Kenya RiverBend Group Tour Itinerary - October 7th to 21st, 2024

Ledger - (B) Breakfast (L) Lunch (D) Dinner Tour dificulty 3 on a scale of 1 to 10

Day One: Monday October 7th, 2024  Our motor coach departs from River Bend Club House London at 11:00 a.m. for Pearson International airport. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to departure. Guests departing from the Toronto region will meet the group at Pearson International please check-in clear security and meet group at the departure date. Our KLM Airlines flight departs for Kenya via Amsterdam at 5:00 p.m.

Day Two: Tuesday October 8th, 2023 

Our flight arrives into Nairobi, Kenya at 9:50 p.m. JAMBO - KARIBU!! (Hello and Welcome). We will meet our guides with a traditional, unique & special welcome with bubbly, hot/cold towels and presentation of authentic safari hat and essentials. We will transfer to our hotel for time to settle in and relax. Overnight Nairobi Serena Hotel 

Day Three: Wednesday October 9th, 2024  After breakfast we will proceed to Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. This centre has played a significant role in Kenya’s conservation efforts. The baby elephants are brought from the national park for a mud-bath at the orphanage, where for an hour (i.e. 1100hrs - 1200hrs) you can get close to them and sometimes touch them. You may not feed the animals but will get a chance to view the handlers feeding them. The orphanage offers hope for any orphaned baby elephant fortunate enough to be found alive and so far, it is proud to have saved over 150 orphaned infant elephants, which would otherwise have perished. The baby elephants are raised at the orphanage with the intention of gradually reintegrating them into the wild. The age range of the elephants can vary from a few months to three years. Each elephant is assigned to its own keeper, who acts as a surrogate mother and will stay with the elephant until it is released back into the wild. 

Thereafter, we will visit the renowned Giraffe Centre, where you will be given a rare opportunity to get up close to these gentle giants in this natural sanctuary, which was founded to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffe. Here you are able to climb to the top of a platform and stand eye to eye with the giraffes and feed them with small pellets. 

You will then proceed to a local restaurant for lunch enroute to Garden Children’s’ Home in Dagoretti, where you will get the opportunity to touch the lives of 300 adorable children. Garden Children’s’ Home is one of the many projects supported by the Manji Family through The Manji Foundation. The home is a refuge for abandoned children and has recently become a school, educating not only the students that have taken refuge behind their walls but also those that live in the area. Meet the founder of Garden Childrens’ Home Daddy Moses, and listen to his touching tale of how the centre was created. The hours will melt away as the talented students put together an enthralling afternoon performance with songs and dances to keep you entertained. The Manji Foundation supports the Home in various ways: one hot meal every day, providing stationary, uniforms, desks and other learning essentials and most recently building a science lab for the school.

At approximately 1600hrs, you will return to your hotel to freshen up before your welcome dinner party at the Manji Family residence. Overnight Nairobi Serena Hotel  (B) (L) (D)

Day Four: Thursday October 10th, 2024  After breakfast, we will drive north to Aberdares National Park. Upon arrival, proceed to the ground serving hotel - at the Country Club. Afternoon transfer to your overnight Tree lodge built deep in the forest. Enjoy game viewing at the floodlit water hole and salt lick from the comfortable lounge areas or from your room at any time of night such as the savannah elephant, rhino, Cape buffalo, bush bucks, giant forest hogs, Sykes monkey, leopard, and the rare bongo. A ground level bunker provides excellent photographic opportunities and takes you closer than you would believe possible to the wildlife. A warm jacket/sweater is highly recommended. Dinner and overnight at your hotel. The Ark Lodge (B) (L) (D)

Day Five: Friday October 11th, 2024  After breakfast, you will drive further north to the Samburu National Reserve, set in the rugged semi-arid northern region with spectacular scenic landscape. Upon arrival, you will be met by the camp’s representative and transferred to the camp to a warm welcome then lunch, short siesta before heading for an afternoon game viewing drive. The verdant riverine forest is a stark contrast to the arid thorn studded plains. The Samburu region is the best place to find several endemic Northern species; including the Gerenuk (twiga gazelle) due to her long neck, the beisa Oryx, the Reticulated Giraffe, the Somali ostrich and Grevy’s Zebra. Samburu is also an ornithological paradise, home to many birds including local species such as the Palm Nut Vulture and the Vivacious Dove. Leopards are often seen at dusk. The Samburu culture is a truly fascinating one, sharing a great deal of ancestral and linguistic ties to the Maasai. The entire Samburu region is a place of breath taking and magical beauty, a place where the vision of a deep red sunset silhouetting the doum palms along the river as a leopard emerges to hunt brings the perfect end to a day on safari...... Dinner and overnight at the camp. Overnight Surana Buffalo Springs (B) (L) (D) 

