Birding, big game and photographic safari to Kenya and Tanzania.
Highlights include Naromoru River Lodge at Mt. Kenya, Lake Nakuru and the National Reserves of Samburu and Masai Mara. In Tanzania, highlights include the National Parks of Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Serengeti along with a day to explore the Ngorongoro Crater.
2013 Departure Dates & Costs
March. 20 - Apr. 5
May 20 - June 5
Oct. 20 - Nov. 5
Dec. 12 - 28
Tour cost: $5,550 CAD per person
Single Supplement $ 460 CAD
Deposit: $ 800 due at time of booking
NOTE: "BB" On the itinerary indicates Bed & Breakfast included, however there will be a restaurant where you can order and pay for meals direct if preferred.
Itinerary*
* Slight adjustments in the itinerary will take place in the different months according to movement of birds and wilidlife. Ask us for details. Customized trips to Kenya and Tanzania are available for minimum 2 persons.
Day 1: ARRIVE NAIROBI (D)
Meet at the airport on arrival with your guide and transfer to Mt. Kenya area with stops for viewing and scenery enroute. 2 nights at Naromoru River Lodge. The Lodge is situated on the Equator between Nyeri and Nanyuki at an altitude of 6,505 feet. The lodge is set in beautiful tropical gardens along the banks of the Naro Moru River, fed by the snows of Mount Kenya and is well stocked with brown and rainbow trout. The location is great with an exceptional variety of birdlife. The intoxicating fragrances from the unique gardens, spacious rooms, exciting food and great outdoors makes Naro Moru Lodge the perfect lodge for families, couples, honeymoon, conferences and outdoor challenges.
Naro Moru Lodge offers a range of accommodation that is to be found nowhere else in Kenya in keeping with the origins of the hotel. There are 19 deluxe cottages with 2 double beds, bathrooms and toilet and fireplace with sitting room area all elegantly furnished in pine 12 standard cottages with double and single beds and separate bathroom and toilet and 12 self service cottages of varying sizes geared to the family holiday. 12 standard, 10 superior, 12 deluxe, 7 cottages, 5 country homes, bunkhouses and campsite. Rooms feature twin bed, private bathrooms and shower in most.
Day 2: MT KENYA (B,D)
Birding the grounds around the Naromoru Lodge.
Day 3: NAROMORU/SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE (B,L,D)
Today we drive to Samburu National Reserve located North in the Kenyan arid lands of the Samburu. We will stop near Mt. Kenya for lunch. After lunch, we will drive on through Nanyuki, crossing the Equator into the Northern Hemisphere. Once in Samburu, bird watching and big game viewing does not seem to have an end.
The Samburu National Reserve lies some 300km north of Nairobi and adjacent to the Buffalo Springs National Reserve separated only by the Uaso Nyiro River. Arid, rugged, and savagely beautiful the two reserves cover an area of about 300 square km. With less than 300 mm of rain a year the wildlife depends for its very existence on the river fed from the rich forests of the Aberdare Mountains, 300km away. Several species of wildlife are found in Samburu, which are not found in other Kenya parks lying south of the equator. Among the most striking of these are the Reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra and the Fringe eared Oryx. Lion, cheetah and leopard are all found here and elephant are plentiful. Birding in Samburu is excellent ranging from Northern specialties like the Somali Fiscal, Somali Bee eater, Somali Ostrich. 3 nights Samburu Lodge or similar.
Day 4 & 5: SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE (B,L,D)
Two days will be spent birding and big game viewing in Samburu. Samburu Lodge was opened in July 13, 1963, and is set in a rugged landscape with a backdrop of jagged mountains and its own indigenous wildlife unique to the northern region of Samburu Reserve. The landscape, wildlife and vegetation are very different to the lush rolling grasslands of other parks. Samburu is a place for leopard, lion, elephant and crocodile. It is the place of the semi-nomadic Samburu tribe. A place of thorn bush open plains and vast horizons. It gives you a taste of the romance of the African desert in Kenya. Beautifully situated on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River, everything at Samburu is geared to making the most of this spectacular setting.
Samburu Lodge Rooms: All cottages, rooms and suites numbering 61 in total, are decorated using the finest materials and fabrics. All accommodations have en suite bathrooms, some with baths, and all have private balconies overlooking the river. There are several family rooms. One room has been custom designed to accommodate the special needs of physically challenged persons.
Day 6: LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK (B,B)
This morning you will be met and transferred to Lake Nakuru National Park for wildlife viewing. In Lake Nakuru the birds and mammals are plentiful. The White Rhino is protected from poachers here and is the only site on the itinerary for the Rothschild’s Giraffe. The lake area offers excellent opportunities for game viewing.
