Travel to Kenya: Maasailand Safari: Living Among the Maasai

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Maasailand Safari: Living Among the Maasai

			DAYS: 10 GRADE: II, Rough roads, simple accommodations define PRICE: From $4295 per person (Includes Local Air) HIGHLIGHTS: 3 nights in a Maasai village; Amboseli Reserve; Maasai Mara Reserve ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels/Lodges Homestay Deluxe Camp MEALS: As noted  [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch,   D-Dinner] Prices, Departure Dates and Included Services Send to a Friend Print this Itinerary

This community-based Maasai safari is an extraordinary opportunity to combine wildlife safaris in Amboseli and the Maasai Mara, with a profound cross-cultural experience that will change your perspective on life. It was selected by National Geographic as one of ''50 Best Tours of a Lifetime'' for its truly authentic experiences that delve deep and provide uncommon access with indigenous people. Based from specially built guest bungalows in the Maasai village of Merrushi, we explore the African savanna on foot with Maasai warriors, share stories with elders, discuss world issues of common concern, learn about wildlife conservation and animal husbandry, women's issues, rites of passage, and discover the fine arts of beading, traditional healing, music and dance.

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DAY 1 :  NAIROBI
Arrive into the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where we meet our drivers, trip leader Kakuta Ole Maimai, and  Maasai warriors.  Transfer in to overnight at the Pan Africa Hotel or Nairobi Safari Club. [Meals on your own]

Hand-feed Rothschild giraffes at the Giraffe Center in Nairobi.

DAY 2 :  GIRAFFE MANOR AND DAPHNE SHELDRICK
Settling into Africa, our morning begins with a short city orientation on our way to visit the Giraffe Center, an educational facility aimed toward educating Kenyan schoolchildren and visitors about conservation in Kenya, focusing primarily on the endangered Rothschild Giraffe. Watch giraffes and feed them from a raised platform, a great spot to take pictures. We also visit the David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage, adjacent to Nairobi National Park, which cares for orphaned elephants and rhinos who have been rescued from poachers or found abandoned. Every morning at 11 AM the elephant babies are bottle fed in an area open to visitors. You'll have the opportunity to learn about these huge infants up close and how they will one day be reintroduced to the wild. Free afternoon. Overnight at the Pan Africa Hotel or Nairobi Safari Club. [BLD]

	Volunteer to help with community projects like adobe brick making for the school.

DAY 3 :  MERRUESHI COMMUNITY
Depart Nairobi headed south about 5 hours to the Maasai community of Merrueshi. We'll experience the complete Maasai way of life as we meet locals along the way and begin sharing our culture as we learn about theirs. We stop at the goat and cattle market where locals trade their precious livestock. Operated by the Merrueshi community, we overnight at the Maasai Simba Camp located in the middle of several villages in a historical site formerly used by Maasai warriors for training. The camp has a simple combination of tents and private cottages each with wood-frame beds, mosquito nets, and solar powered lighting. There is a common bath house with flushing toilets and hot water. Overnight at Maasai Simba Camp. [BLD]

Meet with women groups and community leaders to learn about Maasai life and community matters.

DAYS 4-5 :  MERRUESHI COMMUNITY
While at the Merrueshi community we participate in various village activities depending interests and abilities of guests. Our morning starts with a cup of tea and coffee, followed by a bush walk led by Maasai warriors. We learn how to track wildlife in the African savanna as Maasai do, as well as about wildlife conservation, poaching issues, and strategies for how humans and wildlife have survived and co-existed in this semi-arid habitat. The surrounding environment is a living pharmacy for natural medicine; traditional Maasai healers demystify this realm of ancient medicine by explaining their use of different plants and herbs to treat various illnesses.  In addition, we have the opportunity to participate in bead-making facilitated by the Maasai Women Cooperative, storytelling sessions by elders around the bonfire, a visit to a local school, Maasai songs and dance, and a visit to the Maasai Associations development projects. Oftentimes there are ongoing projects you may want to volunteer to assist like adobe brick making, painting the school, or other optional activities. Overnight at the Maasai Simba Camp. [BLD]

DAY 6 :  AMBOSELI RESERVE AND CHULU NATIONAL PARK
Depart early in the morning for game drive in the Amboseli Reserve. The park is situated with a spectacular view of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, standing at over 19,000 ft above sea level. Amboseli has the largest elephant population of any park in East Africa. Buffalo, lion, hippo, hyena, giraffe, Grants gazelle, and baboons are also in the area. The park contains 500 species of birds, so bring binoculars. During our stay at Merrushi, we sometimes also visit Chulu National Park. This is superb walking country with gently undulating grasslands, interspersed with dense patches of forest, and the possibility of viewing herds of eland and other antelope, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest with slightly lesser chance to see elephant, lion and buffalo. Overnight at Maasai Simba Camp or Ol Tukai Lodge. [BLD]

	One of the most spectacular wildlife sanctuaries in the world, the Maasai Mara is home to herds of elephant.

DAYS 7-9 :  MAASAI MARA RESERVE
Depart Amboseli by road for Nairobi (approx. 4 hours), where we transfer for flight into the Maasai Mara. No other place on earth compares with the multitudes of wild animals found in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, part of the vast Serengeti ecosystem spanning Kenya and Tanzania. Here herds of zebra, wildebeest, and topi mingle on the short grass plains keeping an eye out for numerous predators, including lion, cheetah, leopard, and hyena. Maasai giraffe and impala graze in the woodlands and hippos and crocodiles bask along the shores of the Talek and Mara Rivers. Enjoy an afternoon game drive and then spend the following two days exploring the area. Our base is the Sarova Mara Camp, located on the southeast boundary of the Maasai Mara on a natural hill between two streams. Spacious tents have private terraces and hardwood floors and are complete with electric light, flush toilets, and hot water. Enjoy a dip in the large pool, and maybe indulge in a spectacular morning hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti plains (additional cost of $425).Overnight at Sarova Mara Camp (or similar). [BLD]

DAY 10 :  DEPARTURE
After our last early morning game drive in the Maasai Mara we fly back to Nairobi.  Enjoy a day room to repack and rest before transfering to the airport for your return flight home or extend your safari to Tanzania, the coast, or Gorilla safari in Uganda or Rwanda. [B]

Questions? Ask Our Program Directors.

. C o n t a c t Lyndsay Harshman 1(800)345-4453