One of our most experienced African travel experts, Daniel De Lapelin Dumont, recently joined one of our 10-day Kenya Safaris from Nairobi. He visited Nairobi, Ol Pejeta, the Solio Ranch, and other Kenyan safari hotspots like Lake Naivasha, Samburu National Park, and the Masai Mara.
African Budget Safaris prides itself on knowing the African safaris we sell. So, our travel experts (like Daniel) enjoy regular educational trips to experience the safari packages we offer firsthand.
From pre-trip packing essentials to the day-to-day details of Dan’s trip, here is what Dan experienced on his 10-day safari in Kenya this year.
When talking to a travel consultant, you want someone with hands-on experience. Someone who has been where you want to go, and someone who can give you travel advice that will make a real difference to your African safari.
Daniel has always loved travel.
So much so that he studied tourism and worked for one of the first companies in Cape Town, specializing in overland tours in Africa. After traveling the world, Europe, North Africa, and Central America. Dan settled in Cape Town and started working for African Budget Safaris in 2012.
With over 12 years of experience, Dan has visited Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zanzibar, making him one of African Budget Safaris' most distinguished travelers and consultants.
Too much, too much, too much!
When Dan goes on safari in Africa, he packs a 75-liter rucksack with a small day pack and a money belt.
There is limited space on African safari vehicles, so Dan packs just one large piece of luggage with a maximum weight of 15 kg ( 33 lbs) and a day bag for essentials. Despite packing too much, Dan weighed in at a paltry 12 kg (26.5 lbs).
In his day pack, Dan keeps his camera, reusable water bottle, sarong, sun hat and sunscreen, first aid kit – including antihistamines for hay fever and bee stings, reading material for long drives, and a bit of cash for local guides and curios.
For this Kenya safari, Dan packed 4 pairs of shoes: 2 pairs of trainers, hiking boots, as well as comfortable sandals. T-shirts, trousers, 3 pairs of socks, 3 T-shirts, a pair of tracksuit pants, and some extra items for the cold: a woolly jacket, a beanie, and a scarf.
Dan packed a few extra items like a rain jacket, tracksuit pants, and hiking boots because he was traveling to Kenya at the end of the rainy season, and because he was visiting the central highlands that sit at an altitude of over 3,000m and can get cold.
I thought that I had packed too much, but I ended up using everything because of the rain, mud, and the chill factor at altitude. I even used my woolly top and scarf on the early morning game drive.
That said, every safari lodge and hotel that Dan stayed at provided a laundry service that is accustomed to tight turnaround times, meaning that you can travel light and have your clothes washed as you go to keep your luggage light.
When packing for your safari, keep in mind that in Kenya, all plastic bags are banned. You are not allowed to carry plastic bags with you. This includes zip-lock bags.
| Dan’s Kenya Safari Hot Tip |
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Arriving in Nairobi at the start of his Kenya safari, Dan was surprised at how modern the city was. Lots of electric vehicles about, safe, and easy to get around. Spending only a short time in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, offers excellent restaurants and great nightlife.
Kenya is a beautiful country, with lovely people. Everyone speaks English, and it's easy to get around. I think for a person coming to Africa for the first time, Kenya is actually a soft landing. It is definitely a city I’d like to spend more time in.
Collected at Jomo Kenyatta International, Dan hit the ground running. The group is collected in the tour bus, a Toyota Land Cruiser with a modified canvas top that can be raised in the game viewing areas, and whisked off to Nairobi’s Giraffe Center and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
At the Giraffe Center, guests get an unusual perspective when they walk on platforms at eye level with the tallest animal on the planet, and even get to feed them!
This huge massive head comes towards you, and you're not sure what to do, but they're actually extremely gentle and they've got the softest tongue you can imagine
The Giraffe Center is not to be confused with the Giraffe Manor (or Giraffe House), which, though next door, comes with a hefty price tag and is booked out months in advance.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s primary goal is to save orphaned elephants. It is more of a conservation organization, and as such, interactions with the animals are limited. The best thing about visiting the Sheldrick Trust is knowing that your money goes towards the conservation of elephants in Kenya.
| Dan's Top Tip for Sheldrick Trust: |
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Dan says that both establishments are excellent. The interactions with the giraffes were a little more intimate and up close, but the Sheldrick Trust is pretty special, as you get to see not only baby elephants but also other orphaned animals like rhinos.
Seeing endangered rhinos is a highlight of many African safaris. So, next up on Dan's Kenya safari, was Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is one of Kenya’s most famous conservation projects.
Privately owned, Ol Pejeta is East Africa’s largest black rhino sanctuary, hosts the Big 5 animals, and is the only destination in Kenya where you can see chimpanzees.
Dan even got to see the last two remaining northern white rhinos, a stark reminder to all visitors of the desperate plight of these magnificent creatures.
Dan loved the variety of animals at Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
Buffalo Springs National Reserve and Samburu National Reserve are neighbors, separated by the muddy waters of the Ewaso Ngiro River.
The river attracts large numbers of wildlife, including lions, cheetahs, and leopards, as well as elephants, buffalo, wild dogs, hippos, and crocodiles. But the major draw card for both the more popular Samburu and Buffalo Springs is the Samburu Special 5.
The Samburu 5 are specialist species adapted to the more arid climate. They are the reticulated giraffe with striking markings, the Beisa oryx, gerenuk with its strange stretched neck, Grevy’s zebra, and the Somali ostrich, which is also known as the blue-necked ostrich.
