October 14: Depart the US

October 15: Panari Hotel, Nairobi

Upon our evening arrival in Nairobi, we are met and transferred to the Panari Hotel. (Dinner excluded)
Panari Hotel
The only new luxury hotel built in Nairobi in the last 12 years, the Panari rates as one of Africa’s finest. Its 136 rooms overlook Nairobi National Park, and the hotel offers a host of dining, shopping, and entertainment possibilities. It even has an ice-skating rink.

October 16-17: Amboseli Serena Lodge
(5-hour drive)

• October 16: After breakfast, we have an early departure by road to Amboseli National Park arriving at the lodge in time for lunch. There is a game drive on the way to the lodge and another late this afternoon.

• October 17: We enjoy a full day for game drives and other (optional) lodge activities.

Amboseli National Park
At the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, Amboseli is one of the most popular of Kenya’s national parks. The snowcapped peak of Kilimanjaro, rising above a saucer of clouds, dominates every aspect of Amboseli. Despite its small size and its fragile ecosystem, Amboseli supports a wide range of mammals (well over 50 of the larger species), birds (over 400 species), and gigantic herds of elephants. Years ago this was the locale around which Ernest Hemingway spun his stories of big-game hunting in the wilds of Africa.

Amboseli Serena Lodge
Beside a copse of giant acacia trees and a gently flowing natural spring stands Amboseli Serena Lodge, one of Africa’s finest safari accommodations. The lodge offers great views of many types of big game, particularly huge herds of elephants that roam around the area. On the lodge grounds one encounters hundreds of species of wetland and migratory birds.

October 18-22: Diani Reef Beach Resort and Spa
(4-hour drive)

• October 18: This morning we drive to Mombasa and check into our hotel in time for lunch. The afternoon is at leisure to meet with the dive masters, explore the grounds, and relax.

• October 19: Today we have a two-tank boat dive looking for whale sharks. The rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy other optional resort activities. There is time for an afternoon tour of old Mombasa.

• October 20: One of the two dives today is on a small plane (Piper Apache 160) wreck site that sits at a depth of 35 meters. This afternoon we have the option to visit Gazi for a glimpse of traditional Kenyan life.

• October 21: On our daytrip to Chale Island (by boat), we have two dives before lunch and two more dives in the afternoon. This trip offers the highest chance of seeing whale sharks.

• October 22: Our last day diving includes a dive on the wreck of a 470-ton fishing trawler at 28 meters. This evening we say good-bye to the Indian Ocean with a dhow dinner cruise.

On all the dives we will watch for dolphins and whale sharks. In order to dive the wrecks, one must have logged at least 100 dives. Some of the other dive sites are:

Diani Beach
Considered one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, the 25-kilometer stretch of white sand, swaying palms, and turquoise waters sits south of Mombasa along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast. The offshore reef offers rewarding snorkeling and keeps waves at bay creating ideal swimming and windsurfing conditions close to shore. The area is known for its coral reefs, the closely located Shimba Hills National Reserve, and for its black-and-white colobus monkeys, readily seen at the nearby Colobus Reserve. There are many restaurants, shops, and plenty of local nightlife as well.

Diani Reef Beach Resort and Spa
Diani Reef Beach Resort and Spa is set amongst 30 acres of landscaped tropical gardens with 350 meters of magnificent white, palm-fringed beachfront overlooking the exquisite blue-green Indian Ocean. Each of the 144 spacious air-conditioned rooms has television, internet connection, mini-bar, hairdryer, tea/coffee making facilities, and a room safe. The resort has a full-service, state-of-the-art spa and hair salon, three restaurants, and five bars located around the premises, and it boasts the best water sports center in Diani (including jet skis, waterskiing, a PADI dive center, wind surfing, snorkeling, kite surfing, sailing, glass bottom boat rides, sea kayaks, and big game fishing). Two freshwater swimming pools, a private beach area with sun lounges and umbrellas, an adjacent 18-hole golf course, and a casino mean that Diani Reef Beach Resort will provide plenty of entertainment for everyone.

