Day 1: Nairobi to Naivasha
Day one we start with a visit to the Giraffe Park in Nairobi to
get up close and personal with the tallest land animal on the
planet. Then to Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage, to learn a
little about the work done to save orphaned elephants and
other wildlife.
UGANDA
KENYA
Kampala
Equator
Lake Nakuru
Mt Kenya
Lake Victoria
The Virungas
Lake Naivasha
Masai Mara
Mountain Gorillas
Ruhengeri
Grumeti
Serengeti
Ngorongoro Crater
TANZANIA
Nairobi
Mt Kilimanjaro
Lake
Mwanza Manyara
Kigali
By lunchtime we are on the scenic drive through the Rift Valley
to Lake Naivasha. This is our first chance for a glimpse of rural
Kenya. On the way we stop to take photos at the Rift Valley
Look-Out. Arriving mid-afternoon we head out on a hippo cruise
on the lake, and then on our return relax at camp, listening to
the sounds of the black and white colobus monkeys living in
and around the campsite, and getting to know our fellow
travellers.
Arusha
Diani Beach
Zanzibar
Island
Distance: 91 kms
Est. Drive Time: 2 hours
Meals: X1 Dinner
Key
THE ROUTE
GAME PARK
BOLT ON Kenya Beach Stay (flight required)
BOLT ON Zanzibar Island (flight required)
Included wildlife activities: Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage,
The Giraffe Park, Hippo cruise
Namanga where you are sure to be tempted by Maasai selling
beaded jewellery and wooden carvings.
Days 2 – 3: Naivasha to the Masai Mara
The following morning we head out on the bumpy and dusty
road for the remote plateau of the Masai Mara, Kenya’s most
famous game reserve. The Mara is perhaps best known for
being part of the setting with the Serengeti for the famous
wildebeest migration, a mass movement of up to 1.5 million
wildebeest, accompanied by 600,00 zebra and Thomson’s
gazelle. The ever-vigilant predators, particularly lion and hyena,
closely follow the herds on their seasonal migrations. You also
have a wonderful chance here to see hippo, crocodile,
elephant and giraffe, as well as an immense variety of bird
life. Two full days of game drives gives us plenty of opportunity
to see the big 5 as well as much more, so get your binoculars
out and have your cameras on standby.
We stop in town for shopping and to change money before
heading to our campsite.
Distance: 278 kms
Est. Drive Time: +/- 7 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Day 6: Arusha to Ngorongoro Crater rim
This morning we leave the shadow of Mount Meru and drive
through Maasai towns and villages to reach the gate of the
Ngorongoro Crater. We now transfer to open top 4x4 vehicles.
The Ngorongoro Crater is a large, unbroken volcanic caldera,
formed 2-3 million years ago. It is home to the big 5 and a
Noah’s ark for wildlife including lion, leopard, elephant, rhino,
buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, cheetah, hyena, jackal, warthog
and more and take a scenic ride up to the crater rim. We stop
for photos at the Lookout on the edge of the Crater for a wide
panoramic view over the area.
Distance, Day 2: 258 kms
Est. Drive Time, Day 2: 5 hours to the park gate, then game
drives through the afternoon
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners
Included wildlife activity: x1 morning and X2 afternoon game
drives in the MasaiMara
We then head down onto the Crater floor for our first intensive
game drives. After hopefully a successful game drive this
afternoon we head back up to the Crater rim. We make our
camp high up on the top tonight, so bundle up, as
temperatures drop!
Optional excursions: Balloon safari, Maasai village visit.
Day 4: The Masai Mara to Nairobi
Today we have our final game drive in the Mara before we
travel back to Nairobi. Tonight we regularly enjoy a night out in
one of Nairobi’s famous restaurants, a great welcome back to
the big city!
Distance: 120 kms then afternoon game drives
Est. Drive Time: 2.5 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Distance: 300 kms
Est. Drive Time: Morning game drives, then 6 hours through to
Nairobi
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner (contribution to night out)
Included wildlife activity: Afternoon game drives, Ngorongoro
Crater
Included wildlife activity: Morning game drive
Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater rim to central Serengeti
camp
Maasai villages are dotted around the countryside and the
traditional farmers, easily spotted in their bright Maasai attire
can be seen walking their herds of goats and cows, with their
clanging bells providing a very rustic soundtrack.
