Camel Trekking in East Africa isn't all about game parks and wild animals. Get beyond the tourist areas and see what really makes Africa hum — its people. Take a trip on the back of a camel.
TURKANA CAMEL /LAKES (FRIDAYS) 13 ½ DAYS – CAMPING SAFARI.
Overview
The first section of this combination safari is operated in a safari truck. Specially designed with high sides, the vehicle is equipped for the rough terrain you will pass over. Camping is at camp sites and in the bush, depending on our location.
All camp equipment is provided [except sleeping bags], and our cook will keep you well fed throughout the safari. After leaving the safari vehicle at Maralal, you continue on camel. Trekking in the bush with English Speaking Samburu guides, who will keep you entertained with local stories and culture.
Your last night [Monday] at Yare Club is in self contained Bandas, a Samburu dance is included, and on Tuesday you join your vehicle coming to Samburu to take you to Baringo and Nakuru to where you will take a shuttle to Nairobi.
I T I N E R A R Y
DAY 01 : Samburu Depart Nairobi at 09:00am heading North via the shoulder of Mt. Kenya to Samburu Reserve.
DAY 02 : Samburu The day is spent game viewing in the Reserve. Elephants abound; you should see lion, reticulated Giraffe. Gerenuk, Grevey's Zebra and Oryx.
DAY 03 : Marsabit Marsabit is an extinct volcano heavily forested on the upper slopes. We will visit the Lodge in the National Park.
DAY 04: Kalacha After visiting Marsabit town, we make our way down into the desert and lava flows. We camp at Kalacha, a small settlement on the edge of the Chalbi desert.
DAY 05: Lake Turkana Departing early we cross the Chalbi Desert. The desert can not be crossed if wet, but there is an all weather road around the North side which is mostly lava. We arrive at the permanent beach campsite just outside Loiyangalani. After visiting Marsabit town, we make our way down into the desert and lava flows. We camp at Kalacha, a small settlement on the edge of the Chalbi desert.
DAY 06 : Lake Turkana A day exploring, bathing and resting at Loiyangalani with boat excursion to and EI Molo bay.
DAY 07 : Maralal We journey South via S. Horr and Baragoi to Yare Club at Maralal. Another forested area, Samburu abound in their red ochre. Dinner in camp before joining the camel section, overnight in self contained Bandas.
DAY 08: Camel TrekkinG After breakfast you set off through the bush and Maralal game sanctuary. It should be remembered that this is not primarily a game viewing safari, but you never know what you might bump into!.
DAY 09; 10: Camel Trekking After a hot breakfast you set off through the bush. You may ride or walk, the gait is slow and the camels can allow you to change whenever you wish. Mattresses pad the locally made wooden flames on your camel. The pace is relaxed and there is plenty of time to study the environment and take pictures as you move along. There are only a few places where you might be forced to dismount due to washed out luggers and river beds. The camels are led by Samburu Morans who will keep you informed of what you are seeing and of the culture of the people you may meet. On your arrival at camp a shower waits you [water permitting] and your cook will have afternoon tea and snacks ready for you. Later in the afternoon you may choose to go on a nature walk with your Moran guides.
DAY 11; Camel Trek/Yare Camel Club Usually returning to our Club about mid day, you are free to explore Maralal town after lunch, or just relax around the Club. If you choose to visit the town, your Moran guides will accompany you to add to the experience. Before dusk the Samburu Moraos and ladies will dance for you at the Club, before dinner and overnight in our Bandas.
DAY 12: Lake Baringo Joining the safari vehicle at Kisima, you descend to the floor of the Great Rift Valley, arriving at Lake Baringo in the afternoon. This is a fresh water lake which supports a great variety of birds, as well as hippos and crocodiles. Indeed. The Lake is reputed to be the bird-watching centre of Kenya.
DAY 13: Lake Bagoria. Early morning start making a scenic drive through Lake Bagoria Park, a shallow soda Lake with beautiful scenery and also home to a sizeable number of Flamingo's and other species of birds. After viewing the boiling hot springs and geysers, we proceed south to Lake Nakuru, home to thousands of Flamingo's, as well as Lions, Warthogs, Waterbuck, Buffaloes, Hippo, leopard and many others. Dinner and overnight in a campsite outside of town.
DAY 14: Nairobi After breakfast, you are assisted onto a shuttle bus returning to Nairobi.
NOT INCLUDED ON EITHER SAFARI - INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS - PERSONAL INSURANCE - SLEEPING BAGS - ACTIVITIES NOT IN THE ITINERARY - PERSONAL PURCHASES - ALCOHOL. - GRATUITIES - ALL NOT MENTIONED IN THE ITINERARY
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Our driver was friendly and knowledgeable about the animals, plants, and history of the parks we toured. Our camp cook was amazing! He prepared some of the best dishes that I had in Tanzania. Also, he baked my friend and I a special cake to help celebrate the New Year! Finally, Peniel made us certificates that included our date of travel and the names of the parks that we visited.
Peniel even arranged for our (cheap) transfer to the airport after our stay in Arusha. Overall, it was a great experience and I would highly recommend them.
We just arrived home from a amazing 14 day holiday visiting several wildlife parks of Tanzania and in the end spending relaxing days in Zanzibar.
After we made the initial enquiry Peniel got in touch with us and fulfilled all our special wishes. All questions were fully and quickly answered via e-mail, and even when we arrived several hours early in Arusha, he managed to pick us up at the airport together with our driver-guide. We just sent a short message from Daressalam and he organized everything else.
We spent 7 days of wonderful safari on our own with John, our perfect driver and tour guide . The roads are sometimes very rough but with John we felt save all the time. The national parks we visited (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire) are really fantastic and John presented to us so many more animals than the big five.
