Kenya Intrepid Air Safari
The adventure started with our flight with Kenya Airways. If you think that an African airline is a bit ‘third world’ – think again. Kenya Airways took delivery of her first Dreamliner in 2014 and now have nine in their fleet. This was our first experience of the aircraft and it lived up to its reputation of being quiet, comfortable and spacious. Bigger windows give lots of natural light but if it all gets a bit much you can dim them at the touch of a button!
The guides from Gamewatchers met us in Nairobi and transferred us to Wilson airport. I had expected to be just dropped at the door, but they helped us inside with our luggage and made sure that the bags were split correctly at check in for what went into storage and what went with us. They also turned up in a huge land cruiser which gave us a good insight into what our clients would get if they were on safari with them out of Nairobi.
When we’ve been to Kenya before, we’ve either been driven from Nairobi or from Mombasa, so to be using Safarilink this time was a big treat. I love the ‘casual’ scheduling, which for us included two touchdowns to pick up extra passengers .... it certainly adds to the adventure to be able to see wildlife from the air and to be able to see the change in the layout of the land between the national parks. The whole experience is casual but professional which is a relaxing start to the safari. I would definitely recommend this to my clients who have the budget.
We met some wonderful people, saw some amazing sights and felt hugely privileged to see the 'big five' again in the wild. Things have moved on since we were there last and the locals now also have the 'special five' in Samburu (as they have animals there that can't be found anywhere else in the world) and even 'the ugly' five! The ugly five includes the warthog who are quite odd to look at, but are now quite endearing since we've all watched Lion King several times. On our anniversary this time we had breakfast overlooking the hippos in the river at dawn.
If the thought of ‘tented’ accommodation doesn’t appeal – think again. Most tented accommodation on safari is a wonderful opportunity to be at one with nature with a huge comfy bed, wonderful food, service and a private bathroom. The Intrepid camp tents, both Mara and Samburu were beautifully finished with netted four poster beds, tiled walk in showers, his ‘n’ hers sinks and a lovely view from the furnished terrace.
After our safari we returned to Wilson by Safarilink, retrieved our beach luggage, had a mini tour around Nairobi en-route back to Jomo Kenyatta International for our flight to Mombasa and our beach stay at Voyager Beach Resort. Once we arrived at Voyager, we were also very well looked after. On arrival it was almost the end of service for dinner so we were checked in very quickly and escorted to the main buffet restaurant so we could eat before we unpacked. This is a very well run property and we were pleasantly surprised by the variety & standard of food. There is also a good understanding between the resort staff and the beach vendors so we did venture out and walk the beach when the tide went out. Security was discreet but visible so we felt perfectly safe and the vendors were polite and friendly. The hotel has just over 230 rooms and is well known for the excellent family facilities it offers. During our stay the whole main lawn was set up for an outdoor celebration dinner with staged entertainment. We watched with interest wondering whether it was for a wedding until we realised that it’s a weekly guest event!
The watersports centre offers windsurfing, sailboats, snorkelling and diving. As it’s situated just a mile from the marine park there aren’t any motorised watersports on offer, but the snorkelling and diving are excellent in the park and Nyali is where I completed my PADI Open Water diving course many years ago.
On the way back, we were met by Gamewatchers again in Nairobi but this time we had a while to spare before we would be able to check in at our overnight hotel, so our driver gave us several options of how we could spend our time. In the end, we opted to visit the giraffe centre which was a lovely experience. We spent quite a while feeding ‘Eddie’ and his friends and this is certainly something I would recommend for people who have time to spare or can’t afford to stay at Giraffe Manor – and now I can say I’ve been kissed by a giraffe!