Our Kenya Relaxed tour highlights some of Africa’s most iconic and famous wildlife reserves. Our tour begins with an exploration of Nairobi – one of the most species diverse cities in the world – before heading a little further north to Mount Kenya, shrouded in montane forest. After our time in the cool forests, we continue north to the dry savanna and riverine woodland of Samburu and Buffalo Springs for a completely new suite of birds and mammals. We’ll then head southwest and descend to the nutrient-rich Lake Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley, with its inexhaustible numbers of Lesser Flamingos. Lastly, we head further south towards the vast plains of what is arguably one of the most fabulous game reserves in the world, the justifiably famous Maasai Mara! This tour offers incomparable wildlife and birding in the space of just two weeks!
Top Birds
Superb Starling; Lilac-breasted Roller; Grey Crowned Crane; Kori Bustard; Martial Eagle; Secretarybird; Saddle-billed Stork; Jackson’s Widowbird; Silvery-cheeked Hornbill; Kikuyu White-eye; Bar-tailed Trogon; White-headed & Grant’s Wood Hoopoes; Vulturine Guineafowl; Somali Courser; Somali Bee-eaters; Lesser & Greater Flamingos; African Fish Eagle; Grey-crested Helmetshrike; Hartlaub's & Schalow’s Turacos; Bare-faced Go-away-bird; Yellow-throated Sandgrouse.
Top Mammals
the “Big Five” (African Elephant; African Buffalo; Leopard; Lion; Black & White Rhinoceroses); Cheetah; Spotted Hyena; Rothschild’s & Maasai Giraffe; Guereza; Hippopotamus; Grant’s & Thompson’s Gazelles; Common Warthog.
Habitats Covered
lowland & montane forests, Acacia savanna, rivers and wetlands, rocky gorges, grassland, semi-desert
Expected Climate
warm to hot, dry conditions, but cool at higher elevations and rain may be expected
Max Group Size
6 with 1 Rockjumper Leader
Tour Pace & Walking
Our Relaxed series of tours are designed to focus on having an enjoyable holiday with a bird and wildlife focus. Where possible; we have reduced or removed long drives, single night stays and poor/rustic accommodation. We have also sought to reduce or remove difficult hikes, narrow/muddy trails and otherwise oppressive environmental conditions. Early starts and night birding are mostly optional, and we will not spend much time searching for difficult and/or skulking species. These tours are not suitable for hardcore birders and listers, or dedicated photographers.
Accommodation
safari lodges and hotels
Ease of Birding
mostly easy birding, slightly tougher in forest
Other Attractions
Maasai and other Kenya indigenous people, African curios
Photographic Opportunities
excellent
Client Testimonials
Heinz Ortmann was charming and funny, outstanding on the birds and other animals, and excellent in dealing with the logistics. I would be very happy to travel with Heinz again.
We both had a very enjoyable tour with Gareth Robbins. There were a couple of occasions where we needed medical attention and our needs were taken care of in a very timely manner. We were very impressed with the professional way in which Gareth lead the tour and with his care and consideration of the tour participants. His wildlife, cultural knowledge and experiences contributed to a really great tour.
We very much enjoyed our East Africa experience, finding it to be the adventure we dreamed it would be. With Greg de Klerk as our excellent and informative guide and the incredible wildlife, the tour exceeded our expectations. Greg took care of us all throughout the tour and was extremely patient and considerate to make certain that all were able to find the birds we were seeking. We had a group with different levels of birding experience and Greg worked so well with all. Thanks to all who made this wonderful experience happen for us.
The booking was complicated by the COVID crisis and the many participants who cancelled the tour, but I am very grateful to RJ who managed to maintain the tour. The tour itself was absolutely outstanding, because of Kenya, because of the protected areas system, because of the birds and the mammals, because of the scarcity of other tourist, because of the small number and high quality of tour participants, but above all, because of the enthusiasm and professionalism of our Kenyan birdguide and our driver-birder guide. From the first minutes to the last hour of the 26 days tour, they have been fantastic guides, with amazing spotting capacity, top skill to attract skulking and shy species, and difficult to beat knowledge of songs and calls, of identification criteria, of local repartition and habitat preference of each species. And added to this, a thorough knowledge of all the places we visited and a great network of local guides who provided additional assistance to both locate rare and difficult birds, but also to avoid problems with local peoples. I cannot praise highly enough their work and the great atmosphere they created during this long tour, and I am sure I will return to Kenya with them.
This was a first-rate trip. Itinerary, accommodation, people and , of course, Glen's great leading and bird-finding were all excellent.