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Big cat safari in Kenya

country:Kenya
location:Amboseli National Park, Masai Mara
departures:Daily departures, minimum 2 persons per departure
price:From US $2860 - US $3100 (7 days) excluding flights, including transport from Nairobi, game drives, activities, park fees, all meals & accommodation. Single supplement US $430. 40% discount for 1 child sharing with 2 adults or 25% discount for 2 children in own room
read 6 travellers reviews
the amazing things you'll be doing
A one week safari staying in exclusive smaller safari camps and eco-lodges offering comfortable accommodation in private wilderness conservancies.

We visit 3 of Kenya’s classic wildlife parks, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara, aiming to see a wide variety of wildlife species and especially the cats. All game drives are in 4x4 safari vehicles (not vans), with experienced driver guides. This one week safari offers a combination of some of the best wildlife areas in Kenya with private conservancies where you are able to walk and take night drives to see the nocturnal animals.

Amboseli National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park and the Maasai Mara are among the finest wildlife reserves in Africa and offer the chance to see a huge variety of wildlife species. Selenkay Conservancy is located in a vast wilderness area in the heart of Maasai country near Amboseli and is owned by a Maasai community. Here you will be really off the beaten track in an area which has not been visited by tourists until recently and where visitor numbers are restricted to a maximum of 12 so you will not see any other safari vehicles.

Kigio is located beside the Malewa River on 3,500 acres, about thirty miles south of Lake Nakuru. The expansive private conservancy area offers the opportunity to walk safely amongst wildlife. Learn how to identify animal spoor and about the traditional use by the local people of medicinal properties of the many plant species in the conservancy. In addition to plains game like zebra, giraffe and antelopes, birdlife abounds and a walk along the river gives the opportunity to see hippo and maybe even a python!

Mara Porini Camp has recently been set up in the exclusive wildlife conservancy of Ol Kinyei, one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in the Serengeti-Mara eco-system. This is pristine wilderness with open savannah plains, riverine forest, springs, streams and rivers, rolling hills and spectacular views across the Mara. Ol Kinyei belongs to a Maasai community who have recently set aside the conservancy as a sanctuary for wildlife. The conservancy holds a wide variety of the animal species for which the Mara is famous including a large resident pride of lions.
day-by-day itinerary
Day 1:Transfer from Nairobi to Selenkay Conservancy arriving for lunch at Porini Camp to stay for 2 nights. Afternoon walk with Maasai warriors and guide. Visit a local maasai village and enjoy a game drive in the conservancy. Overnight Porini Camp.
Day 2:Drive through Selenkay Conservation Area and into Amboseli National Park for a full morning with picnic lunch returning to Porini Camp in the early afternoon. Evening game drive in Selenkay Conservancy, sundowner and night drive. Overnight Porini Camp.
Day 3:Early game drive in the Selenkay Conservancy, visiting a waterhole to see the morning activity. After breakfast transfer to Nairobi for lunch and drive through the great rift valley to Mbweha Camp in Congreve Conservancy to stay 2 nights with guided bush walks and night game drives. Overnight Mbweha Camp.
Day 4:Full day in Lake Nakuru Park with picnic lunch. Night Overnight Mbweha Camp.
Day 5:Drive to Mara arriving Porini Mara Camp for lunch and stay 2 nights. Afternoon game drive in the private Ol Kinyei conservancy. Sundowner and night game drive. Overnight Porini Mara Camp.
Day 6:Full day in the Mara with a picnic lunch. Overnight Porini Mara Camp.
Day 7:Final early morning game drive in the conservancy. Breakfast and depart for return drive to Nairobi arriving before 2 pm.
travellers' tales
The most memorable part of the holiday was the private walks with the Masaai and night drives in the Ol Kinyei Conservancy where we saw lions hunting & mating, a leopard on a stroll, porcupines, springhares, hyenas, etc. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
Their ownership of the Selenkay Conservancy allows the Maasai community who occupy the land adjacent to Amboseli to earn livelihoods from tourism. The Warden and Game Scouts at Selenkay and the camp staff at Porini Camp are all members of the local community. Using income from the entry fees paid by tourist visitors to Selenkay, the community have constructed classrooms for a nursery school and a primary school as well as installing a water supply for the local people. Forty scattered Maasai homesteads have a family member earning an income from working in the Conservancy. At Kigio Conservancy there are a number of projects to benefit the local community.

The new Ol Kinyei Conservancy in the Mara ecosystem is based on our very successful Porini Selenkay model. The local Maasai communities own the land and earn a direct monetary benefit from tourist visitors visiting the conservancy and staying at the Porini Camp. In addition, the Game Scouts and camp staff are employed from the various Maasai homesteads in the area.

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