Nairobi – Lake Nakuru National Park (160km – Approx. 3 hours)

Meal Plan: Lunch, Dinner

7:30 hrs: Your driver/guide will pick you up from your Nairobi area hotel, Nairobi airport, or Nairobi area residence. We’ll then head out in our private 4x4 safari jeep for Lake Nakuru National Park.

We’ll make stops along the way to view the dramatic rises of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, offering stunning panoramic photo opportunities.

We should arrive at Lake Nakuru in time for lunch at your chosen accommodation, followed by plenty of game and bird watching drives around the lake and its many scenic wonders. We’ll explore the acacia forests and wooded hills looking for zebra, hippo, baboon, and monkey.

The park is also known for its significant population of rhinos, both black and white, which we are sure to spot. Keep an eye out as well for graceful impala, waterbuck, and giraffe.

While the lake's flamingo population can fluctuate, we’ll still be entertained by the vibrant flocks of pelicans, cormorants, kingfishers, herons, and eagles, making it a birder's paradise.

This is a truly rich reserve, full of color, variety, and the wonderful mix of wildlife only nature can provide to us.

We’ll overnight here at Lake Nakuru, at your choice of safari lodge or tented camp.

Lake Nakuru – Lake Bogoria – Lake Naivasha (340km – Approx. 6hrs)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The vibrant birdlife here will inspire us to rise early so we may enjoy the dawn and the park as it gradually awakens to the new day.

After breakfast, we’ll head in our 4x4 along the floor of the scenic Great Rift Valley for more dramatic vistas as we journey to Lake Bogoria National Reserve.

Lake Bogoria is an enchanting mix of bubbling geysers, steaming hot springs, and an alkaline lake often hosting thousands and sometimes millions of spectacular pink flamingoes.

Wildlife like gazelle, impala, and dik-dik roam here, and we may spot them in the vicinity of the busy lake, adding to the diverse natural tapestry.

After exploring Lake Bogoria, we will proceed to Lake Naivasha for the evening.

We’ll spend the evening at Lake Naivasha, at your choice of safari lodge or tented camp, unwinding amidst the serene lakeside environment.

Lake Naivasha – Masai Mara Game Reserve (240km – Approx. 5 hrs)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We’ll be up early for a delightful boating safari across the lake and bid good morning to the resident hippos as we gently glide by. This is a fun moment to take in the brightening day and spot diverse birds and perhaps some antelope grazing peacefully on the shore.

Nearby, Crescent Island Game Sanctuary provides us with a unique opportunity to take a guided walking safari to this peaceful but active little reserve, getting up close to grazing wildlife.

Should you wish, hop on a bicycle for an optional trip over to Hell’s Gate National Park where we can hike or pedal by antelope, zebra, and other peaceful grazers, amidst striking volcanic landscapes.

But now it’s time to head out again across the floor of the Great Rift Valley on our way to the world-renowned Masai Mara Game Reserve.

We should arrive in time for lunch at your chosen accommodation and take in the reserve’s iconic green rolling hills and vast plains, which hold an immeasurable abundance of wildlife.

After relaxing and freshening up, we’ll embark on our first exciting game drive in this world-famous park.

We’ll enjoy the first of three nights in the park at your safari lodge or tented camp, settling into the heart of the wilderness.

Full Day – Masai Mara Game Reserve: Unrestricted Exploration

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

We’ve designed this safari to give you lots of viewing time at Masai Mara, so let’s get an early start! Over the next few days, you’ll enjoy unlimited game drives – explore as much or as little as you choose.

But we think you’ll be truly excited by the possibilities of the Mara. The park presents the largest concentration of wildlife in this region of Africa. The ecosystem is rich, beautiful, and varied, offering all the Big Five with a special density of the big cats.

Sightings of lion and cheetah are not uncommon, which certainly adds to the thrill and excitement of this magnificent park.

The Mara is also renowned as the home of the Great Migration – the largest display of migrating animals in the world. Streaming in by the tens of thousands during the season (typically July – October), you can witness limitless herds of gazelle, wildebeest, and zebra all moving to the timeless rhythms of nature as they search for sustenance on these vast plains.

We will spend our second night here at your chosen Mara accommodation, immersed in the heart of this incredible wilderness.

Full Day – The Masai Mara Game Reserve: In-depth Exploration

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

This will be our third of four days exploring the Masai Mara – what a treat!

Along with traversing the vast open spaces here, we’ll also travel down to the Mara River, the iconic site of the migration crossing during the season.

We’ll have lunch while viewing hippos, crocodiles, and perhaps predators like lion and hyena searching these timeless hills for their prey, showcasing the raw beauty of the ecosystem.

And if all this time at the Mara wasn’t enough, there are a few optional activities we’ve prepared to make your stay here even more memorable:

• Take a visit to the local Maasai in their nearby village. See their community, their traditional homes, and learn about their ancient lifestyle of herding cattle and farming. This offers a unique cultural immersion.
• For an absolutely spectacular finish to your safari, we highly suggest the optional pre-dawn hot air balloon safari over the park. Rise with the sun to witness the reserve come alive from above, as the land and its abundant wildlife emerge into a new day. This is an unforgettable experience you won't want to miss! Just tell your driver/guide – they’ll make all the arrangements for you.

Our final safari night will be spent here at your Mara accommodation, offering a chance to reflect on the incredible sights and sounds of the day.

Masai Mara – Nairobi: Safari Conclusion & Departure (265 km – Approx. 5 hrs)

Meal Plan: Breakfast

After a leisurely breakfast at your lodge/camp, your dedicated driver-guide will assist you with the checkout process and proceed to Nairobi – Kenya’s vibrant capital city.

On the way, your guide will point out the impressive Longonot extinct volcano, a stratovolcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s, and its name is derived from the Maasai word Oloonong’ot, meaning “mountains of many spurs” or “steep ridges.”

You have flexible options for your return:

• You can opt to drive via Naivasha for lunch/excursions (at an extra cost).
• Alternatively, drive straight to Nairobi and pass by Kiambethu Farm for the tea farm tour, inclusive of a three-course buffet lunch (at an extra cost).
• OR, drive straight back to the capital and later transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) for your flight back home.

We will comfortably bring you to your Nairobi hotel, residence, or the airport.

It’s been six days of exotic birds and diverse wildlife, bubbling geysers, steaming hot springs, and wonderful landscapes, not to mention some dazzling sunrises and sunsets. We hope you’ve stored up plenty of photos and memories to go with them.

On behalf of the team at Walk With Maa Tours, a big thank you for choosing us as your safari professionals. We hope to see you again when you next get the desire to visit our beautiful natural world.