Animal Works The Tusk Safari through Kenya An Exclusive Departure Escorted by Nafisa With some of the continents greatest concentrations of animals, the sweeping savannas of Kenya offer an iconic safari experience. Join Nafisa, founder of Animal Works, on this exclusive small group safari to view Africa s Big Five - lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and both Black & White rhinoceros. A rich blend of outstanding scenery, award winning safari lodges and the unique opportunity to visit Save the Elephants in Samburu, the Mara Elephant Project in the Masai Mara, the Cynthia Moss Research Centre in Amboseli and the Daphne Sheldrick Rhino & Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi. These behind the scenes encounters are a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you are looking for an exclusive safari experience combining classic safari ambience with the opportunity to see majestic elephant in the wild then this safari is for you! Why we like it Escorted by Nafisa Big Five game viewing including abundant elephants Stunning safari camps Supporting Animal Works A Safari Overview: Day 1 Sat 24 Oct Day 2 Sun 25 Oct Day 5 Wed 28 Oct Day 8 Sat 31 Oct Day 11 Tue 03 Nov Day 12 Wed 04 Nov Arrive Nairobi - Hemingway s Hotel - 1 night Charter to Elephant Watch Camp, Samburu Game Reserve - 3 nights Charter to Richard s Camp, Greater Masai Mara - 3 nights Charter to Tortilis Camp, Amboseli - 3 nights Charter return to Nairobi - Hemingway s Hotel - 1 night Safari ends in Nairobi
Animal Works - Day by Day Itinerary Day 1 - Depart Australia Travel to Kenya, via the Middle East or South Africa - overnight in flight. Day 2 - Arrive Nairobi Arrive in Nairobi and be met and transferred to Hemingway s Hotel where you will overnight. Enjoy a welcome dinner and safari briefing this evening. Day 3 - Nairobi to Samburu Game Reserve This morning you will be transferred to the airport for the scheduled charter flight to Samburu National Park, where you will spend three nights at Elephant Watch Camp. Elephant Watch Camp is perched on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River, beneath wide-spreading Kigelia and Acacia elatior trees. It is home to some of the largest elephant bulls in Samburu who can often be spotted cooling down in the river bed, resting in the shade, or picking up seed pods beside the tents. Under thatched roofs, a blaze of colour welcomes you to this eco-friendly camp, cleverly built out of recycled trees and logs. A multitude of birds & monkeys flash overhead, and at dawn a gentle chorus echoes through the bush announcing a new day in the wild. Each tent has its own bathroom built around a tree to give you the novel experience of showering under the stars. Beautifully painted buckets are filled to the brim with sun-heated water. Everything about Elephant Watch Camp is a feast for the senses and it is where your simple bush-life with nomads begins. Tall, lithe men in red greet you with a smile, bright swathes of cotton bustle in the breeze, and huge cushioned sofas, local woven mats, and special beds and furniture made from fallen trees, provide your every comfort. All the crisp herbs & vegetables are organically grown and freshly picked. Meals are a fusion of Italo-Afro-bush gourmet with sensational picnics by the river while the elephants stroll by a speciality. The Samburu Game Reserve lies north of Mt Kenya & the Laikipia region. The area is characterized by a dramatic landscape of semi-arid desert, divided by the meandering Ewaso Nyiro River and dotted with lush springs, Doum palms, volcanic rocks and sacred mountains. The rare species adapted to arid environments, such as Grevy s zebra, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, Beisa oryx and Somali ostrich mingle with the big cats and enormous herds of elephants. T: +61 2 9327 0666 1300 130 218 W: classicsafaricompany.com.au
Day by Day Itinerary Continued... Day 4 & 5 : Samburu Game Reserve Elephant Watch Camp is owned by Dr Iain & Oria Douglas-Hamilton whose lifelong work to protect elephants has featured in many films and articles, including two BBC series Living with Elephants and The Secret Life of Elephants. Their best-selling books Among the Elephants and Battle for the Elephants have won many awards. There are few people in the world who know elephants better than Oria Douglas-Hamilton and her husband, Iain the founder and President of research NGO, Save the Elephants. They established Elephant Watch Camp & the charity Save the Elephants to bring peace & harmony back to the world of elephants. The Douglas-Hamiltons continue to use their decades of experience and knowledge to work towards creating a sustainable future for elephants and the places in which they live. Over the next two days you will have the unique opportunity to explore the Samburu Game Reserve with your team of Samburu warriors, whose knowledge, passion, sharp eyes and sense of humour are a genuine and rare gift. They are the best and most natural ambassadors for the extraordinary wilderness of Samburu. The game driving is outstanding with plentiful elephant, buffalo, the rare Grevy Zebra and resident predators, that reside within this dramatic landscape. A highlight of your stay at Elephant