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8 DAYS LAKE TURKANA VIA CHALBI DESERT
Areas of Interest: Northern Frontier District,
Samburu Game Reserve, Chalbi Desert, Loiyangalani, Lake Turkana,
Turkana Villages, Maralal, Nyahururu, Thomson Falls.
Activity: Culture, Ethnic, Boat Ride, Wildlife,
Camping and Traditional Turkana Bandas, Bird Watching, Scenery,
Photography
Price: Euro 540
Local Payment: US$ 130
Departures: Every Friday
Country: Kenya
Northern Kenya is lightly populated, untamed and often barren.
Setting foot in these parts is like leaving the 21st century;
it is an explorer’s heaven, and the variety of tribes
that live here are some of the most captivating people in
the world. They include the Samburu, Turkana, Rendille, Boran,
Gabbra and El – Molo.
This rugged 1,800-km expedition is run in land cruiser or
expedition trucks. You will traverse along some of Africa’s
worst roads; see beautiful mountain forest surrounded on all
sides by hot dusty deserts, eventually arriving at our camp
on the shores of the Jade Sea (Lake Turkana). This safari
is aimed at those true explorers and travellers who want to
get off the tourist beaten track.
The camp is the only camp situated right on the beach of
the lake with spectacular views of the South Island. The camp
comprises 12 double traditional Turkana palm leaf huts, a
dinning/lounge, kitchen, showers and toilets that are all
available for use, if not, we pitch tents nearby. Our 20-seat
boat is based here and is available for sunset cruises and
exploring the surrounding areas. You will see a great variety
of tribes during the tour and cross the Chalbi Desert if dry.
During the rains it becomes an enormous shallow lake. And
at Tuum we spend time camel walking with Samburu local guides
on the foothills of Mt. Nyiro.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE:
• Transport by special safari vehicle
• Services of an English speaking driver/tour guide
and cook
• All campsite fees
• All camping equipment including use of our three-person
tents (each tent shared by 2 people), stools, foam mattresses
except sleeping bags
• Three meals a day while on safari whether vegetarian
or non-vegetarian prepared by our safari cook
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE:
• Gamepark entrance fees shown separately as 'local
payment'
• Personal travel insurance
• Sleeping bags [available for hire in the office at
US$15 per bag per safari with US$ 40 refundable deposit]
• Hotel accommodation in Nairobi.
• All airport/hotel/airport transfers [but can be arranged
at extra cost]
• All airport taxes and visas
• All personal expenses and toiletries; e.g. mineral
water, toilet tissue, laundry, telephones, beverages, tips,
portage, etc.
•  Any
other extras not stated as included above
Itinerary:
Day 1 & 2 – Samburu
Depart Nairobi in the morning heading north via the shoulder
of Africa's second largest mountain, Mt Kenya to the Samburu
Game Reserve. Accommodation in our semi-permanent campsite
is beautifully set under a canopy of trees or we may pitch
tents on the edge of Uaso Nyiro (meaning Brown in Samburu)
River. Cold showers are available which are amazingly refreshing
in the hot, dusty climates.
Samburu is part of a lava plain that includes a diverse landscape
of thorn scrub, red dirt, dried river beds, broken volcanic
rock, steep hills, and rocky outcroppings, some large enough
to be called mesas. This reserve is becoming one of Kenya's
most admired stops after the Mara. Sights of the peculiarly
branched doum palms and taut thorn trees give an unusual look
to the region.
The light and vast openness creates a lonesome panoramic
beauty and the permanent water supply acts like a lure for
the abundant species found here. The region is home to the
uncommon Grevy’s zebra with huge fury ears, gerenuk
antelope standing on hind legs to feed, Somali ostriches
with distinct blue legs and the shy Oryx. Elephant and crocodile
are guaranteed sightings, excellent bird watching with numerous
varieties of weaverbirds and the martial eagle. Leopard sighting
is also a special feature here.
Day 3 – Marsabit
We head north again along the Trans-African highway to Marsabit
(meaning place of cold), an astonishingly cool, green and
hilly oasis rising high above the dry heat of the surrounding
desert lands. The local Rendille and Samburu people in their
bright red outfits, beads and earrings make it a vibrant place.
After setting up camp, we visit the lodge inside the National
park and as long as the roads are dry we drive to Lake Paradise
and Little Lake. Here, an indigenous forest and a desert come
together to create the most compelling landscape on earth.
Elephants and greater kudu abound. The dense forest in the
park is also home to a variety of birds.
Day 4 – Kalacha
We visit Marsabit town and another volcanic crater before
making our way back into the desert and lava flows. We camp
at Kalacha, a small Gabbra settlement on the edge of the Chalbi
Desert.
The Gabbra are an Eastern Cushite people related to the Somali-Rendille
in their historical origins in the southern Ethiopian highlands
about AD 1000. The men wear traditional shorts and a blanket-cloak
and the women wear a wrap-around and head cloth. They are
pastoralists, pa rticularly
attached to their camels.
Day 5 & 6 - Lake Turkana
We depart early crossing the Chalbi Desert to Lake Turkana
which is the largest desert lake in the world and extends
for 288 kilometres up to the Ethiopian / Kenyan border. It
is surrounded by volcanic rock and desert. We arrive at our
semi - permanent beach village where we have our traditional
Turkana Huts (if still available; if not we pitch tent at
an alternative campsite) which make it a perfect place to
relax, protected from the scorching sun and heat characteristic
of the climate of this remote area.
Day 7 – Maralal
We journey via the Horr Valley situated between Mount Nyiro
and Ol Doinye Mara viewing the breath taking scenery as we
continue to climb on torturous, rocky hills to Maralal.
Near Maralal is one of the most breath taking scenes
in all of Kenya – the Losiolo escarpment, an endless
stretch as land drops down to the Suguta valley.
Maralal is the unofficial capital of the Samburu people and
has a distinctly frontier feel about it, like something out
of a ‘wild west’ movie. It boasts a colourful
Samburu market and a game sanctuary that lies just outside
of town. Maralal is also home of the Maralal International
Camel Derby that happens once a year between July and
October and attracts riders and spectators from the four corners
of the world
Day 8 – Nairobi
Heading south again via Laikipia Plains and Nyahururu we may
stop at the Thomson falls named after Joseph Thomson who walked
from Mombasa to Lake Victoria in the early 1880s. Shaped by
the waters of the Ewaso Narok River, the falls plunge over
72m into a rift, spraying the dark forest below. After lunch
we drive back into Nairobi by mid-afternoon.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING ON SAFARI:
• Sleeping bag [available for hire in our office
for US$ 15 per bag per safari plus a refundable deposit of
US$ 40 after the safari; Tanzania/Uganda - US$ 30].
• Money for personal spending and tipping approximately
Kshs.1000 a day
• Only a small case or rucksack, as storage space is
limited [maximum 20kgs].
• A pair of long trousers and jersey for the cool mornings
and evenings in addition to plenty of light clothes for hot
days (do not forget a hat), swim suit, a pillow, good walking
and biking shoes and sweets
• Torch, sunglasses, suntan lotion, insect repellent/spray
but not mosquito coils
• Mineral water for drinking (available for sale in
our office)
• Camera, films, binoculars, maps, guide-books and also
darts for our dart board at Maasai Mara
• Toilet paper, towel, soap and toothbrush/paste
• All personal travel insurance
• It is good idea to bring any drinks you might want
around the campfire as they are not always available on route.
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