Kenya’s Mara & Rhino Walking Experience

The first stop on your Kenyan safari is the vibrant city of Nairobi. You’ll touchdown at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where a comfortable transfer will take you to Wilson Airport, approximately 27 minutes away. From Wilson Airport, you’ll enjoy a light aircraft flight to Samburu Kalama Airstrip – where the fun starts.

Whether it’s your first-ever safari or your thirtieth, Samburu National Reserve is a destination that appeals to every type of traveler. This Kenyan gem is clustered around the Ewaso Ngiro River and boasts endless savannas and forests – a mix of environments that created the perfect big game country with a diverse range of your favorite African animals. 

As a result, Samburu has become well-known for its first-class, year-round game viewing is renowned for its first-class, year-round game viewing. Keep your eyes peeled for all the big cats (especially leopard), wild dogs, elephants, and the ‘Samburu Big 5’ – Grevy’s zebra, the long-necked gerenuk, reticulated giraffe, besia oryx, and Somali ostrich. 

In addition to impeccable game viewing, Samburu offers a wide selection of incredible adventure activities and fascinating cultural interactions. When not on game drives through the reserve, you can explore the region on foot or by mountain bike. Visit the nearby Samburu villages and gain insight into the local life before enjoying a delicious dinner on the old riverbed. The highlight of your time here, however, will undoubtedly be the incredible opportunity to track endangered black rhinos in Samburu – an activity offered by your home-away-from-home, Samburu Rhino. 

This charming camp offers authentic accommodation in the form of a band – a rustic stone cottage with a thatched roof and canvas zip-down windows and doors. Saruni Rhino is known for its unique rhino tracking experiences, where guests join highly trained rangers to track endangered rhinos on foot. Your participation in this activity contributes to the conservation and protection of this remarkable species. During your stay, you’ll also have the chance to visit the Retiti Elephant Sanctuary, where you’ll learn about the conservation of orphaned baby elephants and their rehabilitation back into the wild. And, before you go, be sure to take a drive to the Singing Wells where you’ll be treated to a unique cultural experience – local pastoralists calling their cattle to drink by singing songs recognized only by their own herd. 

After breakfast, you’ll head back to Samburu Kalama Airstrip to catch your flight to Mara North Airstrip for the next leg of your journey. You’ll land in the Masai Mara National Reserve – one of Africa’s top safari destinations. An abundance of animals roams the wide-open plains of the Mara, including elephants, buffalo, zebra, giraffes, hyenas, and the famous big cats: lion, leopard, and cheetah.

The Masai Mara is also home to nature’s grandest show: the Great Wildebeest Migration. Between August and November every year, visitors flock to the Mara to see the unending masses of wildebeest and zebra that follow the rains on their death-defying circular journey. It’s a good thing that your accommodation for the next four nights, Saruni Mara, is perfectly placed to enjoy the Wildebeest Migration season. 

Saruni Mara is an intimate lodge far removed from everyday life and is designed to blend in with its dramatic surroundings in a private Masai Mara conservancy. This luxury lodge offers every modern comfort and convenience one would need, with each cottage boasting incredible views of the secluded valley and the Mara plains in the distance. When not enjoying all the lodge has to offer, you can indulge in the Maasai Wellbeing Space, a private treatment spa hidden in the valley’s olive tree and cedar forest. Get an early start in the mornings and join guided game drives to exclusive, sole-use areas to try and spot all your favorite African animals. Or join Maasai warriors on escorted bush walks before exploring the nearby hills on foot. 

Enjoy one last breakfast at Saruni Mara before catching your scheduled flight from Mara North Airstrip to Wilson Airport, where you’ll be transferred to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to catch a plane back home. We can’t wait until your next visit to Africa.