Trip to Kenya in August 2016
 

Hi All,

After much deliberations and extensive reading on Fodor's (thank you for the posts), me any my wife have finalized our trip to Kenya in August 2016. We have booked 6 night safari through Game Watchers who have been excellent in their responses. Post that, we are planning to visit Diani for a three day beach holiday. Our itinerary in brief is

Reach Nairobi on August 07 at 1 pm - stay in Narirobi
August 08 - August 11 - Selenkay Adventure Camp
August 11 - August 14 - Ol Kinyei Adventure camp
August 14 - August 17 - Diana
August 17 - Nairobi national park
August 18 - Return

A few questions:

1. Should I do Nairobi National Park since I am already spending six nights on safari?
2. We want to go to David Sheldrick Wildlife trust, but the earliest flight from Diani I could figure out was Air Kenya which reaches Nairobi at 12.10 pm. I have researched, david Sheldrek is only open from 11-12 pm....is that correct and is there any other earlier flight from Diani to Nairobi?
3. Any must carry items for the safari?
4. Will the river crossing happen during that time?
5. We have a day in Naoribi, how best to spend it?
6. we are staying in camps which will ahve mattresses, wil we still require seeping bags?

We will really grateful for the replies and suggestions.....many thanks in advance.

You can visit Sheldrick in the late afternoon if you're a foster parent.

Forgot to add, I'd want a sleeping bag. It can get chilly at night in the Mara. I'm surprised Gamewatchers doesn't automatically provide one.

1. Nairobi Nat Park will likely be your best shot at rhino on your itinerary, though they are present in the Mara. One of the appeals of Nairobi Nat Park is to see/photograph wild animals in the foreground with buildings on the horizon in the background. Nairobi Nat Park is the only nat park in a capital city. You may wish to do other activities in NBO that would offer more variety than Nairobi Nat Park.

2. Adopt a baby ele now. See Patty's reply. That would solve your timing problems, provide a nice experience for you, and help an orphaned baby ele.

3. Wide brimmed hat and sun cream. High SPF balm. Extra memory cards and batteries. I always take 2 adapters for battery charging. I'm sure GW will provide you a good list.

4. You are in the Mara during the time when a river crossing can occur. To increase odds, you need to be willing to wait for hours at the river and devote several days. Your vehicle mates would need to be of like mind. Even if you do not see the wildes crossing the Mara River, you'll likely see them congregating in big herds. Of course you could be lucky and see it within minutes of arriving at the river.

5. From your info your day in NBO seems to be arriving at 12:10 pm. meaning you'd have from about 1:00 on to enjoy NBO. In addition to Sheldrick's, there is the Karen Blixen Museum, Giraffe Center, National Museum, Kazuri Beads. If staying the evening, The Carnivore Restaurant is a popular spot for visitors, even if you are a vegetarian.

6. The sleeping bag question is one to ask Game Watchers. I bring my own thin sheet-like liner when the bag is provided.

Have a great trip!

Hello,

I'll add my two cents to number 3. I always bring a small bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer. It comes in handy on the game drives and for the bush bathrooms.

August is a good time for the Masai Mara. You will have a great time.

Your African Safari--a safari planning resource

Thank you so much for the replies, we will keep a note of all of it. How do we go about adopting a baby ele, do we inquire once we reach Nairobi only? Forgot to ask one question, Can you suggest some good resorts to stay in Diani and We are interested in doing Scuba Diving in Diani...How best do we go about it (any companies that we should contact)?

You can foster an elephant or rhino here...

https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.o.../fostering.asp

Arrange the fostering before you go & once all is set up you'll need to email Sheldricks to request attending the afternoon feeding.

The area is closed at feeding time so a guard greets you at the gate and checks that your name is on the list for that days feeding.

It really is wonderful meeting your fostered ele!! :)

Hey Rachit, we are going to be in Kenya at the same time :)I will be visiting my baby elephant and giraffe twice.

