Kenya’s Big 5 Conservancy Safari (Fly-In)

Your guide will meet you at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and take you on the short drive to Nairobi Tented Camp. Ten minutes after leaving the airport, your game drive begins as you enter Nairobi National Park, which has the distinction of being a stone’s throw from a bustling metropolis, yet is populated by a great variety of big game. On your way, you have the opportunity to spot giraffes, buffalo and lions lurking in the shade.

Arriving at the camp, you enjoy a delicious lunch below the spreading branches of a shady tree before settling into your canvas suite.

In the late afternoon, you venture out into the park for an afternoon game drive, where the chance of spotting a rare rhinoceros is a very real possibility, and you have the unique opportunity to photograph African plains game with the skyscrapers of Nairobi in the background!

Returning to camp in the early evening, enjoy dinner by candle light before slipping off to bed, serenaded by the sounds of the African night outside.

Depart Nairobi Tented Camp after breakfast and head for Wilson Airport, where a charter flight waits to take you to Nanyuki airstrip. Your guide meets you there and takes you for a game drive into the Ol Pejeta Conservancy where Porini Rhino Camp is located. Hidden in a secluded valley overlooking a seasonal river, this intimate lodge boasts stunning views of Mount Kenya looming in the distance. After settling into your suite, you wander over to the mess area for a delightful high tea before climbing into your vehicle for the afternoon’s game drive.

This region is famed for its dense concentration of wildlife that includes the Big 5, and the possibility of encountering herds of buffalo and elephants in the wonderful light of the early evening is richly rewarding, while finding lions dozing in the shade before their nightly hunt is a thrilling experience. Soaking in the beauty of the landscape and all its attendant aromas of brush, earth and dust, you feel a kind of homecoming, as if this place has been waiting for you all along. Herds of antelope graze the grasslands; giraffe wander like sentinels in the background and birds of prey swoop through the sky above.

Returning to the lodge in the early evening, you enjoy a tasty meal in the dining room while the sounds of the African night reverberate around you. After spending a while at the fireside gazing at the glittering Milky Way, you wander off to your suite, slip between the covers and drift off into a deep and peaceful slumber.

Today your game drive in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy is supplemented by a visit to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which is the only one of its kind in Kenya. Rescued chimps from all over central Africa are given a refuge here in large enclosures alongside the Ewaso Nyiro River. These highly intelligent apes share 98 percent of our genetic make-up and are considered our closest living relatives. You are able to spend a captivating few hours observing these fascinating animals as they go about their lives, and you may find yourself wondering how remarkably similar their behaviour is to our own.

Depart Porini Rhino camp after breakfast and return to the airstrip for your flight to the Masai Mara. Your guide meets you and takes you for a game drive through the Ol Kinyei Conservancy, a private concession bordering the Mara, and soon you arrive at Porini Mara Camp. This stylish tented camp is perched on the bank of the Laetoli River, where thirsty animals often come to drink.

During the Great Migration between July and September, in excess of a million wildebeest, zebra and gazelles pass through this area, driven by an instinct as old as time to seek out water and fresh pastures. Outside the migration period, however, plenty remains to be seen. Resident animals include the Big 5, and wildlife encounters of a first-class nature abound.

Driving through this wondrous landscape of grassy plains dotted with flat-topped acacia trees that stand like lone sentinels, you feel the immensity of the space that surrounds you.
A cheetah sits on a mound, surveying the scene with eyes that can pick out prey at a distance unimaginable to your own. In the glowing light of the early morning, you watch as it sits like a statue, scanning the horizon before gracefully slinking into the long grass, intent on a purpose that is driven by the instinct for survival. First you can see it moving away, then only its head, and finally the white tip of its tail is the last sign of it you see as it disappears among the swaying golden grass.

Your guide unlocks the secrets of this fascinating world with you, how the interconnecting web of life fits together, who depends on whom, and where the animals are to be found. Selecting a tree on the horizon as a destination, he drives you to where you discover a picnic table set in its shade, a mouth-watering selection of dishes laid out for your enjoyment. As you take in this spectacular scene, sip on a chilled drink and indulge the appetite you have worked up in the morning’s excitement. Afterwards, relax in the shade as you daydream in the gentle breeze. Feeling refreshed, you then continue the adventure, letting nature dictate your pace as the afternoon wears on. Under the spell of the endless plains, you watch the herds on the move; find the lurking predators, wonder at the silent passage of a multitude of elephants. As the sun dips toward the horizon, your guide selects a scenic spot to stretch your legs, and a sundowner hamper appears. You stand gazing at an unending vista, cocktail in hand while the sun paints the sky in otherworldly colours, marvelling at the wildness and beauty of the moment.

An early start sees you heading into the wilderness for a safari walk with a Maasai warrior. Setting off on foot walking through the wilds of Africa is a wonderful experience, enhanced by your guide sharing his vast knowledge of the animals, pathways and plants that you encounter along the way. He will show you which herbs are medicinal, which roots are edible, the footprints of a variety of game, and tell you the secrets of a termite mound. The exhilaration of being on foot in the wilderness is a unique experience, where your senses become sharper and clearer, the air takes on a new aroma, and every step leads to new discoveries.

After a final hearty brunch, bid Porini Mara Camp and the Mara farewell as you drive back to the airstrip. As you fly back to Nairobi, you gaze out the window at the endless and primal landscape below. Reminiscing on the adventures of the previous days, you recall the magical moments you have had- the sight of rhinos in the wild, the connection you felt as you gazed into the eyes of a chimp, the sunset over the Masai Mara’s plains… All of these will remain with you forever and compel you to return to Africa.