Day Six: Saturday October 12th, 2024  Spend today day in Samburu with morning and afternoon game viewing drives in both Samburu and Buffalo Springs game reserves. These game reserves provide some of the best and most colourful game viewing in the country. The Ewaso Nyiro River which meanders through the vast, dry, doum palm dominated reserve brings life along the green, scenic river banks, home and refuge to many wildlife. Meals and overnight at our camp. Surana Buffalo Springs (B) (L) (D)

Day Seven: Sunday October 13th, 2024  After breakfast, we will depart for Ol Pejeta Conservancy arriving at your tented camp in time for lunch. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy and its sumptuous ranch were once the private domain of famed multi-millionaire, Adnan Kashoggi. We enjoy a game drive in this game wealthy conservancy with a visit to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a charming haven established by the Jane Goodall Institute to provide sanctuary to orphaned chimps, and the specially protected refuge of black rhino. In fact Sweetwaters boasts excellent game viewing with the highest ratio of game to area of any park or reserve in Kenya. The camp overlooks one of the busiest waterholes in the area and offers an astounding variety of animals including all the Big Five and myriad of plains game. This is Africa as Teddy Roosevelt saw it years ago when he led one of the first safaris to tour Africa in comfort and splendor. The tents at Sweetwaters will remind us of this past era.Dinner and overnight at our camp. Sweetwaters Tented Camp – Morani Wing (B) (L) (D)

Day Eight: Monday October 14th, 2024 After breakfast a full day in Ol Pejeta Conservancy on two extensive game viewing drives day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the camp. This is one amazing camp. Sweetwaters Tented Camp (B) (L) (D)

Day Nine: Tuesday October 15th, 2024 After breakfast, we will drive to Nanyuki. Proceed to the famous Mount Kenya Safari Club, originally the retreat of movie star and club founder, William Holden and one that boasts an illustrious list of former members who include Winston Churchill and Bing Crosby. This prestigious club’s main structure reflects the 1950’s colonial architectural design with a luxury country club feel, complemented with independent quaint cottages, including William Holden’s original cottage, spread over 100 acres of landscaped gardens. The club’s activity list is long and includes golf, croquet, a bowling green, table tennis, swimming, an animal orphanage or you may want to simply relax and refresh yourself at the Health and Fitness Centre set within these serene breathtaking surroundings. Mount Kenya Safari Club (B) (L) (D)

Day Ten: Wednesday October 16th, 2024 This morning after breakfast, we will depart for Lake Elementaita with a brief stop at Thompson's Falls to arrive in time for lunch at Lake Elementaita Serena Lodge, a small, immaculately maintained safari camp on the shores of the glittering Lake Elementaita. Proceed later in the afternoon on a game viewing drive in Soysambu conservancy. The environment here is welcoming, one of the best places to relax, to unwind, to enjoy nature’s beauty. This afternoon, you will proceed to the cliff overlooking the lake for Sundowner drinks with magnificent views. Sip on an ice cold gin and tonic, a sparkling glass of champagne or your favourite cocktail as the dusk gently deepens around you and the sun sinks slowly over a classical safari landscape. This is a glorious time to relish life in the wild as it unfolds naturally before you. Later in the evening return to the camp for dinner and overnight Lake Elementaita Serena Camp (B)(L)(D)

Day Eleven: Thursday October 17th, 2024  After a sumptuous breakfast, you will continue to Masai Mara. It is perhaps the only region left in Kenya where the visitor may see animals in the same super-abundance as existed a century ago. Enjoy a game viewing drive enroute to the camp. Arrive for lunch and some relaxation time. In the afternoon you will proceed on another game viewing drive in this vast and expansive reserve teeming with game. Mara game reserve is famous for her big five; the most sought after in the early 20th century, when Kenya was a hunters' paradise. These include the lion, Cape buffalo, the savanna elephant, black rhino and the elusive leopard. The vast savanna grasslands as far as the eye can see is home to impalas, Maasai giraffes, waterbucks, warthogs, Thompson & Grants gazelles, topis, the resident wildebeests among many others. Dinner and overnight at your lodge. Mara Serena Safari Lodge (B)(L)(D)

