4 Day Masai Mara & Lake Nakuru Safari - Kenya Accommodated Safari
A 4-day lodge-based Kenya safari, exploring the Great Rift Valley's lakes and world famous Masai Mara National Reserve. Watch lions, elephants and a host of other wildlife on your safari through this exciting corner of Africa.
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Great Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru National Park Day 2 & 3: Masai Mara National Reserve Day 4: NairobiTour Highlights
- Great Rift Valley
- Lake Nakuru National Park
- Masai Mara National Reserve
- Nairobi
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Great Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru National Park (L / D)
From Nairobi, we travel west to the edge of the Great Rift Valley and enjoy fantastic views of the Rift Valley lakes and Masai villages from the top of the famous Mau escarpment. On arrival at Lake Nakuru National Park, we enjoy lunch and then take our first game drive in the afternoon. The park is mainly dry bush, noticeable for its flat topped acacia trees and candelabra cactus. It is the habitat of lion, warthog, buck and Rothschild giraffe as well as being an important sanctuary for black and white rhino. However, the enormous, yet shallow soda lake that dominates this park is what makes this area famous, particularly by its wealth of birdlife including flamingos, that gather in their thousands and weave a strikingly pink 'fringe' around the lakeshore. As the sun sets and the day cools more animals start to emerge and if we are lucky we may spot a leopard in a yellow acacia or a pride of lion relaxing under a tree. We return to our lodge in Nakuru or nearby Lake Naivasha this evening and enjoy dinner before bed.
Day 2: Masai Mara National Reserve (B / L / D)
This morning after breakfast, we drive across the plains and head to the world famous Masai Mara National Reserve. The Masai Mara is Kenya's most prolific wildlife conservation area, and is home to a magnificent collection of wildlife in a natural, wild and basically untouched state. The park has an incredible diversity of wildlife amongst rolling fertile plains dotted with the distinctive flat-topped acacia trees, (Mara is a Masai word meaning spotted). It is watered by the tree-lined Mara River and its tributary the green and winding Talek River, full of hippo and crocodile. Lunch is taken en route after which we take an afternoon game drive to our lodge, spotting our first animals and birdlife en route. We arrive in the late afternoon and enjoy a relaxing dinner before spending the night under the enormous skies of the Mara.
Day 3: Masi Mara National Reserve (B / L / D)
We spend a full day in the park and explore the Mara on afternoon and early morning game drives. The reserve situated alongside its border is the northern extension of the huge Serengeti to the south, in Tanzania. The Mara is crossed every year from July to October by large herds of wildebeest and their zebra friends who journey from the adjoining Serengeti National Park on a continuous circular migration. Predators and scavengers follow in their wake, relying on the huge herds for food. If you are in the Mara during this season and are lucky enough to catch the migration it is a spectacular sight. However, the Mara is excellent for game viewing at any time of year and with luck we hope to spot some, if not all, of the Big 5 - elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard, as well as warthogs, baboons, spotted hyenas, grey jackals and prolific herds of Grant's gazelle, wildebeest, impala, topi, zebra and Masai giraffe. Birds too, are prolific here, and well over 450 species have been recorded, including 57 species of birds of prey.
Day 4: Nairobi (B)
After a hearty breakfast we leave our lodge and make our way back across the Rift Valley to Nairobi. We aim to arrive back in the Capital by lunchtime where the tour ends.
