People often think of the words Safari and Kenya in one phrase, simply because Kenya epitomises the perfect safari. Think of infinite savannah plains, filled with animals – and you have the Masai Mara. Then perhaps north of the equator and one has amazing herds of elephant. In the Laikipia plateau one has views second to none, with the very best walking – whether it is with your private guide for a couple of hours or even on a camel assisted walking safari with the local Samburu tribe, learning about their culture! Perhaps you might even like to sleep out in a treehouse or go horse riding amongst wildlife along the plains?

Safari Kenya with AfricanExplorations.com

The point is that Kenya still offers some of the most phenomenal game viewing in Africa, especially with the wildebeest migration – and coupled with wonderful lakes and the Rift valley – this country literally offers it all! Whether you want to have a traditional safari, ending off at the coast where we have some lovely villas or Robinson Crusoe type establishments – or perhaps you want to go walking in the Loita Hills with a private guide for around three or four nights, or you want to trek around Mount Kenya – one of the most beautiful and challenging mountains, or you want to go out with lion or elephant researchers, getting a more indepth feel for the species you are looking at – we can easily arrange this for you!

Luxury Safari Kenya with AfricanExplorations.com

With staff who come from Kenya and having 22 years experience of arranging the very best safaris to kenya, if you are looking for something different, why dont you give us a call?

How often do you hear the words: “not like it used to be”? More to the point, what emotions and memories does that sort of phrase invoke? For, in our modern world, life races by at speed and the basics are forgotten . The children’s day is full of school, after school clubs, extra lessons, swimming, Stagecoach, music, riding or whatever their interests (or their parent’s interests!) may be.  The parents, too, are equally busy rushing around earning  a living or seeing friends. This may or may not be such a bad thing but there’s a question – how much time do we really get to spend together, properly, as a family unit and together experiencing the world in which we actually live? And how often do we get to do – and appreciate – real things in a world where the DS, TV, IPOD, PC and the good old phone are constantly-pervasive influences and distractions?

I allude to “connection”, not only with one’s family (although that has to be the ultimate point) but the actual world which spins beneath our feet. Not a world where everything is seen through a glazed window, on a screen or bought from a supermarket but a world where things are real – where the land, animals, culture and life all there to be lived, enjoyed and, crucially, experienced together at first hand and without barriers.  This is the joy of a Child Friendly African Safari – it brings families together in one, huge, ongoing and never-to-be-forgotten, life-enhancing adventure.

Enthralled - Child Friendly African Safari with Experts AfricanExplorations.com

Connection comes from simple things: The sigh of the wind through a whistling thorn bush; the roar of a lion; the stellar clarity of a Serengeti night; the smile of a child seeing his or her first giraffe; the complete assurance of a nomadic tribesman alone on vast plains; a game of cards in camp; messing about in a mudhole where no-one cares about being covered in mud; the smell of breakfast cooked over an open fire after an early morning walk; the determination of a dung beetle; a genuine grin of welcome; the midnight rustle of “something” moving through the bush just a few metres from your bed…….the list is endless but the theme is the same: simplicity, raw connection to the world around you and of which you are now truly a part.

Children naturally understand all this, of course. Preparation for adulthood erases much of the basic instict with which we are born but, if one takes children to Africa and allows them to free their sense of adventure and fun, and, at the same time, allows adults to reconnect with simple enjoyment and the instincts that live on in all of us what a holiday that becomes! What an experience! What a homecoming! What enormous fun! And how fabulously bonding the whole experience can be.

An Ol Malo Moment in Kenya - Child Friendly African Safari with Experts AfricanExplorations.com

A child friendly safari in Africa can achieve all this. However (or in whatever country) one might “do” Africa – and the possibilities are almost endless so long as one leaves electronics and preconceptions behind – the people you meet will be welcoming and fun, the places you see and stay will be awe inspiring and the experience will be real. This is magic for children and adults alike and is,  surely, not only how things should be – even if just for a short while – but also, perhaps, just a little, “like it used to be”…….

The ‘Big Five’ and the other lesser known – but just as important! – ‘Little Five’ are words synonymous with a safari to Africa. The Big Five are Buffalo, Lion, Elephant, Leopard and Rhino and can be found together in many national parks, game reserves and privately owned conservancies in Southern and Eastern Africa. In South Africa the best known park is, of course, the Kruger National Park. Nearly two million hectares in extent, the Kruger was gazetted in 1898 to protect the South African lowveld wildlife. A plethora of environmental techniques and policies makes the region an ongoing conservation success. There are also privately owned reserves contiguous with the Kruger which feature beautiful and often luxurious safari lodges and camps. Such areas include the well known Sabi Sands where seeing a huge variety of animals is almost guaranteed on an African Big Five Safari.