Diving the Crab

Diving The Crab (PADI/SSI), established in 1985, provides professional and dedicated service to its clients. On the way to dive sites, their boats often slow down to play with a school of friendly dolphins or the gentlest of giants, the whale shark. Diving The Crab has built a substantial base of well-trained, professional, and friendly staff with many years’ experience. The modern, specially-designed dive boats have been built for diver convenience, and (between October and April) planes and boats are used to spot whale sharks so that divers have a better chance of encountering them.

Dive Sites
Kongo – This 650-meter sloping reef provides very relaxing dives with an abundance of turtles.
Mwanamochi – This 1.5-kilometer-long reef (that is usually drift-dived) includes exciting coral, huge numbers of reef fish, and frequent sightings of turtles and manta rays.
Kinondo Reef – Found here is the highest fish population on the South Coast with large schools of barracuda, shoals of yellow and blue-lined snappers, red snappers, trigger fish and a good chance of seeing pelagic fish, moray eels, and lobsters.
Papa Mashilingi – This site provides the greatest chance to see whale sharks and mantas. It is not unusual for divers to hover for up to 15 minutes as mantas and whale sharks circle them.
Chale Corner – White tips are occasionally seen here, and large numbers of stingrays and guitar rays make this a must-dive site.

October 23: Mountain Lodge, Mt. Kenya
(3-hour drive)

After breakfast, we take the ferry back to the mainland for our flight to Nairobi. (A van will take all of the dive gear back to Nairobi where it will be checked into the Panari Hotel’s secure storage.) Our private drivers meet us at the airport in Nairobi, and we continue by road to the Mt. Kenya area. This afternoon and evening we watch game from our rooms, the underground bunker, and/or the bar area. There is an optional game walk through the forest.

Mountain Lodge
The Mountain Lodge is a private hotel, located on the slopes of Mt. Kenya, surrounded by a dense rainforest that comes alive at dusk. At an elevation of 7200 feet, it is laid out specifically for bird and animal watching; all of the rooms have large windows and balconies, and a large artificial watering hole in the clearing attracts forest animals. Lights are kept on all night to attract animals for easy viewing. Elephants, buffalos, rhinos and waterbucks are regular sights in the evenings and days. Another special feature is the specially constructed bunkers that are connected to the lodge by a short tunnel, allowing spectacular views of the animals while they drink at the waterhole.

Mount Kenya National Park
At an elevation of 5,100 meters, Mount Kenya is Africa’s second highest mountain. To the Kikuyu tribes-people, it is the home of the Supreme Being, Ngai. Part of the mountain’s fascination is the variation in flora and fauna at various elevations. These forest belts are host to many different animals and plants, with at least eleven unique species. Game to view includes monkeys, bushbucks, elephants, black rhinos, duikers, leopards, and bongos (a rare type of forest antelope). A number of other rare or endangered species such as the sunni buck, Mount Kenya mole shrew, skink (a kind of lizard), and a variety of owls can be found here.

October 24: Sweetwaters Tented Camp
(1-hour drive)

After breakfast we transfer the short distance to the famous Sweetwaters Game Reserve and Tented Camp. We will visit the Nanyuki Spinners and Weavers and “experience” the Equator between game drives in the Reserve.

Sweetwaters Game Reserve
This game reserve reveals magnificent views across the game-studded plains to the snowcapped peaks of Mount Kenya. The Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a project initiated in part by the Jane Goodall Institute, allows visitors to see chimps in their own environment. The aim of this project is to set up a colony where chimps can be rehabilitated and introduced to an area similar to their natural habitat.

