Exploring the Wild: An Unforgettable Safari Adventure in Kenya
- khdeutmeyer
- 2 hours ago
- 18 min read
After traveling to South Africa for our first safari, we developed the "safari bug" and couldn't wait to return to Africa for our next adventure in Kenya!
I interviewed four travel consultants located in Kenya before selecting Africa Safari Trips for our safari adventure. https://africasafaritrips.com/kenya/ I worked closely with Ruth from Africa Safari Trips to plan our 14-night safari through Kenya. Due to last minute flight changes, we ended up adding three additional safari days at the end of our trip and returned to one of our favorite parks for additional game drives! We also decided early on that we wanted a fully private safari not sharing our jeep with other travelers. While we like being social and meeting new people, photography was my main priority. In South Africa our game drives were arranged by the camp so we had a different guide at each camp and shared our our vehicle with other guests at each of the camps. With Kenya, we had one driver for our first fourteen nights and a private jeep that was our own vehicle for the entire journey. We had a second guide and a private jeep for the three days we added due to the flight changes. It was a much better experience all around! I would highly recommend a private safari versus a group safari unless traveling with close friends or relatives. In between the 14-day and 3-day safari days, we traveled to the Seyschelle Islands for a beach vacation. More on that trip in another post!
“Kenya was an authentic African experience. From the culture, to the beautiful people, to the amazing animals throughout the parks, I cannot say enough about the Kenyan people and the beautiful country! It was more than I could have ever imagined! There are journeys that etch themselves into memory, not merely for the sights but for the sense of awe they inspire."
Kenya is located in Eastern Africa with coastline on the Indian Ocean. The equator runs through the country and the landscapes range from savannah, lake lands, the dramatic Great Rift Valley and mountain highlands. It's also home to wildlife like lions, elephants and rhinos. From a Amboseli National Park located in the south of Kenya, there are amazing views of Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro. We decided to tour as much of Kenya as possible in the time we had in the country. We also chose to have our guide drive us from park to park to experience the local people and villages. When we were visiting South Africa, we flew between Cape Town and Kruger National Park and felt we missed so much of the culture and people of the country. We made sure this wasn't the situation with Kenya. Our journey took us to Amboseli National Park, Lake Naivasha, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Lake Nakuru National Park, Samburu National Reserve, Ol' Pejeta Conservancy, Nairobi National Park, and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Seventeen days in Kenya went so quickly with each day being unique and amazing. We decided immediately we will return to Kenya in the near future but also travel to Tanzania for another safari!
AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
Our trip began with a flight from Chicago to Paris and then direct to Nairobi, Kenya. We stayed our first night at the Argyle Grand Hotel in Nairobi. We noticed the security was very high in Nairobi and including our hotel. We had to go through a locked gate and a security airport scanner to enter the Argyle. We were happy we only had one night in Nairobi before our guide picked us up to head out on our safari journey.
Our first stop was Amboseli National Park, a four hour drive from Nairobi. Amboseli National Park is in southern Kenya. It’s known for its large elephant herds and views of immense Mount Kilimanjaro, across the border in Tanzania. We arrived at Amboseli by early afternoon and were able to check into our lodge, the Amboseli Sopa Lodge near the Amboseli National Park. https://www.sopalodges.com/amboseli-sopa-lodge/the-lodge We stayed in a hut rather than a tent at the Sopa Lodge. The lodge had amazing views of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which is in Tanzania and is the highest mountain in Africa. We enjoyed the Vervet monkeys running among the huts and throughout the lodge green space! Guests had to ensure their windows were closed and doors locked to avoid the Vervet monkeys breaking in and stealing whatever they could find in the hut! Below are photos from our camp at the Sopa Lodge.
Our game drive days at every park typically started at 7:00 a.m. with a quick breakfast and then into the jeep for our morning game drive. We decided the night before with our driver if we wanted to stay out on an all day game drive and bring packed lunches with us in the jeep or if we wanted to return about 1:00 p.m. for lunch at the lodge and then meet up at 3:45 p.m. for a late afternoon game drive. We typically stayed out in the park the majority of the day and had the camp make us box lunches. The parks are so vast and typically you are miles away from the camp so it made more sense to stay out for the day versus going back and forth to camp for lunch. We had no difficulties finding picnic areas for our lunch and all parks had bathroom facilities located in various locations throughout the park. Our jeep was a Land Rover and was equipped with a portable refrigerator for beverages and our lunches.
