The Best of Kenya Safari Scheduled Departure Itinerary

This 7-day road safari departs Fridays (minimum 2 guests) and features both traditional safari lodges and a luxury tented camp

experience. It showcases the snowcapped peaks of Mount Kenya, the arid but beautiful northern Samburu district, the world famous

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Lake Nakuru, home to over one million flamingoes, and an overview of the lakes and volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley. Your professional driver/guide be your host

and a guaranteed window seat to ensure you see it all!

Day 1 (Friday) The Slopes of Mount Kenya – Serena Mountain Lodge (1 night): After being collected from your Nairobi hotel (or the airport), you will be driven across the plains of Mount Kenya and up into the foothills and forests of the second highest mountain in Africa. Arriving in time for lunch at the Serena Mountain Lodge, you are free to spend the afternoon watching the game around the water hole, taking a forest walk or visiting the photo-hide. One of the world’s highest National Parks, Mount Kenya is an extinct volcano some three and a half million years old. Straddling the equator, the mountain offers a unique mosaic of forest, moorland, rock and ice and is crowned by the glittering twin peaks of Batian (5,199 m) and Nelion (5,188 m).

Serena Mountain Lodge: The only ‘tree hotel’ ever to be built on the slopes of Kenya’s legendary Mount Kenya, Mountain Lodge offers a matchless game viewing opportunity whilst combining a glorious panorama of mountain vistas with the primordial splendours of an ancient rainforest. Floating 2,134m high on the flanks of Kenya’s highest mountain and secreted deep within her largest forest reserve, the lodge offers 42 rooms all with en-suite bathrooms and telephones. The traditionally timbered dining room is surrounded by windows and has been built on stilts so as to seemingly float above the liana-strung forest. Additionally the lodge offers a private water hole and salt lick, a rooftop viewing

deck, guided forest walks, massage and beauty services and a gift shop.

Day 2 (Saturday) North to Samburu – Sarova Shaba Game Lodge (2 nights): After breakfast, drive north to ‘Born Free’ country where Joy and George Adamson raised Elsa the lion cub in the wild and beautiful Shaba National Reserve. Arrive in time for lunch at the luxurious Sarova Shaba Game Lodge. Spend the afternoon discovering the unique wildlife of the reserve, which is famous for its elephants and lions. Day 3 (Sunday) – Samburu National Park: Early morning and late afternoon game driving (breakfast and lunch at the lodge) in the reserve, which offers sanctuary to large herds of elephants, healthy numbers of lion, leopard, cheetah, plentiful plains game, reticulated giraffe,

rare Beisa oryx, kudu and gerenuk.

Sarova Shaba Game Lodge: Set in ‘Born Free’ country were Joy Adamson raised Elsa the lioness, this beautifully presented lodge stands in the centre of the arid but gloriously atmospheric northern Shaba National Reserve. Set within extensive gardens, the lodge features the cascades of the Ewaso Nyiro River, which provides a sanctuary for crocodiles. There are 80 luxury-thatched chalets in the grounds, all with ensuite bathrooms and stone terraces. The lodge also offers a riverside game viewing deck, two bars and a restaurant overlooking the river where evening performances of Samburu dance are staged. Activities include twice-daily game drives and guided nature walks around the grounds.

Day 4 (Monday) To Lake Nakuru – Sarova Lion Hill Lodge (1 night): After breakfast drive to Lake Nakuru, the most famous of the Great Rift Valley lakes and home to a shifting population of over one million flamingoes. Arrive in time for lunch at the Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge. Spend the afternoon on safari in Kenya’s first and largest rhino sanctuary.

Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge: The Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge stands on a wooded hill commanding glorious views over the flamingo-fringed waters of Lake Nakuru, Kenya’s premier black rhino sanctuary. Set in extensive tropical gardens, it offers 64 tastefully decorated ensuite chalets each with its own balcony and view of the lake. There is also a spacious central dining room, a charming pool deck, spa and gift shop.

Day 5 (Tuesday) To the Maasai Mara – Sarova Mara Game Camp (2 nights): After breakfast, drive to the world-famous Maasai Mara National Reserve, backdrop to ‘the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth’, the annual migration of over one million wildebeest (July to October). Arrive in time for lunch at the Sarova Mara Game Camp, a luxury tented camp, before spending the afternoon on safari in Kenya’s most popular reserve.

Day 6 (Wednesday) Maasai Mara: Spend the whole day game driving in Africa’s richest wildlife viewing arena. Historically teeming with wildlife, the Mara hosts Kenya’s largest lion prides and elephant herds. Spend the evening in camp where Maasai dance performances are offered nightly. Sarova Mara Game Camp: Raised above the rolling plains of the world’s most famous wilderness, the camp stands in extensive tropical gardens watered by crystal-clear

streams. There are 75 luxury tents, each with electricity and ensuite bathrooms. The central Isokon Restaurant is styled to reflect the iconic Maasai heritage while evening barbeques are held around the sumptuous swimming pool. The Oloip Bar features a roaring fire and is the venue for performances of Maasai dance and music. Activities include guided walks; twice-daily game drives and talks on the Maasai culture, which are presented by members of the local community. Spa services are also offered.

