Depart U.S. for Nairobi (NBO)

Arrive at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by scheduled flight (booked on own arrangements.) You are met airside by Tradewinds Airport Services and assisted to clear customs and immigration formalities before meeting your representative.

Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and East Africa’s most cosmopolitan city, with a vibrant population of 4.5 million. Unique to the city is the proximity of Nairobi National Park, a true wilderness area juxtaposed against the larger urban metropolis. It is the only national park like it in the world and a real embodiment of the human-wildlife conflicts that challenge many African communities who must learn to cohabitate with wildlife on their doorstep.

Depart on an early morning safari to the Nairobi National Park, one of the best places in Africa to see rhino. It also is home to a healthy population of lion, leopard, cheetah, and plains game like giraffe and antelope. Other attractions will include a visit to the Karen Blixen Museum, the Giraffe Center, Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage, and shopping for local crafts and trinkets. There are some great local and cross-cultural restaurants to explore, from roadside food stalls to local nyama choma (barbecue joints) to five-star dining establishments.

Overnight: Kwetu Nairobi, Curio Collection by Hilton

Meals: B, L, D

Depart by road to Samburu National Reserve arriving at the camp for lunch. There are several scenic stops along the way. Following lunch and a chance to enjoy the camp’s facilities, you set out on an afternoon game drive and evening sundowners. Return to the camp for sunset with dinner and overnight at the camp.

Samburu is a 165 km2 (63 mi2) national reserve situated 350 km (217 mi) north of Nairobi at an altitude of 800 to 1,230m (2,625 - 4,000 ft). At the heart of the reserve, flowing through doum palm groves and thick riverine forest, is the picturesque Ewaso Nyiro River, without whose waters the game could not survive in this arid region. Samburu is home to one of Kenya’s largest elephant populations and several well known research projects on carnivores, lions, and elephants. Four of the Big Five can be found and, though no rhino are present, it is considered an excellent place to look for leopard, lion, and elephant.

The game reserve sits in the shadow of the sacred mountain Ol Doinyo Sabachae and is home to the Nilotic Samburu people. The Samburu are known for their nomadic pastoralist lifestyle, much like their relatives the Maasai, as well as their glamorous beadwork and colourful shukas.

Overnight: Elephant Bedroom Camp

Meals: B, L, D

Morning visit to a Samburu village and game drives. (The game drives are in custom designed open sided 4 wheel drive game viewing vehicles.)

Overnight: Elephant Bedroom Camp

Meals: B, L, D

Morning visit to a Samburu village and game drives. (The game drives are in custom designed open sided 4 wheel drive game viewing vehicles.)

Overnight: Elephant Bedroom Camp

Meals: B, L, D

Depart by bush flight to Nairobi. On arrival, stop for lunch and then proceed to Lake Naivasha. Your Guides will meet the group at Lake Naivasha. In the afternoon, set out on a lovely boat cruise and a walk on Crescent Island. Return to the camp for sunset with dinner and overnight at the camp.

In the early part of the 1900s, the area around Lake Naivasha was well known as the “happy valley” and was a favorite hangout for the colonial settlers. Today, the vibrant town of Naivasha sits on the northeast side of the lake, and the rest of the lake is surrounded by small farms, tourist lodges, and even an active geothermal project. Most visitors enjoy water activities on the lake, bird watching, visits to the local flower farms, a round of golf at Green Park, and tea at Elsamere with their resident colobus monkeys.

At an elevation of 1,883 m (6,181 ft), Lake Naivasha is the highest elevation lake in the Great Rift Valley, though it is fairly shallow with depths ranging from 6-30 m (20-100 ft). The lake itself is 139 km² (53 mi²) in size and is part of an ancient Pleistocene lake and volcanic system. The freshwater lake is home to many fish species, birds, and a decent hippopotamus population. Over the years, it has been susceptible to invasive species such as crayfish, carp, and hyacinth.

Overnight: Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge

Meals: B, L, D

Day trip to Olorgesailie Archeological site with picnic boxes. Olorgesailie is a sedimentary basin located in southern Kenya in the East African Rift Valley. It has been excavated for many years and contains many artifacts that have accumulated over a long time period. Here we will look at finds unearthed in this region dated between 1.2 million and 490,000 years ago.

Your Harvard study leader, Daniel Lieberman, has performed research at this site.

Overnight: Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge

Meals: B, L, D

Proceed to the world famous Masai Mara National Reserve arriving for a late lunch. Those who are up for it can go on a game drive.

The Mara (as it is affectionately known) covers 1510 km2 (583 mi2) and is widely considered to be Africa’s greatest reserve. The backdrop of the Siria escarpment in the west overlooks sweeping savannas, riverine woodlands, and forests on a deceptively flat landscape that extends eastwards towards the Sekenani Hills and northwards towards the Aitong Hills. The Mara is in essence the northern extension of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem and plays host to one of nature's greatest phenomenons, the Great Wildebeest Migration.

Because of the quality of wildlife viewing, the Mara has for generations been the setting for hundreds of wildlife documentaries, including Disney's African Cats, and the BBC’s Big Cat Diaries and Planet Earth. It is a wildlife photographer's paradise and every year visitors come to capture the spectacular wildlife. The reserve and its conservancies contain some of the highest densities of predators in Africa and this only increases as nomads and vagrants follow the huge herds back and forth through this ecosystem during the seasonal wildebeest migration.

Overnight: Mara Ngenche Safari Camp

Meals: B, L, D

Optional hot air balloon safari (at an additional cost). Morning and afternoon game drives including a sundowner.

Overnight: Mara Ngenche Safari Camp

Meals: B, L, D

Early game drive with a bush breakfast on a river bed (weather permitting). Morning and afternoon game drives with meals and overnight at the camp. You have a farewell bush dinner and overnight at the camp.

Overnight: Mara Ngenche Safari Camp

Meals: B, L, D

Transfer to the airstrip. Fly by scheduled flight (flight booked by Immersion Journeys) to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport departing 11h15 arriving 13h00. Met on arrival and transfer for lunch. Check into your hotel located near the airport where day rooms have been arranged. Later this evening, you will be transferred to the airport for your international flight home.

Day Room: Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport

Meals: L