Samburu knocked my socks off! I can’t wait to go back.
With beautiful mountains as a backdrop, Dan was blown away by these two reserves and how different they were from other Kenya safari destinations he had visited.
Traveling at the end of the rainy season, the grass was quite high, making game viewing difficult. Despite this, Dan loved his time at Samburu and Buffalo Springs. It’s on his bucket list to go back, but he recommends that visitors try to time their Samburu safari with the dry season months, which are best for game viewing.
These two neighboring reserves, located near the Laikipia Plateau, are often visited together on northern Kenya safari tours.
Next on Dan's safari in Kenya is the Solio Rhino Sanctuary, the world’s first private rhino sanctuary. Located just north of Nairobi, between Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Mountains, it was started in the 1970s to protect Kenya’s rapidly declining rhino populations from poaching.
Today, Solio is considered one of the most successful private rhino breeding sanctuaries in East Africa. The sanctuary focuses exclusively on protecting Kenya’s black and white rhinos, and Dan and his safari group saw over 100 rhinos in a single game drive.
The experience of seeing so many endangered rhinos was quite overwhelming, but if seeing these endangered creatures and getting to know them is high on your priority list, then Solio Ranch is the place to be.
It was quite unbelievable because rhinos are these highly threatened, endangered species... and often when you see rhinos they're really skittish or hiding in a bush. But at Solio, you just saw one after the other... And that was quite special.
Located at around 3,000m, the Aberdare National Park is known for its lush green scenery, rolling hills, and abundant waterfalls.
If you're interested in walking, hiking, and climbing, Aberdare is perfect.
It reminded Dan of the English countryside, complete with a colonial-style country club and golf course. From the Aberdare Country Club, Dan did a short walk and got up close to a herd of giraffes.
Being at altitude was not only a little colder, but Dan was grateful for his extra warm clothing, but the scenery was very different to the other destinations on his Kenya safari, making it a worthwhile stop.
On day 6, Dan's Kenya safari took him from the Aberdare National Park to Lake Nakuru National Park.
Dan said that Thompson’s Falls was a great waterfall to visit to break the drive and that he was surprised at how developed the town of Nakuru was.
An interesting fact about Lake Nakuru is that it has an underground source that is filling up the lake and the levels aren't dropping which is bad for flamingos
A little-known fact is that Lake Nakuru is rising, and as a result of this, flamingos are seeking shallower waters, such as the nearby Lake Elementaita.
During Dan’s game drive at Lake Nakuru National Park, they saw loads of pelicans, fish eagles, rhinos, and some other wildlife.
| Dan's Flamingo Safari Tip |
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Visiting the Masai Mara is an African safari dream for many people and Dan was no exception.
Traveling to the Masai Mara at the end of the rainy season, Dan did not see the vast numbers of wildlife on show during the great migration in September and October. But, says Dan, we also didn’t have the crowds of people on our Kenya safari, or the high-season safari rates!
You're not going to get the sheer vast numbers of wildlife, but the, rates are better. It's a lot more picturesque, atmospheric, and photogenic, and there's a lot of bird activity.
The Masai Mara is a lot smaller than the Serengeti and what Dan learned is that the Masai Mara National Reserve has several look-out points that overlook the Mara River. While the Serengeti is vast and largely flat, these Masai Mara vantage points are perfect for watching the famous river crossing of the great migration.
Although the grass was quite tall, making game viewing difficult, the highlight of Dan’s Masai Mara safari was a dramatic male lion fight that was well worth it.
I was always just thinking in my head, what would this look like with so many animals here and stuff?
The final destination on Dan's Kenya safari, before heading back to Nairobi, was Lake Naivasha to the east of the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Lake Naivasha is famous for its abundant bird life. Dan’s boat trip to Crescent Island included sightings of flamingos, pelicans, kingfishers, and even fish eagles hunting.
At the very impressive Sopa Lodge, Dan was delighted by hippos grazing on the lawns at night and zebra and waterbuck roaming close to the safari lodge.
Lake Naivasha was actually really impressive and fun to visit, with a laid-back holiday feel
The relaxed feel of Lake Naivasha, in addition to the numerous activities on offer, left Dan wanting to visit again and spend a bit more time exploring.
After Dan’s jam-packed Kenya safari, he spent an extra night in Nairobi to explore the city.
Nairobi is tipped by Lonely Planet as one of 2024’s Best in Travel destination cities. Dan's impression of Nairobi only confirmed his excitement.
Overall, Dan rated Kenya highly. He was impressed with how easy it was to get around, the excellent and modern infrastructure, and the friendliness of the Kenyan people.
I think for people coming to Africa for the first time, Kenya is actually a soft landing. It’s a beautiful country, with lovely people, everyone speaks English, and it's easy to get around.
Dan’s Kenya safari included visits to lodges at all the destinations to familiarize himself with the accommodation provided on the safari packages supplied by African Budget Safaris.
In Part I of On Safari in Kenya Dan tells us about his experience of Nairobi, the Giraffe Center, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Samburu National Park.
In Part II of On Safari in Kenya, we talk to Dan about the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Lake Naivasha, his Kenya safari highlights and what he would do differently next time.
If you are interested in planning a visit to Kenya, talk to one of our experienced African travel consultants, like Dan, to find the best safari experience for you or browse our affordable Kenya safaris.
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