7 DAY DREAM OF AFRICA – CLASSIC SOPA SAFARI

Day 1 – Nairobi Airport to Safari Park Hotel – This is your arrival day. Pick up from JKIA airport and transfer to your hotel. Spend the day relaxing or enjoying your choice of a local excursion.

Nairobi City has lots to offer. You can take a city walking tour, visit a local mall, eat with the locals, or take one of our famous excursions. Karen Blixen, Giraffe Center or the Daphne Sheldricks elephant sanctuary. Overnight at Safari Park Hotel on a bed and breakfast basis.

Day 2     Nairobi – Masai Mara National Reserve – Mara Sopa Lodge (FB). This day takes you into the Great Rift Valley through Naivasha road. Highlights include the Italian chapel at the escarpment, a dramatic view of Mt. Longonot, breathtaking wheat and barley farms in the countryside and serene landscapes all the way into the Maasai Mara Reserve. This is the largest wildlife haven in the world. After lunch set off on your first game drive to see elephants, giraffes, hyenas, cheetahs, lions, zebras and more. Return to the lodge as the sun sets for dinner and relaxation.

The Mara Sopa lodge is one of the first ever to be put up in the Maasai Mara. It sits high on top of the Oloolaimutia hills surrounded by lush vegetation and mature gardens. Here you get the sense you are in a special place. It is after all the home of the Maasai people who live within the confines of wildlife, birdlife and natural flora. The lodge is luxuriously and cottages reminiscent of the round traditional African homesteads. Each of the 50 cottages has two with ample space for either  a queen or king size beds, ensuite bathrooms and private verandas.

Day 3     Masai Mara National Reserve – Mara Sopa Lodge (FB). Today is a full day of out in the Mara, where you will see wildlife and birdlife in the most incredible and most spectacular ecosystem in the world, the perfect place for your dream wildlife safari. There over 95 species of mammals and over 500 species of birds. After an early breakfast, depart on a pre-dawn game drive or optional Air Balloon Safari to spot lions, giraffes, wildebeest and elephants. Return to the camp for relaxation until lunchtime. Later in the afternoon take your second game drive to see more wildlife. Thereafter, visit a local Maasai Village and interact with the locals to learn about their customs and way of life.  Return to the lodge by sunset for dinner and entertainment.

Day 4     Masai Mara – Lake Nakuru National Park – Sopa Lodge (FB). Today you travel back across the fields towards Lake Nakuru National Park and your second Sopa lodge. It sits on the western side of the Great Rift Valley. The resort has 60 rooms with gigantic windows offering a amazing panoramic views across Lake Nakuru and the valley beyond. Immediately you sense the magic of Africa coming through the landscape. This is why thousands of travelers, bird birdwatchers and keen wildlife lovers come here every year; to experience paradise.

After lunch and a siesta get ready for your afternoon game drive. You are about to experience a new kind of paradise. You will see thousands and thousands of flamingoes create a magical sprinkling of pink color over the crystal blue waters of Lake Nakuru. That is not all though. There is a lot more to see. This national park is home to over 400 bird species and 56 different species of mammals including Rothschild Giraffe, waterbuck and white rhinos.

Day 5     Lake Nakuru – Amboseli National Park – Sopa Lodge (FB). This is travel day. After breakfast enjoy a short boat ride on Lake Naivasha for the hippos and quiet serenity before you depart for Nairobi via Naivasha Road. As you climb the escarpment of the Rift Valley be on the look out for the grand Mt. Longonot, dramatically standing in the deep valley below. Later on stop for lunch in Nairobi and then head out on Mombasa road to arrive at the Amboseli Sopa lodge by late afternoon.

The Amboseli Sopa lodge sits on 200 acres of private reserve on the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. This luxurious lodge has 83 modern rooms all ensuite with their own private veranda on which to relax. Take in the views of beautiful mature gardens designed to soothe your soul. Meals are cosmopolitan a combination of European, African and Asian dishes, all made with fresh produce and served from a colourful buffet. There are also several bars, a great pool, TV lounge and many other small niceties that make this a superb location.

Day 6     Amboseli National Park – Sopa Lodge (FB). Today you get a full day of game viewing in a vast landscape where large herds of elephants, cheetahs, zebras, lions roam free. Be on the look out for many of the 600 species of birds that also call this home . At lunch time stop to enjoy a hot picnic lunch in the wilderness. Continue on the game drive for more wild animals and game and then return to the lodge about to relax and unwind in your room, the lounge or by the pool before dinner.

Day 7      Amboseli – Nairobi. After an early breakfast get another chance to see Mount Kilimanjaro and some more wildlife as you depart Amboseli National Park. Enjoy the country side and the beautiful Athi Plains as you drive down the road towards the busy capital city of Nairobi. Drop off at your hotel about by mid-day or at the airport for your departure.