Turkana And Omo Valley Adventure

Arrive in Nairobi, where you will be met and transferred to the Tamarind Tree Hotel, with bed and breakfast included.

After breakfast, transfer to nearby Wilson Airport for the short flight to Laikipia Wilderness Palm Camp on the Laikipia Plateau near Mt Kenya. You will stay here for the next two nights with all meals, drinks and safari activities included.

Full day for safari activities. Laikipia Wilderness is known worldwide for its regular sightings of Giza, the incredible black leopard of Laikipia.

In the evening we will have an expedition briefing with lead guide Steve Carey. Steve is in the top tier of guides working in Africa today. Originally from Zimbabwe, he has spent the last 15 years in northern Kenya – and has led a number of previous Turkana trips.

This morning you will drive past Mt Kenya, descending down to Samburu and ‘the big north’. This afternoon your mobile camp is positioned at the foot Mt Ololokwe, a giant rock monolith that stands sentinel at the gateway to Kenya’s wild north.

It is a beautiful place to spend our first night on the road and for the adventurous, a climb to the summit of Ololokwe is highly recommended.

A short drive will get you to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary where you will have a privileged behind the scenes tour, after which we head off north to Marsabit.

Arrive late afternoon and enjoy a short game drive in the evening before sundowners at camp looking over Lake Marsabit.

A 5 hour drive on good murrum roads and desert tracks will see you arrive at the Chalbi Desert in time for a late lunch, and the chance to relax in your new camp.

Lake Turkana is in your sights. Today is the crux of the travel part of the expedition as you set off early, bound for Sibiloi N.P. and the lake.

This is an exciting day behind the wheel on little used dirt roads, and you will arrive in time for afternoon tea. Camp is set up in a beautiful location in a sandy river bed with trees near the lake. This will be your base for the next 3 nights as you explore the incredible Sibiloi region.

Today you have the chance to explore the area through walks, drives. You will check out the fossilised forest, have the chance to swim in some shallow water and fish.

You will continue to explore the incredible area, through walks and drives as you try and find the Golden Wolf or go out on the boat to explore and fish.

Breaking new ground. This morning you will head north to the Ethiopia border. Here you transfer into new Ethiopian registered 4x4’s and continue into the remarkable Omo Valley.

The Omo Valley region is home to some 20 or so distinct tribal groups that are among the least touched by modern life in the world, and certainly in Africa.

This afternoon you will meet the Nyangatom and Karo tribes-peoples before heading to the town of Turmi for a night in the pleasant Buska Lodge.

*Immigration formalities to leave Kenya will be taken care of before the start of the trip. Once in Ethiopia territory we will proceed to the town of Omorate where we will formally enter Ethiopia. The Ethiopian authorities will be notified in advance of our arrival and provided with all relevant documentation.

This morning you visit a Hammer community before heading north to the market town of Key Afer in the early afternoon.

A busy market day at Key Afer is an amazing spectacle of colour, sound and energy as the many different tribal groups from the region (particularly the Kako, the Bana and the Hamer) come together to barter and trade.

In the mid-afternoon you will continue the short distance on to Jinka were you will stay overnight in the quirky Eco-Omo Lodge.

On your final day you make the beautiful drive down into the Mago National Park to visit a community of the fascinating Mursi tribe. Lip plates are a well known aspect of the Mursi, who are probably the last group in Africa for whom it is still the norm for women to wear large pottery plates, or wooden discs, in their lower lips.

Returning to Jinka you will visit the South Omo Research Center and Museum which provides an insightful overview of the many different tribal groups of the region.

Return to Addis via a roughly 1 hour flight, and connect with your international flight home, after an incredible journey through North Kenya and Ethiopia.

*Addis airport is well connected for regional flights, as well as direct flights to the US, UK and mainland Europe.