Offbeat Safaris, Kenya
10 Day Laikipia Ranch Ride (consisting of 8 days riding, 2 nights at Deloraine)

Day 1
Collected from the International Airport and drive to Deloraine (3 hours) home of Tristan and Lucinda Voorspuy. Evening ride. Overnight Deloraine.

Day 2
Early morning ride. Optional afternoon visit to Lake Nakuru National Park, famous for flamingos. Or simply relax by the pool with croquet, tennis and riding as forms of exercise for the rest of the day. Overnight Deloraine.

Day 3
Drive 3 hours after breakfast to Sosian Ranch Rumuruti, the start of the riding safari. Camp is set up on the Ewaso Narok River below some lovely waterfalls and alongside secretive hippo pools. Lunch in camp followed by an evening ride. Overnight Sosian Ranch

Day 4
A full day exploring this 24,000 acre ranch by horse and landrover. Game in Laikipia includes, Elephant, reticulated giraffe, hippo, Birchells zebra, Grevy’s zebra, Jacksons hartebeest, Eland, Impala, Grants gazelle, Thompson’s gazelle, warthog, hyaena and many more including all the big cats. Overnight Sosian ranch

Day 5
A long ride heading due north through Sosian and crossing the old P&D ranch where you will see a big difference in the land use. P&D used to be a commercial ranch of 56,000 acres but has been bought by government and is now occupied by Samburu squatters and consequently overgrazed and degraded. However pretty and traditional Samburu villages abound and we will return on day 6 to see them, We enter Mugie ranch crossing one of the few fences we meet on the safari and find camp set up by a spring near ranch headquarters. Overnight Mugie Ranch

Day 6
A full day at Mugie with riding, game drives and a visit to a Samburu Manyatta all to fit in Mugie is a 50,000 acre ranch owned by Nicky Hahn from California and being developed for tourism, ranching and other farming activities such as irrigation. There is a tremendous amount of game and this is a truly stunning property. Overnight Mugie

Day 7
Today we move to the east on a 5 hr ride out of acacia woodland onto open plains and crossing the ranch boundary just to the south of the vast Kirimun Plains. At certain times of year these can be covered in game and you get the true feeling of the vastness of Africa. Hopefully we will lunch by the pool at Il Pinguin, home of Nick and Heather Day at this lovely oasis. After lunch we cross onto Loisaba and camp at a beautiful campsite set up in a grove of fever trees close to the Colcheccio dam. Overnight Loisaba camp

Day 8
A full day riding and game viewing on this spectacular 60,000 acre game ranch with a beautiful cross section of fabulous Laikipia scenery. We shall take a barbecue lunch down to the Ewaso Ngiro River and game is again plentiful. Overnight Loisaba Ranch

Day 9
Another long moving day in a south easterly direction across the southern plains of Loisaba, before crossing some rugged country and descending an escarpment on foot to cross the Ewaso Narok river and enter Mpala ranch. Another vast farm of 60,000 acres, with tracts of fairly thick wait-a-bit thorn, (Acacia Mellifera) and amazing views toward Mount Kenya. Mpala is bequeathed to the Smithsonian institute by George Small, its philanthropic American owner as a game reserve and research centre in perpetuity.

This is our longest day and we reach camp on the Ewaso Ngiro River in late afternoon. Dinner and overnight Mpala

Day 10
A full day of rides and game drives on this beautiful ranch and a chance to climb Lukenya, a large granite Kopje commanding extensive views over the whole of Laikipia. We can swim and bird watch along the banks of the Ewaso Ngiro. Dinner and overnight Mpala

Day 11
A chance of a last morning ride before onward transfers to Nairobi.