Wild Kenya: Birding & Safari

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transfer to your hotel in the city. After a welcome rest, enjoy a short introductory birding walk around the hotel grounds and nearby greenbelt, ticking off the common African urban birds - Pied Crows, Speckled Mousebirds, Black-headed Herons and the noisy Hadada Ibis. A welcome dinner and trip briefing complete the day.

Drive up the escarpment to Lake Nakuru National Park. The soda lake's flamingo fringe is one of the great sights of Africa, and the park is home to rhino, Rothschild's Giraffe, lion and leopard. Waterbirds pack the shoreline - Yellow-billed Storks, Great White Pelicans, African Fish Eagles and Goliath Herons - while the acacia woodland holds a rich cast of larks, starlings and weavers.

Morning birding in Nakuru's woodland, then drive south via Narok to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, arriving in time for an afternoon game drive across the rolling plains. The Mara is one of the finest wildlife destinations on Earth - lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant and buffalo are all common, and the birdlife includes Kori Bustard, Secretary Bird, Martial Eagle and the extraordinary Lilac-breasted Roller.

A full day in the Maasai Mara, one of Africa's most bird-rich savannas with over 450 recorded species. Dawn drives seek out big cats and the great herds, while dedicated birding picks up Crowned Cranes, Blacksmith Plovers, Yellow-throated Longclaws, White-bellied Bustards and a parade of vultures. During migration season the river crossings of the wildebeest add an unmissable drama to the day.

An early game drive across the Mara Triangle for the last predators and plains game of the trip's western leg, then fly or drive back toward Nairobi and continue to Lake Naivasha. Take a late-afternoon boat safari onto the lake among hippos and pelicans, watching African Fish Eagles stoop from the fever trees and Grey-crowned Cranes patrol the shoreline.

A morning walk on Crescent Island offers close encounters with zebra, waterbuck and a wealth of waterbirds before the drive south to Amboseli National Park. Arrive in time for an afternoon game drive, where huge elephant herds roam beneath the snows of Mount Kilimanjaro and the wetlands host herons, storks, kingfishers and the ever-present Malachite Kingfisher.

A full day in Amboseli, starting at dawn when Kilimanjaro is at its clearest. Climb Observation Hill for panoramic views, then explore the Sinet Delta and the swamps that make this park a birding paradise. Papyrus Gonolek, Greater Swamp Warbler, African Jacana and Black Crake are the wetland targets, while the plains offer Yellow-necked Francolin, Red-capped Lark and the park's famous tuskers.

A final early morning game drive in Amboseli, watching the sun rise over the swamps, then drive back to Nairobi through the pastoral plains of Maasailand. Arrive in the city in the afternoon with time to relax or shop, before a farewell dinner at the hotel.

A final dawn safari in Nairobi National Park, where the skyscrapers of the capital form a surreal backdrop to a landscape full of wildlife. Ostriches, Secretary Birds, Kori Bustards and often lion, buffalo and rhino are all on the cards, with over a hundred bird species possible in a morning. Transfer to the airport for your onward flight.