Overview
This rugged 1,800 km expedition is designed for intrepid adventure types. You travel in a 4X4 safari vehicles that takes you into the heart of the northern Kenya wilds. You traverse through some of the Africa’s most challenging roads, see beautiful mountain forests surrounded on all sides by hot dusty deserts, eventually arriving at the desert ocean – the Jade Sea (Lake Turkana). On the way, you will encounter a variety of colorful tribes people, whose lives are little touched by the modern lifestyle.
You may also get to cross the shimmering seemingly endless sands of the Chalbi Desert – if dry. During the rains it becomes an enormous shallow lake. You end up at Lake Turkana located in a region that is one of the great sources of evidence of the emergence of modern man. The lake has an impressive variety of birdlife and the big game fishing is spectacular.
Day 1:
Nairobi- Samburu.
0800 hrs – depart Nairobi and drive north via the shoulder of Mount Kenya to Samburu National Reserve. You enjoy a game drive en-route to your semi-permanent campsite set under a canopy of trees or pitch tents on the edge of the Ewaso Nyiro River.
Dinner and overnight at Campsite/clean hotels.
Day 2:
Samburu.
You spend the whole day viewing game in the park.
Samburu National Reserve is a wildlife haven. Here you will spot Africa’s big cats – lions, cheetahs and the elusive leopard. Some animals are unique to this northern Kenya park: Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, kudu and gerenuk. The The Ewaso Nyiro River, the boundary with the neighboring Buffalo Springs National Reserve, is where the elephants, buffalo and other animal species gather for a drink. You will find the scenic semiarid landscape quite dramatic. The reserve is located within the lands of the colourful semi-nomadic Samburu tribesmen.
Dinner and overnight at Campsite/clean hotels.
Day 3:
Samburu - Marsabit
After breakfast, you head further north along the Trans African highway to Marsabit. After setting up camp, you will visit the lodge inside Marsabit National Park. While at the edge of a water-filled crater and you have a good chance of seeing elephants, buffalo, and kudu. You do not go further into the park, as thick forest hampers progress of large vehicles and viewing of game is difficult. Mount Marsabit, on which the park is located, rises above the desert floor to 1700 metres. The mountain has created its own microclimate and a mist usually hugs its slopes. Though the lower slopes are dry, higher levels are heavily forested and you find crater lakes, swamps and some wildlife.
Dinner and Overnight at Campsite/clean hotels.
Day 4:
Marsabit - Kalach
After breakfast you visit Marsabit town and another volcanic crater before making your way back into the desert and lava flows. You stop and camp for overnight stay at Kalacha, a small settlement on the edge of Chalbi desert.
Dinner and overnight at Campsite/clean hotels.
Day 5:
Kalacha - Lake Turkana.
After an early breakfast, you depart for the adventure of crossing the inhospitable Chalbi desert. The shimmering apparently endless sands stretch for 300 km upto Lake Turkana. The desert cannot be crossed if wet, but there are alternative routes around the north and south. You arrive soon after lunch at a semi permanent campsite just outside Loiyangalani on the shores on Lake Turkana. At the campsite, you can use traditional Turkana huts or otherwise set up tents. You relax here enjoying the cool breeze blowing from the lake and protected from the scorching sun and heat that is characteristic of the harsh climate of this remote area.
Dinner and overnight at Campsite/clean hotels.
Day 6:
Lake Turkana
You spend the day relaxing and bathing on Lake Turkana, interrupted only by a short boat excursion to visit the surrounding areas. In addition, you visit Loiyangalani and the community living there. In the evening you may visit one of Turkana Manyatas to experience traditional dances of the colorful Turkana people under the star-studded sky – at an extra cost.
The Turkana people inhabit the harsh desert like country northwest of Kenya around the Lake named after them. In this isolated outpost they are of all Kenyan peoples among the least touched by the modern lifestyle. They are essentially cattle herders but some have recently reluctantly taken up fishing the waters of the lake. The region around the lake is famous for being one of the great sources of evidence of the emergence of modern man. The lake has an impressive variety of birdlife and big game fishing is spectacular.
Dinner and overnight at Campsite/clean hotels.
Day 7:
Lake Turkana - Maralal
After breakfast, you journey via South Horr and Baragoi to reach Maralal. Maralal is home of the Samburu, another colorful indigenous people.
Dinner and overnight at Campsite/clean hotels.
Day 8:
Nairobi.
After breakfast resume your southbound drive via Laikipia plains and Nyahururu (Thompson’s Falls). You arrive back in Nairobi by mid afternoon.
Extras:
On this package
- Price for Samburu Village Visit US$: 30 per person. (Optional)
NOTE: Number of vehicles used; (NB: Tour Vehicles designed to carry a maximum of 8pax per vehicle)
- 2-8 pax – 1 Vehicle
- 9-16 pax – 2 Vehicles
- 17-24 pax – 3 Vehicles
- 25-30 pax- 4 Vehicles
Included
- Transport based on a purpose built overland truck
- All park and vehicle entry fees
- Accommodation in clean hotels/camps and tents (each tent shared by 2 people) and all meals while on safari
- Service of a safari cook and English-speaking driver
- Government taxesWHAT YOU NEED TO BRING ON SAFARI:* Sleeping bag (available for hire for US$ 15 per bag per safari plus a refundable deposit of US$ 40 after the safari)* Money for personal spending and tipping – minimum approx. US$ 10 a day* Only a small case or rucksack, as storage space is limited [maximum 20kgs].* A pair of long trousers and jersey for the cool mornings and evenings, in addition to plenty of light clothes for hot days (do not forget a hat), swim suit, a pillow, good walking and biking shoes* Torch, sunglasses, suntan lotion, insect repellent/spray but not mosquito coils* Mineral water for drinking (available for sale in Nairobi and other towns)* Camera, films, binoculars, maps and guide-books* Toilet paper, towel, soap and toothbrush/paste
Excluded
- Extras, personal expenses and toiletries; e.g. mineral water, toilet tissue, laundry, telephones, beverages, tips, portage
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