On this 'Kenya Wildlife & Nature Photo Challenge', you'll explore Kenya's famous wildlife sanctuaries, explore and capture the world-renowned biodiversity of East Africa while staying at deluxe safari lodges and world-class hotels throughout. These include Amboseli National Park on the foot hills of Africa's highest and photogenic Mt. Kilimanjaro, Samburu Game Reserve, the Rift Valley Lakes of Nakuru and Naivasha and finally to the #1 and world-famous Masai Mara Game Reserve. It is also one chance to see for yourself the great annual wilderbeest migrations, LIVE!

DEPARTURES & DATES: JULY, AUGUST & SEPT. 2012
CHALLENGE 1: DEPARTS 5TH JULY 2012 - OPEN SALE!!!
CHALLENGE 2: DEPARTS 9TH AUG 2012 - OPEN SALE!!!
CHALLENGE 3: DEPARTS 3RD SEPT 2012 - OPEN SALE!!!

NB: In order to be present during the orientation and safari briefing, participants are requested to arrive in Nairobi on or before 'Day 1' of the itinerary. This allows you to meet and know other members, especially those sharing rooms, know your Tour Leader and Driver Guides as well as to learn 'Safari Do's and Don'ts.

Limited to 12 participants per departure, with only 3 people per safari jeep, this award-winning safari leaves nothing to chance showing only the most treasured wildlife parks and reserves of Kenya in comfort and style. *Conditions apply

ITINERARY: Kenya Wildlife Photo Challenge 2012 (18 Days)


Day 1: Nairobi - Safari Nairobi safari club l
Arrive into Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transfer to your hotel.

Days 2 + 3: Kilimanjaro & Amboseli National Park
05h00: Early morning wake up call, followed by room service tea/coffee’s at Cafe Kigwa International Restaurant. 06h00 depart for Wilson Airport to connect the scheduled flight for Amboseli airstrip to depart at 07h30 to arrive at 08h15. Met on arrival and transferred to Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge for check in. Proceed on your first, morning, game-viewing drive and photo session in the Amboseli. Lunch is followed by an afternoon photo session in search of the resident herds of elephants. The combination of salt flat and marshland provides one of the most dramatic safari setting in Africa, and the mountain makes an amazing background for photographing animals. Each day, we wake up for an early morning photo session and game drive, take a rest when the sun is hot and enjoy a further photo session in the afternoons. From your lodge you enjoy unrivalled views of Mt Kilimanjaro and Meru which can be clearly seen in the morning, particularly before 10 am. Amboseli is known for its elephant herds, amazing to watch as they stand in the marshes to keep cool, drink water and munch on vegetation. Other animals, such as zebras and wildebeests and even lions are also found here. This park is also a bird-watcher's paradise. Two (2) nights in Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 4, 5 + 6: Northern Frontier & Samburu Game Reserve.
Breakfast at the Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge. 08h30 depart on the scheduled flight from Amboseli airstrip to Nairobi Wilson Airport to arrive at 09h00 and soon connect to Airkenya scheduled flight from Nairobi for Samburu to arrive at 10h30. Met on arrival and continue on morning photo session in the Samburu Game Reserve – the Kenya’s rugged, semi-arid of the Northern Eastern Province. This is the homeland of the nomadic Samburu people, whose culture attaches great value to tending their livestock of cattle, sheep, goats and camels as their main economic activity. Samburu is rich in species not seen in southern Kenya's more famous parks, such as Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, kudu and gerenuk. You'll also have a good chance at spotting lions, cheetahs and the elusive leopard. The semiarid landscape is dramatic, with the rugged outcrop of Mt. Ololokwe a prominent feature. The Ewaso Ngiro River, which forms the southern boundary of the reserve, attracts many birds and is a popular watering hole for elephants. Each day, we wake up for an early morning photo session and game drive, take a rest when the sun is hot and enjoy a further photo session in the afternoons. Enjoy searching for animals native to this fascinating and beautiful area guided by your expert safari drivers, who will amaze you with their ability to spot game hiding in the bushes. 3 nights at Samburu Serena Lodge (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Day 7 + 8: Equator Line & Sweetwaters Chimpanzee and Game Sanctuary
This morning after breakfast, we depart by road towards the equator and the slopes of Mt Kenya (Africa's 2nd Highest Mountain). Arrive at Sweetwaters Game Sanctuary in time for lunch. Although situated on the Equator, Mount Kenya is permanently covered in glaciers and snow. Here we stay at the Sweetwaters Game Reserve. This very special 23,000 acre wildlife sanctuary was originally established to protect and breed highly-endangered Black Rhinos. In 1994 the Jane Goodall Institute established the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary within the game reserve and moved a large group of chimps here from the unstable situation in their native West Africa. Each day, we have morning and afternoon photo sessions in the reserve and tour the Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Optional Camel Ride or a Night Game Drive are available at an extra cost. 2 night at Sweetwaters Luxury Tented Camp (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Days 9 + 10: Rift Valley Lakes, Lake Nakuru National Park
This morning after breakfast, we drive via Equator to Nyahururu Falls and on to Lake Nakuru National Park in the Great Rift Valley, known throughout the world for its two million flamingos as well as its other species of birds. The sight of the massed flamingos is quite spectacular, and when you look down on the lake from an overlook, it appears to be ringed in pink. Arrive at the park in time for lunch and a little time to rest. Later this afternoon enjoy a game viewing drive with a stop at the shore of the lake to see the flamingos at close range as well as other animals that inhabit the park. This park is a rhino sanctuary, offering the rare opportunity to see these endangered animals. It is also home to the rare Rothschild's giraffes as well as buffalo, leopards and lions, which are known to climb trees. Each day, we wake up for an early morning photo session and game drive, take a rest when the sun is hot and enjoy a further photo session in the afternoons. 3 nights at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Day 11 + 12: Rift Valley Lakes, Lake Naivasha Basin
After a morning game drive, we leave for Lake Naivasha located further south into the Great Rift Valley. The Valley floor in Kenya is studded with volcanoes and seven lakes. These lakes fluctuate greatly in size according to the quality of the rains during the monsoons each year, sometimes drying up altogether. Driving south along the Great Rift Valley we come to Lake Naivasha where we stay for the next 2 nights. Even though this lake is on the floor of the Valley, it is still situated at about 6,200 feet (1,890 metres) above sea level. Naivasha presents a mystery - even though the lake has no apparent outflows, its waters are fresh. Unlike other lakes of the Rift Valley that are very alkaline, Lake Naivasha's only one way of losing water is by evaporation. And, because it is one of the largest sources of fresh water in Kenya, Lake Naivasha attracts a huge variety of birds in large numbers. It is a bird-watchers' paradise. Each day, by boat, we take morning photo sessions in the lake with excellent opportunity to photograph the Fish Eagles in action and other migratory and resident birds, take a rest when the sun is hot and enjoy a further photo session in the afternoons. 2 nights at Naivasha Sopa Lodge (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Day 13, 14, 15, 16 + 17: Southern Frontier, Masai Mara Game Reserve
After breakfast, board our safari jeeps for the Masai Mara National Reserve, which borders Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. The first sight of Masai Mara Game Reserve is awesome. Here we learn and see first hand the intricate web of dependency that binds the different animal species together. Each of the animals has adapted to its own niche and to the other animals that surround it. Here we see Nature at its most subtle and, sometimes, most cruel as each animal struggles to survive and reproduce. On our morning and afternoon game drives in the Masai Mara we have a very good chance of seeing all the major plains animals including lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, rhino, hyena, cheetah, jackal, warthog and many species of antelope.

