For many of us, the word safari conjures a particular picture: a lone acacia tree on a golden plain, a lion resting in the long grass, a line of elephants moving slowly across a landscape with a great snowcapped mountain behind. That picture is Kenya. It is the country that gave the safari its name and its romance, and it remains one of the most rewarding wildlife destinations on earth.
What makes Kenya especially wonderful for a first time visitor is how generously it delivers. Game viewing in the Maasai Mara is among the best anywhere. The lodges are confident, beautiful and warm. The cultural encounters with Maasai and Samburu communities are genuine and memorable. And because Nairobi is a major international hub, the journey from Australia is straightforward.
Experiences and activities
The Maasai Mara is the jewel. Its open plains support lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes and enormous herds of plains game, and between roughly July and October the Great Migration brings more than a million wildebeest and zebra across the Mara River in scenes that feel almost unreal. Many of the finest camps sit in private conservancies bordering the reserve, where vehicle numbers are limited, night drives and walking safaris are possible and the experience feels wonderfully uncrowded. A sunrise hot air balloon flight over the plains, followed by a champagne breakfast in the bush, is the signature luxury moment of a Kenya safari.
Amboseli National Park is famous for its large elephant herds set against the vast shape of Mount Kilimanjaro across the border in Tanzania. Further north, Laikipia and Samburu offer a drier, more rugged beauty and species rarely seen in the south, including Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and gerenuk. Laikipia's private conservancies also offer horse riding, camel safaris, walking and cultural visits. In Nairobi, you can meet orphaned elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, feed giraffes at the Giraffe Centre and visit the Karen Blixen Museum, and the Kenyan coast, with white beaches around Diani and the Lamu archipelago, makes a beautiful finish.
Best time to visit
The Great Migration river crossings in the Mara are usually at their most dramatic from July to October, which is also when bookings fill fastest, so the best camps need to be reserved a year or more ahead. January and February are warm, dry and excellent for game viewing with far fewer visitors. The long rains of April and May bring lush scenery, lower rates and quiet camps, although some lodges close. Amboseli's views of Kilimanjaro are clearest in the early morning, and in the drier months.
Getting there and around
Most international visitors arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, which has excellent connections from Australia through the Gulf, Singapore and other hubs.
By road. Amboseli is typically a four to five hour drive from Nairobi, while the Maasai Mara can take five to six hours on a mixture of tarmac and bumpy dirt roads. Road journeys are best for those who enjoy the scenery and want to see rural Kenya along the way.
By charter and scheduled light aircraft. Light aircraft flights from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to airstrips in the Mara, Amboseli, Laikipia and Samburu take roughly forty five minutes to an hour and a half, depending on destination. For most luxury travellers this is the preferred way to travel, arriving rested and with more time at camp. Private charters can be arranged for groups and families who prefer their own schedule.
Luxury lodges and camps
On the edge of the Mara, Angama Mara is perched on the Oloololo Escarpment with views over the plains that are almost impossible to forget, and its location makes it a favourite for photography. Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp offers a romantic, vintage style tented experience in a private conservancy, and Mara Plains Camp is known for its intimate scale and excellent guiding. In Amboseli, Tortilis Camp offers refined tented suites with elephants wandering past and Kilimanjaro on the horizon. In Samburu, Sasaab brings Moroccan inspired design to the dry north, and in Laikipia, Segera Retreat is a stylish, art filled property with private villas.
