Kenya’s private conservancies are a network of wildlife sanctuaries bordering the country’s National Parks and Reserves. There is no public access, and there are strict limits on the number of visitors and vehicles in the conservancies, allowing guests to enjoy a more exclusive and personal safari experience.
The wildlife is frequently more prolific in the conservancies than within the National Parks and Reserves where a big cat sighting will inevitably be surrounded by hordes of vehicles juggling for the best view. The animals have discovered that the private lands adjacent to the parks are peaceful havens where they can live their lives undisturbed.
Private conservancies also offer additional activities that are prohibited in the main Parks and Reserves, such as guided safari walks, off road driving with experienced driver-guides, meals in the bush and night game drives to observe the area’s nocturnal species.
Due to the intimate size of these camps, most have just 6-8 very comfortable tents (all with en-suite), the group size will be limited to just 8 guests.
If you’re keen to venture off the well-trodden tourist route to explore some of Africa’s best-kept secrets and learn about Maasai and Samburu traditions and wildlife conservation first-hand, then this safari is for you!
Optional extensions: Your Private Conservancies safari combines perfectly with a Tanzania safari which can be added before or after your Kenya safari.
Or – add on a few relaxing days on exotic Zanzibar Island…
On your Kenya’s Private Conservancies safari you’ll stay in remote community-run sanctuaries where you’ll enjoy an authentic wilderness experience and cultural encounters – up close and personal! You’ll contribute to community projects run by our partners, and visit small social enterprises providing people with new skills and income opportunities. And you’ll get to see first-hand the difference that conservation initiatives are making for both communities and wildlife.
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You will be met on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transferred to your accommodation.
This morning you’ll visit some of my favourite social enterprises which provide employment and vital income for local artisans. In the afternoon enjoy a game drive in Nairobi National Park, which is home to a profusion of wildlife including rhinos!
After breakfast transfer to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport for your 30 minute flight to Amboseli. You will be met by your driver/guide on arrival and enjoy your first game drive to your camp in time for lunch.
This afternoon you’ll have a game drive in the conservancy, followed by sundowners at a viewpoint, before returning to camp for dinner.
This camp is a favourite with our guests. It has 10 spacious guest tents and the charm and feel of the traditional mobile safari camps of days gone by – with much more comfort!
Activities here include include a day in Amboseli National Park, famous for it’s elephants, and a completely uncommercial visit to a nearby Maasai village. The local community sell their jewellery, leather goods and traditional weapons at fixed, marked prices in a shop at camp. It’s a refreshing change from the hustle at the roadside ‘curio markets’, where prices start sky-high, expecting to be beaten down.
Within the conservancy you’ll enjoy day and night game drives, guided walks and sundowners.
After breakfast fly back to Nairobi 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 stunning 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 that visit the Ewaso Nyiro River, 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 complete 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 Maasai Mara National Reserve. Here you can go on night drives to look for nocturnal species such as white-tailed mongoose and bush babies, participate in walks with Maasai guides and, thanks to the limited number of vehicles in the conservancy, your driver is allowed to go off road – all 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).
After breakfast enjoy a last game drive through the conservancy to the airstrip for your flight back to Nairobi and transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your flight home.
Your Private Conservancies safari combines perfectly with a Tanzania safari to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, which can be added before or after your Kenya safari.
Or – add on a few relaxing days on exotic Zanzibar Island…
International airfares are not included. We are happy to recommend a travel agent to book your flights.
Emirates, Qatar and Ethiopian airlines all offer flights from New Zealand or Australia to Nairobi, with stops in Dubai, Doha, and Addis Ababa respectively.
Australian and New Zealand passport holders require an e-visa to visit Kenya for up to 90 days. This is purchased online prior to arrival in Kenya. Visas are no longer issued on arrival. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from your planned date of departure from Kenya.
There are no mandatory vaccinations, however malaria prophylaxis (tablets) is strongly recommended.
We are happy to arrange accommodation before or after your safari.
Most of our guests are from New Zealand and Australia. They are typically mature, well travelled people who are looking to venture off the main tourist route to explore some of Africa’s less well-known destinations – but they also appreciate quality accommodation back at base after an exciting day of game drives and guided walks! They are flexible and easy going, and they are keen to give back by supporting local conservation and community projects during their safari. A sense of humour is always welcome!
I just finished a fabulous safari to Kenya and Tanzania with Karen from African Encounters. We had a lovely small group who bonded quickly. The camps were fabulous, ranging from authentic, cultural experiences to absolute luxury. The food was delicious and the guides were knowledgeable, passionate and enthusiastic. I loved how close we were able to get to the animals and the varied experiences such as elephant rehabilitation sanctuary and rhino program. I LOVED the village visit and opportunity to meet locals and see the wonderful beads up close! Highly recommend African Encounters. Thanks Karen!
Apart from the fact that Africa is THE destination we want to go to, travel with Karen is the only way we would do it. We have traveled to Africa with Karen 3 times now and just love the small intimate groups and the feeling that the whole trip is planned with just us in mind. And the daily surprises!! We love Karen’s philosophy about travel and her intimate knowledge of and love for Africa.
