9- Day Kenya Birding Safari

Day 1: Nairobi National Park
We will start birding on our first full day in Africa by traveling to the nearby Nairobi National Park, conveniently located less than twenty minutes away from the city centre, and has one of the richest avian diversity with a record of over 400 species, some of which are permanent residents of the park while others are seasonal.

Birds include Common Ostrich, Great, Long-tailed Cormorant, , Black-headed, Grey Herons, African Spoonbill, African Finfoot, White-faced Whistling, Knob-billed Ducks, Red-billed Teal, Secretary Bird, Black-shouldered Kite, Lappet-faced Vulture, Ayres's Hawk Eagle, Martial Eagle, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Shelly's & Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Hartlaub's Bustard, Emerald Spotted Wood, Namaqua, Dusky-turtle, Blue-naped Mousebird, Greater Honeyguide, Laughing Dove, Hartlaub's Turaco, Little & Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters, Lesser, Eastern Honeybird, Nubian Woodpecker, White-tailed, , Wire-tailed, Lesser-Striped Swallow, Rock Martin, Yellow-throated, Pangani, Rosy-breasted Longclaw, Pale, African Grey, Southern Black Flycatcher, Montane White-eyes, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Cistocolas, Grey-capped Warbler, African Palm, Abyssinian, Lesser Kestrel, White-bellied, Red-throated Tits, Jackson's Widowbird, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, White-browed Coucal.

The park also boasts of a wide range of animals including leopard, rhino, wilderbeest, eland, gazelle, giraffe, lion and zebra, amongst others.

Day 2: Nairobi- Naivasha
You will be picked from your hotel after breakfast and proceed on a 45-minute drive to Naivasha which lies west of Nairobi at the bottom of the Rift valley. The scenic drive will take you through Limuru and view-point, a point at the edge of the valley where you can be able to see a magnificent expanse of the valley below, including the hills, lakes and mountains that characterise the bottom of the Great Rift Valley.

Arrive at Naivasha lodge in time for lunch. After lunch, relax at lodge to recharge for next day’s activities.

Day 3: Naivasha
After breakfast, proceed towards lake Naivasha and take a leisurely boat ride as you view the birdlife and game around the lake. Birds in this area include the Great Cormorant, the Fish Eagle and the Giant Kingfisher, amongst others.

Proceed to Crescent island, which is a small island within the lake, where you will see an abundant birdlife including the Red-capped Lark, Spectacled Weaver, Brimstone Canary and Red-billed Firefinch.

Return to lodge for lunch and afternoon relaxation.

Day 4: Naivasha
After breakfast, proceed to the nearby Hell’s Gate National park. Apart from the stunning scenery include gorges and rock formations, this park hosts an array of herbivores and birdlife, including the giant lammergeyer.

You will have a picnic lunch in the middle of the savage African bush, after which you may enjoy hiking in the middle of the wildlife. Return to lodge at your own pleasure, for late afternoon relaxation and dinner.

Day 5: Naivasha
After breakfast proceed westwards towards Nakuru town. Arrive at lodge in time for lunch. After lunch, you may visit Lake Nakuru, which is the greatest ornithological spectacle in the world. Lake Nakuru is part of the greater Lake Nakuru National Park, and occupies about a third of the park. This highly alkaline lake is high in microscopic fauna as well as algae, which is a source of food for the thousands of greater and lesser flamingos as well as over 400 other recorded species that reside therein.

The park has the largest euphorbia forest in Africa, and hosts a wide range of large animals including lion, zebra, leopard as well as the endangered white rhino.

Spend the day enjoying the scenery as well as the flora and fauna around the park.

Day 6: Nakuru – Maasai Mara
From Nakuru we set off for the world-renown Maasai mara. This enormous reserve is a mixture of grassland, thorny thicket and riverine forest in a few areas. Apart from the famous wildlife, you will be able to enjoy viewing a wide range of birdlife, including various vulture species, ostrich, the African Finfoot, the Cardinal Quelea, Saddle-billed stork, the Secretary bird the ground hornbill and the Kori Bustard, amongst others.

Day 7-8: Maasai Mara
Due to the expanse of the reserve as well as the places of interest available for you to enjoy, you will take the next two days in this African bush discovering the sights and sounds, and basically, taking in all the wonders that Kenya is made up of.

Day 9: Maasai Mara – Nairobi
We take a drive out of the Rift Valley back to Nairobi as we take stop-overs to view birds of interest along the way. We shall see you off with a farewell dinner at a Nairobi restaurant, later transfer to the airport for your flight back home.