Kenya Safari 35 to 45

Today your adventure begins. You’ll meet your guides and your fellow 35-45s, and then we’ll load up the safari vehicles and be on our way. Passing through the Great Rift Valley, we’ll get to our Maasai Mara lodge just in time for lunch – and then head out for our first game drive. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife large and small as we make our way across those magnificent rolling hills.

After an early breakfast, you'll get the chance to head out on a hot air balloon ride to check out the African Savannah as the sun rises. Then, after a champagne breakfast to top it all off, you'll rejoin the morning's game drive. At midday, we’ll head back to the lodge for lunch and a swim, and then embark on our second game drive this afternoon – in search of Africa's elusive big cats. The Maasai Mara is the setting for one of nature’s greatest phenomena: The Great Migration. If you’re here at the right time of year, you’ll have the chance to witness millions of wildebeest and zebras en route to greener pastures.

Rise and shine, Kenyan explorers! With the Maasai Mara lodged firmly in our memories (and our hearts), we'll make our way back to Nairobi this morning - where plenty more magic awaits. This afternoon we head back to Nairobi, where something truly special awaits us. We'll visit the Kibera Slum to see the incredible work being done by the Mirror of Hope Foundation - working to break the cycle of poverty through education, helping the women and children to improve their quality of life. Afterwards, the afternoon is yours to relax and choose from a variety of hotel restaurants with views of the Nairobi National Park.

Back in Nairobi, we'll have the chance to take a unique game drive in Nairobi National Park. Keep your eyes peeled for waterholes, cityscapes and the elusive white rhino too. If you like, you'll also have time to visit the Sheldrick Elephant rehabilitation nursery, where you can watch baby elephants play and bathe in the water, and hear the fascinating story of their road to recovery too - just remember you'll need to have bought your ticket in advance on the Sheldrick Website. After a picnic lunch and a visit to a local Curio shop, we’ll head for our lodge (right on the edge of the Amboseli National Park, might we add, with views of Mt Kilimanjaro too!) to enjoy a delicious included dinner.

After our morning's buffet breakfast, we will do a short safari walk to a Maasai village, guided by Maasai warriors as they teach us about their culture and everyday lives co-existing with wild animals. After lunch we will head out to Amboseli National Park, famous for its iconic shots of elephants and wildlife feeding in the foreground while the peak of Africa rises in the background: Mt Kilimanjaro. It's a photographer's dream, and it's all yours. Our final dinner in Kenya will be included back at the lodge.

Our last day of this incredible trip will send us off with a bang, including one last morning game drive through the Amboseli to the Tanzania border. We then head back to Nairobi for drop-offs at Nairobi Airport or our hotel in Nairobi. With full hearts and memories, here is where we'll say fond farewells to our Africa adventure and our new Contiki family.