Oak and his family

I remember when I got my first job; I saved up and booked a family dinner at one of the nicer restaurants near our home.  I can safely say that booking a family holiday never crossed my mind, neither then, nor any years later when I was earning better money.  But we’ve had several young adults organising an African safari for their parents and siblings and Oak was one of them.  He and his sister brought their parents from Thailand to Kenya for a five-day safari.

August is the height of the high season in Kenya and Oak knew this when he started planning a safari for his family.  He had initially considered Tanzania, but decided Kenya was going to suit them better as they ended up having a shorter timeframe than originally planned.  He is the older sibling and was planning to travel with his parents and younger sister.  Francis took them to the Maasai Mara, Lake Naivasha and Amboseli National Park.

One big Safari!

In the Maasai Mara they stayed at our old favourite, Aruba Camp.  They had two nights there, giving them plenty of time for game drives exploring the vast savannah.  There are only about 30 rhinoceros living in the Maasai Mara, which is over 1000 square kilometres, so the chances of seeing one is fairly slim.  To tell you the truth, I have never seen a rhino in the Mara.  But Oak and his family did!  Not just one, but three!  They are Black Rhino in the Mara which are the critically endangered kind, so seeing three is truly fortunate.  What a great start to their Kenyan safari!

The next stop was Lake Naivasha for one night, where they stayed at Fish Eagle Inn.  The popular experience at Lake Naivasha is to get out on a boat, which is what Oak and his family did.  The late afternoon is the best time as the water birds are more active as are the hippos.

Lastly they went to Amboseli.  It is a long seven-hour drive from Lake Naivasha to Amboseli, so Kibo Camp is always a welcome sight at the end of the day.  Sadly Oak only had five days to enjoy Kenya, so with only one night remaining of their safari it was a short time to enjoy Amboseli National Park.  But that didn’t mean they didn’t see a lot, not by far.  A massive flock of flamingoes were hanging out at Lake Amboseli – another rare sight!  And then the clouds lifted to show Mt Kilimanjaro in all its spectacular glory.

After the morning of game driving it was time to head back to Nairobi and straight to the airport for their departing flight home.  It was short but sweet, with rhinos, flamingoes and Mt Kilimanjaro making a most fantastic five-day safari for Oak and his family.