8 Days in the Sangare Ranch, Aberdares & Naivasha areaClick here to go to page 1 of this walking holiday in Kenya.
After breakfast we drive to the nearby Solio Ranch. This time we do an extensive game drive in the Rhino sanctuary, which has the world's largest concentration of Black Rhinos. The White Rhino is also found here as well as the Reticulated Giraffe, Leopard, Lion and a wide range of plains, game and bird life. We will drive around in the ranch but since this private sanctuary is little visited by the main tour operators, we will not have many cars surrounding us. Transfer to Outspan hotel for lunch. A highlight in our hiking vacations is the Tree Hotel in the Aberdare National Park, where elephants, Buffaloes, Rhinos and other game coming to a floodlit waterhole right below the balcony of the hotel. Our hotel of choice is Treetops, which is designed for game viewing on a 3-storey structure standing on stilts. The game viewing is an all-night show and many visitors pass the night time focused on the waterhole where among the species frequenting are elephants, rhinos, hyenas, various gazelles, warthogs, giant forest hogs, the elusive bongo and with luck a leopard or a lion may pay a visit.
A three hour bus transfer takes us to the Rift Valley, where we will stay for 3 nights at the Lake Sawela Lodge in Naivasha. In the afternoon we do an African game viewing hike at the privately owned Crescent Island, which is a peninsula on the Eastern shore of Lake Naivasha. There is a lot of easy to see game e.g. giraffes, wildebeests, waterbucks, elands, zebras and impalas. It is also a heaven for birds with +200 Kenya birds species recorded. The walk is gentle and satisfying. We return to the lodge in time for afternoon tea.
After breakfast we do a short transfer to the gate of the park. This is a unique park where walking with good sightings of giraffes, zebras, warthogs and many types of gazelles are found here. The first part of this walk is done in typical flat African savanna in a volcanic area with huge rock boundaries. There are camphor and acacia trees all over and this is where to look for the giraffe as they mainly feed on them. A picnic lunch provided by the hotel will be at a view point on the Hell's Gate gorge. The last part of the guided walk is done by descending into a steep canyon with running water from geysers and wild vegetation. The climax of the day is in walking in the Side Gorge where the rocks have split to leave only a walking path. We climb back to the Ranger's Post for transfer back to the Lake Naivasha Country Club.
An early rising will ensure that one gets another magical display of the various Kenya birds. After breakfast we do a transfer by bus to the nearby Crater Lake Game Sanctuary. It is a lesser lake in the Rift Valley but a place where nature is at its best.We will take a guided walk in the sanctuary followed by a circular trek on the top of the crater from where we see the lake from various angles. On the walks look out for giraffes, black and white Colobus monkeys, elands and a range of gazelles.
Leave Naivasha in the morning for lunch at the Kiambethu Tea Farm. This is an old colonial home established by the early settlers and the pioneers of tea growing in Kenya. There will be a talk on tea: its arrival in Kenya, the growing, processing and up to when you put it into your cup. A short guided walk in the tea plantation and into a small remaining part of indigenous forest completes the tour. We have a healthy farm lunch and thereafter transfer to Nairobi for the evening flight out ending a successful Kenya hiking adventure vacation.
The only extras on you are spendings on airfare to Kenya, airport taxes, visa, insurance, drinks at the table, tips and expenditure of personal nature. For a consultation on Africa walking holidays, contact Ontdek Kenya safaris, we have 14 years experience in walking safaris in Kenya. PAGES RELATED TO "Africa Walking Holidays"
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