KENYA BY HELICOPTER
ITINERARY
14th April: Chyulu Hills
Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport early in the morning. Here a tradewinds representative will meet you off your flight to assit with customs and collect your luggage. They will then take you through to meet your pilot and helicopter.
Fly to the Chyulu Hills, over Tsavo National Park. This is home to the 'big Tusker elephants', spend time on game drives, horse riding and on bush walks.
Fly out to the Mziwa springs, where the water is so clear you can see crocodiles and hippos from above. One morning fly up to Mount Kilimanjaro to see this vast mountain.
Ol Donyo Lodge, 2 nights.
Day 3: The Maasai Mara
The next stop is the Maasai Mara, Kenya's most famous eco-system, where the great migration takes place.
During these months the Mara is usually quieter, allowing for more intimate game viewings with the chance to see lots of cats.
Mara Wild Hill, 3 nights.
Day 6: Lake Turkana
Head north to the deserts of Turkana, through the Suguta Valley, over soda lakes and the Suguta sand dunes to the South Horr Valley.
Arrive at Koros in time for lunch. Settle into camp before heading out on the quadbikes to a sundowner location.
Fly to the Chalbi desert, landing at an Oasis - here you await the Sand Grouse collecting water. On to Kargi to visit the Gabra people, and a stop at the Karole Springs where the Rendille people water their livestock. Fly over Mount Kulal and stop for lunch at South Island where you will meet the fishing boat. Return to Koros for the night.
Koros Camp, 2 nights.
Day 8: Borana Wildlife Conservancy
Fly down through the Mathews and Ndotos mountain range, stopping at the Reteti elephant sanctuary to see the orphaned elephants feed.
Fly into the Borana Wildlife Conservancy, a 32,000 acre private game ranch.
Spend the last few days exploring this conservancy and relaxing by the pool.
Arijiju Retreat, 2 nights.
End of Safari
DAY 1 - 2
THE CHYULU HILLS
The Chyulu hills are located between Amboseli and Tsavo, looking on to Mount Kilimanjaro. This is the home to many of the 'Big Tusker Elephants' who travel between Tanzania and Kenya. Ol Donyo Lodge is the only lodge within this area, allowing for uninterrupted game viewing.
MZIMA SPRINGS
OL DONYO LODGE
This stunningly beautiful area is incredibly diverse and often has spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro. No other lodge in Africa offers such a wide range of experiences, in such a private setting. The lodge is perched on a hillside with views of East Africa’s classic savannahs below.
Each suite has its own private pool and a star-bed, in case you wish to sleep in comfort beneath the stars. The waterhole beneath the lodge has a fixed viewing hide, here you can sit and watch the animals at the watering hole completely disguised.
The lodge also offers many comforts such as spa treatments, fine dining and multiple lounges to relax and unwind.
DAY 3 - 5
THE MAASAI MARA
The Maasai Mara is located in South Western Kenya. Together with Tanzania’s Serengeti it forms one of the world's most diverse and spectacular eco-systems. With riverine forest and short grass plains, this area is renowned for the most exceptional big game viewing worldwide.
The Mara is world famous for hosting the epic Great Migration, welcoming 1.5 million wildebeests onto its sprawling savannahs each July through to October. Although you are unlikely to witness the migration, the mara is still an incredible place with vast numbers of cheetah, leopard and lion.
LAKE MAGADI
Land next to Lake Magadi with its ever changing water colour; sometimes red, sometimes blue. Lake Magadi is a saline alkaline lake, approximately 100 kilometers long. The surface is usually always covered in flamingos.
MARA WILD HILL
Wild Hill is an exclusive use property with five luxurious suites, each designed with the utmost attention to detail and comfort. Named simply after numerical Maasai numbers, each suite has a spacious lounge, with a coffee station, mini bar and fireplace, huge bedrooms with baths overlooking the vast plains. There are indoor and outdoor showers and verandah that stretch across the front of the suites, making the most of the views below.
THE SUGUTA VALLEY
The flight up to the north starts with flying over the tea and coffee plantations before reaching the rift valley lakes of Bogoria and Baringo.
Fly through the Hoodoo and Painted Valleys. Geologists have long been fascinated with this part of the Great Rift Valley. They have studied ancient sediments and fossil remains, and pieced together the history of a lake that rose and fell multiple times over the past 18,000 years.
