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Heart to Heart Samburu and Maasai Safari Day 1: Arrive in Nairobi, where you will be met at Jomo Kenyatta International airport and transferred to your hotel for a night’s rest after your long flight.
Your hotel, the House of Waine, is a boutique hotel with just eleven rooms. The House of Waine sits snugly in a district known as Karen, after the famous Out of Africa author of the same name. She had her coffee farm nearby, and there is a little museum there, which documents the history of the area.
Day 2 In the morning, transfer to Wilson airport for a scheduled flight to Samburu – your destination in Northern Kenya. On arrival, a game drive through Buffalo Springs National Reserve will introduce you to the beauty of this terrain; the Ewaso river and its abundant population of elephant; the reticulated Giraffe; and other “Northern species” that make this part of Kenya so unique. After a picnic lunch in the bush, the game drive ends at Saruni Samburu, within the remote Kalama Conservancy.
Kalama lies in an area of 95,000 hectares of Girgir Group Ranch in Samburuland, west of Archer's Post. With a population of only 2,000, the main livelihood in the area is livestock – mostly camels and goats. Centered around a core conservation area of 3,150 hectares, Kalama represents a crucial migratory corridor between northern and southern conservation areas of this spectacular region of Kenya. Large herds of elephants cross Kalama in their migratory routes between different conservancies under the NRT umbrella. Kalama members have coexisted with the Samburu National Reserve for over 40 years, sharing revenues and wildlife.
Heart to Heart Samburu and Maasai Safari Logistics Cost includes:
Cost does not include:
Camps Saruni Wild Saruni Wild is a private, three-tent camp owned and managed by Saruni in the Maasai Mara. Located in a wild, scenic valley rich both in wildlife and privacy, where no other vehicles are ever met, Saruni Wild is a design camp with oriental-looking tents and all the comforts of home: flush toilets, hot and cold water, large showers, excellent cuisine, and open Land Rovers. Elegantly styled, each tent has a large verandah with uninterrupted views over the Yaile mountains of Northern Maasai Mara and a big bonfire where the Maasai warriors come and dance at night. Exclusive Tented Camp - Maasai Mara - Yaile Mountains The location is a piece of pristine, old Africa, still totally untouched by modern development. It includes thousands of acres where there are no roads, no villages, and no humans. Wildlife is abundant, but not habituated to contact with vehicles. This is true Africa, and we have trained our guides to the highest standard to provide a thrilling and adventurous, but comfortable, experience. You will track wild animals and learn bush skills. Walks are individually-tailored and are set in a breathtaking valley, among forests, springs, and mountains. This tented camp is an ideal base for those who are interested in watching, tracking, and studying elephants. An activity offered at Saruni Wild is Night game drives at Saruni Wild are: all the nocturnal species are abundant around the camp, from leopard to greater galago, from genet to white tailed mongoose. Weather conditions are ideal all year round: it’s never too hot.
Heart to Heart Samburu and Maasai Safari Day 5 Fly to Ngerende Airstrip, in the Maasai Mara, at 11.00 AM. On your drive from the airstrip, stop by the Mara River to watch hippos and have a drink. Travel through Olchorro Oruwa and Lemek Group Ranches and reach Saruni for lunch.
Enjoy an evening game drive in the Aitong plains, where you’ll look for predators in an open vehicle with a professional Maasai guide and a Maasai tracker. The region is home to very active pride of lions and offers frequent leopard sightings. Relax with sundowner drinks next to one of the iconic Maasai Mara trees, then travel back to Saruni for dinner and an overnight rest.
Day 6 After breakfast, meet a group of warriors at Saruni and begin a trek of about three hours, through the mountains. Walk together with the warriors and Saruni guides. The leader of the warriors will teach you how to recognize animal tracks and droppings, and he will describe how they avoid dangerous animals during their long walkabouts from village to village. During the walk, enjoy a stop at a village, where you will be welcomed by the elders. A goat may be slaughtered in your honor (although this can also be declined, if you would prefer).
After singing and dancing with the villagers, the party goes on and reaches Campi ya Tembo – a tented camp located eight kilometers from Saruni, and the base for your next days. While walking, the warriors sing, and their leader explains the meaning of the songs. Enjoy lunch at Campi ya Tembo, under large acacia trees. Settle into the luxury tents, which have running hot and cold water. In the afternoon, Maasai women will visit the camp to teach beading. Warriors will be on hand to teach spear throwing and how to use bow and arrows.
In the evening, embark on a night game drive in the Yaile Conservancy – 4,000 acres of pristine Africa where the nocturnal species – including leopard, genet, bushbaby, white tailed mongoose, and caracal – are very dense and mix easily with elephant, giraffe, impala, and buffalo.
Day 7
During the walk, you’ll find the remains of N’dorobo people – some of the last group of hunters and gatherers in East Africa – who, until recently, lived in caves dug on these mountains. Relax with lunch at camp. In the afternoon, enjoy a short game drive to the nearby Yaile Plains, where game abounds. For those who prefer to stay in camp, you may opt for more in-depth training on the plants, flowers, and trees of the area and how they are used to eat, drink, and survive in the bush.
Day 8
Heart to Heart Samburu and Maasai Safari Day 3 Samburu guides will lead you on a walk, looking for tracks and explaining how they use medicinal plants and survive on such arid lands. A bush lunch under the acacias is followed by a visit to a Samburu settlement. Here, a village goat may be slaughtered; the warriors of the tribe drink its blood as part of their customs. (This can be declined, if preferred.)
This is also an occasion to meet the women and the children of the community. Learn how rubber, plastic, and plant seeds are recycled into ornaments and how Samburu care for their cattle – an important part of their culture and village life. Lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon, trek across the mountains looking for signs of the Oldorobo hunters and gatherers and discovering caves rich in ancient rock paintings. You will be accompanied by a large section of Kalama warriors who sing while they walk.
Day 4 Embark a game drive through the Kalama Conservancy, stopping to visit community officers who will explain how the conservancy works. These community rangers will take you on a patrol, demonstrating their work along the way.
Enjoy a bush lunch in Kalama.
In the afternoon, the Samburu rangers who look after the endangred Grevy’s zebra will take you on a special mission. The rangers will teach you to identify where the zebras live and demonstrate how their program protects the zebra’s environment.
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