Kimbla-Mantana African Safaris

Bringing You Unique, Unchanged, and Breathtaking

East Africa Since 1959.

Kimbla-Mantana African Safaris

608 Clark Road SW – Albuquerque, New Mexico 87105

Toll-Free: 877-546-2521

Fax: 505.213.0386 Email: info@kimbla-mantana.travel Web: www.kimbla-mantana.travel 

Kimbla-Mantana African Safaris is a member of

2008 Kenya Conservation Safari

With the East African Wild Life Society, Cheetah Conservation Fund Kenya, and Amboseli Trust for Elephants

A Thirteen-Day Kenya Safari

September 08 - September 20, 2008

Nairobi-Amboseli-Lewa-Masai Mara

Arriving and Departing in Nairobi, Kenya

Limited to Only Eight Clients

This is a very special safari focused on ongoing conservation efforts in Kenya, a magnificent country with one of the greatest wildlife populations in the world. With more than 80 major animal species and the world’s widest spectrum of wildlife habitats, Kenya is the original safari destination.

Meet with representatives from the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS), Cheetah Conservation Fund Kenya (CCFK), Amboseli Trust for Elephants, and Kenya Wildlife Society (KWS). Take advantage of years of research to guarantee a safari full of spectacular wildlife photo opportunities and the latest information.

You will be privy to behind the scenes access of the EAWLS, CCFK, Amboseli Trust for Elephants, and KWS operations, which will enrich you with first hand knowledge of the wildlife that they are working to conserve and protect.

Please contact us regarding pricing and availability for this safari.

Your Safari Itinerary

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

September 08, 2008

Nairobi, Kenya

Upon arrival in Kenya, you will be met by your Kimbla-Mantana professional safari driver/guides and taken to the Karen Blixen Cottages for an overnight stay. The cottages are located in Karen, a beautiful, peaceful suburb approximately 20 minutes from downtown Nairobi. The cottages are located in the midst of one of the oldest formal gardens in Kenya which have huge jacaranda, candelabra, cactus, bottlebrush, and other trees. Over 200 types of flowers bloom throughout the year and numerous bird feeders attract hundreds of varieties of birds.

Karen Blixen Cottages

September 09

Nairobi

After breakfast and a safari briefing, your Kimbla-Mantana driver/guides will drive you to the nearby Giraffe Center, a conservation and education center where you’ll have the opportunity for a close encounter with African wildlife – and you don’t get much closer than being kissed by a Rothschild giraffe. You’ll learn about these gentle giants through intimate experience at the center. Specially designed wooden platforms mean you will find yourselves eye to eye with members of the resident herds. On arrival, everyone is given a handful of special ‘giraffe treats’ which are very popular with the more sociable herd members. Hand feeding a giraffe lets you discover the remarkably gentle nature of these huge creatures. The giraffes at the centre are so at ease with their human visitors that they will happily eat from your hand, or if you’d like, from between your lips with a soft lingering kiss.

Afterwards, you will continue to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, known for its work with elephant and rhino orphans. This Trust has had some real impact in the lives of elephants and rhinos, which would have normally just died due to human poaching and surrounding population conflict. All the elephant orphans raised by the Trust are gradually rehabilitated back into the wild elephant community of Tsavo National Park when grown, a transition that is made at their own pace and in their own time. Some of the ex-nursery orphans have now had wild born young which they have brought back to show their erstwhile human family, and others are now pregnant and living free, yet keeping in touch with those who are still Keeper dependent.  

After lunch, you will visit the Karen Blixen Museum. Lovers of “Out of Africa" will step back in time to breathe the spirit of the writer and the lives she immortalized. Those interested in the history of Kenya will appreciate the period furnishings of this genuine farmhouse from the early years of the 20th century. The Museum, originally built in 1912, was the home of the Danish author Baroness Karen Blixen (also known by the pen name Isak Dinesen) from 1917 to 1931. After several changes of ownership and sparked by the success of the film of "Out of Africa," the house was converted into one of the constituent museums of the National Museums of Kenya in 1986.

Karen Blixen Cottages BLD

September 10

Nairobi

After breakfast, you will visit the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS) headquarters and meet Ali Kaka, the Executive Director of the EAWLS. After lunch with a cheetah presentation given by Mary Wykstra; Kenya Representative of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, you will visit the Kenya Wildlife Society orphanage and its orphan cheetahs. This evening, you will enjoy dinner with Ali Kaka and Mary Wykstra at the Karen Blixen Cottages.