Day 7 (Thursday) Up the Rift Valley to Nairobi - After breakfast drive back down the Great Rift Valley to Nairobi. Alternatively fly back to Nairobi (at additional cost).

Extend your safari by adding on the Tanzania Northern Circuit Safari, a Mountain Gorilla Trek or some beach time in Zanzibar! (see separate itineraries)

The Best of Kenya Safari –Land only based on 2 guests sharing in Canadian $ January 3 to **April 9, 2012 - Adult ~$2495 Single Supplement ~$589 - Child under 12 Sharing ~$1450 **Easter supplement April 6-9, 2012 Adults $60 PP per night/ Child $30 PP per night April 10 to June 30, 2012 - Adult ~$2095 Single Supplement ~$650 - Child under 12 Sharing ~$1320 July 1 to Oct 31, 2012 - Adult ~$2825 Single Supplement ~$800 - Child under 12 Sharing ~$1695 Nov 1 to Dec 15, 2012 - Adult ~$2450 Single Supplement ~$600 - Child under 12 sharing ~$1485

To Book Your Safari Seat Contact: Nature Encounters Tours & Travel Ltd. Toll Free 1-866-949-3007

inquiry@natureencounterstours.com www.natureencounterstours.com

Included: • Accommodation, meals and game activities (guaranteed window seat) as stipulated in the itinerary. • Transportation in a shared safari vehicle with pop-up roof for easy game viewing & photography. • Services of an English-speaking driver-guide, game viewing drives and parks entrance fees as

indicated in the itinerary. • 24 hours stand-by contact number and two-way long-range radio communication in each vehicle. • In each vehicle: First-aid kit, wildlife books, binoculars, cool box & fire extinguisher. Excluded: All items of personal nature e.g. telephone call bills, fax/email bills/laundry etc., and any other items not specified in our itinerary; Tips and gratuities to hotel, lodges, camp staff and driver guide(s). (Budget approx. $2.00 – $4.00 per person per day for lodge and hotel staff, $1.00 per bag for porters and $10.00 - $12.00 per person per day for driver-guides); Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks; Any local or international flight(s) and departure/other taxes; Concession fees (Incase of any new fees introduced by parks without our knowledge); Visa fees currently US$50.00 (subject to change) per person. Visas are available on arrival at international airports or recognized border entry points; Flying Doctors coverage: Optional @ US$20 dollars per person (coverage within East Africa for 14 days inclusive of airlift to a hospital in Nairobi where all costs will be payable by the patient); Travel Medical/Cancellation/Interruption insurance – which we highly recommend.

About Nature Encounters Tours & Travel Ltd. Welcome to Nature Encounters Tours & Travel! We have travelled the

globe in search of destinations that will put you in touch with our passion – nature! Our experience, and that of our guides, is matched by a personalized service that keeps our guests returning to travel with us year after year. From the moment you inquire about a location to the start of your small group departure – we are dedicated to ensuring your trip is memorable.

On safari, you can experience everything from watching a lioness care for her young in the hollow of an old tree to having a magnificent five-ton elephant display his enormous ears and mock charge your vehicle . . . or lay on a sandy beach that goes on for miles and miles while listening to the sound of the Indian Ocean. Your accommodation and meals, in either lodges or tented camps, range from truly comfortable to absolutely luxurious. Backpacking was never like this! Swimming pools, gardens and the fragrance of wild basil will surround you as your binoculars scout the magnificent scenery for cheetah, elephant, zebra, lilac breasted rollers, hyena, and tawny eagles to name a few. Your game activities can include driving in national parks watching for wildlife along the way, walking with an experienced guide looking for all the little things you may have missed by driving, and boating or canoeing – enjoying some of the most incredible rivers and lakes.

Ecotourism is an important part of the Nature Encounters Tours & Travel experience. Our guests are happy to contribute to a sustainable industry where the local people, as well as the wildlife, benefit from their visit. Be it the CAMPFIRE project in Zimbabwe, where the local fishing villages gain from having tourists visit and bring school supplies, or Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage in Kenya where our guests help provide financial assistance for anti-poaching efforts. Nature Encounters Tours & Travel Ltd. support many schools, such as the Jacob Basson School in Khorixas, Namibia, the A.I.C. Girls’ School in Kajiado, Kenya, and conservation groups that are near and dear to us: the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, Jane Goodall Chimp Research in Gombe Stream, Wildlife SOS in India, Friends of the Galapagos & The Serengeti Lion Research Project to name a few. We do indeed walk the talk!

Our goal is to give our guests an experience they won’t ever forget – from dancing with the Maasai in East Africa to enjoying watching the antics of a pair of polar bears enjoy a tussle in the snow to photographing and observing the many species that live in our great world.

Join us for the vacation of a lifetime!