Kenya’s Private Conservancies
Experience a side of Kenya few tourists see

Today you’ll visit some of my favourite social enterprises which provide employment and vital income for local artisans. 

After breakfast fly back to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to connect with your one hour flight to Samburu. You will be met by your driver/guide on arrival and enjoy your first game drive on the 1.5 hour journey to your first camp.

This afternoon you’ll have a game drive in the conservancy, followed by sundowners at a viewpoint, before returning to camp for dinner.

Our rustic camp has just 5 bandas (stone cottages) with traditional thatched roofs. The bandas are situated along a dry river bed lined with beautiful doum palms. The camp is rustic, but very comfortable, with flushing loos, hot & cold water and natural stone showers. There is a swimming pool, a bar in the dry river bed, and a waterhole in front of camp provides game viewing right from your room. Herds of elephants roam this vast landscape, and there is amazing birdwatching as well as fascinating cultural experiences.

The highlight of your visit here is tracking critically-endangered black rhinos on foot, the only place in East Africa where this is possible. The black rhino sanctuary was established in 2015 when the first 10 black rhinos were reintroduced to the area. With the birth of several babies the population has since grown to 21, a tribute to the efforts of the community to protect these incredible animals. You’ll be escorted on your walk by an experienced guide and the Samburu rangers who look after the rhinos. This really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Other activities here include game drives, and cultural interactions with the Samburu community.

On the drive to your next camp you’ll visit Reteti Elephant Sanctuary where you’ll meet your adopted baby elephant. A 12 month adoption of one of these rescued babies is included in your safari. Reteti is another very successful community project which rescues young elephants, orphaned due to abandonment, drought, poaching, separation or falling into wells from which they cannot escape. You’ll meet their keepers and learn about the journey to rehabilitate these babies back into their own habitat, rather than relocating them to the larger, and more famous, facility in Nairobi. 

Your lodge is the only accommodation in Kalama Conservancy, a community-owned wildlife reserve that borders Samburu National Reserve, with 200,000 acres of unspoiled wilderness to explore and enjoy exclusively. Its six open and spacious villas are perched on a plateau with spectacular views over the Northern Frontier District and Mt Kenya in the distance. 

Enjoy one complimentary 30-minute back & neck massage per room/tent. A short evening game drive culminates in sundowners at a waterhole, and a starlit dinner back at the lodge. 

Samburu is known for the Samburu Special 5 – Beisa oryx, Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich and gerenuk, all of which are endemic to this arid region. There is also a good population of predators and large herds of elephants. The Ewaso Nyiro River is a lifeline for wildlife in this arid region of northern Kenya. Your guides on game drives and walks are Samburu warriors who will share with you their fascinating customs and traditions, as well as their local knowledge – a truly authentic experience.

After breakfast you’ll board your plane for a 1.5 hour flight south to the Maasai Mara, a refreshing change of landscape from the arid north. Your camp with just six superb tents is in the Mara Naboisho Conservancy, part of the Maasai Mara eco-system. It is located close to a series of three waterholes where animals come to drink during the day – and you can watch them from the deck of your luxury tent!

Enjoy an afternoon game drive, followed by dinner in camp and an optional night game drive.

Your days here will be filled with morning and afternoon  game drives within this wildlife-rich conservancy. With no boundary fences wildlife is free to roam between the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the surrounding conservancies. And the conservancies, where the animals aren’t hassled or surrounded by a multitude of safari vehicles, are becoming their preference. The Naboisho Conservancy spans across 145 square kms and is home to only nine safari camps and lodges. This area is known for having one of the highest densities of lions in Africa, and Naboisho’s wide open savannahs make it easy to spot the big cats in action. One of the area’s largest lion prides, made up of 22 lions, resides in the conservancy. As if that wasn’t enough, there are also over a dozen leopards living in the area. 

Naboisho supports a number of projects including the Maa Trust, which involves local communities in occupations as diverse as honey collection and bead making; they also support the Kenya Wildlife Trust, which runs various conservation projects. As this is a wildlife conservancy the rules are much more relaxed than in the public Maasai Mara National Reserve. You are can go on night drives here to look for nocturnal species such as white-tailed mongoose and bush babies, and participate in walks with Maasai guides – activities that are not permitted in the National Reserve. 

Enjoy a bush dinner under the vast African sky, with traditional Maasai singing and dancing, 

An optional hot air balloon flight can also be arranged here (extra). 

Travel by train to Tsavo National Park, where you’ll spend 3 nights in the Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary, another community success story. Your lodge here is spectacularly sited at the end of a ridge, with a view of Mt Kilimanjaro and stunning sunsets. Tsavo is famous for its red elephants, thanks to the volcanic soil in this region, as well as its extensive lava flows and the crystal-clear Mzima Springs where an underwater viewing chamber provides a unique view of hippos and crocodiles.

Lamu Island, just off the Kenya coast, is the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa. It’s a wonderful place to immerse yourself in Swahili culture and relax after your safari.

Itinerary coming soon.