Elephants on the Chobe - African Big Five Safari With AfricanExplorations.com

Many of these properties accommodate children and offer specialist children’s programs, so an African Big Five Safari is not just for adults! Children’s guides keep children happy and enthralled, including trying to find the ‘Little Five’: buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, ant lion and rhino beetle as well as tracking and identifying animals, birds, and insects. Children are kept occupied for hours with short bush walks and spotting “creepy crawlies”, whilst other staff might teach them how to bake animal-themed cookies in the camp’s bush oven (for everyone’s afternoon tea!) whilst adults are busy on a game drive.

For those who like ‘lists’, how about the ‘Birding Six’? These include Ground Hornbill, Kori Bustard, Lappet-faced Vulture, Martial Eagle, Pel’s fishing Owl and Saddle-bill Stork. And then there are the “Little Six Antelope”: Grey Duiker, Sharpe’s Grysbok, Steenbok, Klipspringer, Livingstone Suni and Oribi.

The Rare Pels Fishing Owl - African Big Five Safari With AfricanExplorations.com

An African Big Five Safari is, surely, only possible on land? Not so! For those with a love of the sea and who visit South Africa’s gorgeous coastline there is also the ‘Marine Big Five’ which includes the Southern Right Whale, Cape Fur Seal, common Dolphin, Great White Shark and African Penguin. The best time for whale watching in South Africa is between July and November; several places on the Garden Route feature marine activities although the Walker Bay/Hermanus region is especially well known for easy access to marine wildlife with excellent guiding.

Cape Fur Seal - African Big Five Safari With AfricanExplorations.com

What is a Luxury African Safari? It is many different things to many people! Perhaps this clip defines it in more detail!

An Africa Safari Vacation is one of the most amazing and rewarding types of holiday that one can ever imagine! With magnificent wildlife in abundance, incredible walking, scenery and top class guiding – as well as having such a variety of first class accommodation – all this contributes to having the perfect safari!See the video below to get an idea of which country might be right for you! We come from Africa and have been arranging bespoke safaris for our clients for 21 years – so, if only the very best will do – we would love to assist you in arranging your safari of a lifetime!

Alfajiri Villas are simply gorgeous – situated  on the Kenyan coast of Diani. There are just a handful of glorious, spacious villas, each with their own swimming pool overlooking the sea.

Alfajiri Villas with AfricanExplorations.com

The villas have received all sorts of accolades over the years and are of differing sizes, depending upon the size of the group. They are completely private from one another, but close enough to be perfect should there be several famillies travelling together who want their own privacy but also be close to one another. There is also a smaller villa which is perfect for a couple who simply want to have quality time with one another, rather than being with other people!

Alfajiri Villas with AfricanExplorations.com

Apart from having your  own swimming pool and the Indian Ocean being your playground right in front of you, snorkelling and diving are also on offer and there are tennis courts closeby as well as membership to a golf club.

The villas come complete with ayahs (nannies), so your children are beautifully looked after, should you be having a pampering massage in the garden, overlooking the sea. Kite flying is popular with children here, too.

Possibly the most wonderful aspect is the cuisine. This is absolutely their high point. Owner managed by an Italian couple, this is something they take very seriously! Parmesan cheese and the finest quality olive oils are flown in from Italy. Hand made pasta is made for you daily – simply say when you would like it, what sort you would like and what sauce, if any, you would like to accompany it! Perfect for children!  Then lobster, crab and array of beautifully cooked fresh fish is always on offer. There is no menu here – you can create your own, on a whim – or take their suggestion.

An African safari needs to be tailormade in order to ensure that you get the most out of it. Just rationalise – how could one safari be right for thousands of people? It simply can’t – and one just ends up compromising hugely. And why should one? When paying this much money for a holiday (or anything else in life, for that matter), it has to be as perfect as possible – and the only way this is possible is to replicate an environment that you not only feel comfortable in, but indeed surpasses all your expectations and leaves you breathless!

African Safari Tailormade with AfricanExplorations.com

And that’s where we come in! We listen to you, ask lots of questions, analyse and disseminate that information and then send you a suggestion which we think  will be absolutely right for you! Whether its taking in photography lessons  with a film maker and guide in the Masai Mara, going up in a hot air balloon across the sand dunes in the Namib Desert of Namibia or flying over the harsh and beautiful Skeleton Coast. Perhaps it is seeing the wildebeest migration in the mighty Serengeti – or spending times with chimps. It could be spending time with a researcher, looking for wild dog in Botswana, or taking a houseboat on the Chobe River. Perhaps it is looking at gorillas or sitting on the back of an elephant on an elephant back safari in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. What about riding a horse across the Kalahari Desert in Botswana or sipping wine at some of the best wine estates in the Cape? It might even be canoeing along the Mighty Zambezi in Zimbabwe or viewing the Victoria Falls. It could even be undertaking a walking safari.

