Wild Kenya: Great Rift Valley & Western Kenya

Arrive in Nairobi and transfer to your hotel. After a brief rest, take an introductory walk in the city's greenbelt for the first species of the trip, including the African Pied Wagtail, Speckled Mousebird and the noisy Hadada Ibis that is never far from water. A welcome dinner and orientation briefing complete the day.

Drive up the Rift Valley escarpment to Lake Nakuru National Park, one of the world's great birding spectacles. Millions of Lesser and Greater Flamingos fringe the soda lake, turning the shoreline pink, while African Fish Eagles call from lakeside trees and Yellow-billed Storks, White Pelicans and Great Cormorants pack the shallows. The park is also a sanctuary for both black and white rhino and the endangered Rothschild's Giraffe.

Morning birding around Lake Nakuru's woodland, then drive west through the rolling tea country of Kericho, where African Wattled Plovers call from the roadside paddocks. Cross the Equator and descend into the lush Kakamega Forest, the easternmost remnant of the great Congo Basin rainforest. Arrive at the lovely forest retreat in time for a first evening walk along the trails.

A full day exploring the trails of Kakamega, the richest forest in Kenya for the birder. Our targets include the magnificent Great Blue Turaco, the rare Turner's Eremomela, Chapin's Flycatcher, Blue-headed Bee-eater and Grey Parrot, alongside a cast of forest endemics from the Yellow-whiskered Greenbul to the Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill. Purple-breasted and Blue-headed sunbirds flash along the forest edge, and the extraordinary Weyns's Weaver may put in an appearance near the river.

An early forest session targets the shy forest specials before we drive north to Saiwa Swamp National Park, a tiny jewel of papyrus and riverine forest. Here you will have your best chance of seeing the swamp's shy antelopes - the sitatunga and the rare De Brazza's Monkey - while the Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Grey-throated Barbet and the localized Papyrus Gonolek are the avian targets along the boardwalk.

A full day on the forested slopes of Mount Elgon. Birding along the eastern escarpment, we will search for Hartlaub's Turaco, the stunning Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, White-chinned Prinia, the localized Grey Apalis and the endangered Sharpe's Longclaw on the moorland fringe. The views across the Kalenjin plains are magnificent, and the forest's resident elephants and buffalos often appear along the tracks.

Drive south to Lake Baringo, a freshwater jewel in the arid northern Rift Valley. The acacia woodlands around the lake are alive with birds - Fischer's Starling, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver and the impressive Verreaux's Eagle-Owl. A late-afternoon boat trip along the lake's papyrus-lined shore targets African Fish Eagle, Goliath Heron and the spectacular flocks of carmine bee-eaters that nest in the cliffs.

Morning birding at Baringo for Jackson's Hornbill and White-browed Coucal, then continue to Lake Bogoria, a spectacular soda lake ringed by geysers and hot springs. The lake regularly holds the world's largest single flock of Lesser Flamingos, and the cliffs support breeding augur buzzards and the rare Cape Vulture. Walk the shoreline among bubbling hot springs and boiling geysers as flamingos sweep the shallows.

Drive south through the Rift Valley, stopping at the shallow soda waters of Lake Elementaita, a RAMSAR site where White Pelicans, flamingos and a host of waders gather. Continue to Lake Naivasha and take a boat safari onto the lake, threading between hippos and beds of water lilies as African Fish Eagles and fish-eagles drop onto the water. The lakeshore forests hold Malachite Kingfisher, African Jacana and the Grey-crowned Crane.

A relaxed final morning around Lake Naivasha for any remaining Rift Valley specials, then drive the final stretch back to Nairobi. Depending on flight times, there may be time for a last stop at Nairobi National Park for Ostriches and Secretary Birds before transferring to the airport for departure.