Watch Camp is the chance to meet the researchers at the Save the Elephants research camp. This will provide you with a whole new perspective on the landscape as seen from an elephants point of view. You will learn about their four pillars of work : Research & Conservation, Protection, Grassroots education and global Communication; and learn about the great inroads being made in persuading China to give up ivory by former NBA star Yao Ming. Hosted by Elephant Watch and Save the Elephants he has helped to launch an international public awareness campaign targeting ivory and rhino horn consumption in Asia, in partnership with African Wildlife Foundation, WildAid and Save the Elephants. Save the Elephants STE To secure a future for elephants & sustain the beauty & ecological integrity of the place where they live, to promote man s delight in their intelligence & the diversity of their world & to develop a tolerant relationship between the two. You will have the opportunity to meet with the team members from STE and learn about the four pillars of STE s work: Research and Conservation, Protection, Grassroots Education and Communication on a global scale.
Day by Day Itinerary Continued... Day 6 : Samburu Game Reserve to Mara North Conservancy Depart Samburu by light aircraft bound for the Mara North Conservancy, 70,000 acres of private game viewing area located within the Greater Masai Mara and bordering the Masai Mara National Park. Here you will spend 3 nights in Richard s Camp. Richard s Camp is perfectly situated on the banks of the Njageteck River and surrounded by 70 acres of private land in the Mara North Conservancy in the Masai Mara. Owned and operated by Richard Roberts and Liz Fusco. Richard was raised in the Masai Mara from the age of 3, and his parents, Willy and Sue, were instrumental in bringing together the Masai communities that form the wildlife conservation association that exists in this area today. A small and intimate the camp has just seven tents raised up on wooden platforms to take advantage of the views. Each of the spacious tents has an en-suite bathroom with solar heated water, and large verandah on which to relax during the heat of the day. Beautifully appointed with furnishings and fabrics collected by Liz on her travels - the result is a casually luxurious tented camp. Tucked away in a beautiful valley in the conservancy, the camp overlooks a small river and waterhole, home to resident hippos. With a hyena den behind the camp, a resident pride of lion, and hippos grazing the lawn just after dark, the camp is famous for its night noises! Richard s Camp combines exceptional wildlife with a contemporary Out of Africa experience. The Mara North Conservancy Mara North Conservancy is a beautiful private wilderness area of more than 30,000 hectares. It is a vital part of the Masai Mara ecosystem as it forms the north western zone, bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve. The aim is to create a best practice, world class conservancy with long term commitments to the environment, wildlife & local communities. MNC is managed by a board of directors who work in partnership with the Masai Landowner Committee to meet long & short term conservation objectives for the future. Professional wildlife and tourism management ensures guests of a truly exclusive and private safari experience with a very low vehicle density. T: +61 2 9327 0666 1300 130 218 W: classicsafaricompany.com.au
Day 7 & 8 : Mara North Conservancy Over the next two days at Richard s Camp you have the opportunity to experience the real Africa; days of heart-stopping game viewing, as well as scenic flights in Richard's small plane. For the more adventurous, walking in the area never loses its appeal. Sundowners, picnic lunches, bush dinners, night game drives and cultural visits to Masai villages are all on offer. As the Founder of the Mara Elephant Project Richard will spend time with you outlining his objectives for the conservation project and you will have the opportunity to visit MEP headquarters, meet with the rangers and view the innovative technology that gives near real-time information on the location and movement of the collared elephants. Surprisingly little is known about the movements of endangered elephants across the Maasai Mara, an extension of the vast Serengeti ecosystem. Funded in part by ESCAPE Foundation, the Mara Elephant Project (MEP) tracks the movements of the elephants while employing a Rapid Response Unit to quickly respond to conflict situations and poaching alerts. The Mara Elephant Project also engages the Mara community by teaching human-elephant conflict resolution methods and educating on anti-poaching, helping locals learn to live along side the elephants. The Mara Elephant Project MEP MEP is based in the Mara North Conservancy & is working towards securing a future for elephants in the greater Mara Ecosystem. With expertise in elephant tracking technology, MEP has partnered with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Richard s Camp to develop a long term Elephant Tracking Project and Quick Response Unit to track elephant movement patterns and corridors and ultimately improve security of individual elephants through daily monitoring.
