Amboseli/ Lake Naivasha/ Masai Mara 5 Days Camping Safari

Super expérience avec Explorer Kenya. Notre chauffeur Dan ainsi que ses collègues (on est parti en groupe, nous avions donc 4 véhicules) ont été aux petits soins pour nous. Conduite en douceur, arrêt quand demandés, spot dans les parc pour trouver les animaux, explications tout au long du trajet. A recommander sans hésiter.

After discovering the joy of observing elephants up close in Thula Thula, South Africa (do read The Elephant Whisperer) in early 2020, we were desperate to be back on safari after 2 years of lockdown. Kerry of the excellent Indigo Safaris booked us with Explorer Kenya for our dream 14-day safari of Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha and Hell's Gate, Amboseli and Tsavo East. Daniel met us at Nairobi airport in a Landcruiser and we were off on a memorable journey with a most personable, informative, joyous and experienced guide. Daniel was an excellent travel companion and a reassuring presence, whether negotiating the Nairobi-Mombassa highway or the convoluted sandy tracks to our camps. And all the while, he was able to spot animals only visible to us using binoculars! His knowledge is encyclopedic and his calm manner kind and considerate, fulfilling all our wishes and expectations. Kenyans especially and Africans generally are extremely friendly and this provides an atmosphere ensuring a pleasurable experience, on the road, in the camps and lodges, as well as in the safari vehicle itself with our superb guide. We choose to stay in smaller camps and where the guides are able to share our table and we cannot recommend more highly the excellent food and tented camps in the Masai Mara, Enkorok Mara Camp presided over by the exceptional Faith, and the Tulia Amboseli Safari Camp with stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro, probably the best camp we have ever visited. Thank you Daniel for contributing massively to our overall enjoyment and thrilling safari experience. Being with a personal guide means that we could all decide together to stay or move on as we liked. Probably the most thrilling of all was the privilege of watching the first few hours of a newly born elephant wobbling on its feet and being introduced to or being guarded by the members of its extended family in the Masai Mara. We found them again on subsequent days and were relieved to see the baby flourishing and fully integrated. The Amboseli elephants were our priority and we saw hundreds but the local people and the animals are suffering from a devastating 2-year drought. There is sufficient food for the elephants in the National Park and water in the swamps fed by Mount Kilimanjaro but many of the grazers are weak and easy prey for the lions, hyenas and vultures. The red dust landscape of Tsavo East is also desperate for rain but we saw many large and small elephant families with recent young ones here, as well as in Amboseli. Moving between safari destinations often requires backtracking towards Nairobi on a good road but one welcome diversion was to Lake Naivasha, with a visit to Hell’s Gate for mountain biking and a hike into the Oljorwa gorge with the irrepressible Kennedy of Hell's Gate Community Tour Guides. Daniel drove on ahead to ensure the Cape buffalo were not on the road. African memories linger longer and we left with heavy hearts. We have only one fervent wish remaining - that the rains come soon.

Booked very last minute trip. Their office response is super fast and they provide you with options depends on the days you are coming for. We booked 5 days, we were advised A-Z on how to do visa, covid requirements etc .. super informative and helpful ! The 3 different camps we stayed at are stunning, so the hotel choices are excellent. Our guide was Sami, what a lovely genius person! We could not get a better guy. Super friendly, knows all about kenya, the animals and answers all random questions you have. He is an EXCELLENT DRIVER, taking us through the rough terene of Masai and always gets us the best view of animals when spotted. 100% will be coming back for the great migration and will be booking Sami again. Thanks to Explorer and Sami for absolutely amazing experience.