5 September 2022

Arrive Nairobi International Airport under your own arrangements. You will be met off your flight by a representative of our local partners who will assist you through immigration and customs and transferred by private vehicle to Hemingway's Nairobi.

5 and 6 September 2022

Spend two nights at Hemingway's Nairobi in Deluxe Rooms

Hemingway’s Nairobi is a gracious oasis of tranquility situated in the quiet Karen district of Nairobi - now a residential area at the foot of the Ngong Hills, just ten miles from Nairobi’s city center, this neighborhood was once the farm of Karen Blixen.

Guests are accommodated in 148 comfortable en suite rooms, decorated in pan-African style, each with air-conditioning, television, and wi-fi, mini-bar, coffee and tea-making facilities. The hotel’s 45 spacious, air-conditioned rooms and suites all have elegant décor and fine furnishings, and feature vaulted ceilings, marble bathrooms, walk-in closets, and private patios overlooking the Ngong Hills. Service is discreet but personal, and each room is attended by a private butler service. Guests can enjoy a variety of relaxing treatments and therapies at the property’s spa. Hemingway's Restaurant serves contemporary European cuisine, and the brasserie menu includes a variety of steaks and bistro fare. The hotel also offers a convivial bar and an outdoor swimming pool.

6 September 2022

Today you will be collected by your private guides who will be at your disposal for the day to tour Nairobi, including a visit to the Giraffe Center, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage and the Karen Blixen Museum. You will enjoy lunch at one of Nairobi's top restaurants, with soft drinks, coffee and tea included.

At one time, there were only 130 Rothschild Giraffe left in Kenya, on land that was earmarked for agriculture. The couple's successful breeding program, along with extensive fund-raising efforts, led to the formal establishment of the Giraffe Center in 1983, on the 60 acre sanctuary that remains its home to this day.

In addition to its highly successful breeding program, the Giraffe Center raises funds to secure and protect habitat for the Rothschild Giraffe in western Kenya, and to translocate giraffe to these safe havens. It also serves a crucial education function, bringing hands-on conservation lessons to thousands of Kenyan schoolchildren every year. Thanks in large measure to the efforts of the Giraffe Center, there are now over 300 Rothschild Giraffe in Kenya, living safely in National Parks and private Conservancies, with numbers growing annually.

Founded in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick in honor of her late husband and fellow naturalist, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world and one of the pioneering conservation organizations for wildlife and habitat protection in East Africa. At the heart of the DSWT’s conservation activities is the Orphans’ Project, which has achieved world-wide acclaim through its hugely successful elephant and rhino rescue and rehabilitation program. The Project offers hope for the future of Kenya’s threatened elephant and rhino populations as they struggle against the threat of poaching for their ivory and horn, and the loss of habitat due to human population pressures and conflict, deforestation and drought.

To date the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully hand-raised over 150 infant elephants and has accomplished its long-term conservation priority by effectively reintegrating orphans back into the wild herds of Tsavo. The Karen Blixen Museum was once the centerpiece of a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills owned by Danish author Karen Blixen (also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen) and her Swedish Husband, Baron Bror von Blixen Fincke.

The house was built in 1912 by Swedish Engineer Ake Sjogren. Karen and her husband bought it in 1917 and it became the farm house for their 4500 acre farm, of which 600 acres was used for coffee farming. Their marriage failed after eight years and in 1921 the Baron moved on and left the running of the troubled farm to Karen, a daunting task for a woman of that generation.

She fell in love with an English man, Denis Finch Hatton, and his death in Tsavo in 1930 coupled with the failed farming operation left Karen little choice but to return to Denmark in 1931. The farm was subsequently subdivided to create the present suburb of Karen.

The farmhouse gained international fame with the 1985 release of the movie ‘Out of Africa,’ an Oscar winning film based on Karen’s autobiography by the same title. The National Museums of Kenya acquired the house for the purpose of establishing a Museum, which was opened in 1986.

After the tour you will be returned to Hemingways, in time to freshen before dinner.