Day by Day Itinerary Continued... Day 9 : Mara North Conservancy to Amboseli National Park Tortilis Camp is widely regarded as the prime location for witnessing the majesty of Africa s largest mountain, Kilimanjaro. Amboseli is also known for its magnificent elephants over 1000 elephants in the parks eco-system, featuring some of the largest in Africa. Tortilis Camp is named after the flat-topped, umbrella thorn tree, the Acacia Tortilis, and is situated in one of Amboseli s areas of Acacia Tortilis woodland, with the majestic backdrop of Africa s highest mountain, and the world s highest free-standing mountain, snow-capped Kilimanjaro. Game drives, walks, sundowners and bush meals take place both inside the park, and within a private 30,000 acre game concession. Accommodation is under canvas, but in style! The tents are all spacious, with king or twin beds and elegant en suite bathrooms. Fresh herbs and vegetables are grown in camp and homemade pasta, Tortilis speciality, is carefully prepared by the chef, trained by the owner s mother in good Italian home cooking. There is a main lounge, bar and dining area, all exquisitely built with natural materials and thatched roofs, with magnificent views of Kilimanjaro. And for those hot afternoons the pool is ideal. Amboseli National Park Amboseli is famous for the dramatic views of Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world, and the highest peak on the African continent. Kilimanjaro at 5,894m rises dramatically out of the 1,200m Amboseli plains. Amboseli is also famous for its elephant herds, which have been followed and documented by world renowned researcher Cynthia Moss. Amboseli has some of the largest elephants in Africa. As well as plentiful plains game & their predators, the area hosts its own eastern white bearded wildebeest migration, a population that is genetically separate from the Masai Mara/Serengeti population.
Day by Day Itinerary Continued... Day 10 & 11 : Amboseli National Park In 1968, Cynthia Moss made a life-changing decision and moved to Africa to study elephants in northern Tanzania with Iain Douglas-Hamilton. Four years later, teaming up with Harvey Croze, she found ideal conditions for studying elephants in Amboseli National Park. Four decades later, her work is the longest -running study of wild elephants ever undertaken, documenting the lives and deaths of almost 3,000 elephants. The Amboseli Elephant Research Project - the research arm of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants - is now a hub for research collaboration and training. In the absence of poaching and culling, the Amboseli elephant population has been increasing slowly since the late 1970s. Amboseli is, therefore, one of the few places in Africa where the elephant age structure has not been drastically skewed and the population spans the whole range from newborn calves to old matriarchs in their 60s. Since its inception in 1972, AERP has monitored these Amboseli elephants, collecting data on births, deaths and behaviour. Today, as a result, AERP is the critical source of baseline data on elephants. From Tortilis you will have the opportunity to spend time with AERP Masai research assistants, whilst also enjoying game viewing in open land rovers to see Amboseli s spectacular elephants and resident herds of plains game. Amboseli Trust for Elephants ATE The Amboseli Elephant Research Project, has made many important contributions to elephant research over the years. The knowledge gained from the AERP team has profoundly altered the way we think about, conserve & manage elephant populations. Their research has highlighted the ethical implications of dealing with sentient, long-lived, intelligent & social complex animals. Their knowledge base provides powerful & authoritative support to elephant conservation and advocacy campaigns worldwide. For more than four decades AERP s presence has helped ensure the survival of the elephants as well as the Amboseli ecosystem.
