7-Day Wings Over Kenya Safari

From Nairobi, take a picturesque drive north through the lush highlands of Kenya to start your journey. Reach Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the largest black rhino sanctuary and conservation success story in Kenya.

Over 160 critically endangered black rhinos can be seen on your afternoon game drive, silhouetted against the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya. The two remaining northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, are the most significant inhabitants of Ol Pejeta. Being in their company creates an experience that completely reimagines what a safari is. In addition to rhinos, the conservancy protects endangered Grevy’s zebras, lions, leopards, and elephants. See the protected lives of rescued chimpanzees at the chimpanzee sanctuary.

After breakfast, your private bush plane awaits. As your aircraft climbs above the Laikipia Plateau, Kenya unfolds beneath you—farmlands giving way to arid terrain, the dramatic Great Rift Valley escarpments, and eventually the rugged northern frontier. Circle Mount Kenya’s peak, spot elephant herds moving across ancient migration routes from above.

Touch down at Samburu’s exclusive airstrip where your guide awaits. Within minutes, you’re on game drive—this is the fly-in advantage. Samburu National Reserve reveals itself as a realm apart, where the Ewaso Ng’iro River creates an oasis ecosystem.

Your afternoon introduces the “Samburu Special Five”: reticulated giraffes with intricate geometric patterns, Grevy’s zebras, Somali ostriches with distinctive blue necks, gerenuk standing tall on hind legs, and beisa oryx. Large elephant herds come to the river at dusk. Lions blend with red earth. Leopards favor riverine forests. This is Samburu—raw, authentic, magnificently wild.

Dawn arrives with clarity found nowhere else in Kenya. Today belongs entirely to this extraordinary ecosystem. Your morning game drive follows fresh tracks—perhaps a leopard’s distinctive prints, or massive elephant footprints.

Watch lions lounging beneath doum palms. Observe crocodiles basking on riverbanks. Marvel at gerenuk adaptation—elongated necks evolved for this arid environment. Witness elephant family social dynamics as matriarchs lead their clans to generational water sources.

Visit a Samburu village where warriors maintain semi-nomadic traditions unchanged for centuries. Their lifestyle demonstrates human resilience and profound connection between people and land. Your final Samburu evening deserves celebration—perhaps a private sundowner as the northern wilderness transforms in fading light.

After a morning game drive, your flight to safari’s ultimate destination awaits. As your aircraft lifts off, the landscape transforms from arid north to verdant highlands, then suddenly—the Mara unfolds beneath you. Endless golden grasslands, the Mara River snaking through, wildlife visible even from altitude.

Your pilot circles before landing at an exclusive grass airstrip. The Masai Mara—the name carries weight in safari circles. Covering over 1,500 square kilometers, the Mara represents Africa’s Pleistocene past preserved.

Your first afternoon game drive reveals staggering wildlife density: 95,000 wildebeest, 18,000 plains zebras, thousands of other species, plus predators in extraordinary numbers. The Mara hosts Africa’s largest lion prides and highest leopard densities. As sunset paints clouds in impossible colors, you’ll understand why you flew here directly. And you have three full days ahead.

Rise before dawn when the Mara reveals her deepest secrets. Perhaps you’ll find a leopard hauling prey into a tree—strength and grace incarnate. Or lions on a fresh kill, the pride’s social hierarchy on display. Hyenas approach testing boundaries. Jackals dart nervously. Vultures gather overhead.

Between dramatic encounters, subtler wonders emerge. Hippo pods in the river, termite mounds rising like cathedrals, ancient symbiosis between birds and buffalo. Your guide decodes it all—animal behaviors, ecosystem dynamics, seasonal patterns.

If traveling July through October, the Great Migration provides nature’s most spectacular show. Massive herds stretch to horizons, river crossings become theaters of survival—wildebeest plunging into crocodile-infested waters in explosive chaos. Even witnessing a single crossing is a privilege many never experience.

Your second full Mara day allows deeper exploration. Track specific lion prides, follow leopard tracks into riverine forests, search for legendary black-maned lions, stake out cheetah territories. The Mara rewards patience—spend hours at waterholes watching parade after parade arrive.

Optional Enhancement: Elevate your experience with an early morning hot air balloon safari. Float silently above awakening plains as sunrise paints everything gold. After one hour aloft, touch down for champagne breakfast in the bush—gourmet food served at tables set in the middle of nowhere, with giraffes browsing nearby.

Your final Mara evening carries special poignancy. This wilderness has worked its magic—you’ll leave changed forever.

Your last Mara dawn deserves honoring. Depart early for a final game drive capturing treasured moments—lions silhouetted against sunrise, elephants crossing plains in single file. Return for leisurely breakfast and reluctant farewells.

Begin the scenic drive to Nairobi (5-6 hours) with stops at Rift Valley viewpoints. Arrive late afternoon, your safari complete but its impact just beginning. You’ve witnessed Africa’s wild heart beating strong—and understand why it must be protected.