Below are photos from the our adventures in Amboseli National Park!
LAKE NAIVASHA
After a couple of safari game drive days in Amboseli, we departed for Lake Naivasha. Traveling to Lake Naivasha, we were able to see much of the local culture and many town centers. Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which lies north west of Nairobi. Lake Naivasha is known for its abundance of hippos and birds. Travel time is close to five hours from Amboseli to Lake Naivasha. Naivasha was a stop for one night on the way to the most well known park in Kenya, Masai Mara. We took an afternoon boat ride on Lake Naivasha and a walking safari on Crescent Island. We stayed at Lake Navaisha Simba Lodge near the lake. The lodge is surrounded by lush gardens and the calm waters of Lake Navaisha. https://simbalodges.com/location/lake-naivasha-simba-lodge/ We woke up to a zebra laying next to our porch just outside our patio doors and to more zebras roaming in the garden area our room overlooked. We were also fortunate enough to see two hippos in the lake close to our room too! The Simba Lodge was such a wonderful and peaceful location!
The boat ride across Lake Naivasha to Crescent Island was picturesque with mountains as a backdrop and the home to over 1000 hippos and over 400 species of birds. This trip was a photographers and nature lovers paradise. Fisherman illegally fish in Lake Naivasha doing all they can do to avoid the hippos. It was scary to witness. Four fisherman had recently lost their lives to hippos just a few months before our trip on Lake Naivasha. Once we were to Crescent Island, a naturalist from the park met us and walked us freely around the island among giraffes, zebras, impala, and wildebeest. It was a very relaxing afternoon! Photos below are of our drive from Amboseli Park to Lake Naivasha and then of the wonderful birds and wildlife on Lake Naivasha and Crescent Island.
MAASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE
After a night at Lake Naivasha, we headed to the Maasai Mara. An area that is one of the most famous places for a safari in the world! It is located in western Kenya and is one of the biggest game reserves in Africa. The Maasai Mara National Reserve has more than 95 species of mammals and more than 400 species of birds. Big cats are frequently spotted here, as the Maasai Mara is famous for its large density of lions. The landscape has grassy plains and rolling hills, and is crossed by the Mara and Talek rivers. The area nearby is dotted with villages of Maasai people. The park does not allow jeeps off the trails or roads. Rangers periodically drive throughout the park and the fines are steep if a driver is caught off the road or trail. We do not want to crowd or anger the animals by pulling jeeps too close.
On the drive from Lake Naivasha to Maasai Mara, we stopped at a couple of very large souvenir shops with products handcrafted in the local villages. Much of the merchandise also seems massed produced. Stopping at these souvenir shops provided a good break from the road time between parks and every stop had very clean and modern restrooms! We learned very quickly that everything in the shops were negotiable. We never paid full price!
In Maasai Mara we stayed at the Zebra Plains Mara Camp, our first tented camp of the
safari! https://zebraplainscollection.com/zebra-plains-mara-camp/ Driving to the camp we often saw giraffes and elephants. The camp was surrounded with electric fencing to keep out the wildlife and provide for a good nights rest! The tent was very comfortable with our own bathroom facilities, ceiling fans, sufficient lighting, comfortable bedding and we felt secure. I wasn't a fan of the food in Kenya but the restaurant had many selections at meal time so I always seemed to find something to eat. I highly recommend the camp.
The abundance of wildlife in Maasai Mara was incredible and one of the finest in any game reserve in the world! We were like other tourists wanting to see the "Big Five" which includes the Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Leopard, and Buffalo.
Other animals that every safari tourist must see are the Cheetah, Giraffe, Hippo and Zebra. We were fortunate to see four of the big five animals in Maasai Mara. The leopard eluded us in Maasai Mara. I was also on a quest to find lion cubs. On our first three days in the reserve, we were not successful, but during our second trip to Maasai Mara, our guide drove us to an area of the reserve we didn't see in our first visit and we found the lion cubs. Persistence paid off! We spent a total of five full days in Maasai Mara on game drives and I still feel we didn't see the entire reserve. The landscapes are so varied from one end to the reserve to the other and the weather can change rapidly. Maasai Mara is a reserve you could spend at least a week and not see everything. I recommend spending at least 4-5 days in Maasai Mara on safari to see as much as you can of this incredible game reserve. We decided our next trip to Africa, we will stay at a camp in a private conservancy in the Maasai Mara that has a higher density of lions so we have a higher chance of seeing more lion cubs and prides.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve and its surrounding conservancies are world-renowned for having one of the highest lion densities in Africa. It's the best place on the continent to observe these majestic cats in their natural habitat. Lions in the Maasai Mara live in prides, which typically consist of 7 to 20 individual lions. We were fortunate to come across one of the famous lion prides on our first day in the Reserve, the Rongai Pride. The pride is comprised of 20 lions and are known for their powerful buffalo hunting and successfully raising multiple generations of cubs. The pride originally was comprised of five brothers from the Black Rock Pride but only Oloshipa and Oloimina remain today. Below are photos from our adventures in Maasai Mara!
LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK
We left Maasi Mara and drove to Lake Nakuru National Park. It is a much smaller park and known for its white and black rhinoceros, Calabash white and black monkeys, giraffes, water buffalo, flamingos and pelicans. Lake Nakuru forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed lake system and is one of East Africa's most important wetland and endangered species conservation areas. With a smaller park, the wildlife is concentrated and not dispersed reducing the amount of driving and searching during safari game drives. We were not expecting it, but we saw a couple of lions in the park. We stayed the night at Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge and had a beautiful room overlooking the lake. I would definitely recommend the Sopa Lodge. Their restaurant has an amazing buffet with a wide variety of food and I was even able to find something I liked! https://www.sopalodges.com/lake-nakuru-sopa-lodge/the-lodge Below are pictures of our game drive and stay at the Sopa Lodge in Lake Nakuru.
SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE
Samburu is a premier national reserve in northern Kenya north of the equator and is situated on a river with mountains in the background. The scenery was amazing! Samburu is famously known for its special five... Grevy's zebra (the stripes do not go all the way around its belly), reticulated giraffe (the brown spots are brown-orange patches separated by white lines), oryx, ostrich and genenuk. There are also lions, leopards, cheetahs, and a large population of elephants. We also saw many baboon and warthog families. We spent two and a half days on game drives in the reserve and didn't have much luck seeing herds of animals though. We didn't see one lion either. I was rather disappointed since Samburu was so hyped as a premier park. But the scenery was incredible. Prior to our arrival there had been several days of rain and apparently, the animals head for the mountains and higher ground when they have heavy rains. However, the only leopard we saw on the trip, was here in Samburu! It walked right by our jeep. That was a highlight of our time in Samburu. We also spent time with a very large cheetah and he also walked near our jeep.
We stayed at the Samburu Simba Lodge. https://simbalodges.com/location/samburu-simba-lodge/ We had a very nice room overlooking the river with Vervet Monkeys running about. The lodge had a wonderful pool area and a large tree near the reception area where hundreds of Village Weaver birds made their nests. These birds nest upside down and enter their nest from the underside. It was amazing to see. The birds and the wildlife we saw in Samburu are pictured below.
The travel day following our time in Samburu was long. We had several town centers to travel through to get to our next location at Ol'Pejeta Conservancy. Our trip was quite interesting finding ourselves in a traffic jam due to a political rally in one of the town centers. We were blocked in with local residents shouting and cheering for the candidate running for President against the sitting President of Kenya. As we sat and waited in the traffic, our guide locked our doors, told us to roll up the windows and put the pop up roof down. I started to get hot and nervous! Our driver got out asked several locals people to help guide us out of the traffic with us backing up, cutting across the traffic weaving through cars and trucks and then through local residences and back alley roads to get around the rally and back on the highway. It was very tedious but I appreciated the way the driver put our safety first and found a way out of the rally traffic jam. Below are a few photos of the rally and our drive toward Ol'Pejeta where we saw many shopping areas, local towns, local children, and we had a stop at the equator to receive our certificate for crossing the equator with an opportunity to shop for souvenirs!
OL'PEJETA CONSERVANCY
We left Samburu doing one last morning game drive and then headed to Ol'Pejeta Conservancy. The drive was beautiful passing through green pastures with rolling hills and beautiful mountain views. I was amazed at the landscape!
