THE NORTH OF KENYA
ITINERARY
A helicopter will arrive early in the morning to take you up through the Suguta Valley, over crocodile pools, the hoodoo and painted valleys, to the vast Lake Turkana. Arrive at Koros in time for lunch.
Spend the afternoon out on the quadbikes before returning to the camp for dinner.
The following morning fly up the east side of the lake to Illaret, where you will visit the Turkana Basin Institute. Spend some time exploring the fossils and learning about this incredible research center.
In the afternoon fly back down the lake to Laikipia.
THE SUGUTA VALLEY
The first stop is the Silale Crater, a vast caldera carpeted by grasses and shrubs, located at the southern tip of the Suguta Valley. Here we stop for a picnic breakfast before flying into the Suguta Valley.
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.
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.
LAKE TURKANA
The largest desert lake in the world lies in Northern Kenya. One of the most remote and hostile places on Earth, with black volcanic rocks and soaring daytime temperatures, yet so scenically spectacular.
At the southern end of the lake lies Nabuyatom Crater, it is surrounded by jade waters, this is the most iconic feature on the lake’s shore.
Fly over South Island, continue on up the east side of the lake where you will pass Central Island and Sibiloi National Park.
THE TURKANA BASIN INSTITUTE
The Turkana Basin Institue is a source of unprecedented fossil and archaeological evidence for all major stages of human development.
In the 1960s, Richard Leakey discovered a 1.6 million year old Homo Erectus skeleton, known as Turkana Boy.
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.