Nairobi / Tsavo East National Park
A spectacular bush flight whisks us to Tsavo East for our stay at the David Sheldrick Elephant Trust’s wilderness camp. Here we’ll be introduced to the charismatic baby elephants of Tsavo, watching them as they bottle-feed, mud wallow, and interact with the older elephants. This is probably the closest a traveler could ever come to mingling right among African elephants and our special access is amazing.
Tsavo East National Park
Exploring Tsavo bushlands by 4WD vehicle, we keep an eye out for big herds of “red” elephants along with Tsavo endemics such as desert warthog and Peter’s gazelle. The Tsavo ecosystem hosts the world’s last surviving viable gene pool of giant tuskers, and we’ll meet with a Tsavo Trust conservationist to hear about strategies to protect these elephants and the communities of Tsavo.
Samburu Game Reserve
Flying north to Samburu, a picturesque land of red earth and palm-fringed, cocoa-brown rivers, we’ll meet the Samburu people, cousins to the Masai, and head out to look for big game species rarely seen elsewhere, including Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, and Beisa oryx. We also meet with a researcher from Ewaso Lions, which works to protect Africa’s lion population.
Masai Mara Game Reserve
A scenic charter flight takes us right to the Mara’s rolling grasslands amid striking volcanic scenery. Our camp in a magnificent location overlooking the Talek River offers some of the world’s finest Big Five game viewing in the world’s best-known wilderness. Depart on Day 11, or extend your journey with exciting gorilla tracking in Rwanda’s Parc National des Volcans.