Karen Blixen Cottages BLD

September 11

Amboseli National Park

Your safari experience begins with your driver/guides waiting to drive you out of Nairobi; through the Athi Plains down to Amboseli National Park, which lies at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, and which provides the classic photographs of wildlife set to backdrop of this snow-capped mountain. This park has some of the highest densities and diversity of wildlife in Africa. Many travelers avoid the park because its main center is clogged with lodge-based tourists. Kimbla-Mantana offers a private campsite situated on the boundary of the park. Here the staff has set up a luxury camp just for your group. Kimbla-Mantana’s private concession area at Amboseli sits in a triangle between Lake Amboseli and the Tanzania border. It is set amongst some green volcanic hills that help guarantee its privacy without blocking the views of the mountain, and it faces directly towards Kilimanjaro. The tents are pitched on a volcanic sandy soil with a good covering of grass, and are scattered amongst a stand of old Tortilis trees to give welcome shade at midday. There is a resident herd of elephants which seem to have a semi-regular route through the campsite. Amboseli is best known for its abundant and approachable elephants. Other animals found in Amboseli include: giraffe, gerenuk, kudu, oryx, buffalo, cheetah, impala, lion, wildebeest, hyena, jackal, warthog, zebra, and baboon. You will arrive in time for a late lunch at the camp and enjoy an afternoon game drive.

Kimbla-Mantana Mobile Classic Camp BLD

September 12 - 13

Amboseli National Park

Unlimited game drives. Spend the next two days viewing wildlife and the huge herds of elephants for which Amboseli is famous.

You will visit the Amboseli Trust for Elephants research camp. The Amboseli Trust for Elephants aims to ensure the long-term conservation and welfare of Africa’s elephants in the context of human needs and pressures through scientific research, training, community outreach and public awareness. In 1968, Cynthia Moss made the life changing decision to move to Africa to study elephants in northern Tanzania. Four years later, she found ideal conditions for studying elephants in Amboseli National Park. Thus began what was to become the longest running African elephant field research project in the world. Her studies of more than 1600 elephants in their natural habitat are the most comprehensive ever undertaken.

The elephant population in Amboseli National Park is one of the few that has been able to live a relatively undisturbed existence in natural environmental conditions. This rare situation is primarily due to two factors – the presence of researchers and tourists in the park and the support of the local Maasai. In the absence of poaching and culling, the Amboseli elephants have been increasing slowly since the late 1970's. Amboseli is, therefore, one of the few places in Africa where the elephant age structure has not been drastically skewed and the population spans the whole range from newborn calves to old matriarchs in their 60's and, even more unusual, many large adult bulls in their 40's and 50's.

"If elephants are to survive, human beings will have to be convinced that these magnificent, intelligent creatures are entitled to retain some share of the living space left on earth. There could be no more persuasive argument for them than that provided by Cynthia Moss." -- Sir David Attenborough

You will also visit a Masai Manyatta (village) and enjoy a Masai dance at your campfire one evening.

Kimbla-Mantana Mobile Classic Camp BLD

September 14

Lewa Downs

After breakfast, you will fly to Lewa Downs. Lewa Downs is a world famous private reserve, featuring beautiful countryside at the foot of Mount Kenya with plentiful wildlife viewing. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is a unique experiment in wildlife conservation and community development and is a not-for-profit organization.

Lewa Safari Camp BLD

September 15

Lewa Downs

You will spend the day at Lewa learning more about their rhino conservation program and other environmental programs and viewing wildlife.

Lewa Safari Camp BLD

September 16

Masai Mara Game Reserve

Game drive to the Lewa airstrip for your flight to Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Masai Mara Game Reserve is one of the best known and popular reserves in the whole of Africa and undoubtedly the finest wildlife area in Kenya. Seasoned safari travelers, travel writers, documentary makers, and researchers often admit that the Masai Mara is one of their favorite places. All of the big five game is here: elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and rhino. Other commonly sighted species include: cheetah, zebra, wildebeest, Thompson’s gazelle, Defassa waterbuck, eland, Masai giraffe, and topi. From approximately July to October, you will be privy to the great migration occurring in Masai Mara, where two million wildebeest, half a million zebra, and a quarter million gazelle roam the plains with all the big predators in tow. Masai Mara is home to over one hundred species of mammals and more than 450 species of birds. After lunch, enjoy an afternoon game drive.

Kimbla-Mantana Mobile Classic Camp BLD

September 17 – 18 -19

Masai Mara Game Reserve

Unlimited game drives. Your driver/guides will explain the animal behavior - and because of their expertise and experience, will take you to the best locations for the season to maximize your safari experience. You will enjoy dinner with Mary Wykstra one evening to learn about issues facing cheetahs in Kenya and the CCFK focus on cheetah census work with EAWLS and community-based programs in the neighboring Kajiado district. You will combine game drives with visits to KWS Mara Cheetah Research headquarters, County Council Warden and the “Cheetah One” program in the Mara conservancy to learn about issues facing cheetahs in game reserves.

Kimbla-Mantana Mobile Classic Camp BLD

September 20

Nairobi

This morning you will fly back to Wilson Airport and transfer Hardy House for a farewell lunch. Afterwards, day rooms have been reserved for you at the historic Norfolk Hotel until 6:00 p.m. Transfer to the airport for your international flight out this evening.

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