Smita’s Wild Kenya: Into the Mara Less Travelled
A Customizable Trip to Kenya — 7 Days / 6 Nights
Highlights
• Hosted by zoologist Smita Srivastava.
• Small-group, immersive safari experience.
• Stay at Ololo Safari Lodge beside Nairobi National Park.
• Spot rhinos, lions, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, elephants, and more.
• Visit the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage.
• Stay at the exclusive Porini Ol Kinyei Safari Cottages.
• Private charter flights and dedicated safari vehicles.
• Bush breakfasts, sundowners, and night game drives.
• Community-led conservation in the Maasai Mara.
• Travel in May for lush landscapes and fewer crowds.
About this Safari
A Journey Hosted by Smita Srivastava
I have stood at the edge of the Mara at dawn, watching a cheetah scan the plains, and felt—with absolute certainty—that there is nowhere else on earth I would rather be. That feeling is what I’ve tried to build into this itinerary.
I’m Smita—zoologist, teacher, and someone who has given an embarrassing portion of her life to the African bush. This Kenya journey is one I’m proud of. It’s small by design, unhurried by intention, and built around two properties I believe in wholeheartedly.
Ololo Safari Lodge announces itself quietly. You cross a wooden suspension bridge over the Mbagathi River, step into lush gardens, and suddenly the city behind you ceases to exist. What lies ahead is one of the world’s most improbable wildlife experiences: Nairobi National Park, where both black and white rhinos share open savannah with lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, buffalo, and over 500 species of birds —all within sight of a city skyline. Few parks in Africa concentrate this breadth of wildlife in so compact and accessible a space. Add farm-to-table meals from their working organic kitchen, a visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, and the warmth of a family-run home —and you have a beginning worthy of what follows.
Porini Ol Kinyei Safari Cottages is the kind of place that reminds you why you came to Africa in the first place. Nestled within the only IUCN Green List Protected area in the entire Mara ecosystem, the Ol Kinyei and Naibosho conservancies share the same sweeping landscape —but together they form something quietly extraordinary. Because these are community-owned lands with strictly limited camps and vehicles, the wildlife here has never been pressured or pursued. Lions sleep in the open. Leopards move without hurry. The wildlife dam below the cottages draws elephants, lions, and giraffes —often before your morning coffee is finished. This is what it looks like when animals feel genuinely safe —and it changes the quality of every sighting.
We fly in by private charter—seamless, scenic, and with a generous baggage allowance of 20 kg per person —landing you straight into the wilderness with no fuss. Private vehicles, guides who have spent lifetimes reading this land, bush breakfasts, night drives, sundowners in the middle of nowhere, and a conservation model rooted in the Maasai community, not imposed upon it.
May is when Kenya breathes. The crowds thin, the landscape turns lush and golden-green, and the wildlife gets on with the serious business of living. It’s my favourite time to be out here. I’d love for you to experience it.
Warmly,
Smita
COSTS
Chalo Africa’s special rates to you:
- USD 5,050 per adult (Double sharing throughout; Ololo Stable Room: 17.6 sq m)
- USD 5,250 per adult (Double sharing throughout; Ololo Tented Cottage: 40 sq m)
- USD 5,750 per solo adult (Single room throughout; Ololo Stable Room: 17.6 sq m)
We have space for 16 guests on this trip.
Rates
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Tuesday, May 19, 2027
Welcome to Kenya! Upon your arrival at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be transferred to the remarkable Ololo Safari Lodge—but this is no…
Day 2: Wednesday, May 20, 2027
This morning, rise early for a game drive into Nairobi National Park—one of the most rewarding and underrated wildlife experiences in Kenya. With the city skyline as a…
Day 3: Thursday, May 21, 2027
After a final morning and breakfast at Ololo, we transfer to Nairobi Wilson Airport where two private…
Day 4, 5 & 6: Friday, May 22 –Sunday, May 24, 2027
Three full days in one of the most extraordinary wildlife conservancies in Kenya.
The rhythm here is unhurried and deeply rewarding —early morning game drives as the mist lifts off the plains, bush breakfasts in…
Day 7: Monday, May 25, 2027
All good things. After a final dawn game drive and breakfast, we transfer to Ol Seki Airstrip for our private charter flight back to…
This is a condensed overview of the journey.
