15 Days Birding and Wildlife Safari Kenya
KENYA BIRDING AND BIG GAME ANY TIME DEPARTURE TOUR:
This special Tour is fully guided by our Top local bird guide.
ITINERARY AT A GLANCE:
Day 1: Arrive Nairobi at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Meet and Transfer to parkside Hotel Nairobi. The Nairobi Parkside hotel is a bed & Breakfast accommodation which has 50 exquisite appointed rooms comprising singles,doubles,tripples and superior rooms all with their own bathrooms ( Bed & Break fast basis only )
Day 2: After Breakfast, drive to Nairobi National park join in the Nairobi National Park Bird walk which should introduce you the Kenyan commoner birds and other forest species that may be difficult on the rest of the tour. After the walk, will continue our exploration into the park for birding & big game viewing. From the mammal point of view, the park offers an opportunity for spotting the Big Five hence Lion, Rhino,Buffalo,Elephant and Leopard with luck.
Birding is excellent in the park ranging from water birds to woodland and acacia species such as the Great Egret,Comorants,Ostrich,white belied bustard,Fischers lovebirds anf while bellied goaway birds. Evening return to the Hotel in Nairobi( Bed & Break fast included)
Day 3: Depart Nairobi for Thika, rest of the day birding the grounds around Thika Blue posts. Thika offers an opportunity to view some of the few coastal species that penetrate into the main land following the River Tana. With luck,these may include the Trumpeter Hornbill, Brown Hooded Kingfisher, Zanzibar Sombre Green-bull and African Golden Weaver,Ayres Hawk Eagle , African green pigeon, Eastern bronze napped pigeon, Purple Crested Turaco, Green headed sunbird and Black cuckoo shrike
In the afternoon, we will drive out of Thika to Wajee bird sanctuary. Wajee is the home of the Endemic Kenyan Hindes Barbler. We will arrive at Wajee in the late evening. Accommodation at wajee is basic but offers excellent viewing for the Kenyan endemic and endangered Hindes barbler .Wajee Nature Park:
http://www.wajeenaturepark.com/pages/index.php
Day 4: Morning birding at Wajee till about Lunch Hours and then Drive out of Wajee into Naromoru near Mount Kenya, the day will be spent around the Naromoru River lodge grounds, birding.Naromoru River lodge grounds is home to several Mt Kenya specialities to include: Eastern double collared sunbird, Alpine swift, Black Chested snake eagle, Narina Trogon, Scaly throated honey guide, Mountain Wagtail, White headed wood hoopoe, African Black Duck, Grey Cuckoo shrike and Yellow-bellied waxbill. Naro Moru River Lodge is located at 2,155 meters ( 7,100 ft), tucked into the side of Mount Kenya, 16 km south of the Equator, in a 10-hectare (20-acre), stream-fed enclave of peace and serenity.
The Lodge consists of 34 rooms, twelve self-catering cottages and a campsite. The 34 rooms have private baths, generous fireplaces, and overlook the Naro Moru River. Guests have a chance to unwind at any one of the two restaurants or bars on the grounds.
The Lodge has a heated swimming pool, two tennis courts, one squash court and a sauna to unwind from the long hikes that are possible on the extensive grounds.
In addition there are ample opportunities to go trout fishing, bird watching, mountain biking or horseback riding.
Day 5: We are scheduled to have a day trip to Mt Kenya, birding the slopes of Mt Kenya and return to Naromoru for the night. The drive up Mt Kenya should reward us with some of the following species,Hartlaub’s Turaco, Brown-Hooded Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Grey-olive Greenbul, Zanzibar Sombre Greenbul, Brown-backed Scrub-Robin, Black-Throated Wattle-eye, Singing, Red faced, Winding, Rattling, Croaking Cisiticolas, Mountain Yellow Warbler, African-moustached Warbler, Broad-tailed Warbler, African Golden Weaver, Yellow-crowned Bishop, African Fire finch, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, and Abyssinian Crimson wing.Green Ibis, Long-crested Eagle, Mountain and Augur Buzzards, Rofous-breasted Sparrow hawk, Red-fronted Parrot, Red-throated Wryneck, Common Stone-chat, Kenrick’s and Waller’s Starlings, Oriole Finch, Montane White-eye, African Hill Babbler, Montane Greenbul, White-headed Hoopoe, Grey , Black-throated, Black-headed, Chestnut-throated Apalises, Green, Olive, and Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, Lemon, and Tambourine Doves, Moustached Green Tinker bird, White-headed and White-eared Barbets, Scarce and Alpine Swifts, Eastern and Northern Double-collared sunbirds, Green Headed, Golden- winged and Tacazze sunbirds among more common species. Evening back at Naromoru River Lodge.
Day 6: Today we will drive out of Mt Kenya area into the Arid North east of Kenya at Samburu National reserve. Over night at Samburu Lodge near the ewaso nyro River. Birding in Samburu is excellent ranging from Northern specialities like the Somali Fiscal, Somali Bea eater, Somali Ostrich and bunting together with an assortment big game and wild life restricted to the Arid north such as the Gerenuk, Grevy`s zebra and fringe eared Oryx. Night at Samburu Game Lodge.
Day 7: The day will be spent birding & big Game viewing and photography in the Samburu. Meals and over night at Samburu Lodge. www.wildernesslodges.co.ke
Day 8: We will return towards Mt Kenya again with a night at Naromoru once again.