Ol'Pejeta is a private non-profit conservancy, not a public reserve or park. It is situated close to the equator. Ol'Pejeta prides itself on their cutting edge conservation efforts and uses the latest technology to monitor species populations, and smart fencing techniques that allow free movement of migratory wildlife. They are also the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa. I loved Ol'Pejeta! From the landscape, to our camp, to the abundance of wildlife, it was an incredible experience. I even found food I enjoyed at our camp! We stayed at the Serena Sweetwaters Camp in Ol'Pejeta.
https://www.serenahotels.com/sweetwaters?srsltid=AfmBOop4uiTYm9ILBEureZMEsLKlekMVNJMRPZsF5vMWYWOyXyTuIgOu Our tents were well equipped with nice amenities and overlooked grasslands with the mountains behind where we could view elephants, giraffe, warthogs, water buffalo, and rhinoceros, from the front porch of our tent. They provided hot water bottles at night in our bed to keep your feet warm! Definitely different than our heated blankets or mattress pads. But it worked and kept your feet warm all night. I could have stayed at this camp for several days. The conservancy is not as vast as the parks and the reserves so much easier to travel around. Photos of the elephants and rhinos near our glamping tents are below. The rhinos pictured are the endangered black rhino species. The black rhino is not black, like the white rhino, it is gray or brown. They are recognized by their rounded upper lip. We were fortunate to see them grazing out in front of our tent!
The game drives at Ol'Pejeta were not the same as the drives at the vast reserves like Samburu or Maasai Mara. We saw plenty of animals at Ol'Pejeta but it was more difficult to spot lions. The park was greener and more lush making it easier for animals to hide, rest and keep themselves cool. We were fortunate to see one pride of lions, many elephants and also the rhino! Photos are below from our game drives in Ol'Pejeta.
NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK
Every wonderful trip must come to a close. Our last couple of days were spent visiting Nairobi National Park, just outside of the city of Nairobi, the Giraffe Center and Sheldrick
Wildlife Trust, an orphanage for young elephants, a baby zebra and a baby hippo. Nairobi National Park is located in the city of Nairobi. It is hard to believe a vast park with wild animas is in the center of a large metropolitan city but it is! It is the worlds only wildlife capital with views of the city skyline from inside the park. Â
We entered the park by 7:00 a.m. and were able to see a rhino immediately and shortly thereafter, came across two male lions feeding on a water buffalo. One of the male lions walked by our jeep with a blood stained face and the smell of death in the air. While the park is not Maasi Mara, it is worth visiting for a half day game drive visit. Photos from our game drive in the Nairobi National Park are below.
GIRAFFE CENTER AND SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST
After visiting Nairobi National Park, we spent the other half of the day visiting the elephant orphanage, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/ and the Giraffe Center. "The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has received worldwide acclaim for its pioneering work in the rescue and rewilding of orphan elephants and rhinos, and its approach to species and habit conservation in Kenya." We thoroughly enjoyed Sheldrick and their story saving orphaned elephants and now one zebra, one rhino and since we have been there, they have adopted a baby hippo.
Their mission is admirable and has made a difference in the lives of many elephants. At the end of their tour and presentation of the orphaned animals, you can adopt an elephant or a hippo or zebra. I ended up adopting an elephant. As a sponsor, you receive a monthly diary and activity report for your animal and the others at the orphanage. However, I will be honest, I didn't understand the purpose of the Giraffe Center. We fed the giraffe by hand but it is nothing more than a glorified zoo. I would skip the giraffe center but be sure to visit the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Below are photos from our time at Sheldrick and the Giraffe Center.
Overall, we loved our trip to Kenya and felt it was a much more authentic experience than our safari experiences in South Africa. While I thought South Africa was an experience of a lifetime, it was nothing like our experience in Kenya. Kenya had greater cultural experiences and the people were much friendlier. Kenya was truly and experience of a lifetime! It was not a vacation but an ADVENTURE! I would return in a miute to Kenay and not think twice about it for a safari and for the beautiful people and culture.
I have been asked what are the necessities to take with you to Africa for a safari. The list is below:
Old walking or running shoes. It is dusty, so don't buy new shoes. Hiking shoes/boots would be good too.
Don't overpack. Luggage weight limits are lighter on the flights inside Africa.
Weather in February/March was beautiful. Temperature didn't get above 80 degrees the entire time we were in Kenya. I wore shorts a couple of days with a light long sleeve shirt. I mostly wore capri pants. We didn't have issues with the mosquitos.
It is not true that the animals don't like certain colors or that you need to wear muted colors. We work neutral tones most of the trip but other guests wore whatever color they wanted. The animals are not bothered by bright colors. I wouldn't recommend buying specific clothes for game drives.
Hat like a sun/safari hat is necessary.
Dress clothes for dinner...I didn't bring anything dressy. Some people chose to dress up but it was far from necessary. Majority wore comfortable safari clothes.
Bug spray and suntan lotion/spray.
