"Fifty on Safari"
Ben Lomond 1994 (8 Day)

• Start your journey to Nairobi, Kenya
• Connect with each other
• Sightsee or Sleep

• Elephant Orphanage 
• Nairobi National Park Safari

Your morning will begin with a heartwarming visit to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage.  Here we will watch the babies eat, frolic, and roll in the mud.  Baby elephants love attention and affection. In our value and classic tour, there is a small rope that separates us from the babies. The babies will walk along the ropes and chew on branches while letting you give them some rubs.

The elephant orphanage is located within Nairobi National Park, so after our time with the elephants, we will hop into the Land Cruiser and embark on our first safari adventure! Inside the park, you’ll get your first glimpse of animals roaming freely in the wild. Despite its proximity to the city, the park is home to elephants, rhinos, hippos, and even lions. In some areas, you can see the contrasting cityscape in the background, which makes for thought-provoking photos and discussions. This is also where you’ll find the piles of ivory from the 5 Kenya ivory burns telling the world these animals are worth more to us alive!

After breakfast we’ll begin our two hour journey to Narok county – the home of the Maasai.  We’ll visit the town of Narok itself and you’ll be able to witness this small yet bustling town in action.  We’ll go visit a couple of local shops and even a local artisan shop.  In the evening, we’ll head into a beautiful area to have a home cooked dinner by a Maasai.

• Humanitarian gift
• Entiak for Great-grandmother
• Small hike into “the bush”
• Maasai weapons

• Drive to Nairobi
• Giraffe Center
• Kazuri Beads
• Airport (for those who are flying home tonight)

In the morning, go spend a little time down by the water. Watch the various birds fly around and hear their calls as they talk to each other. Watch the fisherman walk in the waters and cast their lines from within the lake.  See the hippos eyes and ears bob in and out of the waters. After lunch we’ll go on the 2 hour journey to Nairobi where we’ll first feed some giraffes. The Giraffe Center is a sanctuary dedicated to the conservation and breeding of the endangered Rothschild giraffe. You’ll have the chance to feed them from the palm of your hand or, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can get a giraffe “kiss of luck,” where the giraffe gently takes a treat from your lips!  

Next we will visit Kazuri Beads. This is a Kenyan company formed to provide employment opportunities for local women, most often single mothers, to help them support their families. The term “Kazuri” means “small and beautiful” in Swahili – which fits their description accurately. They make a variety of jewelry items as well as ceramic dishes and tea sets.  These items are also shipped to the U.S. and sold on Rodeo Drive in California. 

To those who booked the 8 day tour.  This is the end of our adventure together. Our last stop of the night will be the airport.  We’ll swap stories, hugs, and goodbyes as we wish you safe travels!  Asante Sana! (THANK YOU) for adventuring with us!  Tomorrow, the rest of us will be venturing to see the rhinos!

After breakfast, we’ll begin our 4 hour journey to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Inside the conservancy, there will be an equator marker offering a fun and unique opportunity to stand on the invisible line that divides the Earth in half between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. For lunch we’ll head to the lodge for a delicious meal while overlooking a waterhole. It’s anyone’s guess what animals might come for a drink as we relax and watch the sunset. There are benches on the lawn specifically for your viewing pleasure. (Don’t worry—a secure fence separates us from the waterhole, so you can relax comfortably while watching the animals drink and bathe.)

Ol Pejeta is a wildlife sanctuary teeming with diverse animal life, so we’ll spend the afternoon on a safari exploring this incredible park. As we roam the landscape, we’ll have the chance to observe various animals and search for some of the rarer and more endangered species that inhabit the area, including the Grevy’s zebra and the African wild dog.  We’ll also go visit the chimpanzee sanctuary inside the park. Chimpanzees share an astounding 98.8% of their DNA with humans, making them our closest genetic relatives. This sanctuary is dedicated to providing a safe haven for rescued chimpanzees in need of protection. 

Ol Pejeta is a special place for multiple reasons, but most importantly, it is home to the last two Northern White Rhino on the planet. Being in their presence is both a humbling and emotional experience. War, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict have taken a massive toll on these magnificent animals. They once roamed in the thousands but now there are only two. Unfortunately, the last male died in 2019, so these two rhinos are females—a mother and her daughter—and are the very last of their species. Science is working hard to try to save this species using sperm from the last two males, but there is no guarantee. Currently, the Northern White Rhino is officially labeled as “extinct.”  

Since this is the rhino day, we’ll also go pay a visit to Baraka, the blind black rhino. He’s small and loves affection. The picture here of me and O.D. is with Baraka.  In the evening, we’ll return to the waterhole for more delicious food and continued waterhole watching. After nightfall, we’ll embark on a nighttime safari. The rules of a conservancy differ from those of a national park, making Ol Pejeta one of the few places in Kenya where night safaris are allowed. With a spotlight and an expert Ol Pejeta guide, we’ll search for some of the more elusive animals that come out after sunset, such as aardvarks, zorillas, and bat-eared foxes. It can get cold at night, so be sure to wear layers and a beanie hat.