Keekorok Rift Valley Explorer

After you land at Nairobi International Airport, we’ll meet and assist you, then transfer you to Eka Hotel or similar. Once you are checked in, you can spend the afternoon at leisure – you might make use of the hotel’s facilities, which include two restaurants, a bar and a swimming pool. This contemporary hotel offers a comfortable, convenient base before your Kenyan journey begins. Overnight in Nairobi.

After breakfast we meet for a safari briefing, then leave Nairobi, driving through Kenya’s fertile highlands before descending the Rift Escarpment along a road built by Italian prisoners of war during the Second World War – look out for the small chapel they built at its foot. We pass the Longonot earth satellite station and cross the valley to Narok, continuing through wheat and barley fields to the Maasai Mara, arriving at Keekorok Lodge in time for lunch. You can take a siesta before we head out on our first game drive. Keekorok was the Mara’s first lodge and sits directly on the route of the annual Great Migration – at the height of the migration the surrounding plains fill with wildebeest, zebra and gazelle, shadowed by predators. A 300 metre elevated walkway leads through a small riverine forest to a bar overlooking a dam where resident hippos and other wildlife are often seen, and as the grounds are unfenced it is not unusual to spot elephants or buffalo near the perimeter – lodge watchmen are on constant lookout. Dinner is served at the lodge. Overnight in Maasai Mara.

After an early breakfast, we set out on a morning game drive in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, home to millions of wild animals including the Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino – as well as antelopes, gazelles and wildebeest. We return to the lodge for lunch and time to rest, then we visit a Maasai village to learn about local customs. Later, we head out again for an afternoon game drive and return to the lodge as the sun sets. Dinner is served at the lodge. Overnight in Maasai Mara.

After breakfast, we leave the Maasai Mara and drive north across Kenya’s breadbasket – wide fields of wheat and barley – passing Narok, the capital of this part of Maasailand. We cross the vast plains on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, watching for giraffes and gazelles, before climbing the Mau Escarpment to reach Lake Nakuru around midday. We have lunch at Lake Nakuru Lodge.In the afternoon, we set out on a game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park – a fully fenced reserve of 188 square kilometres where both black and white rhinos are carefully protected and continue to increase in number. When conditions are right, the lake’s shores are tinged pink by large flocks of flamingos. We also look for Rothschild’s giraffe, buffaloes, leopards, zebras, elands, waterbucks and lions. We return to Lake Nakuru Lodge, set in the park’s south east with commanding views of the lake, lush gardens and a programme of activities with evening entertainment. Dinner is served at the lodge. Overnight in Lake Nakuru.

After an early breakfast, we continue to Lake Naivasha for a boat ride, with chances to spot local wildlife on and around the water. Later, we leave the Rift Valley and travel back to Nairobi – drop-off at Jomo Kenyatta airport for your onward flight.