Five days of exciting game viewing and photography in Masai Mara Game Reserve. The vast, open grasslands of the Serengeti-Mara are home to over 3 million large mammals. These include over 1.4 million wildebeest, which migrate in an enormous, straggling herd each year between the southern part of the Serengeti to the northern part and back again. With them move other herbivores such as gazelles and zebra, also looking for the best grass. Along the way they provide food for big predators such as lions, leopards and cheetahs.

Every year, between June and September, millions of wildebeests and zebras migrate into the Mara in search of water. The timing of this phenomenon varies, depending on the rains, but they usually start heading back to the Serengeti in October. Whether you see the migration or not, the Mara almost guarantees you'll enjoy a magnificent time in Kenya. Here among the grassy plains and lush landscape, you'll find a huge variety of game, the largest in Kenya, including lions, cheetahs, buffalo and abundant bird life such as ostriches, cranes and storks. Other activities include visits to a Masai Village for an in-depth look at this colorful and pastoral people in their natural setting (From $20, Optional).

NB: We stay at 2 different lodges in Masai Mara to optimize game viewing; 2 Nights at Keekorok Lodge in the Eastern Corridor and 3 Nights at Mara Serena Lodge on the Western Corridor. (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

Day 18: Back to Nairobi, Departure
After breakfast enjoy your last photo session and game drive before checking out of your rooms. Transfer to the airstrip for your flight back to Nairobi, Kenya's colourful capital city, scheduled at 11h00. A sumptuous barbeque lunch waits for you at the famous Nairobi Carnivore Restaurant where we also share the Kenya memories with the other photographers. Carnivore Experience is also described as 'Meat Eaters Paradise' and is the Africa's Greatest Eating Experence! If your flight departs this evening, you may opt to take a day room to rest at Safari Park Hotel at small fee. Your tour leader will advise you on cost and availability. Later, we transfer you to the Airport for your onward arrangements. Go to Kenya safari company! airport representative will re-confirm your onward flight, and assist you at check-in.
This marks the end of this exciting and educative Kenya Safari Adventure!

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