Season: Year round Price Basis: PP for 3 nights
  • Overview
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Kitich Forest Trails are multi-day pack animal-supported walking safaris that explore from the Samburu lowlands to the heights of the Mathews Range, taking in a stay at Kitich Forest Camp. Guests sleep on camp beds in bell or dome tents, and avail of fly-camp ablutions - bucket showers and short drop toilets. Meals are served in a mess tent, and evenings are devoted to fireside story telling. 

This trip can be combined with an itineray that includes a stay at a camp in the Maasai Mara, and Maasai-guided walks in the Loita Hills.

A typical three-night walking safari begins with a scheduled morning flight into Kalama airstrip and a drive of around one and a half hours to link up with the guides and cameleers. It’s possible to ride the camels but most guests find it more comfortable to walk. The journey starts in the low country, following the wide sandy riverbeds known as luggas. The wildlife shares the land with livestock and its Samburu herders, and some encounters with both are likely. Lunch is taken in a shady spot, perhaps under a venerable giant fig; a post-prandial siesta on a bedroll usually follows. As the heat of the sun abates, tea and biscuits are served before setting off again for a shorter walk, arriving at the fly-camp before sunset.

The fly-camp is simple and comfortable; it has dome or bell tents, tall enough to stand up in, with mosquito net ceilings that allow stargazing from bed. There are comfy bedrolls or camp beds, kerosene lanterns for lighting and bucket showers. After a warm wash and cold drink, there’s time to reflect on the day by the campfire before dinner is taken at an outdoor dining table. On the second day, there’s a pre-dawn wake up and a light snack before setting off again, leaving the camp crew to pack up the camels. It’s a good time of day for wildlife spotting, and the walking terrain gets greener as the route ascends slowly into the Mathews. It’s 18 km to Kitich Forest Camp and, along the way, there’s a stop for a full breakfast and perhaps a picnic lunch too. If the distance is too far for guests, a vehicle pick up can be arranged. At camp, there’s time to wash, lunch and rest. The altitude gives a relief in temperatures compared with previous days, and an afternoon walk to springs for a swim is an option.

The next morning, the journey continues, this time with donkey portage in place of camels. There are giant cycads to be seen as the route threads the Kojos Valley, pausing for lunch before reaching the precipitous edge of the escarpment of the Murit Pass. Again, there’s about five hours of walking this day, and the fly-camp is set in a glade of shady trees. In the cool air of morning, the final walk descends the Murit for 9 km through a landscape of more cycads and boulders. Breakfast is served under a grand Newtonia tree. Once the donkey train arrives with the luggage, the group transfers by vehicle back to the airstrip for onward travel.

  • Fully staffed and equipped fly camp with camels for portering
  • Meals

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