Sweetwaters Tented Camp
Sweetwaters Tented Camp lies in the heart of privately-owned Sweetwaters Game Reserve, and the floodlit waterhole is frequented by elephants and plains game such as giraffes, zebras and impalas. The Waterhole Bar is ideal for nighttime game watching, and all of Sweetwaters’ thatch-roofed tents have verandahs facing the waterhole. The camp has a swimming pool for relaxation during the hot afternoons.

Nanyuki Spinners and Weavers
Because the Kenyan highlands area around Nanyuki is a major center for sheep and wool production, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa conceived the idea of training women to become self-sufficient. Started in 1977, the women have been able to card, spin, dye, and weave sheep’s wool to make cotton rugs and blankets to generate income for their families. Today over 100 women rely on their income from this project.

October 25-27: Mara Intrepids Tented Camp

• October 25: This morning we fly* directly to the Masai Mara arriving in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive. (Our drivers can take excess luggage back to Nairobi for us.)

• October 26: We have a full day for two game drives and other optional camp activities. We visit a local Masai village after lunch.

• October 27: This morning we have a sunrise hot-air balloon safari followed by a bush breakfast. After a game drive back to the camp, there is time to enjoy optional camp activities or relax before our afternoon game drive.

*Luggage weight limit of 33 pounds on the flight!

The Masai Mara National Reserve
The Masai Mara Game Reserve is widely considered to be Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve. The Mara comprises 200 square miles of open plains, woodlands, and riverine forest. Contiguous with the plains of the Serengeti in Tanzania, the Mara is home to a breathtaking array of life. The vast grassland plains are scattered with herds of zebra, giraffe, gazelle, and topi, and the acacia forests abound with birdlife and monkeys. Elephants and buffalo wallow in the wide Musiara Swamp while the Mara and Talek rivers brim with hippos and crocodiles. Each year the Mara plays host to the world’s greatest natural spectacle: the Great Wildebeest Migration from the Serengeti. From July to October, the promise of rain and fresh life-giving grass in the north brings more than 1.3 million wildebeests together into a single massive herd. They pour across the border into the Mara, making a spectacular entrance in a surging column of life that stretches from horizon to horizon. At the Mara River they mass together on the banks before finally plunging forward through the raging waters, creating a frenzy as they fight against swift currents and waiting crocodiles. The Mara has been called the Kingdom of the Lions, and these hunters dominate the grasslands. Cheetahs are also a common sight in the Mara, as are hyena and smaller predators such as jackals.

Mara Intrepids
Sitting above a sweeping bend in the Talek River at the confluence of the Masai Mara’s four game-viewing areas, Mara Intrepids Club enjoys one of the most spectacular locations in the world’s best-known wilderness. It offers some of the world’s finest game viewing, with large local populations of plains game such as elephants, rhinos, buffalos, and all the big cats. Its 30 luxury tents are furnished in the classic style of the grand African safaris, including en-suite bathrooms with hot showers, flush toilets, and all modern amenities. Meals are served under a thatched roof or on a breezy terrace beside the riverfront swimming pool. The bar overlooks a suspension bridge leading to a leopard-baiting area, making it more likely to spot the exquisite cats at night.

October 28: Giraffe Manor/Panari Hotel

After a dawn game drive and breakfast, we fly to Nairobi and transfer to Giraffe Manor* for lunch. This afternoon we visit the Karen Blixen Museum, Kazuri Beads, Utumaduni, Matt Bronze, and play with giraffes.
*Giraffe Manor can accommodate a maximum of 14. The rest of the group will stay at the Panari Hotel, have lunch at the Karen Blixen Tea Garden, and participate in all other activities.

Giraffe Manor
Built in 1932 by Sir David Duncan, Giraffe Manor is situated on 120 acres of land. In 1974 Jock Leslie-Melville (grandson of a Scottish earl) and his wife, Betty (who also founded the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife) bought the Manor. They then moved five babies of the highly endangered Rothschild giraffe to their property where they have been successfully reared and now have calves of their own. When Jock died, Betty decided to open her house to visitors. Exclusive, spacious and elegant, it is the only place in the world where you can feed giraffes from your second floor bedroom window, over the lunch table and at the front door. Guests can feed and photograph the giraffes and the warthogs at the Manor, and also wander through the adjoining primeval forest to view the bushbuck, dikdik, and more than 180 bird species found there. One bedroom is furnished with Karen Blixen’s (Out of Africa) furniture that she gave to Jock and Betty when she left Kenya.

