The Best of Kenya - A Classic African Safari

Limited to only 12 participants!

Our safari of Kenya will give you the very best opportunity to witness Africa's "Big Five" (Lion, Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Leopard and Rhinoceros) with your own eyes and not through the lens of someone else's camera. A significant population of other wild animals, reptiles and birds can also be found throughout Kenya's national parks, conservancies and gaming reserves.

We will explore safari destinations such as Abedare, Samburu, Ol Pejeta, Lake Nakuru as well as the iconic Masai Mara National Reserve. Experience your very own "Out of Africa" moments while enjoying exceptional safari lodge and tented accommodations, fine cuisine and superb East African hospitality.

During transfers and game drives a maximum of 6 passengers will enjoy our deluxe seven-seater mini-van safari vehicles. Our drivers/guides are both experienced and knowledgeable and will take you off the beaten track on game drives while the brilliant African sun rises over the horizon, and again as the sun sets and plays out in wondrous colours.

Our Program

• 1 Night Nairobi
• 1 Night Aberdare National Park
• 2 Nights Samburu National Park
• 1 Night Ol Pejeta Conservancy
• 1 Night Lake Nakuru National Park
• 3 Nights Masai Mara National Reserve

What's Included

• Fully escorted by Jeff Pychel of
  Travel Broker Tours
• 9 nights deluxe accommodations in
  tented camps and lodges
• All meals/non-alcoholic beverages
• All airport & safari transfers
• Deluxe 7 seater Minivan with
  pop-up roof for game viewing
• All game drives daily and park entrance fees
• All gratuities (accommodations, meals,
  drivers, guides, baggage, transfers)
• Experienced local English-speaking
  guides and drivers
• All baggage handling
• Membership to medical emergency
  flying doctor services
• Bottled water on game drives & safari transfers
• Complimentary safari hat and wildlife journal
• Visit to the Giraffe Center in Nairobi
• Guaranteed shared option

Detailed Itinerary

Sat. Oct 31st, DEPART CANADA -

Board your overnight transatlantic flight. (As a full service travel agency were happy to assist with flight arrangements to join this safari. We suggest booking early to obtain the best flights and rates available.)

Day 1: Sun. Nov 1st, ARRIVE IN NAIROBI, KENYA -

Welcome to Africa! Arriving this evening at the airport you'll transfer to the Nairobi Serena Hotel. Nairobi is a bustling staging area for Safaris and the capital of Kenya. Once there you'll be met and greeted by Jeff, your safari escort from Travel Broker Tours. Settle in and unwind from your long flight before retiring for the evening.

Nairobi Serena Hotel is a member of 'The Leading Hotels of the World' and an oasis set
amongst extensive tropical gardens overlooking Nairobi's Central Park.

Day 2: Mon. Nov 2nd, NAIROBI to ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK

Following breakfast we will have our safari briefing before boading our deluxe 7-seater minivan (with pop-up roof for game viewing) for Aberdare National Park, where a 'Tree Lodge' with a 24hr game viewing watering hole built on the edge of a forest glade awaits us. Just two and a half hours from Nairobi, this stunning area is towered over by the rocky peaks of Mount Kenya and prides itself in having one of the most consistently high records of big game "visits" and sightings. Elephant, buffalo, rhino and waterbuck are regular sights on game drives. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

The people of Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya represents the ancestral home and heartland of the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu people, Kenya’s largest ethnic group. They were heavily influential throughout Kenya’s history and provided Kenya with its first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. The Kikuyu have adapted to the challenges of Western culture better than any other tribe and are successful and progressive farmers who grow coffee, tea, pyrethrum horticultural crops, vegetables and flowers for the export market. The Kikuyu remain at the forefront of Kenyan development, as both successful business people and formidable politicians

Serena Mountain Lodge is surrounded by a dense rainforest that comes alive at dusk with a myriad of sounds that make the African bush so special and exhilarating. The only ‘tree hotel’ ever to be built on the slopes of Kenya’s legendary Mount Kenya, Mountain Lodge offers a glorious panorama of mountain vistas with the primordial splendours of an ancient rainforest. The lodge lies at an altitude of 2,195 m. on the flanks of Kenya's highest mountain, nestled deep within her largest forest reserve. Considered the most spectacular forest waterhole in the Aberdares, the lodge’s watering hole and salt-lick presents a constant ballet of wildlife.

