Kenya: Masai Mara Safari and Rift Lakes in 9 Days

Masai Mara: The Flagship Reserve

The Mara is an endless plain of golden grass dotted with acacias. In three days of game drives we saw lions every morning, cheetahs hunting and an elephant herd with calves crossing in front of the car.

Between July and October the Great Migration arrives: 1.5 million wildebeest cross the Mara river from the Serengeti. Crossings are unpredictable: you may wait six hours for nothing, or witness the most brutal scene of your life.

The sunrise hot-air balloon (€400-450) is expensive but unrepeatable: you glide over the savanna in silence and land to a champagne breakfast.

We stayed in a tented camp in the northern conservancies: fewer vehicles, higher prices and night drives allowed.

Rift Valley Lakes

Lake Nakuru is a compact park, perfect for white and black rhino, plus thousands of flamingos when water levels cooperate.

At Naivasha we did a walking safari on Crescent Island, one of the few places in Kenya where you can walk among giraffes and zebras without a vehicle, because there are no predators.

Hell's Gate gorge is explored by bicycle among zebras and buffalo: the landscape that inspired The Lion King.

On the way we stopped at the Great Rift Valley viewpoint, where the road looks out 500 metres above the fault splitting Africa in two.

Amboseli and Kilimanjaro

Amboseli is elephant country: huge herds walking across the dry lake bed with snow-capped Kilimanjaro behind.

The mountain is only clear at dawn and dusk; the rest of the day it hides behind cloud. Get up early or you won't see it.

Visiting a Maasai village is optional and must be chosen carefully: look for genuine community projects, not shows staged for coaches.

We closed with two nights in Nairobi: the Sheldrick elephant orphanage and the Giraffe Centre are short, honest goodbyes.

Practical Tips and Budget

**Best time:** July-October for the migration; January-February for dry weather and fewer people.

**Budget per person (9 days):** - International flights: €550-800 - Safari with driver-guide and 4x4: €900-1,600 - Park entry fees: €250-400 - Accommodation (lodges and tented camps): included in many packages - Hot-air balloon (optional): €400-450 - Tips and extras: €100-150 - **Estimated total: €1,800-3,400**

**Essential tips:** - Pick a 4x4 with a pop-up roof and a window seat each, not a packed minibus - Earth-tone clothing; avoid blue and black (they attract tsetse flies) - Yellow fever vaccine and malaria prophylaxis per your doctor - Binoculars: you'll use them more than the camera - Fewer parks, more nights in each: moving camp daily is exhausting