When travelers go to Africa, they share one thing in common: they want their time in the bush to be a life-changing experience. They want the opportunity to discover something out of the ordinary and have it touch them at the core of their being.

Safaris for the Soul does just that. We use Africa as a classroom so you can explore what makes you tick, what you want, and what’s next on this journey we call life. We take the best that Africa has to offer—a 12-day adventure in Kenya—and couple it with world-class executive coaches and programs, to ensure that you discover big things on your safari. But you won’t just be learning. You’ll also bring home the necessary strategies and tools to implement what you’ve learned from your journey abroad.

This trip is the perfect way to make your expedition to Africa count. A safari is filled with thousands of animals, hundreds of tribes and an infinite number of metaphors to apply to your life. For example, on some days, after an exciting game drive in the morning, we’ll spend time with African craftspeople, learning about and getting hands-on experience with the art. On other days, the afternoon is spent exploring what you want the rhythm of your life to be and contributing your rhythm to the campfire festival under the African night sky.

Adventure balanced with reflection, fun balanced with deep thought, big game balanced with big laughs, and stories you’ll tell for a lifetime. Our groups are small, and we stay away from typical tourist traps to ensure that you get a real taste of what Africa has to offer. Most importantly, we help you discover the answers that Africa has for some of the big questions in your life, and we help you figure out how to apply them back at home.

So, don’t just take a vacation; take a Safari—for your Soul.

Friday January 1st - Met upon arrival at the Nairobi airport and transferred to a small, private hotel in Nairobi. 

Saturday January 2nd – Today you will meet your expedition team —a small group of 6-8 like-minded people who will explore the wilds together with you.  After breakfast you’ll discuss the details of the trip, and where you’ll be going—both literally and figuratively.  In the afternoon, you’ll visit Karen Blixen’s home, author of “Out of Africa”. Later, you’ll relax over dinner with the group, before your ‘real’ trip starts the following day.

Sunday January 3rd - Breakfast at the hotel. Depart with lunch boxes for a full-day excursion to Isinya.  Here, you’ll work with a group of Masai women who have set up a beadwork co-operative to pay for their daughters’ education.

You will take the one-hour drive from Nairobi to the Masai village to meet the women involved with this project.  Masai women are very seldom educated in a formal sense and they have virtually no rights within the village.  Daughters are used by their fathers as bartering tools for cattle and goats; little consideration is given to their own needs. 

This small group of Masai mothers has started to change this tradition by creating beautiful beadwork to sell in the United States, thus creating an education fund for their daughters.  Working with the women, you will create a piece of beadwork inspired by your ‘life graph,’ an activity that allows you to examine the tapestry you’ve been beading up to this point in your life.  Your expedition team will also have the opportunity to meet the children at their schoolhouse, and visit one of the traditional Masai village homes for an afternoon tea. 

Drive back to Nairobi. Share dinner with your expedition team to discuss the insights of the day. Overnight at the hotel.

Monday January 4th  - Breakfast at the hotel.  Morning drive up to Laikipia and our private ranch and game sanctuary. During the drive your expedition team will share the beadwork creations and life graphs from the previous day, while enjoying the stunning scenery of Mt. Kenya and its beautiful coffee plantations.  After lunch, spend more time together as a group, discovering more about yourself and the driving themes in your life.

In Laikipia, you have the entire 15,000 acre ranch to yourself, including game drives, game walks, night drives and the chance to get up close and personal with Kenya.

Your accommodation on our private ranch consists of beautiful, open-plan cottages created from the natural stone and wood found in the area. Our cottages are eco-friendly, using solar power and filtered river water. We employ only the local people as our staff. Each cottage has its own bathroom for all the comforts of modern life, whilst still allowing you to enjoy the African wilderness.

Northern Kenya is a huge expanse of scrub desert, bisected by a few life-saving rivers. A true wilderness, this area of Kenya is very sparsely populated and game patterns have been affected little by humans.

The Laikipia area is part of an ancient lava plain covered with red dirt, thorn scrub, broken volcanic rock, dried riverbeds, steep hills and rocky outcroppings. Unusual for this arid area of Northern Kenya, Laikipia has a permanent water supply, the Ewaso Ngiro or “brown river”. This permanent water flow provides an oasis for the many elephant, hippo, and crocodile that abound in this area.

The region is also home to the rare Grevvy zebra, Somali ostrich with its distinctive blue legs, the shy Beisa Oryx and the largest African antelope, the Eland. The mix of woodland and grassland with riverine forest and swampland also creates a home to a wide variety of bird life as well as mammals.

The Buffalo Springs Park records over 365 bird species! This is the perfect place for an introduction to the harsh, yet stunningly beautiful landscapes of northern Kenya.

Tuesday January 5th - Today your expedition team settles into the ‘regular’ safari routine of morning and evening game drives serving as the perfect bookends to a day of exploring yourself and your life purpose.

Wednesday January 6th - In between today’s game drives you’ll focus on the values that drive your decisions and the paradoxes that this can create. We’ll compare these to the many paradoxes of a beautiful and stark Africa. You will also receive your first of three individual coaching sessions.