Day 3: Tues. Nov 3rd, ABERDARES to SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE
After breakfast we board our deluxe safari vehicles and travel through the fertile farm lands of central Kenya to reach Samburu Game Reserve - endless skies, dust-red savannah lava plains and palm-fringed rivers against a backdrop of the far-distant hills and the great red Ololkwe Table Mountain known as Lololokwi. The central feature of the reserve is the winding and looping Uaso Nyiro River and is also a haven for some of Kenya's rarer species - including the reticulated giraffe, long-necked gerenuk, Grevy's zebra and Beisa oryx can be seen here. On either side of the river, a green ribbon presents a gallery of forest Acasia, Doum Palm and Tamarind, which act as host to over a hundred species of birds including the blue-shanked Somali ostrich. Large herds of elephant roam the gaunt hills during the day, before returning to bathe on the banks of the river in the evening. Rugged and remote, this wildlife reserve provides some of the best and most colourful game viewing in the country. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Samburu Serena Lodge is nestled amidst the acacia groves that border the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River with its crocodiles and leopards. The lodge is rustic yet sophisticated and captures the robust rhythms of riverside life as it stands centre-stage to miles of lion-stalked grasslands, elephant-studded plains and wildlife-teeming bush. The lodge provides water (The Samburu Eco Programme) to four villages in the immediate area including a local school and has also undertaken a tree-planting programme to replace some of the riverine woodlands destroyed by local elephant herds. The lodge also boasts a superb swimming pool surrounded by thatched umbrellas and native trees.To support the local community, the hotel shop features a selection of handicrafts produced by local Samburu crafts people and Samburu dancers perform for the guests during the evenings in a specially constructed amphitheatre where they also stage a handicrafts market of local Samburu art, spears, and headdresses.

Day 4: Wed. Nov 4th, SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE
Today early morning and afternoon game drives await us. Coffee, tea and pound cake are available at 6:00am in the main lodge as we gather for our early morning game drive. We will explore the riverine forest areas and the rugged plains. Our naturalist driver/guide will also introduce us to Samburu's spectacular birdlife. The mornings are bright and crisp offering lots of animal activity and great lighting for photography. We return to the lodge around 8:30 for a great full breakfast. In the heat of the day we relax, enjoy a lovely lunch, a swim in the pool and catching up on reading and journal notes. About 4:00pm we go out for our afternoon game drive to view the elephants taking a late afternoon bath in the river and whatever else we can see. We then return to the lodge for dinner.(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

The People of Samburu
Closely related to the Maasai and speaking the same language it seems that when the Maasai migrated to the area from Sudan, some headed east and became the Samburu. Often strikingly tall and slender, swathed in brilliant red cloth ‘Shukas’, hung about with beads and metal jewellery, the young men (Moran) favour long, plaited, ochre-daubed hairstyles and have a formidable reputation for glamour, prowess and ferocity. Traditionally the Samburu live off the milk and blood of their beloved cattle and believe that all the world’s cattle are theirs by God-given right. Their nomadic and pastoral lifestyle, though historically based on the pursuit of migratory wildlife, is slowly changing thanks to a combination of education, favourable new laws, projects, jobs and income.

Day 5: Thurs. Nov 5th, SAMBURU to OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY

Enjoy breakfast before departing Samburu for Ol Pejeta Conservancy, one of only four private wildlife conservancies in all of Kenya. We arrive at Sweetwaters Tented Camp where you'll settle in and enjoy a buffet lunch before visting Ol Pejeta's Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The sanctuary which was opened in 1993 with the support of the world renowned Jane Goodall Institute, is the only place in Kenya where this highly endangered and remarkably intelligent species can be seen. Afterwards we venture out on our afternoon game drive before returning for dinner at the lodges beautifully adorned diningroom. Before retiring for the evening, choose to view the constant ballet of wildlife at the camp's floodlit watering hole and saltlick. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Sweetwaters Tented Camp is a sheltered oasis, clustered around a waterhole and set in the pristine calm of a private wildlife conservancy. Luxury appointed tents with thatched roofs have ensuite bath and verandas with views overlooking the floodlit waterhole and salt-lick. Sweetwaters Tented Camp is in a class of its own, abounding with wildlife including lion and elephant, unfettered by the more rigorous structures of the Kenyan National Parks and designed to offer a charming blend of under canvas ambiance and uncompromising luxury, it has long been the preferred retreat of wilderness and safari lovers alike. The camp prides itself on its first class African, Asian and International cuisine and serves a buffet breakfast every morning as well as daily lunches and a 5-course "table d’hôte" dining experience every evening.

Day 6: Fri. Nov 6th, OL PEJETA to LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

Enjoy a relaxed early morning buffet breakfast before travelling through Kenya's varied landscapes of the Great Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park. We'll stop for lunch and enjoy a tour of a local tea and coffee plantation before reaching the world famous lake. The lake is home to the 'greatest bird spectacle on earth” due to the millions of fuchsia-pink flamingo that flock to feed on the teeming green-blue algae of its alkaline waters. It is also a place where waterbuck number several thousand and Nakuru’s successful black and white rhino conservation program ensures one of the largest concentrations of rhinos. You are also likely to see buffalo, leopard, warthog, zebra, the endangered Rothchid giraffe and huge flocks of water birds including pelicans, marabou storks and the African crowned cranes. Later that afternoon we arrive at our game lodge which overlooks the lake, within Lake Nakuru National Park. Settle in to your room and unwind before dinner, regrouping for a pre-dinner sundowner on the lodges patio overlooking the lake. After dinner relax with your travelling companions before retiring for the evening. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Savora Lion Hill Game Lodge is set on a plateau in an elevation above Lake Nakuru, and gets its name from the hill directly behind the lodge, formerly a lions' abode. It consists of chalets that all face Lake Nakuru and is a perfect place to experience one of the world's largest ornithological spectacles in the heart of the Great Rift Valley. Set in Lake Nakuru National Park, this exotic park boasts a rich concentration of wildlife including black and white colobus monkeys and is also a rhino sanctuary.

Day 7: Sat. Nov 7th, LAKE NAKURU to MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE
After an early breakfast we set out on our game drive through the park and along the shores of the lake towards the iconic Masai Mara National Reserve, declared the 7th 'Wonder of the World' for hosting the greatest wildlife show on Earth, the annual wildebeast migration. We stop along our drive to enjoy a relaxed lunch before arriving at our Mara lodge, set high on a bush-cloaked hill and washed in a sea of richly rolling grasslands. The Mara offers breathtaking views (seen in the film "Out of Africa", much of which was filmed here) and an extremely high density of animals and birds including Africa's “Big Five” of Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhinoceros, and the "Big Nine" which includes Cheetah, Zebra, Giraffe and Hippo. Relax and unwind on the grounds before regrouping with your fellow travellers for a spectacular dinner that evening. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Secreted within the Masai Mara Mational Reserve and perched high on a bush-cloaked hill, embraced by arcing vistas and washed by a sea of richly rolling grasslands, the Mara Serena has one of the most spectacular views imaginable across one of the world’s richest wildlife sanctuaries. The safari lodge draws its inspiration from the traditional Maasai cultural motif of a cluster of domed, mud-coloured huts and offers a rare blend of raw African splendour, with sumptuous sophistication. The essentially ethnic décor also draws on a vibrant colour-palette of sun-burst colours, embellished by a unique selection of Maasai art to create the look and feel of a traditional bush encampment. The lodge features individual rooms, each with their own balcony and view of eternity, a sky-blue swimming pool and a spectacular restaurant, overlooking a water hole where a fantasia of creatures collect to drink.