Karen Blixen Museum
This museum was originally the home of Karen Blixen, who came to Kenya from Denmark in the early part of the 20th century. The present museum sits at the heart of the larger coffee plantation run by Blixen between 1914 and 1931. Upon Kenya’s independence, the Danish government donated the house and surrounding land to Kenya. The house was restored by the Danish government and was used during the filming of Out of Africa. Much of the original furniture is on display in the house, and combined with the beautifully landscaped gardens and encompassing view of the Ngong Hills, the Museum has continued to be a very popular destination for international and local visitors.

Kazuri Bead Shop
This workshop is located at the base of the Ngong Hills outside Nairobi, on a portion of the farm once owned by Karen Von Blixen of Out of Africa fame. Lady Susan Wood founded Kazuri (which means “small and beautiful in Swahili, the language of Kenya) in 1975, after observing that many women in the villages around Nairobi were nearly destitute. She and two Kikuyu women organized a ceramic workshop and taught jewelry making to the poor, and the instruction continues to this day. Each bead that makes up a necklace or bracelet is shaped by hand, without the aid of molds or forms, by one of the 90 local women employed by Kazuri. The beads are then polished and kiln-fired, painted, and fired again before being strung. You will see the ladies making the beads at the shop.

Utumaduni
Utamaduni, meaning “cultural heritage,” is a house containing at least fifteen shops that offer various art, books, jewelry, carvings, fabrics, and both traditional and modern crafts.

Matt Bronze
This is a wonderful gallery with a large selection of hand-made bronzes. There are pieces of all sizes and prices – everything from tasteful animal footprint ashtrays to jewelry, picture frames, and life-size sculptures.

October 29: Day Room at the Panari Hotel and depart

Today we reunite at the Panari Hotel before visiting Lady Gemini for lunch, going to a local market (depending on market schedule), doing a little more shopping, and repacking. There may be time to visit the New Life Home Orphanage. We depart the hotel at approximately 7:30 pm for the airport and our late flights back home.

New Life Home
Clive and Mary Beckenham, British missionaries, arrived in Kenya in 1989 with two of their teenage children, Wesley and Rachael. They began to investigate the needs of local children, and within a short time began educational sponsorships at primary schools. Nursery and pre-school sponsorships followed in rural areas, and feeding programs for AIDS orphans and nomadic children were instituted as well. In 1992 Clive, Mary, and Rachael became aware of the plight of the abandoned and orphaned babies of Kenya, particularly those born with HIV. Babies were dying in Kenya’s hospitals, clinics, and on the streets – and in extremely sad cases even being discarded as rubbish amongst the garbage or drowned in the city’s sewers. Family life for the Beckenhams was radically changed in early 1993 when their daughter brought home an abandoned two-month old boy weighing just over four pounds. The children’s home was unable to provide the care he needed, and he would have surely died within a matter of hours. During the course of the next two months, the Beckenhams saw the little boy (now named Clive) steadily improve. As time passed, baby Clive became a healthy little boy and was adopted into the Beckenham family. Having seen this miracle, Clive and Mary believed God wanted to bring this healing to other Kenyan children in distress. Thus in 1994 New Life Home Trust was born with the opening of the first home in a suburb of Nairobi. A visit here is one of the most positive experiences you will ever have.

Lady Gemini
Because Lady Gemini educates visitors on the history of beads (a fascinating learning experience), this unique gallery is often compared to a museum. The specialty here is remarkable jewelry ranging from ancient trade beads to the dazzling new trends of the 21st century.