Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kenya with teenagers: the Maasai Mara and Lamu
Ten days for a family with teenagers: orphaned elephants in Nairobi, four nights in a tented camp on the Mara River in migration season, then a Swahili island where the only traffic is donkeys and dhows.
Arrive in Nairobi
Getting there
Fly into Nairobi (NBO); a driver takes you round the city on the southern bypass to Karen, about 40 minutes.
Where you're staying
The Karen Blixen Coffee Garden, a handful of cottages in a garden on the old coffee farm of the author of Out of Africa, close to her house, now a museum.
- Every room can be set up as a twin, and each cottage has its own fireplace for the cool August evenings
- Close to Wilson Airport, where tomorrow's flight to the Mara leaves
Photos: karenblixencoffeegardens.com
Baby elephants, then the Mara
Morning
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust raises orphaned baby elephants in Nairobi National Park, and every day from 11:00 to 12:00 visitors can watch the keepers bring them in for their milk and a mud bath.
- Visits are by advance booking only
- You can foster one of the elephants and follow its news from home, which teenagers tend to love
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (U.S. Department of State, Erahmbuthia, Daniel Case; Public domain, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Afternoon
A light aircraft from Wilson Airport to the Mara North airstrip, under an hour, and the camp's vehicle meets you on the grass.
Where you're staying
Karen Blixen Camp, a tented camp on the bank of the Mara River in the Mara North Conservancy, with the hippos in the water below the tents.
- Four nights, full board with drinks, shared game drives and a night drive in the conservancy
- A triple tent works well for two teenagers; parents take the next tent along
Photos: karenblixencamp.com
The conservancy on foot and by jeep
The day
An early game drive, a bush walk with a Maasai guide and a ranger, and a visit to a Maasai village in the afternoon.
Flagship day
A crossing on the Mara River
Day 4
The day
A full day in the Maasai Mara reserve with your own vehicle and guide, following the herds to the Mara River crossing points, where wildebeest and zebra gather on the bank, hesitate for hours and then pour down into the water all at once.
- Nobody can promise a crossing on a given day, so the guide reads the herds and moves between points; a packed lunch means you never have to leave early
- Reserve fees are 200 US dollars an adult and 50 dollars a child under 16 for the day
- A private vehicle in the reserve is about 350 dollars for the day
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (Charles J. Sharp; CC BY-SA 4.0)
One river, two countries
The migration is a year-round loop between the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Mara in Kenya. The herds cross the Mara River again and again from July to October.
Balloon over the plains
The day
A dawn hot-air balloon flight over the Mara with a champagne breakfast in the grass, then a slow afternoon at the pool and sundowners on the plain.
To the coast
Getting there
Light aircraft back to Nairobi and on to Manda Island, where a boat crosses the channel to Shela in ten minutes.
Where you're staying
Peponi Hotel, a family-run beach hotel on the waterfront at Shela, for four nights.
Lamu town
The day
A walk through the alleys of Lamu old town with a local guide: carved doors, the donkey sanctuary and the fort, then lunch on a rooftop.
A day on a dhow
The day
A full day on a traditional sailing dhow through the channels, with snorkelling and fish grilled on the boat.
The beach
The day
Twelve kilometres of empty beach and dunes at Shela, a kitesurf lesson for anyone who wants one, and a last dinner on the jetty.
Home
Getting home
Boat to Manda, fly to Nairobi and connect to the flight home.
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