Kenya Highlights

There is no doubt that Kenya is a magical country. From arid deserts to verdant rainforests, from rolling grasslands to snow-capped equatorial peaks, from lush green hills and cultivated plains to the individual lakes and spectacular escarpments of the Great Rift Valley, this diverse nation has a variety of scenery and habitats unrivalled in Africa. Game in the reserves is abundant; both it and the birdlife — a staggering thousand species, more than any other African area of similar size — are spectacular, approachable, and easily photographed. All this is serviced by a good network of roads, and by standards of accommodation and cuisine as high as any on this great continent.

After an initial overnight stop in Nairobi, we will take a scenic drive north to Samburu Game Reserve, where we will be based for two nights. Situated in the arid north of Kenya, Samburu is perhaps the most beautiful of all the country's reserves. Grasslands, acacia woodlands and lush riverine forests form an attractive mosaic, and constitute a diversity of habitats that makes the reserve one of the finest for mammal and bird variety. Alongside a good range of common game, we will be looking particularly for Beisa Oryx, Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk and Grevy’s Zebra. Amongst the wealth of birdlife, some of the special species are African Pygmy Falcon, Vulturine Guineafowl, Kori Bustard, Orange-bellied Parrot, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Northern Crombec, Pygmy Batis, Golden Pipit, Golden-breasted Starling and Somali Bee-eater.

Next, we will return south for a 2-night stay at Mountain Lodge, situated at an elevation of 2,190 metres on the forested slopes of Mount Kenya. Here, we should see a wonderful range of montane and forest birds, including such species as Red-fronted Parrot, Hartlaub’s Turaco, White-starred Robin and Mountain Oriole. We will spend a full day exploring Mount Kenya National Park, whilst at dusk we will wait for mammals to emerge and drink at the waterhole beside our lodge.

Leaving Mount Kenya, we will visit three very different Rift Valley lakes, each with outstanding birdlife. Staying for two nights on the shores of Lake Baringo, we will have plenty of time to explore a beautifully unspoilt freshwater lake, set amidst a rugged dry land of cliffs, plateaux and boulder-strewn acacia woodland, where Verreaux’s Eagles and Hemprich’s Hornbills are amongst many unusual birds. Spending a morning at Lake Bogoria, we will search for Greater Kudu (often considered the most beautiful of all antelopes), visit the hot springs, and enjoy the large flocks of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes that can often be seen here, before arriving later that day at Lake Nakuru. Until 2014, Nakuru was famed for hosting hundreds of thousands of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes, carpeting its surface in a shimmering pink. However, since the major flooding from 2012 to 2014, very few flamingoes have been visiting the lake. However, the park itself is still well worth a visit and we will explore the salty mudflats and hilly woodland around the soda lake. We will spend the next full day in Lake Nakuru National Park, hoping to find such large mammals as Leopard, Southern White Rhino (and Black Rhino, though these are much more elusive), Bohor Reedbuck, Cape Buffalo, Warthog, Waterbuck, Eland and the rare Rothchild’s Giraffe.

We will then travel over the Rift Valley, viewing the spectacular Longonot volcano as we cross the cultivated plains towards the rolling grasslands of the Masai Mara, where we will spend three nights. This is the finest of Kenya’s reserves, and teems with animals, especially in September when huge herds of Blue Wildebeest, pursued by their predators, have migrated into the Masai Mara from the adjacent Serengeti in search of fresh pastures. Topi, Hartebeest, gazelles, Plains Zebra, Giraffe, African Elephant and Cape Buffalo feed with them on the plains, and attendant Lions, Cheetahs, Black-backed Jackals and Spotted Hyenas are never far away. The big game may take much of the spotlight, but the birdlife is equally extraordinary, with vultures, Martial Eagles, Secretarybirds, Ostriches, Southern Ground Hornbills, and colourful barbets, weavers and finches littering the grasslands and acacias. There is plenty of wildlife to see outside of the migration season too, with resident mammals and birds joined, during our winter months, by the migratory birds that move in from the northern hemisphere. The Masai Mara is such a wonderful place, it never disappoints.

Finally, we must make the long return drive to Nairobi, watching for wildlife, of course, en route. We will have day rooms available to freshen up on our return to the city, before we depart for the airport in time to catch our overnight flight back to London.