-covered hills and open grasslands we should find Secretary-bird, White-headed Vulture, Black-breasted and Brown Snake-eagles, Grey Kestrel, Southern Ground-hornbill, Little Bee-eater, Rosy-breasted Longclaw, Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks, Sooty Chat, Red-billed and Yellow-billed Ox-peckers, Cardinal Quelea, Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Grey-capped Social-weaver and African Quail-finch. Overnight at Mara Sentrim Camp on full board basis

Day 11 - Mara/Nairobi/Amboseli
After breakfast drive back to Nairobi for lunch. After and a brief refreshing break, drive over the Athi Plains, and enter AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK, situated at the foot of the impressive snow-capped peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain at 19,340 feet. Drive to the lodge with a game drive en route. Dinner and overnight at Amboseli Sentrim Camp on half board basis

Day 12 – Amboseli National Park
Breakfast at your lodge. Morning and afternoon game drives. The park offers a wide variety of wildlife but the principal attraction is its vast herds of elephant within the park. The bull elephants here have some of the largest tusks in Kenya. Other game includes: zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, leopard, caracal and serval cat. The park boasts a rich bird life such as ibis, egret, avocet, common and saddle-billed stork, secretary bird, heron, vultures, ducks, and geese. Overnight at Amboseli Sentrim Camp on full board basis.

Day 13 – Tsavo West National Park
Early morning game drive to view wildlife against the backdrop of Mt Kilimanjaro. After breakfast continue to Tsavo West to arrive in time for lunch at Ngulia Safari Lodge. Afternoon game drive in this vast area in search of wildlife. Overnight at Ngulia Safari Lodge on full board basis.

Day 14 – Tsavo West National Park
Full day in Tsavo West National Park which is a 9,000 sq km game park in southern Kenya, located about 200 km south-east of Nairobi. Separated only by the Mombasa/Nairobi road from Tsavo East, Tsavo West is part of the entire Tsavo eco-system. Famous for the Mzima Springs, with its unique underwater hippo observatory, and for the Shaitani lava flows and Chaimu volcanic crater, the park offers plenty of opportunity to explore on foot. In addition the park has recorded over 600 species of birds. The park also holds an important rhino sanctuary and is famous for elephant. Morning and afternoon game drives. Overnight at Ngulia Safar Lodge on full board basis

Day 15 - Depart
After breakfast drive back to Nairobi and transfer to the airport for your flight back home.

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