Day 12 : Return to Nairobi Farewell the elephants of Amboseli and return to Nairobi, by light aircraft, this morning. On arrival you will be met and transferred to Hemingway s Hotel. Later this afternoon you will be collected for a behind the scenes visit to the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. You will have the opportunity to watch the elephants feed, interact with their keepers and play. When a tiny new-born elephant is orphaned, it is often because its mother and family have been killed to serve the brutal ivory trade. For an elephant, family is all important; a calf s very existence depends upon its mother's milk for the first two years of life. Here, nestled within Nairobi National Park, this orphanage helps raise these orphaned elephants, orphans can ultimately look forward to a quality of life in wild terms, living free in Tsavo East National Park protected by their new extended orphaned family and friends amongst the wild herds. Return to Hemingway s Hotel for a farewell dinner. Day 13 : Depart Nairobi A departure transfer to the airport is included today. In most circumstances flights are overnight, either via Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Johannesburg to Australia. Day 14 : Arrive Australia Arrive Australia today. Welcome Home! Nairobi Elephant Orphanage Born from one family s passion for Kenya & its wilderness, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is today the most successful orphan elephant rescue & rehabilitation program in the world & one of the pioneering conservation organisations for willdlife & habitat protection in East Africa. Overseen by Dr Dame Daphne Sheldrick, whose elephant experience spans a lifetime, this pioneering organization offers hope for orphaned elephants fortunate enough to be found alive. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has saved over 150 orphaned infant calves, which would otherwise have perished.
Costs & Inclusions Saturday 24 October to Wednesday 04 November 2015 ex Nairobi USD $9,850.00 per person twin share 11 night Safari Hemingway s Hotel Nairobi 1 night Half Board Elephant Watch Camp Samburu National Park 3 nights All Inclusive Richard s Camp Great Masai Mara 3 nights All Inclusive Tortilis Camp Amboseli 3 nights All Inclusive Hemingway s Hotel Nairobi 1 night Half Board Inclusions: Escorted by Nafisa - Co-founder of Animal Works 11 night safari includes all accommodation as specified All required internal flights & transfers in Kenya In Nairobi, accommodation on a half board basis - breakfast & dinner All inclusive accommodation on safari: full board, all drinks (except Champagne), park entry fees, scheduled game viewing activities Services of safari hosts & professional guides in all safari camps Visits to the Mara Elephant Project, Cynthia Moss Research Centre & Save the Elephants Private visit to the Daphne Sheldrick Rhino and Elephant Sanctuary An Animal Works 2015 Calendar + signed, limited edition elephant print by Nafisa (value $430) Exclusions: International flights & departure taxes Additional activities, gratuities, visas, insurance Items of a personal nature Minimum - 8 participants (to confirm departure) Maximum - 12 participants Airfares & Travel Insurance - prices on request Recommended Routings to Nairobi Emirates / Qantas via Dubai Etihad via Abu Dhabi Qantas / South African Airways via Johannesburg Single room supplement cost applies of USD $2,995 Maximum of two single rooms available To confirm your participation: A 30% non refundable deposit is required secure your place - $2,700 per person The balance of payment is due 60 days prior to departure A detailed itinerary and invoice will be forwarded at the time of providing us with a verbal confirmation. All necessary house keeping information will also be shared at that time. Terms & Conditions apply - please request a copy of our Booking Form ABOUT NAFISA Elephants represent strength, wisdom and long life and yet tragically, they are one of the most endangered species on our planet. With diminishing numbers remaining in the wild award winning artist Nafisa founded Animal Works Australia a not-for-profit association that works with partners around the globe to conserve wildlife. Donating her time & considerable talent as an artist, Nafisa is totally committed to creating artworks works that celebrate the beauty of our fragile world; and she generously funds the project wth the sale of her artworks. Nafisa has won over 50 awards for her work including the prestigious 2010 Archibald Packers Prize. T: 1300 130 218 W: classicsafaricompany.com.au
T: +61 2 9327 0666 W: classicsafaricompany.com.au