Lake Naivasha, Hells Gate
Safari highlights
This is a 3 day adventure safari where you will be able to enjoy the best of Kenya’s scenery including the spectacular Rift Valley. You will visit Lake Naivasha, which is a famous bird sanctuary and Hell’s Gate National Park one of the few Kenya parks where you can walk or cycle while viewing wildlife. You will travel alone or with our tour guide/driver who is very conversant with the geology of the area and will spend the nights at Fish Eagle Inn which is situated by the shores of Lake Naivasha.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival – Nairobi – Lake Naivasha
Upon your arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be warmly received by our Tour Manager, who will brief you about your safari. You will then be transferred to your tour van and depart for Lake Naivasha. This is a one hour drive from Nairobi City, so you will arrive before lunch when you can take some photographs of birds and the lake. After lunch, you will have an afternoon boat ride in Crescent Island, within the Lake region for a birding experience till evening.
Fun facts about Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha is the highest and purest of all the Rift Valley Lakes at 1880m above sea level. This area is a birdwatcher’s paradise with over 450 species of recorded birds in the area. A small islet on the lake is home to a number of wildlife. Visitors can enjoy a boat ride safari as they view wildlife and birds from the tranquil lake. A private ranch (Kongoni Game Sanctuary) is located in the area which is a home to lions, leopards, cheetah and some trans-located Gravy zebras. Lunch, dinner and overnight stay will be at Fish Eagle Inn or similar
Day 2: Lake Naivasha – Hell’s Gate National Park
After an early morning gaming drive, you will have breakfast then depart for Hell’s Gate National Park arriving in time for a game viewing drive around the park. Break for lunch then continue with game viewing till evening when you will return to your camp for dinner and overnight stay.
Fun facts about Hell’s Gate National Park
Hell’s Gate National Park provides a truly panoramic picnic site, camping stop over and is also an endless biodiversity which allows walking or cycling without an official KWS escort. It has spectacular scenery, despite its rather alarming name, including the towering cliffs, water gouged gorges, stark rock towers, scrub-clad volcanoes and belching plumes of a natural geothermal steam. It is a relatively small park cleft deep in the floor of the Rift Valley. In the undulating grasslands, you can walk alongside herds of buffalo, zebra, giraffe, eland and hartebeest and Thompsons Gazelle.
The park has a unique bird viewing hide which allows visitors to view and photograph the birds of prey at a close range. The hide is booked as a small fee via the warden of the park. The Fischers Tower is a high jagged volcanic plug that remained of an ancient volcano and is named after the German explorer, Gustav Fischer. According to the local Maasai tradition, the rock is the petrified figure of a chiefs daughter who turned around, against the dictates of tradition to take one last look of her village before leaving to be married. The Ol Karia Geothermal Station also lies in this park, being one of the hottest sources of natural steam in the world with an underground water temperature of 304oC. Dinner and overnight stay will be at Fisherman’s Camp or similar.
Day 3: Hell’s Gate National Park – Nairobi – Departure
After breakfast, you will enjoy walking around park to the scenic gorge, the Geo thermal station, and the hot springs. This park is also the only park where you can enjoy biking within the park. Afterwards, you will depart for Nairobi stopping over for late lunch at the carnivore restaurant. After lunch, you will be dropped off at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on time for your departure flight to your next destination.