kenya
the rift, the reserve & the reef
Ten nights across Kenya, from the Rift Valley lakes to the Maasai Mara, the Lamu coast and Nairobi's rhino country.
- Private Safari
- From $6,930 pp
- 2 guests
- 10 nights
Thirteen nights link Nairobi with four wildlife regions. You begin on the city’s edge, then travel north to the Namunyak Conservancy on the slopes of the Mathews Range, Samburu-owned land where the waterhole sets the day. Next comes the Laikipia Highlands and Borana’s rhino country, then the low-density Mara North Conservancy on the northern Maasai Mara, and finally the far north of the Serengeti above the Mara River.
Days run beyond the standard game drive, into night drives, guided walks, horse riding and balloon flights, led in the conservancies by local teams. The five stays range from a 1930s manor house to hillside tents, stone cottages, a Mara camp in an olive grove and a lodge built into a Serengeti kopje, each with its own page and standard.
Land in Nairobi and settle into the leafy suburbs of Karen and Langata, forty-five to sixty minutes from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and less from Wilson. The estate's resident herd of endangered Rothschild's giraffes moves freely between forest and lawn, drifting up to the house at the morning and late-afternoon feeding times to take pellets from your hand. Giraffe Manor is a 1930s house on twelve acres within a larger stretch of indigenous forest, where the giraffes push their long necks through the dining-room windows at breakfast.
In the Namunyak Conservancy, 850,000 acres owned outright by the Samburu community, the waterhole sets the rhythm of the day as elephants, kudu and warthog file down to drink. A day might run from a game drive into a night drive, lead off-road on foot into montane forest for colobus monkeys and cycads, or turn to horseback rides across the plains, guided by Samburu who have known the terrain since childhood. Nearby, warriors dig wells deep into dry riverbeds and pass water hand to hand up a human chain. Sarara Camp holds six tents spaced along a rocky hillside above the water, each with a private veranda and a solar-heated open-air shower facing the Mathews Range.
In the Laikipia Highlands, Borana joins the neighbouring Lewa Wildlife Conservancy across a single continuous landscape of more than 92,000 acres, home to over 200 black and white rhino. Rangers monitor the animals daily, and you can join them on foot, tracking individuals and seeing how the anti-poaching patrols work. Days also hold horse-riding safaris among zebra and giraffe, guided walks, e-biking and night drives, with Mount Kenya rising to the south. Borana Lodge terraces eight cottages of local stone and cedar into a hillside above the Samangua Valley, over a dam that draws elephant, giraffe and baboon through the day.
On the northern plains of the Maasai Mara, in Mara North Conservancy, game drives run morning and afternoon in customised 4x4s, with off-road driving allowed to reach a sighting and no more than five vehicles at any single one. The conservancy carries strong predator numbers the year round, and between roughly July and October wildebeest and zebra pour across the plains. Guided walks with an armed ranger and sunrise balloon flights fill out the days. Kicheche Mara Camp sits in Acacia Valley, tucked into a grove of wild olive and croton above the seasonal Olare Orok stream, where zebra and antelope graze within sight of the tents.
In the far north of the Serengeti, only a few kilometres from the Mara River crossing points, the game drives track the wildebeest migration as the columns build toward the water between July and October. Resident lion, elephant and plains game work the Lamai Wedge long after the herds move south, so the viewing holds up outside the crossing months, and vehicle numbers stay lower than on the busier southern plains. Lamai Serengeti stands high on Kogakuria Kopje, twelve open-fronted rooms of canvas, natural poles and stone stepping up through granite boulders, with a pool carved into the rock and long sightlines north toward the Kenyan border.
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.
kenya
Ten nights across Kenya, from the Rift Valley lakes to the Maasai Mara, the Lamu coast and Nairobi's rhino country.
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rated five stars by our clients
our approach
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.