For years, Karen Cleveland wanted to go on an African safari, but she believed it would be too expensive and she had no idea where to begin planning. So when a friend mentioned going on safari, Karen jumped at the opportunity to join her.
“She made it so easy to go because she planned it and all I had to do was tag along,” shared Karen. “Not only did that trip change my life because I met my husband, Patterson [Nomvyo], on the trip, but I also realized while I was on safari that I wanted to bring others so they could have the same meaningful experiences. I wanted to make it easy for people to do it because I was shocked at how easy it was for me to go once someone was telling me what to do.”
Karen began taking friends on safari trips with her, and after she and Patterson married, they founded Nunu’s Kenyan Safaris with the goal of making safaris accessible and affordable for travelers. They combine Patterson’s background as a safari guide, Karen’s familiarity of what travelers expect as far as safety and comfort, and insider knowledge from their team in Kenya to offer group and private safaris.
Nunu’s routinely schedules group safaris that accommodate up to 18 people and vary in length and experiences. For private safaris, Karen and Patterson work with individuals, couples, and groups to decide on the details, ensuring personalized experiences. Travelers simply browse options and choose which dates and excursions best fit their dream safari while Karen takes care of the logistics of booking lodging, tours, excursions, and ground transportation. Participants simply need to book their flights, get excited about their adventure, and leave the rest to the experts.
“Each trip is going to be a little bit different on which excursions we take, but we do game drives twice a day, unless we're moving from park to park. We make sure to go to several parks because they each have unique properties,” explained Karen. “We offer some kind of a cultural visit as well. It might be during the Safari or after just depending on where we're going and where we've been, but it's important to both of us that people understand the culture, not just see the animals.”
The team happily assists travelers who wish to integrate beach time into their trip as well. Honeymooners, especially, enjoy combining seeing animals on safari with heading to the coast for snorkeling and observing marine life such as dolphins and exotic fish.
From initial bookings to helping clients obtain travel paperwork to step-by-step preparation checklists, Karen and Patterson strive to make the experience as stress-free as possible. Lodging, parks, and guides are vetted and trusted partners of Nunu’s to ensure travelers have positive experiences and safari guides are English-speaking, very knowledgeable, and make sure to answer questions.
While travelers create life-long memories during safaris, they in turn invest in the global community. “It is more than going on a safari and seeing the wildlife,” shared Patterson. “It is also having an opportunity to create jobs for the people in Kenya. If the clients visit parks and hotels, people are being hired to work there, so this is also creating job opportunities for people on the other side of the world.”
For more information and to begin building a dream safari experience, visit nunuskenyansafaris.com, call 833-867-2327, or email: Hello@NunusKenyanSafaris.com. Also view sneak peeks of adventures on the Nunu's Kenyan Safaris Facebook page.