Land of The Masai - Family Holiday

This morning you travel to Naro Moru (2 ½ hrs drive) on the watershed between the Tana and Ewaso Nyiro river basins. Your accommodation is located beside a trout stream in excellent bird watching country. The afternoon is free to relax in the lodge’s pretty gardens and of course its pool. You will see views of Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest mountain, covered in a variety of ecosystems (5200m). Some three and a half million years old, it was once a live volcano. Now the peaks are permanently covered with snow and glaciers. 
River Lodge (AAA) - 2 nights (Swimming Pool) (BLD)

This morning you drive 250km (approx. 4-5 hours) on good roads to Lake Nakuru, arriving in time for lunch. The alkaline waters of this lake once supported an extremely large colony of flamingos - reckoned to be anything up to two million strong! Over the course of the year the lake changes size considerably, shrinking to its minimum in March at the end of the dry season, bringing changes in the type of birdlife and wildlife that inhabit this area and what you will see on your visit. Changes in water level and chemical concentration caused the permanent population of flamingos to move elsewhere in the 1970s - they now reappear periodically, but never stay for long. The lush area around the lake is well known for its bird life. In the afternoon, you will enjoy a game drive around the shore of the lake and look for the white rhinos that can usually be found around the shores. Lodge (AAAA) – 1 night (Swimming Pool) (BLD)

Situated in the Great Rift Valley, in the South East Ecological niche of the park is Lake Nakuru Lodge, an oasis of comfort and excellent service, with commanding views of the lesser flamingo dotted with the Greater Flamingo for which Lake Nakuru is justly famous.

Your destination today is the finest of Kenya’s reserves, the Masai Mara (150km, approx. 5 hours drive). The Mara is effectively a northern extension of the Serengeti, the most famous of neighbouring Tanzania's national parks, which lies just across the border. Animals, of course, recognise no border and immense herds of blue wildebeest migrate across the savannah driven by the innate urge to find new grazing land on which to feed when the rest of the plains dry up. They arrive here each July/August; then in October start to head south again! At these times the plains teem with animals on the move, and the photographic opportunities are unrivalled. You should arrive at your lodge in time for lunch, followed by an afternoon game drive. You’ll explore the extensive grassy plains where elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, and various gazelles - with attendant predators of lion, cheetah, jackal and hyena can be seen.

The following day you take a game drive in the early morning, return to camp for a leisurely brunch, then have some free time to relax before setting off again in the afternoon. You will also get to meet the local Masai warriors and they will teach you about their life and culture, even showing you how to throw a spear – careful mum, stand well clear please! This is invariably one of the highlights of the trip as you spend the day walking with your Masai guides. The Masai are probably the best known of Kenya’s tribal peoples - largely due to their highly photogenic appearance. The young males in particular wear a striking costume of bright red cloth, with a cape slung from one shoulder, beads and jewellery, and carry a spear, sword and club. Originally nomadic herders, the Masai used to live on a diet of fresh and curdled milk. Live cattle represent wealth, so much energy was devoted to cattle raiding. They have a fearsome reputation as warriors and hunters, but in the face of immense pressure are gradually - if reluctantly - starting to accept a more settled lifestyle. 
Tented Lodge (AAA) – 2 nights (Bx2,Lx2,Dx2)