Offbeat Safaris

Day 1 - Arrival - Mara River Hippo Camp

Riding: 2 hours

You will either be collected from Jomo Kenyatta International airport or from a Nairobi hotel, if you have arrived the day before, and transferred to Wilson Airport for a 10am flight to the Mara. You will be met by your guides at the airstrip and driven to your first camp, set up on the banks of the Mara River adjacent to a teeming hippo pool. Lunch will be served and there is some time to relax before you meet your horses and head out on a gentle evening ride.

Day 2 - Mara River Hippo Camp

Riding: 4 - 6 hours

Today begins with an early morning ride, crossing the Mara River for the first time, before returning back to camp for a light breakfast. After breakfast a game drive will be on offer - this provides better photographic opportunities than horseback and gives you a chance to explore more of this northern part of the Mara which has so much to offer. You will return to camp in time for lunch and a siesta before your afternoon ride. You'll be back to camp with plenty of time for a shower and maybe you'll head off in the vehicles once more for a sundowner and a short night game drive before supper.

Day 3 - Escarpment Soit Olololo Camp

Riding: 5 - 6 hours

Today you'll head out from camp after breakfast at about 9am, heading south towards the park boundary where you meet the river again at one of the most famous wildebeest crossings. You will cross the river and head southwest across the Mara Triangle, meeting the car with your picnic lunch at roughly 12:30. After lunch and a siesta you'll set off at about 16:00 and ascend the Soit Olololo Escarpment. You will reach your camp at about 17:30, situated on the edge of the escarpment, and will spend the night overlooking the whole Mara ecosystem.

Day 4 - Olare Orok Camp

Riding: 5 - 6 hours

You will descend the escarpment after breakfast at about 9am, riding across the same wildebeest crossing at the river. You will head in a westerly direction and descend into the enchanting Olare Olok Valley, stopping for a picnic lunch and siesta from about 12:30 - 15:30 along the way. You will reach your camp at about 17:00 in time for tea, followed by an evening game drive and sundowners before supper under the stars.

Day 5 - Olare Orok Camp

Riding: 4 - 6 hours

Today you will have a full day exploring this glorious area on horseback, by car and possibly on foot. There are excellent photo opportunities, getting close to buffalo, elephant, lion and maybe cheetah or leopard.

Day 6 - Olare Lamun Camp

Riding: 6 - 7 hours

This is your third moving day and you will break camp in good time as it is the longest ride of the trip, covering nearly 50kms. Setting off at 07:00am you will stop for a picnic breakfast from around 10 - 11am. You will ride on until 13:30 where you will break again for lunch and a siesta after reach Ol Kinyei Conservancy. At 16:00 you head to your last camp, arriving at Olare Lamun (the rhino salt lick) which is nestled in a grove of acacia trees by a small stream at the southern edge of the Loita Plains.

Day 7 - Olare Lamun Camp

Riding: 3 - 5 hours

After an early wake-up you will set off on a morning ride before returning to camp for a light breakfast. You will then head off on a game drive and a beautiful walk up the nearby hill called Oloiburmut, returning to camp for lunch and a siesta. At around 4pm you will drive or ride to visit the local Masai village.

Day 8 - Departure

Riding: 1 - 3 hours

There is a last morning ride before saying goodbye to your horses. After a final breakfast you will be driven to the airstrip for a flight back to Nairobi at 11am, landing into Wilson airport at around 12 noon. Offbeat will organise a taxi to take you around Nairobi for shopping or visits or they will take you to a hotel day room (included in the price) where you can shower and rest before they transfer you to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in time for your evening flight home.

Day 1

Riding: 2 hours

Arrive Borana either by private charter or scheduled flight. Borana is a cattle ranch turned conservation area in pristine countryside on the Northern slopes of Mount Kenya with beautiful views to the snow-capped peaks of the Mountain in the south and the rugged mountains of the Mathews Range, Bodich, and even Marsabit on the way to the Ethiopian border. It is home to the big five and a host of other species such as Grevy's Zebra, Somali Ostrich, Reticulated Giraffe and Black Rhino. You will have lunch in Camp in a grove of euphorbia trees.

Overnight Borana Private Camp

Day 2

Riding: 4 - 5 hours

A full day exploring Borana by horseback and vehicle, and a picnic lunch on the Ngare Ndare River. Borana is on top of an escarpment and the scenery is spectacular. A great variety of species is to be seen. Borana is home to your hosts Nicky and Michael Dyer, who own and run Borana Lodge.

Overnight Borana Private Camp

Day 3

Riding: 6 hours

Your first moving day takes you with a picnic lunch (in you saddle bags) to the west. You will cross from Borana onto Ole Naishu ranch and climb the first ridge of the spectacular Lolldaiga Hills. These form a northern extension of the Mt Kenya Massive and consist of large rocky Kopje's interspersed with Cedar forest. You will cross Ole Naishu onto Lolldaiga Hills a 55,000-acre ranch and probably one of the most beautiful farms in Africa. You will reach camp at the head of a beautiful valley surrounded by cedar forest where you will stay again for 2 nights.

Overnight Lolldaiga Hills Private Camp

Day 4

Riding: 4 - 5 hours

Enjoy a spectacular ride and a picnic lunch by land rover to the northern areas of the ranch which will fill today's program amply. At one point you shall be on the western edge of the Lolldaiga Hills with spectacular views of the Laikipia Plateau below, which you will be crossing over the next four days.

Overnight Lolldaiga Hills Private Camp

Day 5

Riding: 6 hours

We leave Lolldaiga Hills and today cross four ranches on our way to El Karama, home of the Grant Family. We drop down a hidden valley on elephant and buffalo tracks with little dams before crossing Enasoit ranch and then onto the specialist cattle ranch of Mogwooni, home of the Kenyon family. This is one of the few days we see some cattle fencing and we will have a picnic lunch here on the banks of the Nanyuki River. After lunch we cross onto El Karama ranch 13,000 acres of pristine game country and find our camp on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River.

Overnight El Karama Ranch Private Camp

Day 6

Riding: 4 - 6 hours

A full day exploring this ranch by horse and vehicle and a good chance of a game walk along the river, before lunch. There is a host of games including Grevy's Zebra, the rare endemic Jackson's Hartebeest, elephant, giraffe, and hippo in the river.

Overnight El Karama Ranch Private Camp

Day 7

Riding: 6 - 7 hours

A long day's ride to Sosian. We cross the Ewaso Narok River and traverse Segera ranch to the Northwest. Our route takes us up the spectacular Sugoroi River valley before crossing rather monotonous black cotton plains, covered in whistling thorn (acacia Drepanolobium) which is home to the Patas monkey, a chestnut coloured long limbed primate which is widespread but rare among the northern savannahs of Africa.

We reach the Mutara River and follow this pretty valley down before crossing onto Sosian ranch for a late lunch at the edge of the lovely Suguta Swamp. A short ride after lunch brings us to our camp by the Ewaso Narok River, below Sosian’s waterfalls.

Overnight Sosian Private Camp

Day 8

Riding: 4 - 5 hours

A full day riding, driving and enjoying this re-habilitated cattle ranch which boasts a wide variety of game including Jackson's hartebeest, Grevy's Zebra, Elephant, Hippo, Buffalo, Lion, Giraffe and all the other species.

From certain points we can look back at the Lolldaiga Hills over which we passed and Mt. Kenya now appears a good distance away.

Overnight Sosian Private Camp

Day 9

Riding: 2 hours

This morning you'll take a final ride before breakfast together in camp, then you'll transfer back to Nairobi in time for your travel home.