Next we fly over the extensive and empty Suguta sand dunes, which add to the incredible diversity of the landscape. Spectacular and constantly changing with strong winds, they lend themselves to a perfect helicopter landing pad. Touch down to jump down the sand dunes.
LAKE LOGIPI
Continuing on fly over Lake Logipi a seasonal saline lake, often full of flamingo. The lake lies at the southern end of Lake Turkana. Stretching 6 kilometers wide by 3 kilometers long, and very shallow.
LAKE TURKANA & NABUYATOM CRATER
Finally reach the largest desert lake in the world. One of the most remote and hostile places on Earth, with black volcanic rocks and soaring daytime temperatures, yet so scenically spectacular.
Touch down on the edge of the Nabuyatom Crater or at one of the shore beaches. The collapsed volcano of Nabuyatom lies at the southern end of Lake Turkana. It is surrounded by jade waters and is the most iconic feature on the lake’s shore.
KOROS CAMP
What started as a simple family base, has evolved into a unique 6 bed camp for the ultimate private retreat. In a remote and unspoilt spot, Koros Camp is nestled away amongst acacia trees and semi arid scrubland at the northern end of the South Horr valley. An ideal base to explore the shores of Lake Turkana, the Chalbi Desert and the wilds of the north.
Each thatched cottage has an en suite bathroom, with flush loos and luxury bucket showers. The open aired mess tent has ample seating area for everyone to gather round under the fans for lunch and dinner.
At the far end of the camp, a plunge pool invites guests to cool off in the heat of the day.
After lunch set off on the quad bikes through dried up river beds to a sundowner location. You might even be lucky enough to spot an elephant or other smaller plains game on your journey.
CHALBI DESERT
After breakfast set off into the Chalbi desert. Chalbi means bare and salty, believed to be a dried up lake. The hottest and most arid place in Kenya. This desert stretches 100,000 kilometers to the Ethiopian boarder.
On the northern edge of the desert lies an area of oases with groves of palm trees that attract sand grouse and other birds looking for food and water. We land here to watch these birds fly in. Next we move to the Karoli Springs.
KAROLI SPRINGS
Karoli Springs are a lifeline for the Rendille people who roam the Kaisut Desert. The water is slightly sailine, and only livestock can drink here. The Rendille are semi-nomadic camel herders that traditionally live in the deserts of northern Kenya. Strikingly colourful with traditional fabrics, beaded jewellery and immaculate head-dresses, the lives of the Rendille revolve around the natural cycle of the seasons, traveling en-masse with their enormous herds of livestock, following the rain in search of new pasture and water.
FISHING ON LAKE TURKANA
Flying over Mount Kulal, a serious contrast with a forest in this desert area, we reach Lake Turkana and land at South Island. Here we meet the fishing boat. The lake sustains multiple species of fish, including Nile Perch - much sought after by avid anglers. Return to Koros in the late afternoon.
LAIKIPIA
There is no landscape in Kenya, outside of National Parks, more crucial for the future of elephants than Laikipia. 7,000 elephants are protected by private and communal landowners and a network of inspiring conservation organizations.
MOUNT KENYA
Iconic in shape and size, Mount Kenya is situated in the heart of Kenya, on the equator - its highest point ‘Batian’ reaches 5,199 meters. The snowy peaks can be seen on clear days from as far as Mt Kilimanjaro some 300 kilometers away. As you spend time at Arijiju, Mount Kenya will become a daily view, which makes it even more exciting to explore.
We will fly around the peaks of the mountain and land at Lake Alice or Lake Michaelson for a picnic breakfast. Almost inaccessible and well off the beaten track, they offer an exciting morning of fly fishing.
ARIJIJU RETREAT
Arijiju is situated on the Borana Wildlife Conservancy. To the north and east of Arijiju lie snow-capped mountains, dense forests and sprawling deserts, while to the south looms Mount Kenya. Whichever way you face, it is towards adventure.
Arijiju’s architecture borrows from the Kenyan tradition of grouping rooms to house multi-generations, with three suites in the main house and two generous cottages along a stone pathway.
Tropic Air is based in Kenya, and offers a broad range of professional air services using helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Areas of operation: 16 African countries, covering more than 10 million square kilometers: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, Chad, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.