This action-packed safari combines three of Kenya’s most breathtaking parks and reserves: arresting Amboseli, wild and remote Meru and the iconic Masai Mara.
Watching big-tusked elephants silhouetted against the backdrop of Africa’s highest mountain.
Walking in the footsteps of ‘Born Free’ conservationists George and Joy Adamson in Meru National Park.
Taking in the views from Elewana’s Elsa’s Kopje, one of Kenya’s most remote and romantic lodges.
Observing black and white rhinos in their natural habitat without another safari vehicle in sight.
Floating above the plains of the Masai Mara in a hot-air balloon.
Arrive in Nairobi and transfer to Wilson Airport for your flight to Amboseli National Park, best known for its high concentrations of big-tusked elephants and unrivalled views of Mt Kilimanjaro, which stands just across the border in neighbouring Tanzania.
You’ll be met and transferred to Elewana Tortilis Camp in the quiet southern reaches of the park. The camp’s 16 thatched tents have king or twin beds, polished wooden floors and shady verandas with glorious views of Africa’s highest mountain, while the bar looks down upon a waterhole frequented by elephant, zebra, giraffe and gazelle.
Game drives cover both the camp’s 30,000-acre private conservancy and the national park itself, where lion, leopard, cheetah and buffalo can also be seen framed against snow-capped Kilimanjaro.
Fly back to Wilson Airport to connect with a light aircraft flight north to the wild, remote and gloriously crowd free Meru National Park. Your base for the next three nights will be Elewana’s Elsa’s Kopje, one of our favourite camps in Kenya. It sits above the site of George and Joy Adamson’s original camp in Meru. It was here, long before conservation became fashionable, that the Adamsons raised and released orphaned lions, the most famous being Elsa, the lioness of Born Free fame after whom the camp is named.
Although the sound of roaring lions can still ring out across the park, it’s actually rhinos that tend to cause the most excitement. The park’s rhino sanctuary is home to over 70 black and white rhinos, making Meru one of the best places in Kenya to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.
Another couple of short flights via Wilson Airport will bring you to the Masai Mara and on to Governor’s Il Moran. This intimate camp of just 10 spacious tents offers exceptional year-round wildlife viewing right on its doorstep. Hippos wallow in the waters below camp, elephants wander nonchalantly between tents, and the night-time is punctuated by the whoops of hyenas and the throaty calls of lions.
It's a great place to base yourself in July and August, when hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra attempt to cross the Mara River not far from the camp, risking fatal encounters with enormous Nile crocodiles in their search for fresh pastures.
Fly back to Nairobi on day 11 to catch your flight back to London.