inspiration

kenya: big tuskers safari

Private Safari
From $14,820 pp
4 guests
13 nights

trip highlights

  • On Tawi's private conservancy at Amboseli's edge, night drives and guided walks follow the elephant paths between the park and the Chyulu Hills, with Kilimanjaro on the horizon.
  • Mara North caps any sighting at five vehicles and keeps bed numbers low, giving quiet predator viewing on the border of the national reserve.
  • At Borana you can track rhino on foot with the rangers who monitor them daily, on land that holds over 200 black and white rhino.
  • Borana keeps stables for every level, so you can ride among zebra and giraffe without the noise of an engine before returning to the waterhole at dusk.
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Three African elephants with tusks facing camera closeup

Three Conservancies and a Mountain

The route links three of Kenya’s conservancies over 13 nights, beginning in Nairobi below the Ngong Hills. From there it moves to Amboseli, where community-held Maasai land carries elephants between the park and the Chyulu Hills under Kilimanjaro. Next comes Mara North, a low-density conservancy on the northern Maasai Mara plains, and it closes in the Laikipia Highlands at Borana, a private rhino sanctuary beside Lewa.

You travel by game drive across private conservancies, which allows night drives, off-road approaches and guided walks the national parks do not. Days hold morning and afternoon drives, walks on foot and, at Borana, horse riding and biking. Each lodge is a small property rooted in its landscape, from a Lamu-inspired home in Karen to tented and stone cottages built into their ground.

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Daily Itinerary Breakdown

Nairobi at the Foot of the Ngong Hills

Your first night sits in Karen, a leafy Nairobi suburb at the foot of the Ngong Hills, with Nairobi National Park, the Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust all close by. At around 1,795 metres the air is cool and dry, a comfortable place to rest before hotter country. Built by the Roumeguere family on their own land, Manzili House was raised by artisans brought up from Lamu, its white living spaces opening onto a central courtyard and pool. An in-house chef cooks to order, and every bedroom has a private veranda.

Elephants and Kilimanjaro at Amboseli

From Nairobi you come south to Amboseli, onto community-held Maasai land where elephant herds cross between the park and the Chyulu Hills. Because this is private conservancy rather than national park, the days can run night drives and walks on foot to read the tracks, while the Kimana Gate lets a morning move into the park itself. A waterhole sets the rhythm, drawing elephant, buffalo and giraffe, with more than 400 bird species recorded across the wider land. Tawi Lodge stands within the conservancy, its thatched cottages turned toward Kilimanjaro, with two bars, a mezzanine library and a small spa.

Low-Density Predator Country in the Mara

North on the Maasai Mara plains, Mara North Conservancy works to a low-density model, with no more than five vehicles at any sighting and bed numbers kept deliberately low. The result is quiet, uncrowded predator viewing on the border of the reserve, and Mara North carries strong predator numbers the year round; from roughly July to October wildebeest and zebra pour across the plains. Game drives run in 4x4s morning and afternoon, off-road driving is permitted, and balloon flights and armed bush walks fill out the days. Kicheche Mara North sits in Acacia Valley in a grove of wild olive, its guides all holding a Silver-level rating.

Rhino and Riding in the Laikipia Highlands

The trip ends in the Laikipia Highlands at Borana, a private rhino sanctuary above the Samangua Valley with Mount Kenya to the south. Twenty-one black rhino were reintroduced in 2013, and since the boundary with Lewa came down the two form a single landscape of more than 92,000 acres, now home to over 200 black and white rhino. You can track rhino on foot with the rangers who monitor them daily, ride among zebra and giraffe, and take night drives and guided walks. Borana Lodge sits terraced into a hillside in eight cottages of local stone and cedar, above a dam that draws elephant, giraffe and baboon through the day.

Ed Charles photographing wildlife

Ed Charles, BBC Producer

Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.

Ed Charles

Bafta & Emmy award winning film producer of BBC’s Planet Earth 2 and A Perfect Planet

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Close-up portrait of a dark-furred primate looking directly at camera Modern hotel building lit at dusk with palm trees, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda Thatched-roof lodge nestled among trees with mountains beyond, Mount Gahinga Lodge, Mgahinga National Park, Uganda Outdoor dining setup beneath acacia trees and natural shade, Serian “The Original”, Maasai Mara, Kenya Guests viewing landscape from tent entrance at camp, Kitich Camp, Northern Kenya, Kenya Giraffes at manor house entrance during golden hour sunset, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya Resort pool area at dusk with surrounding buildings and trees, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda Spacious bedroom with four-poster bed and fireplace, Mount Gahinga Lodge, Mgahinga National Park, Uganda Luxury safari tent bedroom with four-poster bed and seating, Serian “The Original”, Maasai Mara, Kenya Interior view of safari tent with open entrance and guests outside, Kitich Camp, Northern Kenya, Kenya Turquoise lap pool lined with loungers beneath stone archway, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya Luxury bedroom with red headboard and balcony view, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda Guest observing gorilla in lush forest vegetation, Mount Gahinga Lodge, Mgahinga National Park, Uganda Safari tent interior with canopy bed and seating area, Serian “The Original”, Maasai Mara, Kenya

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Planning a journey together

our approach

remote, exclusive
& personal

Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.

Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.

Get in touch to start planning yours.

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