A Cultural Safari through Kenya

Jambo and welcome to Kenya! On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport this evening, we will be met and assisted by our local representative to our hotel. No other hotel in Kenya has as rich a history as the Norfolk, one of the world's most romantic hotels. When it was first opened on Christmas Day, 1904, it was to spearhead traditions of hospitality in East Africa which are still unmatched today. It is said that Nairobi as a capital city grew up around the Norfolk. From the new and old worlds the first guests came, many of noble birth. The guest list made its name as a legend then and still does so today.

Overnight: Fairmont Norfolk hotel (2 nights)

After breakfast at the hotel, we are picked up and transferred to the Nyumbani children home. Founded by Father Angelo D'Agostino and Sister Mary Owens in 1992, it has served as a shelter for mostly abandoned children created by the AIDS pandemic. Originally a medical doctor in the US Air Force, D'Agostino joined the Jesuits early in his career, focused on psychiatry, and held various teaching positions. But it was through his experience working with multiple Jesuit charities that D'Agostino learned of the dire need for specialized facilities for abandoned children in Nairobi, Kenya. Today over 100 orphans or abandoned children live at Nyumbani Home located in Karen, Nairobi.

After our visit, we continue to an orphanage of another kind, The Daphne Sheldrick’s Orphanage This orphanage for baby elephants and rhinos from all over Kenya was founded and still managed by Daphne Sheldrick, the widow of one of Kenya's best known Game Wardens David Sheldrick. Daphne Sheldrick was the first person in the entire world to successfully hand rear newborn fully milk dependent African Elephant orphans, something that spanned 28 years of trial and error to achieve. The Trust highlights and battles the abuse of animals wherever, and their tireless efforts have recently been featured on the BBC Documentary “Elephant Diaries” as well as the TV show “60 Minutes”.

After a tour and witnessing the feeding of these orphaned elephants and rhinos at around 11:00am, we continue with a Nairobi city tour and a visit to the National Museum. B

This morning, our group tours to the lower slopes of Mt Kenya, rising to 16,728 feet, it is Africa's second highest peak. The Central Highlands are the heartland of the Kikuyu people. It is a very fertile region, well-watered, intensively cultivated, and thickly forested. The land was coveted by the Europeans who began arriving in ever-increasing numbers once the railway through the area was completed. The settlers established coffee and tea plantations on the eastern slopes and cultivated wheat on the western slopes. The higher regions of the slopes are left to the leopard, buffalo, lion and elephant.

Enroute we stop at the Nanyuki Spinners & Weavers, a women self help project started under the umbrella of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa on July 4, 1977. The project was started with the main aim of training poor, widowed and single women living in the surrounding villages of Nanyuki town in the craft of spinning, knitting and weaving with the main objective to make them self reliant. To date, over 282 women have been trained at the center, with 137 of those at the center now. Others are starting their own projects in other parts of the country, and some are selling spun yarn to weavers and knitters to form the sister projects.

Tonight we overnight at a "Tree-Style" lodge, uniquely designed and situated to provide one with an often extremely close-up view of a wide variety of wild animals as they come to drink and cavort. All rooms have a waterhole view; hot water bottles provided for those cold highland nights. BLD

Overnight: Mountain lodge Serena (1 night)

After breakfast we are collected for the day’s drive taking us past the Aberdares mountain range to the floor of the Great Rift Valley, destination Kigio Wildlife Sanctuary. Enjoy a picnic lunch in Lake Nakuru National Park. After lunch proceed on an afternoon game drive along the shores of Lake Nakuru, famous for it’s thousands of flamingos. After the game drive proceed to the nearby Kigio Wildlife Conservancy.