Thursday January 7th - Breakfast at the cottages before a drive down to Lake Nakuru and the delightful Mbweha Cottages on the Delamere Estate. Lunch at the cottages and then a walk in the afternoon discussing your life vision.

Mbweha Cottages is located on the Lord Delamere Estate, which borders the Nakuru National Park. There are just six decorated cottages, each with ensuite shower and toilet facilities. The main lounge/bar area has a huge fireplace and the restaurant serves a large variety of local meals.

The Rift Valley is one of the wonders of the world. It stretches through Africa from the Middle East down into Mozambique. The ground suddenly disappears from under you to show the huge expanse of the great rift, stretching for thousands of miles in either direction. Whilst this stunning introduction to the Rift Valley is amazing in itself, actually descending and exploring the lakes area of Kenya’s Rift Valley is a “not to be missed’” opportunity.

Lake Nakuru, located in the Rift Valley, is a world-famous park, created to protect its stunning flocks of lesser flamingo, which literally turn the lakeshore pink in color. Notable game within the lake area is hippo and a diverse bird life. Both black and white rhino reside in the sanctuary and Rothschild giraffe, buffalo, impala, eland, warthog, mountain reedbuck, klipspringers and black and white Colobus monkeys are all plentiful. This park is world-renowned as a beacon for ornithologists, scientists and wildlife filmmakers.

Friday January 8th - Breakfast and morning game drive inside the park, with a picnic lunch. The wide-open expanses of Africa create the space for big thinking. We’ll harness this vastness to help you clarify your life vision using both your expedition team and in individual coaching sessions.

Saturday January 9th - Drive to the Masai Mara and your private camp in the bush.

Located to the south of Nairobi, and bordering Tanzania, the Masai Mara forms part of the huge Serengeti eco-system. The Mara spreads over 1,510 square km of rolling plains, sudden rocky outcrops and green winding rivers.

Not only is the Mara blessed with this stunning landscape, but its diversity of animals is one of the greatest in Africa. Surrounded by the grazing lands of the Masai people, the Mara is a sanctuary for all of the “Big Five” animals: lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard. The sweet grasses and abundant water ensure a full compliment of plains game such as the impala and Thompsons gazelle. The deep river pools provide homes for hippo and crocodiles.

The breath-taking beauty of the Masai Mara and its astonishing diversity of wildlife combine to ensure that the Mara is one of the most popular stops on a Kenyan safari.

In the afternoon, you’ll start your walk with your hosts, the Masai. You will learn about their culture, walk with the warriors as they herd their cattle and learn about the natural medicines provided by the plants in the area. That night your expedition team will have an African experience not to be missed. With just a cot, you will be “bush camping” or sleeping under the stars in the bush. Your Masai guides will cook dinner for you and explain the night noises and sights, while you discover the real bush at night and its rhythm of life.

Sunday January 10th – Breakfast in the bush camp. Slowly walk back to the main camp, Leleshwa, as we discuss the rhythm of Africa and how you want it to seep into the rhythm of your life back home. 

The Leleshwa Camp is a located on a group ranch that borders the Mara Reserve.  The camp offers 6 large, very comfortable twin or double tents with ensuite toilet and hot water showers.  Each tent has a large private verandah area.

A bar and dining area has been created in the traditional safari mess tent, which is also where your meals are served. 

Home-cooked meals are a specialty here; we even bake cakes over a campfire

Monday January 11th – Breakfast and then spend the morning exploring the Mara on a game drive. Because an integral part of your expedition team’s time in the Mara will be with our Masai Warrior Guides, we’ll spend some time today examining archetypes such as the warrior, magician, and the explorer to see how each serves as a guide in our life.

Tuesday January 12th - In the Mara, with a morning and afternoon game drive. Put the final touches on your strategies and action plans for the future, both with your expedition team and in individual coaching sessions. You won’t leave Kenya without solid plans for real action to create the life you want back home. The day will end with a traditional closing ceremony and time of closure for your expedition team.

Wednesday January 13th – Breakfast and morning game drive to the airstrip. Fly back to Nairobi for sight seeing and shopping. A celebration dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant before your transfer to the international airport for your flight back home.

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Charges Nett to Eco-resorts:

$6499 per person **

Includes: All transfers, all accommodations, all meals and drinks as described in the itinerary, water in the safari vehicles, driver/guide, activities as listed above, park entrance fees, local taxes and Flying Doctors*. Also includes all program materials such as journals, articles, art supplies and pre-trip assignments.
*Flying Doctors provide emergency medical evacuation from anywhere in Kenya to a Nairobi hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, the client’s medical insurance is to cover hospital fees, clinic fees and evacuation from Kenya to the US, if necessary.

Excludes: Laundry, telephone calls, personal purchases, tips (budget approx. $150 total), Kenya visas ($50) and international flights.

Minimum person: Eight

Single supplement: $999

**Pay a 20% deposit by April 1, 2007 and save $500 off the safari price.

Contact for more information on this safari:
Anne Loehr: anne@riverstoneendeavors.com
Brian Emerson: brian@riverstoneendeavors.com