Untamed Kenya

On arrival at the airport, you’ll be met and escorted to the 5-star Fairmont Norfolk Hotel. In the heart of the capital, our venerable landmark hotel has been the starting point for some of history’s greatest safari expeditions. The rest of this day is yours to relax or explore as you wish.

After breakfast, we’ll take you to the airport for your included safari flight to the Mugie Conservancy. Situated within Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, Mugie is home to a rich variety of wildlife including several endangered species. Upon arrival, you’ll be warmly greeted and transferred to our luxury safari camp, Governor’s Mugie. After lunch, you’ll have time to settle in to your private cottage before an afternoon game drive.
 
Pristine and remote, Mugie is a private wildlife conservancy that has emerged as an important role model for sustainable conservation. Securing land for wildlife is a critical component and Mugie’s 50,000 acres provide a key wildlife access route between the Laikipia Plateau, the Matthews Range, and the Samburu lands to the north and east. The result is a multitude of wildlife including key species that are endemic to northern Kenya, such as the distinctive Grevy’s zebra and the beisa oryx with its unmistakable white and beige face markings and long, straight horns. Accompanied by our expert safari guide, your first afternoon game drive across Mugie’s vast acacia-dotted savannahs and scrubby bush promises thrilling wildlife encounters. The day ends on a spectacular high note as you enjoy Sundowner cocktails from a prime vantage point to watch the sun set over the Laikipia landscape. Back at camp, join your fellow guests for an intimate dinner accompanied by complimentary house beverages. Meals B+L+D

Complementing its vital role in protecting the wildlife of northern Kenya, Mugie is also at the forefront of community conservation efforts—operating a sustainable, low-impact cattle ranch that preserves the fragile eco-system of the conservancy. In addition, innovative community grazing programs and local empowerment projects have engaged residents to become invested in the conservation goals of Mugie. Complementing today’s morning and afternoon game drives, you will have the opportunity to witness firsthand some of these community projects and the benefits they bring.
 
At the cattle ranch, you can learn about their sustainable farming practices and community-based livestock management, gaining insight into how they function while also securing essential habitat for wildlife. For the culturally curious, you might visit a Samburu homestead  to learn about the daily life of these semi-nomadic pastoralists or spend time in a Pokot village as residents go about their daily routines, preparing cloth out of goat hide or engaging in the fast-paced game of bao.
 
Highlighting this day, of course, will be up-close encounters with Mugie’s abundant wildlife. In addition to resident lion prides and a healthy population of savanna elephants, our private conservancy is home to five special species, known as the Mugie Five: The endangered reticulated giraffe; Grevy’s zebra, largest of the three zebra species; beisa oryx with its distinctively long and straight horns; Jackson’s hartebeest, an endangered antelope species; and the striped hyena with its bushy mane of hair running down the length of its spine. Morning and afternoon game drives, special lion tracking expeditions, guided bush walks, and even canoeing and e-biking adventures are some of the wildlife-viewing activities that will make your stay at Mugie truly unforgettable. If you’re so inclined, Mugie even offers a private 9-hole golf course!
 
We’ve also arranged for a special bush dinner during your stay at Mugie; in a picturesque setting within the vast conservancy, you’ll enjoy a welcome drink and a delicious meal prepared by our Bush chefs—served under the stars with the soft glow of safari lanterns and the sounds of the African night.  Meals B+L+D

After breakfast, we’ll take you to the airstrip for your included flight deep into the Maasai Mara National Reserve. On arrival, you’ll be met and escorted to our luxury safari camp. After lunch, you’ll have time to relax on your private verandah which overlooks a large watering hole teeming with birds and wildlife. Later this afternoon, you’ll join our expert guide for your first safari in the Masai Mara.  Meals B+L+D

Accompanied by our highly-trained guides, safari expeditions at Il Moran use custom-designed vehicles to give you top-tier game viewing and photographic opportunities. With its undisturbed panoramas of rolling savannah punctuated by the iconic silhouette of acacia trees, the Mara is striking it its wild beauty. Bisected by the twisting Mara River, this acclaimed national reserve is one of the richest wildlife habitats on Earth. Home to abundant bird and animal life, the Masai Mara National Reserve promises an unforgettable safari experience.
 
You can enjoy up to three game drives today, accompanied by engaging guides who have unparalleled knowledge of the reserve combined with their deep understanding and respect for the importance of this wilderness area, its flora, and its fauna. If you would like an extended morning game drive, the camp staff will pack a delicious picnic breakfast to take with you. To complement your game-viewing adventures, you can also spend time at one of the community projects supported by Governor’s Camps. The Mara Rianda Primary School and Mara Rianda Medical Center are two of these projects that offer valuable insights into responsible travel in action. Back at camp, enjoy congenial meals with fellow guests, accompanied by complimentary open bar.  Meals B+L+D

Another day unfolds with thrilling game drives led by our engaging sharp-eyed safari guides. The Mara is home to healthy populations of the Big Five, and this day offers yet another opportunity to track and observe these storied beasts; coined more than a century ago, the term “Big Five” refers to five animals that were especially prized by 19th-century big game hunters. Although both the elephant and rhino are included, the Big Five designation had nothing to do with size or weight. Rather, these were the animals that were the most difficult and the most dangerous to track and hunt. Rounding out this list are lions, highly social, apex predators; Cape buffalo, bovine in appearance but powerful, quick and fierce when provoked; and leopards - master stalkers who are most active at night, and usually spotted at rest under and among the tree branches they use as home base.
 
Along with the Big Five, the vast plains of the Mara are roamed by large numbers of giraffe, zebra, rhino, cheetah and numerous species of horned ungulates like impala, oryx, eland and kudu. In addition, the reserve is a birdwatcher’s paradise with more than 450 species recorded – including spectacular birds of prey from the African Fish Eagle and Secretary Bird to the graceful Bateleur Eagle. Toast your final afternoon game drive with Sundowner cocktails in the bush.  Meals B+L+D
 

Arise to another spectacular morning surrounded by the vast wilderness of the Masai Mara. After breakfast, thrill to a final game drive and return to Il Moran for lunch. In the afternoon, we’ll take you to the airstrip for you included flight to Nairobi, where you’ll be met and escorted to your hotel.  Meals B+L+D

After a leisurely morning, check out and meet your guide to explore Nairobi, beginning with lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens before visiting the museum on her former coffee farm, where the preserved home and gardens recall her life in Kenya and the film Out of Africa. Continue to the Giraffe Center, founded to protect the endangered Rothschild Giraffe and now home to nearly 500 of these gentle giants, learning about the pioneering family behind this conservation success as you observe them up close. Depending on flight times, your tour concludes at Kazuri Beads, where women craft vibrant ceramic jewelry, or Kobe Tough, a social enterprise producing fine leather goods—both offering a meaningful finale to your Nairobi stay.
 Meals B+L