African Safari Tailormade with AfricanExplorations.com

These, plus a myriad of other ideas are available to you – we would love to share our knowledge and enthusiasm with you!

There are lots of wonderful ways to experience Kenya, but none quite so wonderful as a Kenya Luxury Safari. For me, the best way of exploring an area is to have the most amazing guide to bring the region to life for you – the guide is in fact the most crucial aspect of any safari! Then – one of my favourites is a  private camp in the Mara which is set in a truly game rich area – and one of the best for the migration. Here you have wrought iron candelabra in the bathroom to add a sense of occasion and the sitting area which overlooks the bush and is open on all sides with a huge candelabra to give a warm light in the evenings. Having no electricity creates a wonderful atmosphere. The days are spent viewing some of the finest and most concentrated wildlife in Africa, whilst the evenings are spent laughing and chatting about what you have seen during the day. Perhaps even go out on a sundowner flight across the Mara, arriving as the sun begins to set. This truly is spectacular!

Kenya Luxury Safari with AfricanExplorations.com

Then perhaps travel to Meru or Samburu National Parks, north of the equator and stay in a beautiful lodge or tented camp – whichever takes your fancy! Perhaps go and visit an elephant research station or take a walk with a Samburu warrior, learning all about their culture as well as seeing superb elephant and other wildlife in the park. In the evening, at sundowners, watch the Samburu guides dance and become mesmerised with their simulanteous chanting and the finery of their clothing. This truly is Africa – and the continent delivers a pulsation that no other can equal!

Kenya Luxury Safari with AfricanExplorations.com

Riding safaris can be undertaken in luxury in Kenya – no more so than two safaris that specifically come to mind. In terms of a dedicated riding safari our two favourites are with some old friends of ours in the Masai Mara – where the Rolls Royce of riding safaris takes place during the wildebeest migration, where one canters along with the enormous herds of wildebeest and zebra. This truly is a most exhilarating experience and the riding is world class on gorgeous thoroughbred horses and polo ponies. There is also their home where ends or begins the safari – which has a cross country course and there is a polo field too.

For those who are not experienced riders, we can also arrange these safaris in the Chyulu Hills at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro which is simply magnificent – miles and miles of space and with few predators (in comparison to the Mara).  A camp is erected for you and there are scheduled set departures. If there is a family or a group of friends, then we can tailor these safaris for you. In the Mara, you come back to your tented camp and share the laughs and tribulations of the day with like minded souls. These safaris also take place at other times of year in Laikipia where again, there is far less wildlife and certainly far fewer predators but an area of extreme beauty. One sleeps in a private camp most evenings, but also at a lovely homestead for the last couple of nights. Lastly, there is the Amboseli ride at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. Again, an area of extreme beauty and also excellent wildlife – especially elephant. The last two nights are spent with Kenyans at their home – which is a lovely touch! To me, there is nothing quite like a riding safari in Africa – one feels so alive – so much more in tune and in touch with nature and the earth as a whole – and yet one still has the opportunity to game view by vehicle should one wish – the perfect combination!

Luxury Safaris in Africa are our forte. Whether you would like the very best in luxury in terms of having private aeroplanes and the finest guides that the countries can produce at your fingertips, camps set up for you in the best wildlife locations or whether you want a film maker to improve your photography, perhaps you might like to spend time with an ornithologist or simply an all round naturalist guide, or even would like to see a particular species – such as a wild dog or a shoebill stork, we can achieve this for you! We have set up camps where the wild dogs are denning and where the shoebill stork is nesting – something that only sheer expertise and a lifetime spent on the African continent can allow us to do.

Luxury Safaris Africa with AfricanExplorations.com

For those starting out on their first safaris, we guide you closely and help you to make the right decision for you or your family.  Whether it is a private villa in the bush or on the coast for a family or group of friends, or a simple tented camp erected just for you where no other camp exists – where you watch the birds come to rest in the boughs of the trees – knowing it is just yourselves, your guide and crew and the birdlife – surely this must be the most blissful thing?  Or hot air ballooning across the world’s highest sand dunes, watching each of them change hue. Perhaps spend time with lion or elephant or wild dog researchers – nothing is beyond our remit.  You might even have dreamt of riding an elephant through the jewel of the Okavango Delta, observing the whole herd playing and interacting – a priceless experience! You have purely our passion and our expertise – and we look forward to arranging your safari of a lifetime!

Luxury Safaris Africa with AfricanExplorations.com