Optional Extensions

Fly from the U.S. to Nairobi and overnight at the Safari Park Hotel. (Meals Aloft)

Game drives at Sweetwaters give us a chance of seeing Africa’s "Big Five" (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard) as we travel in both open safari vehicles. Other wildlife here includes oryx, Coke’s hartebeest, Thomson’s gazelle and reticulated giraffe. While here you may also visit Jane Goodall’s Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Overnight Sweetwaters Tented Camp (B,L,D)

Drive in our six passenger, 4x4 Land Cruisers — the ultimate safari vehicle — to the Samburu Reserve in Kenya’s Northern Frontier District. Daily game drives allow ample time to observe the thin-striped Grevy’s zebra; reticulated giraffe — recognized by its well-defined color patches; and Beisa oryx, with its rapier-like horns, that call this harsh region of scrub desert home. Other wildlife we will try to find and photograph includes gerenuk, Guenther's dik dik and yellow baboon. Surprisingly, this desert-like region boasts an abundance of birds, including Somali ostrich, secretary bird and desert hornbill. This is the land of the Samburu tribesmen, a pastoral people related to the Masai. The women wear layers of beads in choker fashion around their necks, and the men are famous for their colorful adornment and high-jumping dances. Spend three nights at Samburu Intrepids Tented Camp. (B,L,D Daily)

Set out for Lake Nakuru National Park, a birdwatcher’s paradise with more than 400 recorded bird species. The alkaline lake is an important stop for migratory birds as they head to and from Europe. An afternoon game drive is the perfect opportunity to look for pelicans, cormorants and both lesser and greater flamingos. Most of Lake Nakuru National Park is covered by the lake itself, but our morning and afternoon game drives give us an opportunity to discover the wildlife that congregates along the park’s shoreline and bushy grassland. In addition to lion, leopard, waterbuck, hippo, baboon and reedbuck, the park also hosts species introduced from other areas of Africa. Nakuru has been declared a black rhino sanctuary, and populations of South Africa’s white rhino and Rothschild’s giraffe have been introduced to the environment. Spend the next two nights at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, savoring a panoramic view across the lake. (B,L,D Daily)

Drive through the Great Rift Valley, past the extinct volcanoes of Mount Longonot and Mount Suswa. From Narok, we take an all-weather dirt road to the Masai Mara Reserve. Our next four days will include both morning and afternoon game drives. You may decide to skip one of the morning game drives and take an optional hot-air balloon safari over the Masai Mara. In the evenings, we enjoy dinner beneath the star-studded African sky. Spend four nights at the Mara Intrepids Club. (B,L,D)

Enjoy our first game drive in the Masai Mara Reserve, a rich savannah famous for its concentration of plains game and predators, including leopard, cheetah and hyena. Here in this northern extension of the Serengeti Plains, the land is teeming with elephant, large prides of lion, buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle, giraffe and even topi — the only place in Kenya where they are common. You may even rise early one morning for an optional hot air balloon safari. While here, we also visit a Maasai village, seeing how this pastoral tribe still tends the land much as their ancestors did for centuries. The Maasai, perhaps the best-known and most colorful African group, still follow their traditional ways as semi-nomadic pastoralists. Young warriors carry spears and decorate themselves with red ochre, and the women wear elaborate and beautiful beadwork. The social life of the Maasai makes them a fascinating and special people, and we shall see their herds and villages among the plains animals through much of our journey. (B,L,D Daily)

Leave late in the morning on a short flight back to Nairobi. Upon arrival in Nairobi we transfer to the Panari Hotel. This evening we enjoy a farewell dinner before our transfer to the airport. Arrive in the U.S. on Day 15. (Day 14: B,L,D; Day 15: Meals Aloft)