Kenya Private Conservancy Safari

Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Transfer to Hemingways Nairobi, a plantation-style boutique hotel in the leafy Karen suburb. Enjoy a welcome dinner on the terrace overlooking the Ngong Hills — the same hills that inspired Karen Blixen. Your guide joins dinner to discuss Kenya's conservancy model and the week ahead.

Morning flight to Nanyuki airstrip, then transfer to Ol Pejeta Conservancy. After lunch, visit the northern white rhino enclosure — Najin and Fatu, the last two of their subspecies on Earth, protected around the clock by armed rangers. Continue with a game drive across the conservancy, tracking black rhino, lion, and elephant. Night drive after dinner reveals a hidden world — aardvark, spring hare, and hunting leopards.

Dawn game drive with armed rangers, tracking black rhino through the bush. Ol Pejeta has the highest density of black rhino in East Africa — your chances of close encounters are excellent. After breakfast, join a guided bush walk with a Maasai guide who reads animal tracks and medicinal plants. Afternoon game drive targets the conservancy's lion prides and cheetah. Return to camp as the sun sets over Mount Kenya.

Drive to Segera Retreat on the Laikipia Plateau — a property that pairs world-class African art with raw bush experience. The retreat's contemporary art collection includes pieces by El Anatsui and William Kentridge, displayed among wild olive trees and acacia groves. Afternoon walking safari through Segera's reforestation project, spotting reticulated giraffe and Grevy's zebra — two species found nowhere else.

A full day at Segera. Morning game drive through the plateau's mixed woodland and savannah, where elephant, buffalo, and wild dog roam. The Laikipia Plateau supports Kenya's second-largest elephant population and its most important wild dog habitat. Afternoon camel-back safari — a uniquely East African way to move silently through the bush, getting closer to wildlife than any vehicle allows. Evening star-gazing session with the retreat's resident astronomer.

Morning flight from Laikipia to the Masai Mara. Arrive at Angama Mara, perched on the rim of the Great Rift Valley at the exact spot where the 'I had a farm in Africa' flying scene from Out of Africa was filmed. The views from your tented suite are staggering — the Mara Triangle spreads below in an ocean of golden grass. Afternoon game drive into the Mara Triangle, tracking the resident lion prides and searching for leopard along the Mara River.

A full day dedicated to the Mara's legendary big cats. Dawn drive to track the Marsh Pride — one of the most filmed lion prides in the world. Your Angama guide has tracked these lions for years and knows every individual by name. Search for cheetah on the open plains and leopard in the riverine forest. Angama's exclusive traversing rights mean maximum three vehicles per sighting. Sundowner on the escarpment, then a Maasai-inspired dinner at the lodge's outdoor boma.

An early morning game drive for any remaining wish-list sightings. The Mara at dawn is magical — mist lifts from the river, hippos return to their pools, and hyenas carry the last of the night's hunt to their dens. Return to Angama for brunch, then fly to Nairobi's Wilson Airport. Transfer to JKIA for your international departure, or extend your stay with a Nairobi city experience.