travellingbug

Hello to all of you helpful travellers,
The planning stage of my trip has had a slight hiccup and I now have 7 extra days in Kenya at the start of my trip. Wondering what me and the hubby should do before we go to Rwanda(6days), which is then followed by Zanzibar (6 days) followed by a 10 day safari starting in the Mara and ending in the Tarangires in Tz, with a few days in Arusha and Nairobi before we fly home.
Would love to hear your thoughts on places/things/people we should see during these 7 days.
Much thanks.

matnikstym

wish i had a slight hiccup and could have an extra 7 days!

travellingbug

I should have said, we are lucky to have the hiccup, now what should we do!!

Nyamera

Hi travellingbug,
Great hiccup! Which Kenyan parks will you visit on your 10-day safari?

Africa

travellingbug

On the assumption that Northern Kenya is not on your itinerary......

I would spend those extra days in Northern Kenya and see some of the endemic species that are found there, and are unlikely to be encountered elsewhere on your trip. I would choose Samburu and Meru National Parks and then spend one night at one of the big lakes on my way back south towards Nairobi. In the northern parks you are likely to see gerenuk, grevys zebra, oryx, reticulated giraffe as well as all of the big cats. At Meru I think you will also have a chance of seeing black rhino....and if you are really lucky you might see wild dog. Meru will also offer a much more remote experience compared to the Masai Mara and northern Tanzania.

I hope this helps.

Gaurang

sandi

When are you traveling (month). And, do post your current itinerary so we can fill-in what you might be missing.

travellingbug

Thanks to all of you.
We are currently only scheduled to go to the Mara in Kenya and the rest of our game parks are in Tz. We will see the Mara,then onto North western and the central Serengeti, followed by the Ngorongoro Crater, followed by the Tarangire Park. Our Rwanda trip will be mainly in PNV to see the gorillas, but we have some time to go to Gisenyi so we may do this as well. Our plans for the last few days of our trip(1st week of Nov) was to go to Lake Nakuru and Hells Gate National Park. Or spend this time in the areas around Arusha and maybe do the previous mentioned parks first. My worry is that we will get game parked out...is this possible? Would Mombossa be a worthwhile option? We will be arriving in Nairobi on the 30th of September. Thanks again.

stakerk

We (meaning my wife) were worried that 10 days of game drives might be too much, and so we are are ending our trip to Kenya with a stay at Kizingo at Lamu Island. I understand the coast is very different from the rest of Kenya.

Good luck

Nyamera

I like Gaurang’s idea. You can’t spend too much time in game parks. Tsavo East and West would be an alternative.

travellingbug

I am concerned that we are spending too much time in parks...what's the best way to break it up if we went either north (meru and samburu) or south to tsavo. Any ideas?

By the way, what route would give us the most diversity compared to the parks we are already scheduled to see. North to Samburu/meru or Tsavo east/west?
Thanks.

Patty

In terms of different species, I think Samburu/Meru would provide more constrast to Mara/Northern Tanzania.

Nyamera

Yes, in Samburu/Meru you’ll see Grevy’s zebra and the reticulated giraffe. Though there are gerenuk and oryx in Tsavo as well. If you really think you’ll have too much time in parks – I doubt it – you can spend some time at lakes in the north or continue to the coast after Tsavo.

kimburu

Just some ideas... wish they were for my safari and not yours... but that's ever the case ;-)

You could take the train or fly to the coast for a couple of days of ruins and seafood and pink and hairy semi-naked Europeans and then come back to Nairobi by camp hopping through Tsavo East and West - where the game viewing from the camps and lodges should be very, very good... especially the elephants, I believe. You can be very lazy if you want and book at lodges with an adjacent waterhole - let the animals come to you.

Alternatively you could stop 3 nights around Mount Kenya in the cool maountain air and get some exercise (all that driving is kind of tiring but the muscles don't get much work)and then do 3 nights at one of the northern game parks witht their differnt species.

Mount Kenya and Tsavo could be both done (seeing as you have 6 days in Zanzibar you might want to skip the coast...or not) but there is a fair bit of travel and it wouldn't help your safari burn out.

Another idea would be Laikipia because the properties are usually private catle farms which encourage/tolerate wildlife and have taken down a lot of their fences to do this and becasue they are private you can do walking and riding or camping for a night out in the bush, camel safaris, etc., (quad bikes even) as well as seeing lots of wildlife...

Although I'd say you are not going to be bored whatever you do, perhaps Laikipia or Mount Kenya are the best ideas because they don't involve too much travelling and you can "hang" a bit. North would also give you the most diversity - definitely! From ice to semi-desert!

Patty

Climbing Mt Kenya would be another option.

siro

I would consider Lamu and other parts of the coast. Lamu is unique, more of the "untouched" swahili culture. Malindi and Mombasa as far as I know more touristy and traditional beachlife. But you have Gedi just south of Malindi, a 12th to 15th century walled city, noone quite knows the origin. You also have Shimba Hills National Reserve (http://www.kws.org/shimba.html)reachable from Mombasa. I have just added one day at my stay in Mombasa to reach
Kisite Marine Park/Mpunguti Reserve (http://www.kws.org/marine.html#Kisite)just north of the Tanzanian border.

travellingbug

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the fantastic ideas. We have decided to spend some time in the northern area, not quite sure where as of yet, but all of your ideas have inspired me.

OnlyMeOirish

Shamim, As Patty previously said on another post.... NO ADVERTISING!!!