Optional excursions: Dinner in a restaurant,
Day 5: Nairobi to Arusha
We travel south to Tanzania through sweeping and often arid
plains dotted withwhistling thorn. We cross into Tanzania at
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We leave the Conservation area and head to the open plains
of the vast Serengeti, entering at Naabi Gate for afternoon
game drives. Tonight we camp in centre of the park.
Here you can try your hand at banana beer making and basket
weaving.
Distance: 93 kms
Est Drive Time: 3 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Distance: 0 kms
Est. Drive Time: 0 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Optional excursions: visit to the Genocide museum, banana
beer making, basket weaving.
Included wildlife activity: Afternoon game drives, Serengeti
National Park
Days 13 – 14 : Musanze to Kisoro, Uganda
Optional excursion: Maasai village visit.
From there we head off past tea plantations to the mountain
region where we are based while trekking the endangered
mountain gorillas.
Day 8: Central Serengeti camp to Grumeti camp
A fresh start for more game drives with now practiced eyes
scanning the grasslands for sightings of game. This is home
to giraffe, buffalo, elephant, baboon, and dik dikplus much
more, and don’t forget to check the trees for baboons and
leopard. Hippos laze in pools, occasionally exiting the water to
show off their impressive size.
A village tour to visit a Batwa or Pygmy village can also be
organised in Kisoro. We spend the next few nights at our
hostel in the border town of Kisoro which is surrounded by the
Virunga Mountains.
Here we have the chance to go on an afternoon guided walk
to experience flora and fauna on foot, as well a evening game
drives to spot those all elusive nocturnal animals including
porcupines, aardvarks and bush babies.
At altitudes of up to 3,500 feet gorilla trekking through dense
vegetation on the volcanic slopes of the Virungas, is one of
the trip’s high points. The gorillas are magic to visit.
Herbivores, who munch the day away, when they are not
playing or sleeping, they live in family groups under the charge
of an older dominant male. Known as the silverback, this
adult male can weigh up to 350 lbs. Despite their size, the
gorillas are shy, gentle and sensitive creatures, in great
danger of extinction.
Distance: 35 kms
Est. Drive Time: 1 hour
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Distance, Day 13: 37 kms
Est Drive Time, Day 13: +/- 2 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners
Included wildlife activity: Morning game drive
Optional excursions: Guided nature walk in the Grumeti, night
game drive in theGrumeti.
Optional excursions: Mountain gorilla trek (Uganda), golden
monkey trek, visit to Dian Fossey’s grave, preschool or
orphanage visit, Batwa village visit, canoe LakeMutande.
Day 9: Grumeti to Mwanza, Lake Victoria
Day 15: Kisoro, Uganda to Kigali, Rwanda
Our next campsite is by Lake Victoria. Look out for the boats
of local fishermen, fishing for perch and tilapia, and the
stunning rock formations on the waters edge.
Today we say our farewells heading back to the capital city
usually arriving late morning.
Driving right across the park we exit on the west, entering a
smaller sub area of theSerengeti Conservation Area, known
as the Grumeti Reserve.
Distance: 157 kms
Est. Drive Time: +/- 3 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X1 Breakfast
Distance: 261 kms
Est. Drive Time: 8 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Please note safari itineraries are given as a guide only.
A safari is a journey and true journeys in Africa unfold and
are of an adventurous nature.. Feel free to give us a call
about your safari plans. We look forward to your further
enquiries.
Day 10: Mwanza to Nyakhanazi
Traveling further into rural Tanzania, we head to Nyakhanazi,
where we stay in a very simple local hotel. We get a tour
around the village, so a good chance to check out what life is
like for the locals, off the beaten tourist track.
Distance: 430 kms
Est. Drive Time: 7 hours including ferry journey
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Day 11: Nyakhanazi to Kigali, Rwanda
Crossing into Rwanda, our first stop is the capital, Kigali,
which sits across several hills, Rwanda being known as “the
land of a thousand hills”. Whilst here we visit the Genocide
Memorial, a sobering reminder of the horror of the 1994
genocide.
Distance: 286 kms
Est. Drive Time: +/- 5 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner
Day 12: Kigali to Musanze
After a night in the capital, we visit the Genocide Memorial,
which is a sobering and informative museum dedicated to the
1994 genocide. This evening we spend the night in a small
town near the Uganda border.
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