CENTRAL KENYA
DAY 1: NAIROBI - THIKA TOWN
We pick you up early in the morning from your accommodation and drive 45Km (28miles) north of Nairobi, is the town of Thika. Visit the Chania falls, which were used as a location for a Tarzan movie some years ago. Thika is known for its Del Monte pineapple plantation, the largest in the world (Kenya is the world's third largest pineapple producer). The town has a vehicle assembly plant handling British Land-Rovers among others. 20Km (12miles) away on the Thika to Garissa road are the popular fourteen falls. Although they are not high (only 27m; 89ft), they can be quit spectacular, especially after the rains. Surrounded by dense tropical vegetation, the falls are popular picnic spots.
Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.
DAY 2: OL DOINYO SABUK NATIONAL PARK
Soon after breakfast, we drive to Ol Doinyo Sabuk National park; just near the fourteen falls is the entrance of the park. It is a large forest covered hill 2146m (7040ft) high. Ol Doinyo Sabuk, meaning sleeping buffalo in Masai, has only one track suitable for motor vehicles, winding its way to the summit through dense highland forest. The view on a clear day is wonderful - Mount Kenya and Nairobi can both be clearly seen. About halfway along this rough track is a panoramic bluff which offers wonderful views over the countryside. Here are three marble plaques, set on slabs of rock; they are the graves of sir William Northrup Macmillan, his wife and their servant Louise Decker.
Sir William, a wealthy American who loved the spot, was one of the early settlers in the area and owned the nearby 8049ha (19,890 acres) Juja Ranch. Although the park has a good population of game including buffalo, bushbuck, leopard and colobus monkey, it is often very difficult to spot them because of the thick forest. There are many interesting birds, among them Hartlaub's turaco, white-starred forest robin and Narina trogon.
Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.
DAY 3: ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK
Today we depart for Aberdare National Park, the park consist of the Aberdare mountain range running north to south, and a thickly forested salient which extends down the eastern slopes. The Park covers an area of 766 square kilometers and forms part of the Aberdare Mountain Range. The park contains a wide range of landscapes from the mountain peaks that rise to 14,000 feet (4,300m) above sea level, to their deep, v-shaped valleys intersected by streams, rivers, and waterfalls. Moorland, bamboo forests and rainforests are found at lower altitudes. The most convenient way to visit and experience the Aberdare is to spend a night at The Ark or Treetops, night game-viewing lodges located in the salient. The whole of this wonderful area is surrounded by small African farms and large coffee estates.
Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.
DAY 4: MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK
Mount Kenya, at 5199m (17,058ft) the country's highest mountain has its higher slopes permanently covered in snow and ice, even though it sits astride the equator. The park national park comprises the mountain above 3200m (10,500ft) contour plus two salient asides the Naro Moru and Sirimon routes called `Kirinyaga' by the Kikuyu to whom it is sacred, the first European to climb mount Kenya was sir Halford Mackinder, in 1899. An old extinct volcano that is made up of three peaks; Batian (the highest), Nelion and Lenana. Of these peaks the original hard center core is all that remains; the bulk of the volcano has been eroded away with time. For night game-viewing one can stay at Mountain Lodge, it is on the slopes of Mount Kenya.
Dinner and overnight at campsite or lodge.
DAY 5: MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK - NAIROBI
Soon after breakfast we drive back to Nairobi.
This tour can depart any day of the year.