All the accomodation at the lodges was wonderful, good food and we particularly enjoyed the Tarangire Roika Tented Lodge.
We have no hesitation in recommending the safari operator to other travellers...
Our Safari turned out to be an experience above our expectations.
The service of the staff was perfect. The cost of the safari was reasonable. In fact we had such a nice safari that we already are planing on going with them again!
I also recomend them to any one I know that have interests in going on a safari.
From picking us up at a different airport to getting our lost baggage up to us after we had already started climbing, the tour operator really saved the day.
The customer service was incredible throughout the trip and we were able to create a very customized itinerary for our limited timeframe.
As someone who only goes on one vacation per year, I can promise that you won't regret choosing them
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on our Safar. We thoroughly enjoyed the complete excursion. Overall rating 8!
Peniel was the friendly and very helpful coordinator and his enthusiasm and quick response to all our questions was exemplary. Overall rating for his contribution: 9! He also helped us to adapt our Safari to our own needs. All his bookings and information was of a very high standard throughout.
All the accommodation was of a high standard, except for the Impala Hotel in Arusha.
The driver Apollo was friendly, but he must guard at not taking firstly the client ‘s interest at heart. We had to warn him to drive more cautiously on narrow and winding roads. His knowledge of the country, it’s people and fauna and flora in general is of a very high standard. His rating is 6.
The government can really put in a huge effort to improve the quality of the roads, mainly from the point after passing the Crater into the Serengeti area.
We experienced two flat tyres on these roads. The Safari vehicle we used was comfortable, but we expressed our concerns about it’s roadworthiness with quality of tyres, the opening of windows and the general performance of the engine.
Tanzania is indeed a very beautiful country with friendly people and lots to offer, but exploitation of visitors must be guarded against.
Just a note to say how special our safari was. From meeting us at the airport, even with a delay,to the stay at the marvellous Impala hotel, to the safari itself and a final transfer to the airport.
The punctuality by John our guide and Abu our cook plus their attention to detail were admirable. The skills, knowledge and enthusaism was very much appreciated by us both. We saw more animals,with a greater variety, than we could have hoped for. Each day was inspiring and our meals were of local, fresh produce and very tasty.
Finally thanks to Peniel for his tireless efforts to organise this special week and his prompt replies to all our e-mails.
Before our trip we have to admit that we were a little nervous since your operation lesser-known that some of the massive tour operators in the area. However, from the moment we met the team in Arusha, it was clear we had made the right decision and were in for the trip of a lifetime.
Our tour guide, Apollo, was a complete joy to spend time with. He was very knowledgable of the local wildlife and customs and was eager to share his knowledge with us. He was extremely accommodating during the trip - allowing us to stop at any time for any reason and enjoy the trip on our own pace. When three different ATMs in Mtu Wambu happened to be broken, he even lent us cash to hold us over for the next couple days before we could return to a working ATM...incredible.
Our Chef ("Stomach Doctor"), Abu, was equally enjoyable to be around and always had a smile on his face. His food was delicious and provided great comfort after long days on Safari. When we specially requested Banana Pancakes for our final breakfast, Abu happily obliged and made the best Banana Pancakes we'd ever had.
If given the chance to return, we would gladly use this tour operator again and would specifically request the services of Apollo and Abu. We will be recommending your tours to all of our friends. Thank you so much for providing an incredible life changing experience.
8
Client:
Pauline & Michael Stanley, Nancy & Michael Gocke - from Australia
I cannot praise the tour operator enough. After I made the initial enquiry on your site Peniel got in touch with me on a timely basis. Although I did receive answers to my enquiries from the other tour companies they were by far the most efficient and offered the best value for money.
All my questions were answered and Peniel told me things I never thought to ask. At our request they added on a few days in Zanzibar after the safari and that to was excellent.
Peniel was in Arusha to meet us when we arrived at the hotel and he explained everything we needed to know. He came to see us again when we got back from the safari to make sure everything went well and to explain the Zanzibar portion of the trip.
Our guide was also outstanding. During the entire safari his eyes were constantly on the landscaping looking for game for us to view. We saw all of the big five up close. We even saw 4 black rhinos thanks to Anton, and I understand they are hard to see. The safari that they offer is 30% cheaper than other tour companies. I was a little concerned that we may get a cut rate safari but that was not the case. The customer service, accommodation, food and our guide was first rate. All of us have no hesitation in recommending this tour operator.
We had a fabulous time. We had John as our driver guide and Benson as our cook... he is an amazing cook!
We saw Tarangire, Manyara and Serengeti national parks and the Ngorongoro conservation area. It was an amazing safari, John was an excellent guide, the car was an older version landcruiser, but very comfortable and suited to the safari as it had a pop up roof for photographing the animals and comfy seats.
The tent was great and the staff almost always managed to pack up and set up everything before we had a chance to help so we felt lazy but was nice to have it all done for us. We saw all the big 5 plus many other amazing animals and would definately recommend the company to others.
They have an office in Arusha and very competent customer service staff that went beyond duty to help us with going around Arusha to sort our money troubles when our bank had issues sending money from Australia.
Only suggested improvement was a bit more confidence from the guide in terms of engaging us, he had a great knowledge base but seemed shy in divulging the info, we had to ask a lot of questions. all in all a solid 8.5 out of 10! We had a great time with them.
Our safari was wonderful!, The Tangerine and the Ngorongoro parks were beautiful and we saw a lot of animals, although Lake Manyara was not so nice, may be because of the season we went, we couldn't see so many animals there.
John our driver was nice and knowledgeable. We also enjoyed the Octagon Lodge, the service was very good and the installation nice.
