Birding vacation in Kenya. Helping Dreamers Do

From

£1495

£2255

9 Days excluding flights

More info:Price depends on season and numbers in the group. Single supplement is additional.

Tailor made

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about this vacation or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.

Toll free 1-866-821-6866 Calling from outside the US? rosy@responsibletravel.com

Departure information

This is a tailor made trip and can leave on any day with a minimum of 2 people

Accessible overview:

This vacation is a little unconventional because, compared to a beach vacation, it requires your active participation. We are all different and an activity that’s straight forward for one person may not be straight forward for another. Some destinations have age restrictions, others may require specific planning, and you may have some personal requirements. There is almost always a way of making an itinerary work for everyone and over the years we have acquired considerable experience in making the impossible possible. Our ground agents in Kenya and Tanzania, have proved to be the most accommodating of all and it is no problem to arrange any of the safaris and city visits in Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar for all physically disabled, deaf, and blind travelers.

Limited mobility:

Everything that we do is tailor-made so if you have restricted mobility we will ask you some specific questions which will facilitate us to exercise a proper duty of care. Once we have the information from you we can liaise with in-country hotel managers, safari drivers, stable owners or whatever is required to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.

Wheelchair:

We mainly operate in developing countries so generally speaking we can’t provide a special vehicle adapted for wheelchairs; they simply don’t exist everywhere. However, we can brief drivers to assist you getting into and out of a vehicle (so long as you’re OK with a little mano-y-mano contact?) and your wheelchair can be stowed in the back. Smaller hotels, lodges, mountain huts and suchlike don’t have wheelchair access, but if you’re OK to be physically assisted, we can with pleasure provide that assistance. Larger hotels will have ramps, proper shower facilities and wider doorways. We provide all travelers with a “Field Manual” which is a detailed day-by-day breakdown of precisely what’s involved at each stop along the way, including accommodation arrangements.

Blind or partially sighted:

There is no ‘one rule fits all’: please speak to us and we will run through the specifics of a given itinerary. As an example we have experience of a rider with 90% sight loss who completed a riding safari in Rajasthan. His wife accompanied him to provide an interpretation of the terrain ahead, and we paired him with an ultra-reliable horse. There was no jumping involved. Information in braille is not generally available overseas but local support from dedicated personnel is excellent.

Deaf or limited hearing:

Air travel is feasible, even for a solo traveling deaf person. Once in-country we tend to hold daily briefings which can be summarised and relayed one-to-one from group leader to specific client.

'Free from' food:

We send all travelers a questionnaire specifically asking about their dietary needs and any allergies. This is standard practice. Do please be as thorough as possible in the information you provide us.

LGBT:

Some of the countries in which we operate do not offer equal rights to the LGBT community. Outward displays of affection may be inadvisable. We will advise on a country-by-country basis.

Vouchers

Accepted

Responsible tourism

As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your vacation will help support conservation and local people.

The very nature of this safari raises awareness about the rich diversity of Bird life in the rift valley whilst at the same time highlighting the need to conserve the environmental niches on this part of the world to ensure their continued existence.

The lodges we use are committed to environmental principles . They all aim to reduce, reuse , recycle. In Nairobi the residence lodge use solar power to heat water fro the pools and washing. The are currently looking into Pv cells for all electricity. In terms of waste management, organic waste is composted and returned to the wooded areas, Food waste is segregated and collected by a pig farmer, Solid waste - segregated and collected by Nema registered collectors for recycling externally. Seweage is put through a biodigester and a constructed wetland; both closed systems then discharged into ponds that support birdlife and other wildlife found within the club. Effluent discharge done quarterly through NEMA accredited labs.

All the lodges serve local grown food thus minimizing food miles in addition to supporting the local community. A number of the lodges organise and encourage tree planting activities. Trees have a beneficial impact on the soil structure of an area reducing erosion.

Near Lake Navasha and Masai mara we use Sopa lodges part of a small chain of lodges based in East Africa, They are committed to environmental principles practice. In line with their policy of 'Preserve, maintain and retain our environment as natural as possible while protecting the indigenous plant and animal species ' in the development of the Sopa lodge near Lake Navasha the buildings on the property were positioned so that they did not have to to fell any of the many trees there. All Sopa lodges practice reduce reuse recycle water, they also use local produce and work with local suppliers.

The Impacts of this Trip

The birding safari is led by John Kago Ndung’u a local renowned and talented ornithologist and wildlife guide.

John was born and raised Naivasha region of the Rift Valley on the lower slopes of Mt. Longonot. It was here that the young John fell in love with the abundant birdlife and wildlife of the area.

After school he studied to become a qualified guide at university in the Rift Valley and followed this academic training with a professional guides’ course at Nature Kenya where he was able to sharpen his birding skills. He is a KPSGA Bronze Guide member and is currently preparing for the Silver Award.

Throughout his career he has guided international groups from all over the world. Our professional naturalist takes great pleasure showing you the best of Kenya’s wildlife, as well as the rich tapestry of local communities, including his own.

All the lodges we use wherever possible, we source all the food required for their menus from the rich farmland areas nearby, thus not only allowing them to ensure that it is garden fresh, but also to offer l support and commitment to the surrounding agricultural communities. The lodges also provide local employment and a source of income which enable people to stay in their home areas rather than have to seek alternative employment in the cities. The lodges support activities in the local area financially for example one lodge sponsor the best performing students in the nearby communities.

Environment