A Kenyan Safari

Fly direct from London Heathrow to Nairobi, and transfer to the Radisson Blu Hotel for an overnight stay.

Travel north to Aberdare National Park (3hrs), where Black rhinos, white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, spotted hyenas and 250 species of birds join bushbucks and buffalo in the ‘majestic moorland’. Enjoy lunch and time at leisure in the iconic Ark Lodge, overlooking a salt lick and waterhole, right at the heart of the park; before a game drive enroute to Aberdare Country Club, for a two-night stay.
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A half-day game drive takes you through the 18,000 acres of Solio Ranch, a privately owned wildlife conservancy, dedicated to rhino conservation. A river runs through the conservancy, and acacia forests provide hides for wildlife. An afternoon at leisure is followed by a ‘bush dinner’ this evening.
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Travel through the Great Rift Valley into Lake Nakuru National Park (3½ hrs), stopping enroute at the splendid Thomson Falls, Kenya’s 2nd-tallest, its River Ng’iro cascade dropping 74metres into the spray-misted rift below. Afternoon game drive in the park, where frothy-pink flocks of flamingos feed in the shallows of the soda lake, and the many resident mammal species include waterbuck and endearing warthogs. Overnight at the Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge.
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Drive south to the Masai Mara Game Reserve (7hrs). It’s all in the name at this National Reserve, ‘Maasai’ for the ancestral inhabitants of the area, ‘Mara’ translating from their language as ‘spotted’ – a description of the savannah landscape, dotted with bushes, scrub and clusters of trees. Enjoy a late afternoon ‘sundowner’ nature walk in the conservation area. Three nights at the riverbank Fig Tree Tented Camp.
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Perhaps begin the day with an optional, unforgettable, early morning balloon ride over the Mara (£445, pre-bookable), before a full day game drive, The Masai Mara homes the elusive leopards, elephant families, hook-lipped Black Rhinos, buffalo herds, and hundreds of the Mara’s iconic black-mane lions.
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Separated from the Serengeti by the Mara River, the Masai Mara is at its most awesome during the Great Migration between the two reserves (usually July-September), when a miles-long line of wildebeest stretches from horizon to horizon on their journey seeking sweeter pastures. Enjoy a final full-day game drive here in the haunts of the Big Cats.
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Travel to Lake Naivasha (5hrs), at 1,884m above sea level, the highest of the Rift Valley lakes. Enjoy High Tea at Elsamere, the home of George and Joy Adamson, revered for their work in wildlife conservation, and renowned for the story of Elsa the lion, told in the film Born Free; and visit the Elsamere Museum which gives an insight of their lives and work. Overnight at the Naivasha Sawela Lodge, set on the shores of the heart-shaped freshwater lake, where kingfishers and cormorants, fish eagles and pelicans are regular visitors.
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Take a morning boat ride on the lake before returning to Nairobi, for a farewell dinner at the aptly named Carnivore Restaurant, its all-you-can-eat meat buffet, local music, and informal ambience making it one of East Africa's most famous and popular venues. Transfer to the airport for the return flight.
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Arrival at London Heathrow.