Kenyan Culture and Wildlife Holiday

On the first morning of this tour we pick you up from your Nairobi hotel and transfer you to Wilson Airport for the 45-minute flight to Nanyuki, which is a small town in the scenic foothills of magnificent snow-capped Mount Kenya.

We then arrive at our comfortable camp in eastern Laikipia, about a two-hour drive north of Nanyuki, which is your home for the next four nights. Laikipia lies northeast of the Great Rift Valley and is a vast high plateau where landowners and conservationists have created a special place for communities and wildlife to coexist, and it is recognised as one of Kenya’s best safari regions.

Our peaceful camp looks westward toward a series of granite kopjes (outcrops of rock), and in the foreground you might see zebra, giraffe and antelope on the open grasslands.

The camp features six lovely and spacious walk-in traditional safari tents decorated with colourful African furnishings and fabrics, and our home-cooked food is always varied, fresh and tasty.

In the evenings we have drinks, or sundowners, overlooking the bush or by the fire and three-course dinners under the stars.

Away from roads and vehicles, guests have a unique opportunity to take leisurely walking safaris around the camp and conservancy and take in the wide-open spaces and wildlife that Laikipia is famed for.

These might include eland, hartebeest, steenbok, giraffe, Grevy’s zebra and buffalo and lucky visitors may even see spot elephants, lions and wild dogs.

Each walking safari is tailor-made to suit the guests’ abilities and you walk for as long as you feel comfortable.

You will also be accompanied by camels that carry your heavier cameras, refreshments and day-packs. You will also learn about the local ecosystems and traditions from the Laikipia Samburu and Maasai guides.

If you prefer, stay at camp and let the wildlife come to you, and there are wonderful views across the plains from your tent and a salt lick right beside the camp.

Other activities include game-viewing by vehicle along the Ewaso Ng'iro River, which is an excellent spot to watch elephants and other animals come to drink, rock-climbing in the kopjes.

And as the area has a very rich traditional culture, there’s the option to visit a local market where all the warriors and women come dressed in their finest adornments.

After breakfast and a hearty goodbye from the camp team, enjoy the last drive in Laikipia back to the airport at Nanyuki, and after your flight arrive at your Nairobi hotel in the early evening.

This will be your base for the next three nights to go on three inspiring day trips to meet some remarkable communities in the rural areas around Nairobi.

Tonight, and on the next two nights, we enjoy dinner at a restaurant the locals love in Nairobi. We always choose somewhere interesting to eat and have lots of fun, and it’s a great opportunity to discuss and ask us all the questions that come to mind about the various communities and projects we visit.

Today we visit the Women's Empowerment Centre in a developing area in the west of Nairobi, which is one of the worthwhile projects One Horizon supports.

It was started by Mary a social worker, who developed a program to help struggling mothers by teaching them lifestyle, trade and entrepreneurial skills so they can set up their own businesses.

The results have been phenomenal as the mothers are able to transform into independent business owners and community leaders, and crucially support and keep their families together.

Spend time with Mary to learn about her vision and meet some of the proud and resourceful women. The experience will show you how teaching empowerment and skills can lift people out of poverty.

There are many grandmother-headed households in Kenya who care for their grandchildren among other generations of their family in difficult economic circumstances. Today you visit a rural Kikuyu community of delightful and resourceful grandmothers who will show you their pig-farming operation.

This is another project that One Horizon supports, and the initiative aims at improving the livelihoods of the grandmothers by economically empowering them through small-scale farming.

Sit down with the grandmothers while they cook traditional meals for their families, enjoy some joyful singing and dancing, and listen to them narrate their powerful stories about progress and resilience.

Today we venture into rural Maasai country where you will meet a family and immerse yourself in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle of village life.

Your host will be one of the village elders, an heir to his clan, who will take you on a tour to explain how the Maasai have managed these precious lands for centuries.

The women will offer to dress you in traditional Maasai shuka cloth or ‘African blanket’, and the young men, or morans, will explain what it’s like being a warrior in Maasai society and show you how to throw a traditional spear and the techniques needed to survive in the bush.

There will be singing and dancing, which might include the extraordinary jumping dance, or ‘adumu’ which is how Maasai warriors demonstrate their prowess.

After an exciting final day on this 8-day Kenyan Communities and Wildlife Conservation tour, we return to Nairobi where the tour ends.