The 11^th November I flew with Virgin Atlantic on their first flight from Heathrow to Nairobi. After the eight-hour flight we arrived in Nairobi, I had decided to get my Kenyan visa on arrival, which proved to be very straight forward. After collecting our luggage we met our Somak driver, Jonna and the 7-seater vehicle which would be responsible for getting us from A-B on Kenya’s bumpy roads (slight understatement).

We then had a 20-minute drive to Somaks’ guest lounge where we were able to freshen up and get ready for our 7-hour drive to Samburu National Reserve. Somak is currently the only tour operator offering its customers this service, which was most needed after a long flight.

The first lodge that I visited was the Samburu Serena Lodge where we had a late lunch, the staff were very helpful and the food was excellent. By this time it was around 3pm we then had a leisurely afternoon game drive en-route to the Samburu Serena Lodge, which is situated along the Ewaso Ngiro River and whilst we ate our evening meal we watched the crocodiles feeding on the river bank.

In Samburu we were lucky enough to see numerous water buffalo, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk and many beautiful looking birds

After leaving Samburu behind us we drove to Lake Nakuru, we visited Lake Naivasha on the way; this is one of the freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley. We also drove through Hell’s Gate National Park, it has very dramatic scenery essentially it is an impressive gorge with towering cliffs.

Lake Nakuru National Park was created in 1961 as a bird sanctuaryIt has now been fenced in to make it a rhino sanctuary. The park is also a great place to see hundreds of pink flamingos, pelicans, leopard, water buffalo and a stunning rhino family with a 2-month-old baby in tow

I visited two lodges in Nakuru the first one being; Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, which is extremely peaceful as it is perched on high ground overlooking the lake. Lake Nakuru Lodge is where we slept. It used to be part of Lord Delamere’s estate and the main manor house dates back centuries.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve was established in 1961, home to traditional Maasai people. The southern boundary lies on the border of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. The Mara has resident game, which includes many buffalo, rhino, and herds of Thomson’s & Grant’s gazelles, Topi & Impala. Predators include large prides of lions (the largest population to be found in Kenya), a fair number of cheetahs, and leopards, spotted hyenas. We came across a large number of elephant, vultures and ostrich in the Mara. We stayed at the Keerorok Lodge in the east of the Mara Reserve, the accommodation are individual cottages, very quaint. We had a special bush barbecue dinner at the bottom of the lodge, lit with candles and a roaring fire.

This would make a very nice addition to a safari experience, particularly if you are celebrating a special occasion, and I was pleased to find that the price of adding this to your holiday are very reasonable.

During our evening meal we were surprised when the Maasai Warriors jumped out from behind the trees, and started to perform three traditional songs and danced around the fire! What an unbelievable experience albeit a tad scary

We then had a morning game drive in the Maasai Mara where we were fortunate to see a pride of lions with young cubs, antelope, zebra, and yes my favourite elephants.

Our stop for lunch was at the Mara Serena Safari Lodge, this is located in the west, set high up offering spectacular views overlooking rolling grasslands. Bedrooms are individual mud manyattas grouped in rings all with excellent views, and modern bathrooms. You have to see a picture to really understand this property!

Driving back to Nairobi we drove above the Great Rift Valley stopping to take a few photos. After checking into the Holiday Inn in Nairobi we were then whisked away for our last evening meal together at the world famous Carnivore Restaurant, a truly amazing experience, a huge restaurant serving all types of meat including game meats such as Zebra, Ostrich, Giraffe and Crocodile.

Overview of Kenya:

The people we met in and outside of the lodges were extremely friendly, our Somak representative and driver were both fantastic, full of useful knowledge. The safari experience I had was brilliant albeit quite hectic as I had lots of lodge inspections to do, however I was fortunate enough to see a vast amount of wildlife up close and I now have some fantastic memories that I know I will never be able to forget.