4-Day Fly-In Ol Pejeta & Mara – Rhinos to Big Cats Safari

Your fly-in Ol Pejeta Mara safari begins with a morning flight from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to Nanyuki airstrip, followed by a short road transfer to the renowned Ol Pejeta Conservancy in the shadow of Mount Kenya. After checking into your lodge and enjoying lunch, the afternoon is dedicated to Ol Pejeta’s unique conservation experiences. You visit the northern white rhino enclosure for an intimate encounter with Najin and Fatu, the last two of their kind on Earth, learning from their dedicated caretakers about the ongoing efforts to save the subspecies. You continue to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only facility in Kenya caring for rescued chimpanzees. An evening game drive through the conservancy reveals black rhinos, lions, buffalo, and elephants as the highland light fades into a stunning sunset over Mount Kenya.

After an early breakfast at the Ol Pejeta lodge, you transfer to Nanyuki airstrip for your connecting flight to the Maasai Mara. The scenic flight carries you over the Aberdare Range and the Great Rift Valley before descending into the vast golden savannah of the Mara ecosystem. Upon landing, your Mara guide meets you and drives you to your lodge for lunch. The afternoon game drive takes you into the heart of big cat country, where your guide navigates prime territories for lion prides that patrol the grasslands, leopards concealed in riverside fig trees, and cheetah scanning the plains from termite mounds. The contrast with the morning’s highland conservation landscape is dramatic and thrilling.

Dedicate a full day to the Maasai Mara with morning and afternoon game drives designed to maximize big cat encounters. The early morning drive targets predators at their most active, with excellent chances of witnessing a lion pride on the move or a cheetah accelerating after prey on the open plains. Your guide takes you to the Mara River for hippo and crocodile sightings, and during migration season you may witness the spectacle of wildebeest crossings. After returning for lunch, the afternoon drive explores different sectors of the reserve, seeking out elephant herds, buffalo wallowing in mud, and the smaller predators like serval cats and jackals that thrive in the Mara ecosystem.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the Mara lodge as the savannah comes alive with the morning chorus of birds and the distant calls of hyenas. After breakfast, you check out and transfer to the airstrip for your return flight to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport. The scenic one-hour flight provides a final aerial view of the Mara’s endless grasslands and winding rivers before you arrive in Nairobi by midday carrying extraordinary memories of endangered rhinos, playful chimpanzees, and the Mara’s magnificent big cats.