Request the full itineraryInclusions & Notes
Notes
- The above itinerary envisages that you arrive and depart from Nairobi (JKIA).
- Our private charter planes will be flying Wilson > Masai Mara > JKIA
- A maximum baggage allowance of 20kgs per person in soft luggage (including hand baggage) will be strictly enforced for the safety of other passengers on all shared charters.
- Do ensure that you have checked passport validity and the visa and vaccination requirements for the countries you are travelling to;
- Most countries will require proof of vaccination against yellow fever upon entry for all travelers who have recently been in Kenya.
- Internet and phone coverage is not guaranteed.
Terms and Conditions
http://chalo.travel/tc
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Hot Air Balloon Safari –USD 540 per person
Your hot air balloon safari lifts off at dawn —06:15, after coffee and a short flight briefing. For one unforgettable hour, you’ll drift silently above the Great Rift Valley, watching the Mara wake up beneath you: herds moving across open plains, the first light catching the hills, a perspective few ever get to see. On landing, a champagne breakfast awaits in the bush —the perfect way to toast a morning unlike any other. Early dawn is when wildlife is at its most active, and floating above the Maasai Mara at that hour is something you’ll carry with you long after you’ve left Kenya.
Details of Costs
The cost includes:
- Transfers as per itinerary
- Charter flights: NairobiWilson –Masai Mara –Nairobi JKIA
- Ololo Safari Lodge: 02 nights full board accommodation + soft drinks, house wine, beer, barista coffee + two scheduled daily game drives in Nairobi National Park, guided Ololo farm tours and activities, guided walks to Kitengela Hot Glass + Wi-Fi, swimming pool, bush sauna, limited laundry service + 02 days Nairobi NP Fee & Ololo Foundation Community & Conservation Fund & visit to the Daphne Sheldrick Wildlife Trust orphanage
- Porini Ol Kinyei Safari Cottages:04 nights full board accommodation + soft drinks, non premium beers, whiskeys and spirits, mineral water + bush picnics (breakfast & lunch), day & night game drives in open-sided 4×4 vehicle with qualified guides, sundowners from scenic viewing points, guided bush walks with Maasai warriors in Ol kinyei Conservancy + Wi-Fi, private chef per cottage + 04 days Conservancy Fees & Porini Wildlife Habitat Trust Payment + 4 private vehicles
- Emergency Support Cover
- Porterage, tipping and gratuity to camp guide and staff.
The costs do not include:
- Premium drinks are extra and payable directly
- International flights, visa fees, vaccinations, medical and travel insurance;
- Any accommodation, activities, domestic flights, transfers or meals not mentioned above;
- Shopping and other items of a personal nature;
Tour Accommodation
Map
Best Months to Visit
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Questions about Smita's Kenya safari
Who leads this Kenya trip?
It is hosted by Smita Srivastava, a zoologist and teacher who has spent much of her life in the African bush and who designed the itinerary around two properties she knows well. The trip is small by design and unhurried by intention, with space for 16 guests in total.
Where do we stay on this itinerary?
Two properties over seven days and six nights. Ololo Safari Lodge sits beside Nairobi National Park, reached across a wooden suspension bridge over the Mbagathi River, with farm-to-table meals from its working organic kitchen. You then fly by private charter, with a 20 kg baggage allowance, to Porini Ol Kinyei Safari Cottages in the Mara.
Why begin a safari in Nairobi National Park?
Few parks concentrate so much in so small a space. Black and white rhino share open savannah with lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, buffalo and more than 500 bird species, all within sight of the city skyline. The first days also include a visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage.
What makes the Ol Kinyei area different from the main Mara reserve?
Ol Kinyei sits within the only IUCN Green List protected area in the Mara ecosystem, and together with the neighbouring Naiboisho conservancy forms community-owned land with strictly limited camps and vehicles. Wildlife here has never been pressured, so lions sleep in the open and leopards move unhurried, which changes the quality of every sighting.
What are the rates and the room options?
Our special rates are US$5,050 per adult on double sharing in an Ololo Stable Room of 17.6 square metres, US$5,250 per adult on double sharing in an Ololo Tented Cottage of 40 square metres, and US$5,750 for a solo adult in a single room throughout. May is chosen for lush landscapes and thinner crowds.