Day 9: After break fast, we will drive to Nyahururu birding enroute, we will stop to have a quick look around Thomson falls for a number of other specialities including the Slender billed Starling and golden winged sunbirds. We will then proceed to Nakuru for Lunch and over night at the Hotel water buck.The hotel is one of the few middle-range,and decent places in Nakuru. The decor in the place is excellent.The hotel/restaurant is busy as it is used as a base for many of the safari tour companies which visit Nakuru safari park and the other lakes around.
After Lunch,we will drive lake Nakuru National park, birding and Big Game viewing. Once in Lake Nakuru National Park,the birds and mammals are plentiful. The White Rhino is protected from poachers here and the only site on your itinerary for the Rothschild’s Giraffe will be at Lake Nakuru Park. The pink Blanket that covers the Lake Nakuru waters with Flamingoes make Nakuru the most unforgettable site to visit on planet earth.
Day 10: We are scheduled for Lakes Baringo. Lake Baringo has a number of specialities restricted to that far Northern part of Kenya, including the Bristle cowned starling, Yellowbilled and Jackson`s Hornbills. We will spend the day exploring the area. Night at Lake Baringo Country Club. Lake Baringo club is a neat compact hotel on the lake shore .The architecture has a Spanish air about it and the garden and the grounds are unmistakably African, but laid out with English air.
There is a very welcoming atmosphere the staff are friendly and the food is excellent .Rooms are cool and comfortable with a central overheat fan, mosquito nets around the bends and a decent shower .Its intimate, cozy nature make Lake baringo club ideal for a get away for the conferences or a weekend away from Nairobi and its only a five hour drive from the capital on tarmac.
Above all Baringo means birds, birds and more birds.
Over 460 species have been recorded here so it’s no surprise that Lake Baringo is A Mecca for bird watchers and a highlight of the ornithology circuit of East Africa.
The first thing you find in your room you find a newsletter with details of what‘s nesting where in the hotel grounds .The habits, lives and domestic squabbles of the residents in the trees are discussed in detail .Even if you are not particularly keen on birds you can’t ignore them .And this is definitely the place to learn.
A resident ornithologist leads bird walks before breakfast and in the evening .You can buy a checklist of the birds of Lake Baringo identify the trees with a print guide and read a daily log of species seen in the grounds which often extends to four pages.
Whatever you do at Baringo don’t miss the bird boat trip .From our motorized dugout, complete with sunshade you a have a marvelous view of the Laikipia escarpment and the Tugen hills .
You might meet a solo Njemps fisherman balanced on the precarious looking one man raft made of Ambatch ,similar to balsa wood .Your boat man might borrow a fish and then whistle up a fish eagle from the top of a distance tree. The take off, the approach, the turn, the swoop and the grab that follows will be a memory of a life time.
Day 11: We will spend the day exploring Lake Baringo area birding for specialties. Bird watching around lake Baringo is virtually un limited raging from Somali Bunting,white billed buffalo weaver and at least 3 Owls and nightjars. The Slender tailed and square tailed night jars, verreaxues eagle owl,Greysh, and white faced scopes owl, Hemprich’s Hornbill, Cliff Chat, Brown-tailed Rock-Chat, and Bristle-crowned Starling are among others.
Day 12: Today we are yet to see Kenya`s Top popular birding destination,that should not be mistakably missed on any Kenyan birding tour, we are scheduled to drive to Kakamega Forest. We will arrive late for Dinner and over night at the Isecheno Bandas in the heart of Kakamega forest. The 240 sq km Kakamega forest is reported to have 330 bird species, 400 butterfly species, 380 plant species, 33 snake species and atleast 7 primate species. We will stay at basic Isecheno Bandas which is an Ecotourism Kenya-implemented project that is now fully owned and managed by Kakamega Environmental Education Programme (KEEP), a local Community Based Organization (CBO). It consists of 5 bandas that can accommodate a maximum of 15 people, a kitchen and a dining/ meeting area. Nighta at the Bandas
Day 13: There are 2 Bird walks scheduled with Kakamega`s Top bird guide. We will have the Morning and afternoon Bird walks. The forest should reward us with Great Blue Turaco, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill, White-chinned and Banded Prinias, Jameson’s and Chestnut Wattle-eyes, Bocage’s and Lühder’s Bush-Shrikes, Black-billed and Vieillot’s Black Weavers, Gray-headed Negro-finch, Red-headed Malimbe, and Red-headed Bluebill among others. Overnight at the Isecheno Bandas.
Day 14: We will drive to Kisumu on Lake Victoria,however,we will make de-tour to the Mumias Bridge for Kenya`s only reliable site for the Rock Pratincole before driving to Kisumu and lake Victoria. Later will get to Kisumu,and straight on to Lake Victoria where we hope to catch up with stuff such as the Red chested sun bird,Papyrus and Black headed Gonolek and a number of bird species restricted to the lake zone such as the Blue-headed Coucal, Greater Swamp Warbler, Swamp Flycatcher, Papyrus Gonolek, Slender-billed Weaver, Papyrus Canary, and other papyrus specialties. Night at the Kiboko Bay resort. At the Kiboko bay resort,we will Experience the breathtaking view of the sun setting at Kiboko Bay Resort on the shores of the shimmering waters of Lake Victoria.Wake up in our luxurious tents to the excited chattering of different birds while watching hippos grazing on the shores of the lake. Relax by the pool and enjoy the cooling breeze.Walk on the sandy beaches of the bird sanctuary while watching different species of birds in their natural breeding habitat.
Day 15: Drive back to Nairobi, with evening Flight out of Nairobi.