Day 8: Sun. Nov 8th, MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE
Before dawn we set out on our morning game drive in the iconic Masai Mara Game Reserve before returning to our lodge for breakfast. Afterwards, relax and swap game drive stories or set out on an exciting excursion to a Maasai Manyatta (village) where were offered a rare glimpse of the day-to-day lives of the Maasai people. We return to our lodge for lunch, followed by personal time to relax, unwind and enjoy the panoramic views of the Mara. Mid afternoon we embark on our afternoon game drive before returning to our lodge for an exquisite dinner. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

The People of 'The Mara'
The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania and is frequently referred to as 'The Mara', the Maa word meaning mottled - a reference to the patchy landscape. They speak Maa as well as Swahili and English, both official languages of Kenya and Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well known of African ethnic groups. Although the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, the people have continued their age-old customs.

Day 9: Mon. Nov 9th, MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE
After an early morning wakeup call enjoy a hot cup of coffee before heading out on our morning game drive or optional Hot Air Balloon Safari (see below). Upon our return to the lodge enjoy a full breakfast followed by some personal time to relax and unwind. After lunch catch up on some last minute postcard writing before indulging in a refreshing swim at the lodge's stunning sky-blue swimming pool. Mid afternoon we head out on an afternoon game drive where we might be lucky enough to witness a crossing of zebra and wildebeest at the nearby Mara River. We return to our lodge where you'll have time to refreshin up before having a relaxed dinner at the lodges dining room. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

OPTIONAL: Hot Air Balloon Safari with Champagne Breakfast
For the ultimate thrill seeker a Hot Air Balloon Safari option is an absolute must. Liftoff, and the adventure of a lifetime begins as you slowly open your eyes and see the rising sun's bright orange sphere in the Kenyan sky. You'll be inclined to pinch yourself and stare in disbelief as you see elephants at the watering pool, and the wildebeest, gazelles and zebras scampering away below. A hot bush breakfast with champagne is also included in this optional excursion. Afterwards you'll return to the lodge where you'll have personal time to relax and unwind.

Day 10: Tues. Nov 10th, MASAI MARA to NAIROBI
After a leisurely breakfast and game drive we will return to Nairobi with a stop at the Giraffe center. Lunch is on the way, and we will stop for light buffet dinner at a hotel near the airport in time for your final transfer to the airport for your flight home. (Breakfast, Lunch, Light Dinner)

Pricing:

$4,825.00 (CAD)
SALE - SAVE $200
per person on (above listed price) if booked and paid in full
by August 21st, 2009
LOW AIRFARES TO AFRICA!
As low as $1500 (CAD) per person - Prices not seen in years.
(Airfares not included in tour price but can be arranged)

• Price is LAND ONLY (See Inclusions & Exclusions below)
• Price per person sharing twin/double accommodation
• Non - Refundable deposit required upon booking ($750.00 CAD)

Includes:

• Fully escorted by Jeff Pychel of Travel Broker Tours
• 9 nights deluxe accommodations in tented camps and lodges
• All meals/non-alcoholic beverages
• All airport & safari transfers
• Deluxe 7 seater Minivan with pop-up roof for game viewing
• All game drives daily and park entrance fees
• All gratuities (accommodations, meals, drivers, guides, baggage, transfers)
• Experienced local English-speaking guides and drivers
• All baggage handling
• Membership to medical emergency flying doctor services
• Bottled water on game drives & safari transfers
• Complimentary safari hat and wildlife journal
• Visit to the Giraffe Center in Nairobi
• Guaranteed shared option
• All Taxes

Excludes:

• International Airfare to/from Nairobi, Kenya
(Travel Broker Tours would be happy to assist you in arranging flights from your home to join us!)

• Mandatory medical insurance ( Medical insurance is mandatory to compliment our included 'Flying Doctor' service)
• Personal Insurances (baggage, cancellation, etc.)
• Immunizations and Visas
• Alcoholic beverages and Bar Beverages (soft drinks), laundry & personal hotel charges
• All optional excursions or deviations from the itinerary
• Items of personal nature and souvenirs

For more information or to register for this tour please contact Jeff Pychel at:

Travel Broker Tours
A division of The Travel Broker & Cruise Centre
1758 Bath Road Kingston, ON Canada
Telephone: 613-389-7914 or 1-800-387-7678
Email: info@thetravelbroker.ca
Web: www.thetravelbroker.ca

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