Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival Nairobi

On arrival, you will be picked at the airport and transferred your hotel for an overnight. After dinner you will be given a talk on the “Birds of Kenya” and should enlighten us before the safari on what to expect where and some hints in bird identification. If time allows depending on your arrival time, we’ll visit the Nairobi Museum’s bird, ethnography, prehistory among other galleries about Kenya. A birding exercise at the museum’s grounds offers a glimpse to the birds of Kenya.

Day 2: Mount Kenya Region

This morning we will pick you at your city hotel and drive towards Mount Kenya. We will have a lunch birding stopover at Wajee Camp at Mukurweini Valley, where the endemic Hinde's Babbler can be seen. Later after lunch and after a few hours of bird watching, we will proceed on to Mountain Lodge at the base of Mount Kenya, where we will dinner and night.

Day 3: *Mount Kenya Region

We will have an early morning scan at the water hole and later take a walk around the Lodge grounds to look for more species. After breakfast, we will drive to Narumoru River Lodge on the highland grasslands and arrive in time for lunch. After lunch we will spend the rest of the afternoon bird watching at the Narumoru River Lodge grounds. Later we will drive the short distance to Mountain Rock Hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Lake Baringo

After an early morning bird walk and breakfast, we will depart for Lake Baringo. We will then have a brief lunch stop over at the famous Thompson’s Falls Lodge and later drive on and descend down to the Rift Valley arriving in time for a brief walk at Lake Baringo Club grounds.

Day 5: Lake Bogoria

This day we will go birding at the nearby alkaline lake of Bogoria, famous for its thousands of flamingos and beautiful hot springs. Due to the hot climate, we will depart early and return to the Baringo Country Club in time for a late lunch. Afternoon is spent birding leisurely in the garden of the lodge.

Day 6 & 7: Kakamega Forest

Kakamega forest, in the heart of an intensively cultivated agricultural area, is a superb remainder of virgin tropical rainforest and is of course the home to a wide range of specialty birds, many of which are not found anywhere else in Kenya. The forest is not only home to the rare De Brazza’s monkey (only found in Kakamega Forest), but also to the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat, Flying Squirrel, 400 species of butterflies and no less than 330 species of birds. Birding in a forest has its fair share of difficulties but this is easily forgotten when our bird count increases with hopeful sightings of the impressive Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Ross’ and the Great Blue Turaco. Other notables are the Grey-headed Negro-finch, Red-headed Bluebill, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Mackinnon’s Shrike and many more.

Day 8: Lake Victoria - Kisumu

This morning after breakfast, we will drive to Kisumu via some major birding hot spots on the way with lunch enroute. Later in the evening, we will visit the famous Dunga Swamp (one of the strongholds of rare Lake Victoria swamp species). Dinner and overnight, will be at Kisumu Sunset Hotel or equivalent

Day 9: Lake Nakuru

After breakfast we will leave Kisumu and drive to Lake Nakuru. The Park is famous for its thousands of Lesser Flamingos and the Greater Flamingoes. The Great White and Pink-backed Pelican and Black-winged Stilt are also there. The lake has a low concentration of salt, so it supports fish that of course attract other water birds. It is a good place to look for Avocets, Storks, Ibises, Ducks, Cormorants, Herons, and Terns. In the wooded acacias there is a chance to see the White-browed Coucal, Broad-billed Roller, Arrow-marked Babbler and the Narina Trogon. We will go with a picnic lunch, so that we can take a full day for birding and game viewing in the park.

Day 10: Lake Naivasha

Today, we will leave for Naivasha after an early morning game drive and our final breakfast here and arrive at Lake Naivasha in time for lunch. After lunch, we will spend the rest of the evening bird watching around Lake Naivasha and as well as the lake shoreline. Dinner and overnight at a lodge in the shores of the lake.

Day 11: Nairobi

Full morning birding around Lake Naivasha, with probably a visit to the Crescent Island, which is inside the lake. After lunch drive towards Nairobi via Kinangop grasslands in search for Sharpe's Longclaw and proceed on with another stop over at some lovely ponds for African and migratory Ducks. Assuming that your flight would be late evening, arrive at Nairobi late evening and later transfer to the airport. Overnight arrangements can be made for those departing the following day.