Depart this morning with your guide for a day tour of Nairobi. Our first stop is for a visit to the Giraffe Centre where you can interact with the Giraffes. Next we will head to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage for the public viewing between 11 AM – 12 PM to gain insight into the great work the trust does in working with orphaned elephants. We’ll make a stop ay the Tamambo Blixen’s Coffee Gardens where you have the option of buying lunch. Our last stop will be at the Kazuri Beads Factory which is a women’s cooperative whose work is distributed and prized around the world. 

After breakfast transfer to Wilson airport for your flight to the Laikipia area and Kamok Airstrip.  Check into the brand new Sanctuary Tambarare Lodge for three nights. Nestled amongst fever trees in the shadow of Mount Kenya, Sanctuary Tambarare delivers the perfect balance of adventure and serenity. Sanctuary Tambarare looks out across the grassy plateau of the award-winning Ol Pejeta Conservancy, 90,000 acres of unspoilt African landscape, where the Big Five roam, including the last two northern white rhinos on earth. With just 10 luxurious guest tents, Sanctuary Tambarare is a peaceful haven that reflects its surroundings – with a generous helping of indulgence. After adventurous days tracking lions, riding horses with rhinos or spotting giraffes, elephants, gazelle and zebra in this stunning wildlife retreat, guests can retire to the secluded tented camp for sundowners, relaxation and attentive five-star service.

Over the next three days you have your choice of a wonderful array of activities.

Game Drives
At Sanctuary Tambarare, guests can explore Ol Pejeta Conservancy with daily game drives, where expert guides enrich the experience. In addition to the Big Five and many other animals (from cheetahs and jackal to hippos and hyena), the conservancy is home to over 130 black rhinos.

Night Drives (Optional & Extra Cost)
The plains come alive at night, with nocturnal animals such as aardvark, white-tailed mongoose, zorilla (striped polecat), bat-eared fox and perhaps even lions and leopard. This nighttime adventure is very special as it’s not possible in most of Kenya’s national parks and reserves. 

Rhino Encounter (Optional & Extra Cost)
Get up close and personal with the last two northern white rhino on earth and hear their incredible story. 

Lion Tracking (Optional & Extra Cost)
Guests can accompany a ranger and actively help protect these big cats. They’ll take notes on specific lions spotted, then report to the Ol Pejeta Ecological Monitoring Department.

Transfer this morning to Kamok airstrip for your flight to the Mara and Kichwa Tembo airstrip.  Met on arrival and transfer to Sanctuary Olonana Camp for the next four nights. Sanctuary Olonana is an exceptional luxury safari lodge set on a private stretch of the Mara River in the heart of Kenya’s most famous game reserve, the Masai Mara. Featuring 14 glass-sided suites, Sanctuary Olonana is inspired by the Masai Mara’s breath-taking natural wonders, an abundance of wildlife, and a dramatic river which runs right past its forest setting. Game drives, cultural visits, bush dinners, sundowners, scenic flights and balloon rides, Olonana makes for a wonderful African safari.

Over the next four days enjoy game drives in your choice of a combination of morning, afternoon or full day drive options.

Game Drives
At Sanctuary Olonana, game viewing starts from the camp. A pod of hippos lives permanently in the river just below camp and many other species come to drink there. Sanctuary’s experienced guides take you to all the hidden spots and our customized open safari vehicles offer all-round views, allowing for excellent photography opportunities. The Mara’s rich eco-system includes acacia-studded savannah, riparian forest and woodland which attract more than 300 bird species and a stunning variety of animal life all year round.

Cultural Visits (Optional & Extra Cost)
Get an insight into the vibrant and still traditional way of life of the Maasai. Learn about the medicinal plants that grow here, the importance of cattle and the stages of life through which all Maasai pass, from young boy or girl to respected elder. Accompanied by an experienced Maasai guide you are invited to visit the village which is built along traditional lines; complete with cattle enclosure, outer palisade and mud and cow dung huts. Meet the elders, their wives and families and learn about the social structure of the homestead, the role of women in their society and many more aspects of their daily life. Interaction and discussion is encouraged, so whether the ladies are building a hut, the warriors are dancing or making fire with stones and sticks, guests are free to join in.

Hot Air Balloon Safari (Optional & Extra Cost)
Your balloon is inflated against the first rays of sunrise and once aloft floats gently over the plains and the plethora of game. The balloon lands around one hour after taking off with breakfast being prepared nearby. The smells of bacon, sausages and eggs drift on the breeze as you begin breakfast with platefuls of exotic Kenyan fruits and homemade pastries and, of course, glasses of bubbly to toast your flight. 

Transfer today to the airstrip for your flight back to Nairobi Wilson airport.  You are met and transferred to the Four Points Nairobi Airport Hotel where you have a day room booked until your departure flight home.  You may also consider a relaxing extension to the Kenyan coast or Zanzibar.