Kenya Air Safaris

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Kenya Air Safaris - Kenya Flying safari packages:
These are designed for those yearning for an African safari experience but constrained by time. The safaris may be extended dependent on demand.

ASS F01 - SAMBURU - 1 ½ DAYS
Day 1: Flying for approximately 1 ½ hours over Mt Kenya and across the equator, descend into the ruggedly beautiful reserve of Samburu, to enjoy game drives and overnight at your Lodge, Samburu Serena Lodge, L,D

Day 2: Early morning transfer to the airstrip for your return flight to Nairobi. B

Safari price: US$ 680 per person sharing. Single room supplement: US$ 50

Included in the Samburu air safari price:
-Guarantee price/guarantee safari on confirmation
-All ground transport whilst on safari in a comfortable Samburu Serena Lodge 4x4WD land cruiser
-Full board accommodation whilst on safari and meal plan as described, B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner
-Accommodation in double/twin room
-All park entrance fees to include government taxes
-Service of an English speaking professional driver/guide
-All game drives as detailed in the itinerary
-Specialised services all through
-Return air transfer, Nairobi-Samburu-Nairobi

Excluded:
-Tips
-Laundry
-Beverages/Drinks
-International flights
-Visas to Kenya
-Items of personal nature
-Any other extras not detailed in the above itinerary

Reserve This Tour
ASS F02 - AMBOSELI - 1 ½ DAYS
Day 1: After your early morning 1 hour flight to Amboseli National Park, enjoy morning and afternoon game drives and a chance of spotting the Big 5 with the dome of Kilimanjaro forming a perfect backdrop, Amboseli Serena Lodge, L,D

Day 2: Early morning transfer to airstrip for return flight to Nairobi. B

Safari cost: US$ 615 per person sharing. Single room supplement: US$ 50

Included in the Amboseli air safari price:
-Guarantee price/guarantee safari on confirmation
-All ground transport whilst on safari in a comfortable Amboseli Serena Lodge 4x4WD land cruiser
-Full board accommodation whilst on safari and meal plan as described, B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner
-Accommodation in double/twin room
-All park entrance fees to include government taxes
-Service of an English speaking professional driver/guide
-All game drives as detailed in the itinerary
-Specialised services all through
-Return air transfer, Nairobi-Amboseli-Nairobi

Excluded:
-Tips
-Laundry
-Beverages/Drinks
-International flights
-Visas to Kenya
-Items of personal nature
-Any other extras not detailed in the above itinerary

Reserve This Tour
ASS 03 - MAASAI MARA - 1 ½ DAYS
Day 1: Transfer to Wilson Airport for an early morning or afternoon 45-minute flight to Maasai Mara. On arrival, view game en route to the lodge. The afternoon game drive reveals the remarkable concentration of wildlife found in this unspoilt wonderland, Mara Serena Lodge, L,D

Day 2: Early morning game drive. After breakfast proceed to airstrip for the return flight to Nairobi and onward transfer to your hotel, B.

Safari price: US$ 695 per person sharing. Single room supplement: US$ 55

Included in the Masai Mara air safari price:
-Guarantee price/guarantee safari on confirmation
-All ground transport whilst on safari in a comfortable Mara Serena Lodge 4x4WD land cruiser
-Full board accommodation whilst on safari and meal plan as described, B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner
-Accommodation in double/twin room
-All park entrance fees to include government taxes
-Service of an English speaking professional driver/guide
-All game drives as detailed in the itinerary
-Specialised services all through
-Return air transfer, Nairobi-Masai Mara-Nairobi

Excluded:
-Tips
-Laundry
-Beverages/Drinks
-International flights
-Visas to Kenya
-Items of personal nature
-Any other extras not detailed in the above itinerary
Reserve This Tour

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P.O. Box 51322 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya. Website: www.continentalsafaris.com tours@continentalsafaris.com Tel: +254 20 2244 068; Fax: +254 20 317 656; Mobile: +254 722 884 748

Affordable Air safaris Kenya, Fly in Safaris, Kenya Air Safaris, Kenya Flying Safari Packages, Masai Mara air safaris, Amboseli air safaris, Tsavo air safari, Lake Nakuru air package, Samburu air safaris and Mount Kenya air tour holiday.

Samburu National Reserve:
Samburu National Reserve is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya; on the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve in Northern Kenya. It is 104 km² in size and 350 kilometers from Nairobi. Geographically, it is located in Samburu District of the Rift Valley Province.

In the middle of the reserve, the Ewaso Ng'iro flows through doum palm groves and thick riverine forests that provides water without which the game in the reserve could not survive in the arid country.