Kigio Wildlife Camp is a special natural retreat inside the impressive 3500 acre Kigio Wildlife Conservancy. This lodge provides superb accommodations in an unbeatable location overlooking the glorious woodlands and the Malewa River, which together attract over 200 species of birds to the area. Designed in a dramatic architectural style inspired by traditional African building methods, the lodge’s thatched-roofed buildings create a rustic feel, while its cozy sitting area with fireplace and the dining room and bar offer a warm and inviting ambience. Renowned for its excellence and innovation in environmental management and resource use, the lodge uses solar power; waste is recycled; water is filtered using natural method and water is supplied by efficient Kuni boilers. In addition, local farmers provide much of the produce and the local community is involved with running the lodge and the conservancy. BLD

Overnight: Kigio Wildlife Camp (2 nights)

While at Kigio, the group will visit three community groups who work closely with the camp, these are Gilgil Spinners and Weavers, Tumaini Widows group (baskets) and Maua Women's' group (jewelry). Each visit takes place at the home of one of the group members, to give the clients an opportunity to interact with the local community, learn, experience and understand their way of life in rural Africa. Here they are assisted to learn how to make baskets from Sisal, necklaces from old magazines and rugs from local hand-dyed wool using hand-made looms. We will also visit the nearby schools and participate in the available activities and ongoing projects within the institutions at the time of travel. BLD

After breakfast, drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve offering wonderful scenery and plenty of game. 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. Arrive for lunch at our lodge. Enjoy an afternoon game drive until sunset. BLD

Overnight: Mara Serena lodge (2 nights)

An early start with a breathtaking hot air balloon ride over the Masa Mara. After landing, delicious champagne breakfast awaits us. Spend the whole day in Masai Mara with morning and afternoon game drives.

Our guide will also take us to a traditional Masai Village. Learn how the women build their mudhuts, where they cook, sleep and raise their families. They will explain their traditions and customs, and you will have the opportunity to walk around the village and take photographs.
Tonight enjoy an “Out of Africa bush dinner” as we dine under the stars and get serenaded by a children’s choir from the local village. BLD

After breakfast, drive to Nairobi for lunch at a local Nairobi restaurant. This afternoon transfer to the Wilson Airport for our scheduled flight to Lamu. On arrival we will be met, our luggage collected and we walk the short distance to the airport's own jetty. From here, it is a lovely 20 minute boat ride to Peponi Hotel. The balance of your afternoon is at leisure.

Lamu is a UNESCO World Heritage site and Kenya's oldest living town, one of the original Swahili settlements along coastal East Africa. The port of Lamu has existed for at least a thousand years. Lamu's economy was based on slave trade until abolition in the year 1907. Lamu’s narrow streets remain unchanged, and in the markets and squares around the fort life moves at the same pace as it always has. There are no vehicles on this island, and the donkey and the dhow remain the dominant form of transport. Today’s Lamu is a place like no other, a peaceful tropical island where life is lived at it’s own relaxed rhythm, but a place whose history is as mysterious and fascinating as the winding streets of it’s medieval stone town.

The people of Lamu are great believers in tradition and custom, and this is a strong society built on a respect for the past. For the traveler, Lamu is a hypnotically exotic experience, made even more enjoyable by the relaxed and welcoming attitudes of the locals. To visit Lamu is to enter another world, and the visitor finds themselves becoming a part of this world. Life slows down, and long days are spent strolling along the waterfront, exploring the town or relaxing on the beaches.

Peponi is a small hotel on the exotic Indian Ocean island of Lamu, just off the coast of Kenya. It is the very root of Swahili culture in East Africa, which centuries ago spread down the coast from the north. Peponi is still run by the original family who opened the hotel in 1967, and it has retained much of the character and charm that it had then. Small and personal, it is the perfect rest after a safari, or a hide-away holiday from modern life. BLD

Overnight: Peponi hotel (2 nights)

After breakfast this morning, we will enjoy a half day tour exploring the fascinating and varied culture and history of Lamu. In the afternoon, join our Swahili cooks and learn how to make typical Swahili dishes – fun and the best part is we can eat what we cook – delicious!!

Tonight, enjoy cocktails onboard a traditional Dhow cruise at sunset. BLD

We enjoy a relaxing morning with breakfast and lunch at our lodge before transferring to the local airstrip for our scheduled flight to Nairobi Wilson airport. On arrival we will be met and transferred to the famous Carnivore Restaurant for a farewell dinner. After dinner, we transfer to Jomo Kenyatta irport for our flight back home. Our local representative will assist us at check-in and reconfirm our onward flights. BLD

On arrival in London this morning, connect to a flight back home.