Great Horizon Trails

Visited: Jul. 2023 Reviewed: Jan. 08, 2024 Submitted in:

Our daughter was on a college fellowship in the Masai Mara, so we decided to take the rest of the family on a three-week Kenya vacation. We planned to meet her in the Masai Mara during the great migration for a safari adventure!

TL;DR Great Horizon Trails and Marcus Orao were able to design a custom Ruma National Park & Rusinga Island safari around a roundtrip Kisumu Safari train adventure. Beyond our dreams! During our adventure to Ruma National Park and Rusinga Island, we were the only tourists we saw, even though we were visiting in mid-late July,. During July in high season.

We went about organizing our three-week Kenya vacation backward. First, we picked the days we would be in Kenya, and then defined an itinerary. Because of this backward approach, we needed safaris personally tailored to our schedule, not the other way around. Off the shelf tour companies with set schedules wouldn’t work. Instead, we were going to have to find a tour and Safari planner that could schedule activities that fit our itinerary.

Luckily, we found Great Horizon Trails (GHT) and Marcus Orao. GHT & Marcus had been in the Kenya Safari business for decades. Their office is in downtown Nairobi, We found them as a result of looking for Safaris in Kisumu, Kenya. We exchanged emails with Marcus and the email led to phone calls (WhatsApp). Marcus is extremely knowledgeable and was eager to use his expertise to create custom safaris tailored to maximize the activities and adventures for the amount of time that we had available.

Even though there were days of demonstrations in Nairobi and Kisumu during our visit, Marcus and GHT planned around them to ensure that our adventures were uninterrupted.

The guides that Marcus hired told us that Marcus knows many, many people in the tourism industry in Kenya, and that his nickname is “the professor” because of his knowledge. He is perhaps the most knowledgeable Kisumu and Rusinga Island tour planner and guide in all of Kenya . As Kisumu and Rusinga Island are his ancestral home. Once we were connected with Marcus, the planning process became a smooth exchange of email and phone calls to get the details just right. GHT was able to use their experience to shoehorn in the maximum number of activities for the time available.

Marcus came to the hotel to meet us the day we arrived in Nairobi. It was like meeting a long-lost family member. Marcus is warm and caring, and that comes through when you meet him in person. We had been very nervous about the entire Kenya adventure because we had been sending money to Marcus to make the arrangements for the Safaris and had never been to Africa, let alone Kenya. But once we met him all our concerns were allayed.

Kisumu Overnight Safari Train Adventure – Ruma National Park, Ruma River Lodge and Rusinga Island

The Kisumu Safari Train is a 12-hour overnight adventure! Accent on the adventure. If you are looking for an authentic cultural experience and aren't afraid of a little discomfort, dirt or grittiness (the restroom is a hole in the floor), the Kisumu Safari Train is worth consideration. Please note that we found the Safari Train, and GHT and Marcus built custom safaris around the train schedule – filling every moment!

Great Horizon Trails arranged to have us picked us up in the afternoon to take us to the Nairobi train station. We would be departing at 6:30 pm on the Safari train from Nairobi to Kisumu. This is where GHT saved us! Marcus and GHT arranged for three different drivers to pick us up from the hotel and take us to the train station just in case the demonstrations halted traffic. The first and second drivers got stuck in traffic, but the third driver made it to our hotel, and as a result, we made it to the train station with plenty of time! Without this planning expertise, we would have missed the Kisumu Safari Train and spent the next three days in the Hotel.

Marcus, as far as we know, is the only tour planner operating adventures in the Kisumu and Rusinga Island area. The Kisumu Safari Train is not well known by people inside and outside of Kenya. In fact, even some people in Kisumu aren't aware of the train's existence.

Once we arrived at the Nairobi train station, the adventure really began. We were the only Mzungus on the train, in the train station, and around the train station. This began an adventure where we were the only tourists. Everyone working at the train station knew of our plans, and we obtained a sleeping car room for our party of three (first-class tickets are in the sleeping cars). One pro tip when it comes to sleeping on the Safari Train - try to obtain a room in the middle of the train car. Riding over the wheels on either end of the train car is a much rougher and noisier experience than the rooms closer to the middle of the car.

Interestingly, before you can board the train, you are lined up with all the other train passengers around everyone’s luggage in a line on the train platform. Police and dogs come through the line, examining the luggage and the passengers before you are allowed to board. It's also a wonderful way to travel in Kenya because you're sleeping for much of the travel time. Probably the only better way to travel would be by air between Nairobi and Kisumu – but you’d miss the adventure!

We ate food from the kitchen/dining car in our rooms. If you choose to travel by Safari train, we recommend bringing a couple of sanitary wipes packages. Both the beds and some of the surfaces in the rooms were very dirty and didn't appear to have been cleaned in a while. The toilet in the “restroom” is a hole in the floor with footpads for squatting. There is no bedding for the bunks, so we brought inflatable camping pillows. The sleeping car gets cold at night, so you’ll want to wear warm clothing to sleep in (dress for 40F). Very rustic, but worthwhile cultural experience and one of our fondest memories from our trip to Kenya!