Samburu Reserve was one of the two areas in which conservationists George Adamson and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness made famous in the best selling book and award winning movie Born Free.

Overview
Samburu National Reserve is located north of Nairobi, and was established in the 1970's. Samburu Reserve is 40 square miles in size; temperature during the day is hot, but tends to cool during the night. This area of the region to this date is referred to as the Northern Frontier District because of the war in the 1960's and early 70's with the Somali people. Culturally, Northern Kenya has always had a strong influence of Somali, Oromo and Borana communities and tribes, who have lived as nomads in the area for many centuries.

Habitat
Samburu National Reserve can be entered via the Ngare Mare and Buffalo Springs gates. Once inside the reserve, there are two mountains visible: Koitogor and Ololokwe. Samburu National Reserve is very peaceful and attracts animals because of Uaso Nyiro River (meaning "brown water" and pronounced U-aa-so-Nyee-ro) that runs through it and the mixture of acacia, riverine forest, thorn trees and grassland vegetation. The Uaso Nyiro flows from the Kenyan highlands and empties into the famous Lorian Swamp. The natural serenity that is evident here is due to its distance from industries and the inaccessibility of the reserve for many years.

Wildlife
There is a wide variety of animal and bird life seen at Samburu National Reserve. Several species are considered unique to the region, including its unique dry-country animal life: All three big cats can be found here, as well as elephant, buffalo and hippo:

Grevy's Zebra
Beisa Oryx
Reticulated Giraffe
Somali Ostrich

Other mammals frequently seen in the park include:
African Elephant
Lion
Cheetah
Gerenuk
African Buffalo
Grant's Gazelle
Kirk's Dik-dik
Impala
Waterbuck
African Leopard
Hippopotamus
Rhino are no longer present in the park due to heavy poaching.

There are over 350 species of bird. These include:
Kingfisher
Sunbird
Bee-eater
Marabou Stork
Tawny Eagle
Bateleur
Guinea fowl
Palm-nut Vulture
Vultures

The Uaso Nyiro River contains large numbers of Nile crocodile.

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THE MASAI MARA MIGRATION OF WILDEBEESTS:
The Wildebeest arrive at the Mara River around July and cross over onto the Masai Mara plains. The wildebeest remain here until October, when they return to Tanzania. Gazetted in 1961, the Reserve is located west of the Rift Valley and is a natural extension of the Serengeti plains. The Mara River, the reserve's backbone, traverses north to south. This river course is the natural barrier crossed every year by the large herds of wildebeest and zebra during their migration.

May & June
In late May, the herds leave the Western Corridor for the northern Serengeti plains and woodlands. The fresh, tender and mineral-rich pastures on the other side of the humans' border, in Masai Mara, are the irresistible bait for the animals to finally invade the Kenyan reserve, an event which usually starts in late June to early July. The troops coming from the south meet here another migratory contingent: the resident wildebeest herds of the Mara region. These animals reside in the Loita Plains and Hills, northeast of the Mara, until the dry season brings the tougher days and it is time to seek the evergreen Mara basin.

July to October
Throughout the month of July, the herds cross the Sand River, a mostly dry tributary of the Mara which roughly follows the boundary line between Kenya and Tanzania. The parade takes the eastern sector of Masai Mara, surrounding the Keekorok Lodge area. The trek follows westward, leading the herds to face the major challenge along their quest: crossing the Mara river and frequently also its tributary, the Talek. By then, the rains at the Mau Escarpment, where the Mara rises, have fed the stream to its highest levels.

The steep banks are populated with trunk-looking basking crocodiles that seem almost to be expecting their annual banquet. The operation of fording the river is the most delicate along the migration, and as such seems to plunge the gnus in a state of anxiety that only relieves when the whole herd has crossed. The trekkers walk along the left (eastern) bank of the Mara looking for a suitable point to cross. There are plenty of preferred crossings along the course, which are easily identifiable by the lack of vegetation, the depressed slopes and the deep grooves carved by the animals' hooves. These are the most secure places to ford the river, those that ensure a minimal mortality. Nonetheless, the apparent programming of the whole process sometimes seems to collapse, and the nervous herds occasionally choose places where the banks are too steep and many of the animals break their legs down the cliff or fall flat into the waters. The herds gather at the suitable points and wander around nervously, their grunts sounding loud in the air. Eventually, one animal takes the lead and approaches the rim, scanning the opposite edge to analyze if any danger awaits after the crossing. When it finally dives into the stream, this seems to haul the rest of the herd. More animals follow in a single line across the river, while the lagged ones throw themselves towards the stream until the rearguard pushes the troops to a frantic race that ends up with some animals trampled to death, lying aside the course. Along the boreal summer, the crossings repeat over and over, and the survivors graze peacefully on the Mara Triangle grasslands unless disturbed by the early-morning and late-evening hunts of lion and cheetah, the latter preying on the calves.