Day Twelve: Friday October 18th and Saturday October 19th, 2024  We will continue to explore the Masai Mara. Also optional Hot Air Balloon Safari over the next two days. Be on the look-out for the big five that Maasai Mara is famous for. These include the lion, savannah (African) elephant, the Cape buffalo, the leopard and the black rhino. We may even be so lucky to witness a leopard or a cheetah sprint and make a kill!  Also included with our tour - On one of these days, you will visit a traditional Masai Manyatta (off the beaten track) and experience the culture of this world famous community. The Masai still live as they did for centuries -interact with these nomadic people and experience their way of life as you learn about their customs and traditions.We return back to the lodge for dinner and overnight. Mara Serena Safari Lodge (B)(L)(D) Optional Hot Air Balloon Safari and champange breakfast - you may select at time of registration cost is $500.00 USD

Day Thirteen: Saturday October 20th, 2024  After breakfast, we transfer to the airstrip for our flight to Nairobi. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to the Tamambo Karen Blixen Coffee Garden for lunch and then proceed to explore the Karen Blixen Museum for a glimpse into the fascinating world of this pioneer coffee farmer, who achieved world fame through her highly-acclaimed memoir, “Out of Africa”. She left Africa after a series of personal tragedies and her lovely colonial house has been preserved as a museum. Set in expansive gardens, the Karen Blixen Museum is an interesting place to wander around. Thereafter, you will proceed to Four Points by Sheraton Airport hotel, where a day room has been booked for you. Rest of the afternoon is spent at leisure until 1800hrs. Later, we will transfer to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport our return flight.

Day Fourteen: Sunday October 21st, 2024 - Our return flight arrives in Toronto at approximately 2:30 p.m. after clearing customs we will board our coach for the return to RiverBend in London arriving at apprixiumately 6:00 p.m.

 Kenya and Tanzania offers up some of the most spectacular photo opportunities African landscape has to offer. The temperatures in Kenya remain fairly constant year round with an average daily temperature of 25 C to 27 C with slightly cooler temperatures on the coast. Tanzania is very similar in temperature with the crater region getting cooler in the evenings. October sees very little rain.

Travelling to Africa there are always so many questions ... we have prepared a information page on things to know before you go. We are always close by to answer questions but the link below will answer some frequently asked questions.

Travelling to Africa there are always so many questions ... we have prepared a information page on things to know before you go. We are always close by to answer questions but the link below will answer some frequently asked quequtions.

FAQ Africa Preparing to Travel 

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 The cost of our Kenya and Tanzania Photo Tour is $9,985.00 per person CAD based on double occupancy including air via KLM Airlines, plus air taxes of $880.36 CAD and $9.75 HST. Plus Kenya Park Sur-tax of $376 CAD Single supplement is available for this tour for an additional $2,225.00 CAD.

Your tour includes:

• • Round trip motor coach via Wave Coach Lines to Pearson Airport, Toronto,
  • Departures from RiverBend in London
  • Round Trip Airfare via KLM Airlines,
  • Flights Masai Mara to Wilson included
  • Complimentary Sundower Drinks at Lake Elementaita
  • All airport and hotel transfers,
  • Accommodations and meals during our tour, as specified in our itinerary,
  • Private meet and greet in Jomo Kenyatta with traditional welcome,
  • Private 4x4 safari land cruisers with guaranteed window seats for our guests,
  • All games drives as per itinerary,
  • Park entry fees,
  • Unlimited bottled water supplied in your safari vehicle during game drives and transfers,
  • Day Room on final day of tour,
  • Flying Doctor Medical Evacuation Services while in East Africa (does not cover Drs. fees, hospitalization, drugs, consultants fee, etc.)
  • Tour hosted and escorted by James Cowie

  Excludes:

•  Alcoholic beverages, laundry and tips.

•  Tourist Visa Fees (we will assist with applications and processing)

• Optional Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride and Champagne Breakfast (choose at signup) 

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