About This Package
This exclusive 8 day luxury safari is designed for the serious wildlife enthusiast who wants to experience Kenya's most remote and rewarding ecosystems. You begin in Samburu National Reserve, the wild northern heartland where the Ewaso Ng'iro River sustains an astonishing concentration of wildlife in one of Africa's harshest landscapes. Three days here with expert resident guides reveals the Northern Five, massive lion prides, the Samburu leopards famously studied by wildlife researchers for decades, and enormous elephant bulls with some of the largest tusks remaining in East Africa. Mid safari, you transfer to the little known Sera Wildlife Conservancy, a community owned sanctuary that has made history as the location of Kenya's first community rhino sanctuary. Here, critically endangered black rhino roam freely in a vast fenced sanctuary, and guided rhino tracking on foot brings you closer to these prehistoric animals than almost anywhere else on the continent. The finale: two days in the Masai Mara, where the high density of lion, cheetah and leopard almost guarantees sightings that would be highlights of a lifetime anywhere else. Throughout, you stay in exclusive small footprint luxury camps with personalised service.
Destinations Covered
What Is Included
Your Day-by-Day Itinerary
8 days of carefully planned experiences.
Nairobi to Samburu — Exclusive Northern Reserve
Drive north through Mount Kenya's slopes into the hot arid north. Your exclusive camp on the river's edge receives just a handful of guests at any time, ensuring genuinely private game drives. Afternoon drive immediately encounters large-tusked elephant bulls and Samburu's famous crocodiles.
Full Day Samburu — Research-Grade Wildlife Encounters
Samburu's resident researchers have documented every animal individually — your guide has the knowledge of a scientist and the skill of a tracker. Morning drives focus on the river where lion and leopard are regularly seen. Afternoon specialist birding session with over 365 species recorded in the reserve.
Samburu — Night Drive & Bull Elephant Encounters
Samburu hosts some of the largest-tusked bull elephants remaining in Kenya. These old males — some over 50 years old — move alone or in small bachelor groups and are enormously photogenic against the riverine landscape. Night drive in the community conservancy reveals serval, honey badger and greater galago.
Samburu to Sera Community Conservancy — Rhino Tracking
Drive east to the Sera Wildlife Conservancy — a community-owned 340,000-acre sanctuary that made history as the site of Kenya's first community black rhino sanctuary. Guided rhino tracking on foot with armed rangers and Samburu community guides brings you within metres of critically endangered black rhino in a profoundly moving conservation success story. Overnight in the conservancy's intimate camp.
Sera Conservancy — Full Day Walking & Rhino
A full day in one of Kenya's most remote and rewarding conservation areas. Guided walks reveal the conservancy's elephant herds, Grevy's zebra, oryx and the extraordinary community conservation story — Samburu people who once poached have become the most effective protectors of wildlife. Evening campfire dinner under a canopy of stars in the clearest sky in Kenya.
Sera to Masai Mara — Charter Flight Safari Finale
Charter flight from the Sera community airstrip south to the Masai Mara — 90 minutes of aerial Kenya. Afternoon game drive upon arrival introduces the Mara's Big Five landscape.
Full Day Masai Mara — Big Five & Migration
A complete Mara day with the Cottar's team — acknowledged as the Mara's most expert wildlife guides. Morning drives focus on the river crossing zone for wildebeest (seasonal), afternoon on the open plain cheetah families and lion prides of the Cottar's private conservancy.
Final Mara Drive & Return to Nairobi
Final dawn drive before the drive or charter flight back to Nairobi.
Inclusions and Exclusions
Where You Will Stay
Accommodation is tailored to your budget and preferences. We work with a curated selection of lodges and camps across all categories.
Comfortable tented camps and mid-range lodges. Great value with all the essentials for an unforgettable safari.
Well-appointed lodges and permanent camps with excellent food, experienced guides and genuine bush atmosphere.
Award-winning camps and lodges with private guides, gourmet dining, plunge pools and world-class service.
Tell us your budget and preferences in the enquiry form and we will match you with the best available properties along the route. All our partner lodges are personally vetted by our team.
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