By October, the rains are heading south back to the Serengeti. This is when the pace of the march reverses, bringing the herds to face once more the quest for the southern grasslands. The rite of fording the river is again part of nature's call. In the last days of October, the migration heads towards the vast plains of the southern Serengeti, where a new generation of calves will be born to start the cycle of life all over again. Normally the route is down the eastern side and the pace is fast. Quite often a million animals can be seen stretched out.

BALLOONING OVER THE MASAI MARA:
Visitors to the Masai Mara can experience the rare excitement of game viewing from a hot air balloon. In the crisp air of dawn, the passengers drink coffee while the crew partially inflates the balloon with enormous fans. The gas burners are then ignited and the balloon fills with hot air slowly raising the baskets. Before departing, finalized checks are made, and the passengers then climb into the balloon basket for a take off.

The balloons lift off just before sunrise when the breeze on the plains is still cold. Once airborne, the balloons are blown by the prevailing winds across the broad landscape. Apart from the hiss of the burners, the flight above the Masai Mara plains is magically silent. The pilot controls the height of the craft by regulating the flow of hot air into the balloon. Sometimes the balloon will descend over the plains for a close up view of the wildlife; on other occasions, it rises to clear a tree canopy and rise over the reverine forest.

At the end of the flight, the passengers are treated to a champagne breakfast, complete with flowers. China and crystal are set out on the table that is placed under a convenient acacia tree. The finishing touch to the flight is a game drive back to the lodge or camp, and the possibility of seeing the same pride of lions, or herd of elephants that had been viewed while ballooning. Over a dozen balloons depart from sites near six of the lodges and tented camps. Our customers are often able to view four of the 'Big Five' while ballooning. A flight certificate is issued on completion of the balloon safari.

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AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK:
Amboseli National Park, at the foot of Africa's highest mountain, 5895m Kilimanjaro, is one of Kenya's most popular parks. It lies some 240kms. south-east of Nairobi very close to the Tanzania border. The snow capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rising above a saucer of clouds dominates every aspect of Amboseli. Gazetted as a national park in 1974 it covers only 392 sq kms but despite its small size and its fragile ecosystem it supports a wide range of mammals (well over 50 of the larger species) and birds (over 400 species).

Years ago, Amboseli was the locale around which such famous writers as Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark spun their stories of big game hunting in the wilds of Africa. It is also the home of the Maasai people, those tall, proud nomads whose legendary prowess in battle and single handed acts of bravery in fights with wild animals has spread across the globe. The Maasai have learned to live in complete harmony with their environment and the wildlife which surrounds them.

A part of Amboseli National Park is composed of a dried-up lake bed which in the shimmering heat produces mirages. Swamps and springs, fed by underground rivers from Kilimanjaro's melting snows, form permanent watering places for wildlife throughout times of drought. The lake bed is subject to sporadic floods and noxious salts in the gravel bed are dissolved to serve as a deadly poison for what is left of the local woods; very few of the fine acacias, once a feature of this region, remain.

The snows of Kilimanjaro, white and crystalline, form a majestic backdrop to one of Kenya's most spectacular displays of wildlife - lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, cheetah, buffalo and hosts of plains' game, creating Kenya's most sought after photographer's paradise. But the Park's popularity is also causing serious concern. The combination of wildlife, tourist vehicles and Masaai cattle are destroying the delicate but precious grassland. Park rules now insist that vehicles stick to roads and tracks. The Park's best game runs are around swamps and there is a fine lookout on Observation Hill which offers views over the whole of the Park and beyond.

Climate:
The climate is mainly hot and dry. Amboseli is in the rain shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The maximum average temperature of the warmest month is 33°C during the day, while that of the coldest is 27-28°C. An annual rainfall of 300mm per annum is distributed in two seasons: April/May and November/December. Recurrent droughts and potential evaporation of 2200mm per annum typifies the region.

Why visit Amboseli?
>> International bio-sphere reserve
>> Unrivalled views of Mounts Kilimanjaro & Meru
>> Contemporary Maasai culture
>> Excellent elephant & bird viewing
>> Dry season herds of plains game
>> Year round springs and waterholes

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