Kenya Safari: Lake Nakuru - Masai Mara - Zanzibar Tour

You will be met at Nairobi Airport and transferred to your hotel in this bustling city.

Check in and relax in your warm and friendly African surroundings.

This morning we visit the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (open only from 11 to 12 noon).

It took Daphne Sheldrick 28 years of trial and error to perfect the milk formula and complex husbandry required to rear orphaned African elephants, during the period that her husband was warden of Kenya's largest elephant sanctuary in Tsavo East National Park. Since then this sanctuary has gone on to save the lives of many orphaned elephant calves.

After lunch (own account) we visit the Giraffe Centre. Founded to save the endangered Rothschild Giraffe from extinction, this centre plays an important role in educating Kenyan school children on the country's wildlife and environment. It also allows visitors to come into close contact with the world's tallest species, including the opportunity to feed a gorgeous giraffe.

Today we depart from Nairobi travelling 3-hours to the Lake Nakuru region in the heart of the Great Rift Valley.

A soda lake on the floor of the Rift Valley, at certain times of the year Lake Nakuru is home to many flamingos and over 400 different bird species. The lake is also a haven for certain endangered species including the Rothschild giraffe and black and white rhino.

A full day on the road today as we travel 6.5-hours from Lake Nakuru to the Masai Mara National Park, named after the Masai people and the Mara River which divides the park.

We drive past Maai Mahiu and down to the vast plains on the floor of the Rift Valley, keeping an eye out for herds of giraffe and gazelle. From Narok, the district headquarters of this part of Maasailand, we traverse the "breadbasket" of Kenya, where acres of wheat and barley cover the landscape, as we travel towards the Masai Mara.

Masai Mara National Park is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of zebra and wildebeest from the adjoining Serengeti National Park. This phenomenon occurs every year from July to October, when game migrates along a circular route from the plains of the Serengeti to the Masai Mara and back again in search of fresh pastures, followed by hungry predators - most notably lions and hyena. Check into your lodge in this magnificent wildlife sanctuary.

Today is dedicated to game viewing on the open plains of the world famous Masai Mara conservancy region.

Nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley, the Masai Mara is famous for its many prides of lions, packs of hyena and other predators - as well as huge herds of wildebeest, which number over one million, zebra and giraffe. All the Big Five can be seen here, as well as numerous other species including the Thomson's gazelle, topi, kongoni, impala, roan antelope and hippo. The nocturnal bat-eared fox, rarely found elsewhere in Kenya, also inhabits this park as well as the endangered cheetah and black rhino. Bird watching is also excellent with over 450 different species including the vulture, marabou stork, secretary bird, hornbill, crowned crane, ostrich, long-crested eagle and African pygmy-falcon.

Set off early each morning, when game viewing conditions are at their best, to view the abundant wildlife of this region. Return to the lodge to rest in the heat of the day, before setting off again in the late afternoon for another game drive.

Note: If your lodge is in a private conservancy, you will need to pay locally (approx $80 pp) for any game drive that enters the Masai Mara National Reserve. As wildlife ranges freely between the surrounding conservancies & the national park, without any fences, this is only necessary during the migration season.

This morning enjoy some final game viewing in the Masai Mara, before your 4-hour overland transfer to Nairobi.

Check in and relax in your warm and friendly African surroundings.

Transfer to Nairobi Airport for your onward flight.

You will be met at Zanzibar Airport and transferred 1-hour to your beach hotel.

Check in and relax in your wonderful surroundings on this exotic East African spice archipelago.

Note: There is no lifting equipment at Zanzibar airport and you will be carried off the plane.

At leisure to relax on the warm golden Indian Ocean beaches of the beautiful Zanzibar archipelago.

Transfer to Zanzibar Airport for your flight home.

Note: There is no lifting equipment at Zanzibar airport and you will be carried into the plane.