Day 70: Saiwa Swamp to Kakamega Forest
Depart to Kakamega Forest, covers an area of 240sq.km is a living remnant of the original equatorial rainforest, which once extended from Guinea in the west, to East and Central Africa for a fulfilling and eventful day of bird watching in this only & unique remaining rain forest with some of very rare and spectacular bird species in the world e g Grey Parrot, Great blue and Black billed turacos, blue headed bee eaters, Turner’s eremomela, Little grey greenbul etc. if one of your ambitions is to experience the enchanting mystery of the jungle,….the melody of singing birds, the breeze whispering trees, the croaking frogs, the rasp of butterflies as they fly on by, the cheeky monkeys as they swing from branch to branch…All meals at Hotel. Dinner and overnight tonight will be served at Kakamega Hotel.
Day 71: Kakamega to Lake Victoria
A morning lecture on the birds of this small forest which harbours over 380 different plant species, 50 of which have traditional medicinal value, some endemic animal species, 400 butterfly species and 330 bird species at an altitude of between 1500-1700m followed by a walk to try and identify the available rare species of this equatorial forest. Lunch at Kakamega Golf Hotel followed by a short drive to Lake Victoria where we will do a late afternoon birding around the lake for fresh water birds’ species e.g. African open bill stork, Swamp flycatcher, Red chested sunbird, Hammerkop, Eastern grey plantain-eater etc. Dinner and overnight tonight will be served at the Hotel.
Day 72: Lake Victoria to Lake Naivasha
Today after an early breakfast, our safari will be destined for Lake Naivasha, the only freshwater lake in the Rift Valley. From the top of the Rift Valley escarpment, you can see the lake sparkling under the sun thousands of feet below you. The lake is home to a large colony of hippos and it’s also a Mecca for bird watchers and researchers since over 400 different species of birds have been recorded here e.g. Long toed plover, Great white egret, Grey headed gull, Southern pochard, Red billed teal and not mention the Lilly trotter. The lake location and wildlife make it an ideal place for an afternoon boat ride. A visit to the liberating Crescent Island, which is completely undeveloped, wild and free, is one of the few places on earth where you can wander/walk on foot among herds of zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, giraffe and dik diks. There are no predators and no fences so it will be quite a liberating and exciting feeling to walk among the wildlife. Lunch will be served at the tranquil Lake Naivasha Country Club. Dinner and overnight tonight will be served at Lake Naivasha lodge or camp.
Day 73 & 74: Lake Naivasha and Hell’s Gate
After breakfast, a morning bird walks with the aim of viewing birds on the shores of the Lake with a few hours of relaxation before lunch. Afternoon visit to Hell’s Gate National Park, which is breeding ground for vultures in Kenya e.g. Lammergeyer vultures. Dinner & overnight tonight will be served at Lake Naivasha lodge or camp.
Day 75: Lake Naivasha to Amboseli National Park
After an early morning breakfast, we proceeded to Amboseli, beautifully situated beneath the foot of Africa’s highest mountain Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895m), the park is well renowned for its huge herds of elephants and various types of other Savannah wildlife such as Giraffes, Bushbuck’s, Kudu, Warthog’s, Zebra’s and over 425 species of birds recorded here such as White faced whistling duck, Brown snake eagle, Yellow billed stork, Woolly necked stork, Shikra, Helmeted guinea fowl, African cuckoo. Enjoy a birding game drive en-route, as we arrive in time for your dinner at Amboseli Community campsite.
Day 76: Amboseli National Park
After breakfast it will be the perfect time for photographing the humbling and magnificent Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa. With picnic lunch you depart your lodge for a full day birding section with our eagle eyed birding guide. Please take this opportunity to add a new specie in your birding list. Dinner and overnight tonight will be served as above.
Day 77 & 78: Amboseli to Tsavo West National Park
After breakfast, drive to Tsavo West with an en route birding where habitat is relatively dense thicket of savanna dominated by acacia-Commiphora bush land with Baobab, grassy plains, riverine woodland, the Mzima Springs. The park is also famous for the autumn bird ringing at the Ngulia Safari Lodge with thousands of European and Asian Palearctic migrants on their way south. Overnight at Ngulia lodge or camp.
Day 79: Tsavo West to Taita Hills
We bird in the park en route heading for Taita Hills Forest where we hope to see the endemics “Taita Three” Apalis, White-eye and Thrush. Other specialties include Striped Pipit, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Striped-cheeked Greenbul. Overnight at a lodge or camp.
Day 80: Taita Hills to Shimba Hills
After leisure morning breakfast, depart for Mombasa either driving arriving Mombasa at Mid -Morning hours and later be transferred to Shimba Hills National Reserve, Located 48kms from Mombasa town. The hills have a heterogeneous mosaic of vegetation, including grassland, scrub and exotic plantations as well as forest. Certainly, holding one of the largest areas of coastal forest in East Africa after Arabuko Sokoke Forest. Here, globally threatened species, restricted-range species, East African Coast biome species occur here among them, Southern banded Snake Eagle, Fischer’s Turaco, Spotted Ground Thrush, Sokoke Pipit, East Coast Akalat, Plain Backed Sunbird, Ayres’s hawk Eagle, Crowned Eagle, African Pitta, little Yellow Flycatcher, Mangrove Kingfisher, Eastern Green Tinkerbird, Tiny greenbul, Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike, Green headed Oriole among many more. Lunch at the lodge or camp. All meals at the lodge or camp.
Birds at the Coast