Refillable water bottle. Plastic water bottles are available at the camps. You cannot drink the water. I would fill my water bottle up at the camp regularly using the water bottles and we were fortunate our jeep had a refrigerator so we always had water and snacks available.
Your favorite snacks. If you bring them, keep them locked in a safe so the Baboons don't get in and get them. I was glad we brought some of our own snacks and favorite food since I didn't love some of the traditional African dishes.
150 to 800mm camera lens if you have a DSLR camera. Many people used their Iphone but couldn't get close enough or it got too dark. I also had a second DLSR and used an 100 to 400 mm lens. We used both lenses and cameras along with our cell phones for video. A GoPro would be useful too.
Multifunction power outlet and power adapter based on the country. Outlets are not abundant in the huts so a multifunction outlet was very useful.
Small bills such as ones and fives for tips. You are constantly tipping. They like US dollars. Our US dollar and the Euro go along way in Africa.
We did the Malaria pills, and yellow fever shots prior to our trip per our doctor's recommendation. We didn't experience any issues with sickness.
TIPS TO TRAVEL ECONOMICALLY AND GET THE MOST FOR YOUR TIME AND MONEY
I also get asked many times, "How do you travel so often and keep it affordable?" A few tips are below:
For me, planning and researching is part of the excitement of the trip! Visioning is so much fun!!!
I plan all of my own trips and research, research, research on the internet. I utilize TripAdvisor, Frommer's, and blogs from other travelers to find the information I need for my trip. I do ALOT of reading and researching. It takes patience to plan a good affordable trip!
I have a budget in mind for each trip and challenge myself to stay in the budget. Depending on the location, I typically start planning and booking hotels, cars, etc., approximately 9 months out. Hotel prices usually get more expensive the closer to the trip unless you are willing to do a last minute internet deal. Car rental and airline prices also go up the closer it is to your trip. Occasionally you can get a last minute deal but something else may be more expensive and you are really not saving. I like to plan!
For hotels, I use Orbitz.com, Hotels.com, Booking.com, or Priceline.com. I look for hotels with good reviews, pay when you stay, and free cancellation in advance.
We have done all-inclusive in a couple of tropical locations years and years ago but found that we do not eat and drink enough to make it worth the extra expense. We like to go off site from the hotel and experience the local cuisine and traditions. We have not done all-inclusive in the last 15 years. However, all-inclusive is wonderful if you want to stay at the resort for all meals, not rent a car, and have the hotel shuttle you to your destinations. That has worked for us in Jamaica and it was very relaxing! But I would not drive in Jamaica so all-inclusive was the smartest option! If you enjoy all-inclusive, the earlier you book the trip the lower the price. Unless you are game and are not a planner, and are willing to travel where the last minute deal is advertised. Then you could get a great all-inclusive deal!
If we are flying, I use the Skyscanner app to check airfare prices and I try not to buy until about 60 to 75 days out. There are times where I will by earlier if the price is super reasonable. I usually do not book on Skyscanner. It will tell me the site that is the most affordable to purchase the tickets and if it is a more well known trust site, I go directly to the site to purchase the tickets. Many times Skyscanner will take you right to the airline website. Skyscanner will search all airlines and will sort by price, times, shortest trip, etc.
Have a credit card that gives you miles or hotel points. We will use points for many of our trips. We are American Advantage members and have an Advantage credit card. We try to fly American as often as we can to earn points and then use those points for future airline tickets. Our credit card is tied to our Advantage numbers and awards points as well.
We drive if the location is in the United States and we can drive and sightsee along the way. If we need to rent a car, we reserve online using Booking.com, Orbitz.com, or Priceline.com. They are usually the most reasonable. I watch for specials and never book a luxury vehicle! We also have a credit card with a low limit that we use for vehicle rentals that provides insurance as a credit card benefit. We always decline the insurance when we are in the United States. If we are traveling out of the United States, we check with the credit card if the insurance is valid internationally. We have found it is valid in Europe, Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands, but in other locations, we are forced to purchase the liability insurance from the rental car company.
While there are free maps online for most destinations, I always go onto Amazon and buy a map of my destination, especially if it is international. I do not buy maps for tropical Caribbean islands. I just get one when we arrive. But for countries like Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, England, Canada, Germany, France, etc., I always purchase a good map. As you do you research, you can use the map to highlight the places you want to visit and the sites you want to see. I have it as a reference later for putting my memories and photos into a photobook!