We arrived at the Kisumu train station at 6:30am—the next morning. Marcus and our driver guide were waiting to transport us to the Ruma River Lodge with a stop for coffee in between The station and the lunch Java House coffee and Mexican diner in Kisumu is worth the stop. It was some of the best coffee that we had while in Kenya. period. We then headed on to check into Ruma River Lodge. This was a long drive, well, not very long.

The ride to Ruma River Lodge was very scenic and took about two and a half hours. When approaching Ruma River Lodge, we encountered a large baboon family, signaling our entrance into a wildlife environment. We were welcomed like family to Ruma River Lodge, which was much more beautiful than we imagined. Our rooms were perched on the edge of a tropical valley that reminded us of Kalaheo Kauai. The rooms were beautiful and had windows and a porch overlooking the valley. We had brunch at Ruma River Lodge, and then set out for Ruma National Park Reserve.

Ruma National Park is one of Kenya's most rewarding but less well-known wildlife reserves. While we were visiting, we didn't see any other tourists! At the park entrance, we picked up a national park ranger, Grace, who served as our guide throughout the park . We highly recommend having a ranger guide, as she knew all of the park's best places to see wildlife.

While in Ruma National Park, we saw Rothschild giraffes, standing and laying down (which is very rarely seen), Roan antelope, black rhinos, and all manner of antelopes from the Hartebeest to Waterbucks to Eland antelopes. Returning to Ruma River Lodge at the end of the day, we enjoyed a true farm-to-table family-style meal. Everything was extremely fresh and easily digested by our American digestive systems . We enjoyed the sunset over the valley, listening to the wildlife, and got a good very night's sleep in our comfortable beds,

On the second day of our safari, we left room a River Lodge after a delicious breakfast and travelled for about an hour to Rusinga Island . On our way we encountered an even larger family of baboons running across the countryside.

Rusinga Island was a change of pace from the Wildlife Safari we had enjoyed the day before. We visited the location of Marcus's ancestral home on Rusinga Island and met many of the inhabitants and learned of their lifestyle. And Marcus told us of his family history in that area.

We spent an hour or two at the Tom Mboya memorial on Rusinga Island, learning about the freeing of Kenya and his important role in the development of a free political system. From the memorial, we went to Rusinga Island Lodge on the shores of Lake Victoria. This picturesque tropical village stunned us with its beauty and expansive vistas of Lake Victoria. A table was set for us on the banks of Lake Victoria, where we enjoyed a delicious fresh caught tilapia lunch.

We then visited way Wayando beach Eco Lodge to see how some ecologically friendly safaris are being developed on Rusinga Island .

We traveled from Rusinga Island and Mbita via the Luanda Mbita ferry. Seeing the sights and watching birds swimming underwater, looking for fish . The drive from the ferry terminal back to consumer Kisumu railway station took about two hours with a few stops along the way.

We arrived with about an hour to spare before leaving on the Overnight Safari Train for Nairobwe. Once again the train ride was from 6:30pm to 6:30am. We slept better on the return trip than we had before because we were used to it and we got a room in the middle of the car. Suffice it to say, being the only Mzungus on the Safari Train caused some surprise among other passengers and inhabitants. The Safari Train really was a unique experience that, if you're adventurous enough, we highly recommend!

Marcus was able to tailor a safari to our personal schedule and our level of value. Based on our conversations, he guided us to the right level of accommodation and the right level of transport for us - not to rustic and not to luxurious - just right. Marcus is so experienced and knows so many people in the Kenya tourism trade that he's able to arrange for almost anything. He was able to take our unique itinerary and pack it with unique experiences in Kenya.

Marcus and our driver guide drove all night to meet us at the Nairobi railway station the next morning at 6:30am. Marcus had insisted on transporting us from the Nairobwe railway station to the Safarilink airport terminal to ensure that we made it to our Diani Beach flight in time. Although they were exhausted, their service was a comfort and much appreciated. We can't express how much we enjoyed the Safari Train adventure and Safaris through the Great Horizon Trails. WE don't believe any other Kenya travel company could have organized the trip better.

Indeed, we often found ourselves to be the only tourists in sight, which really added to the experience we had in Kenya . Marcus developed relationships with us and was able to tailor the safaris to our values and to something that fit us perfectly. We were definitely off the beaten path, having a unique experience that will always remember.

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We did a 3 day safari. Saw all the main wildlife except for the rhino. We truly enjoyed our time with Good Horizon Trails. Charles (the driver & guide) knew how and where to find the wildlife. Byron was our cook and did a good job. Only complaint was that the camp was relatively rustic.
Maasai village tour was interesting and worth while. They hit you up to buy trinkets and "empty your wallet".

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