This is my itinerary:

August 12 - Arrive Nairobi

August 13 - To Samburu

August 14 - Samburu

August 15 - To Ol Pejeta

August 16 - Back to Nairobi

August 17 - Nairobi - Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (11:00), The Giraffe Centre, Utamaduni Crafts, Kuzari Beads, Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (5:00pm)

August 18 - To Tanzania

August 31 - Back to Nairobi

September 1 - Utamaduni Crafts, Bomas of Kenya, Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (5:00pm) - then home later that night

DJCat and Rachit, you will LOVE the experiences at Sheldricks. I have four fosters there, plus I'd fostered some for other people, and it was so great to see them all in person! They do such amazing work there, you'll love seeing them with their keepers and seeing how well taken care of they are! Enjoy!!

Hey DJCat, its nice to hear from you and am thrilled that you will also be in Kenya during that time. I have a few questions...have you already fostered an elephant, please throw some light on the process? Our timings are such that we will not be able to attend the Sheldricks 11 am elephant bath on any day. I will also speak to Sheldricks soon to know about the process and will visit the place on August 18, and even try on August 7.

We plan to skip the Nairobi National park on August 17 and instead spend the day in Nairobi and do most of the things mentioned by you. I really hope we get to see the migration. Lets stay connected.

Thanks amyb for your response, can feel the excitement in your comment. Will surely foster an elephant and visit the place.

I will add that I did two game rides in Nairobi National Park and it was INSANE what I saw. In addition to your "standard", safari fare like zebra, dozens of hippos, antelope, lions, I saw 12 rhinos (both white and black) and a very elusive male leopard lounging right at the side of the road. I saw no rhinos at all in either Amboseli or Mara this last safari, so to see 12 so close and so easily was a thrill. The leopard experience alone was worth the trip. A lot of people discount NNP thinking because it's in the city that you won't see much, but to the contrary, all recent reports have been positive. If you get a chance, I would try to do a game drive there. Sheldrick's is actually on NNP property, so it's easy to combine the two, the front door of Sheldrick's can lead you right to an NNP gate.

Hi Rachit, if you go on the Sheldrick website (link below), you can pick which elephant to adopt (they have a profile for each baby), there is also a giraffe, a rhino, etc. After you have adopted your baby, you then email [email protected] to request a booking to go to the 5pm visit on the date you wish. You then just need to print off the adoption certificate that is emailed to you and bring it with you to the visit.

I have adopted Dupotto (elephant) and Kiko (giraffe) and will be visiting them on August 17 and September 1.

http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.or...FQsPaQodGsgAWw

amyb I was discounting NNP only because I will not be able to start the safari anytime before 2 am because of my flight timings, do you still think it will be worth it? I can plan the NNP only on August 07 or August 17 from 2 pm onwards. Please suggest an itinerary in which I can club NNP and Sheldricks together on the same day.

DJCat...thanks for the useful information, the process seems to be quite simple. I will start the process at the earliest. One question for you...can we visit the adopted elephant only at 5 pm or even earlier and are you also planning a visit to NNP?

I would do what I could to add NNP, it couples nicely with Sheldrick's because they're literally in the same place. I did not do any of the other Nairobi activities because I preferred to stay in NNP for 2 days. There is a small market with shops near Sheldricks, where I picked up some small gifts, but other than that I preferred to stay with the wildlife. If you have an entire day on the 17th and your original itinerary says "NNP" I'd stick to that. It's all what you want to do though, maybe the other activities appeal to you more.

I will surely spend the day in NNP now, thank you amyb for the valuable inputs. I would start safari around 1 pm on August 17 and would then visit the Sheldricks at 5 pm. If time permits, would continue the safari after that as well till the closing. Hope the plan sounds good. I have booked other safaris through Game Watchers, will ask them to include NNP also in it.

You can only visit Sheldrick's at 11:00 which is the public viewing and at 5:00pm which is the foster parent visit. I will be doing both on the 17th and only the 5pm on the 1st.

I don't have NNP in my plans right now as I will get a lot of wildlife viewing in my 21 day trip. I am going to both Kenya and Tanzania.