7 September 2022

This you will be collected and transferred by private vehicle to Nairobi Wilson Airport. You will be met and transferred by shared charter aircraft to Olare Orok Airstrip, departing at 10:00am and arriving at 11:00am. From the airstrip it is a short game drive transfer to Mahali Mzuri.

7, 8, and 9 September 2022

Spend three nights at Mahali Mzuri in Tented Rooms, on a fully inclusive basis (including accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinnner, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, conservancy fees, day and night game drives, walkign safaris, village visits, star gazing, and laundry).

*You will enjoy the services of two private vehicles and guides while at Mahali Mzuri.

Mahali Mzuri is a tented camp developed by Sir Richard Branson as part of the private 33,000 acre Olare Motorogi Conservancy in the Maasai Mara ecosystem. The conservancy ensures a true wilderness experience with one of the lowest tourist densities in the Mara region. There is a rich and diverse wildlife population with good numbers of predators and herbivores, as well as rarer species, such as rhino and wild dog. The area is teeming with game during the Great Wildebeest Migration (generally June to October).

The 12 tented suites, perched on a ridge looking over the valley, boast a distinctive design evoking Maasai bows and arrows, and are specially adapted to the local climate and terrain. Each is luxuriously appointed, with leather, wood, indigenous textiles and artwork – leading to a private deck with views over the valley below. En suite bathrooms feature walk-in showers and claw-foot bathtubs. The central Main Tent features a cozy comfortable sitting area with an open fireplace, a library of books, and modern technology, such as ipads and television. The tent opens to a large deck where breakfast and lunch is served. A large communal table ensures a convivial atmosphere when dining indoors. A short walk away is an infinity edged pool and spa tent.

Expert Maasai guides lead guests on day and evening 4x4 game viewing safaris in the Conservancy, as well as guided walks. A full day excursion into the Maasai Mara National Reserve is also offered.

10 September 2022

Today you will be collected and transferred by shared charter aircraft to Migori, departing at 11:30am and arriving at Noon. Transfer by vehicle across the border to Tarime (your transfer drivers will assist with border formalities from Kenya into Tanzania). Transfer by shared charter aircraft to Sayari Camp, departing at 12:30pm arriving at 2:50pm.

10, 11, and 12 September 2022

Spend three nights at Sayari Camp in Tented Rooms, on a fully inclusive basis (including accommodation, all drinks–except champagne, cellar wines, premium brand spirits, park fees, laundry service, scheduled open vehicle game drives, and short walking safaris).

*You will enjoy the services of two private vehicles and guides while at Sayari.

Sayari Camp is set on the plains of the northern region of the Serengeti National Park, close to the famous
Lamai Wedge, the Mara River and multiple river crossing points.

Sayari has been carefully designed in an intimate, contemporary and elegant style. Its 15 tented suites were inspired by the iconic flat-topped volcanic Turner Hill to the north, their interiors created using materials, hues and textures of the natural terrain. Each suite boasts a king-sized bed, en-suite bathroom with a walk-in shower and egg-shaped bathtub, and private veranda overlooking the plains. Common areas include two mess areas, each with a tranquil sitting area, an indoor and outdoor dining area, a rim-flow swimming pool framed by natural rock formations with dramatic Serengeti views, a library and outdoor campfire.

The northern Serengeti is heralded as one of the prime game-viewing areas in East Africa, offering outstanding species diversity year-round. From July to November, great herds of wildebeest gather on the banks of the Mara River on their journey to and from grazing grounds, ready to brave the crocodile-infested waters and the hungry predators on the other side. Dramatic, exciting and chaotic game viewing awaits as the wildebeest thunder across in their millions –on the doorstep of Sayari Camp. Daily game viewing excursions are offered, as well as short walking tours.

13 September 2022

Today you will be collected from Kogatende Airstrip and transferred by private charter aircraft Nairobi International Airport departing at 3:00pm and arriving at 6:20pm.You will be met upon arrival assisted onward with your connecting flight back to the USA.

From this point you will depart under your own arrangements (details to be advised).

(All photos courtesy of Classic Africa)

Hero Photo by Wade Lambert on Unsplash