Pop-top roof
Raises on struts so you can stand and shoot in any direction with shade over your head. Far better than a sunroof for long sessions.
The vehicle matters
We tried expedition trucks, minivans and Land Rovers. Then we stopped trying things.
Between 1994 and the early 2000s we drove most of what East Africa has to offer, across eleven countries. The conclusion was not subtle: on Kenyan park tracks, a customised Toyota Land Cruiser with a pop-top roof does the job and almost nothing else does it as well.
The distinction that matters most to travellers is minivan versus 4×4. A pop-top minivan is cheaper and perfectly adequate on tarmac and dry murram. It struggles in the Mara after rain, it cannot enter some Tsavo tracks, and its seats sit low. Every programme on this site is quoted with a 4×4 Land Cruiser as standard.
What is in the vehicle
Guaranteed window seat
We never sell the middle. Seven seats, and we will not fill more than six of them on a private booking.
Charging and cool box
12V charging points for cameras and phones, and a cool box restocked daily with bottled water. Both included, not extras.
Two-way radio
Guides share sightings across the park network. It is the single biggest reason one vehicle finds a leopard and another does not.
Reference library
Mammal and bird guides in the door pocket, plus binoculars. Ask your guide to write your species list; most enjoy it.
Maintained in-house
Serviced before every departure by our own workshop, with a full spare, jack and recovery kit carried on every trip.
The driver-guide
The guide is worth more than the vehicle. Ours are Kenyan, professionally licensed, and have worked the same parks long enough to know where a particular leopard rests in the afternoon.
They speak English or German. They will stop when you want to stop, stay with a sighting as long as it holds, and tell you honestly when a road is closed or an animal has moved on rather than driving you around hoping.
If you are a photographer, say so before you leave Nairobi. It changes where the vehicle is positioned relative to the light, and a guide who knows will do it without being asked twice.
What the driving is actually like
Nairobi to the Maasai Mara is five to six hours, of which the last ninety minutes are rough. Nairobi to Amboseli is four hours, mostly good tarmac. Nairobi to Tsavo East is five, almost all on the Mombasa highway.
We build programmes so that no day is more than about six hours in the vehicle, and most are far less. If a route would need more, we split it over a night rather than pretending it is comfortable.
The tracks inside the parks are a different matter — corrugated, dusty in the dry season and greasy after rain. This is where the 4×4 earns its cost.
Plan a safari
Tell us when, where and how you like to travel. We will do the rest.