Day 7: LAKE NAKURU/MASAI MARA (B,L,D)
After an early breakfast, drive south west to the Masai Mara National Reserve, arriving at the Mara Keekorok Lodge in time for lunch. 2 nights. After lunch engage in an afternoon exploration of the Mara Plains.
Day 8: MASAI MARA ( B,L,D)
Early morning game drive in the most popular national reserve in Kenya. The Masai Mara is the Kenyan section of the Serengeti Plains and the traditional land of the Maasai tribe. Wildlife is abundant and you have a good chance of seeing the ‘Big Five’: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. During the months of July and August, the annual wildebeest migration takes place. Witnessing millions of these animals crossing the Mara River from Tanzania in search of pasture is truly a staggering experience.
Day 9: MASAI MARA /NAIROBI (B,B)
After a morning game drive on the mara and the further excitement on the plains we return to Nairobi, arriving in the late after noon. Overnight Nairobi.
Day 10: NAIROBI/ARUSHA TANZANIA (B)
We will check out of the Hotel in Nairobi and catch the Shuttle bus (parked outside your Hotel), and drive to Tanzania. After finishing Immigration and customes formalities, will cross the Border and drive on to Arusha, where you will meet your Tanzanian Team and tranfer to your hotel. Rest of the afternoon off. Night at Korona House.
Day 11: ARUSHA/TARANGIRE PARK/ LAKE MANYARA AREA (B,B)
After breakfast you will head out for birding and wildlife viewing in Tarangire National Park. Tarangire is the home of Tanzania’s oldest elephants and bird life is prolific too. The endemic Ashy Starling and the rare Yellow colored Lovebird are numerous in Tarangire. You will spend the entire day exploring the bushes in Tarangire after which you will drive to Lake Manyara area arriving for dinner at the Twiga Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 12: LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK (B,B)
The day will be spent exploring Lake Manyara National Park. This is where florists, botanists and big game lovers meet their world. A variety of vegetation species occur, ranging from monotone forest vegetation to plain savannah grassland. Here the natural world is for you; spot tree climbing lions, zebras, Maasai giraffe and the breathe taking view of the spectacular Lake Manyara. Bird life is prolific as you approach the lake shore, a variety of Gulls may be spotted and may be the Vulturerine Guinea fowl, Blue napped mouse bird. Lake Manyara has the highest density of elephants in East Africa (at least seven elephants per sq kilometre). A profusion of colourful birds awaits your discovery in the ground water forest as you spot pelicans and cormorants swimming among walloping hippos and flamingos in their pink on the lake. You will be able to update your bird check list while in Lake Manyara, do not miss a visit the Hippo pool.
Day 13: LAKE MANYARA / SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK (B,L,D)
This morning you will be transferred to the Serengeti, which is actually a continuation of the Masai Mara Eco System. The Serengeti National Park is arguably the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world. “Serengeti” means “endless plains” in the Masai language, and within its boundaries are more than three million large mammals. About 35 species of plains animals can be seen here including the so called “big five” – elephant, rhino, lion (more than 2,000 of them), leopard and buffalo. During the wet season, November to May, most of the plains game congregates in Southern Serengeti, followed by their attendant predators. Some time in May or June the herds migrate North and West in search of water. They remain in North Serengeti and the western corridor during the dry season, July-October, returning South again as the November rains approach. The Wildebeest calving takes place on the short grass plains during late December to early February. In their wake follow the predators; lion cheetah and hunting dogs with vultures circling overhead. Other common species found here include hippo, giraffe, eland, impala and other antelope types, baboons, monkeys and a profusion of almost 500 bird species.
We will stay 2 nights in the middle of the Serengeti plains at the Seronera Wildlife Lodge. Seronera Wildlife Lodge is situated in the heart of the Serengeti, world famous for its large amount of grazing mammals, this includes 1.5 million wildebeest. The lodge has been built on the wildebeest migratory route, which occurs twice annually. The Seronera Valley is an important transition zone between the southern plains and northern woodlands. It provides a rich mosaic of habitats, crisscrossed by rivers, the most permanent of which is Seronera River. The lodge takes it name from this river which surrounds it in a u-shape. With year-round water, this is the most reliable part of the park to view wildlife. The elusive Leopard is also common here but less easily spotted. The river tracks offer the best possibilities to view leopard, which usually rest in the branches of the acacia trees.
Day 14: SERENGETI (B,L,D)
A full day on the Serengeti Plains exploring the expanse of the park. Overnight Seronera Wildlife Lodge.
Day 15: SERERNGETI/ NGORONGORO (B,L,D)
Morning in the Serengeti and then drive to the Crater Rim, 2 nights at the Rhino Lodge.
Day 16: NGORONGORO CRATER (B,L,D)
After breakfast, we will drive to Ngorongoro Crater for a full day Crater Tour. Listed by Unesco as a world heritage site, the incomparable Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest caldera. A caldera is the broad, crater-like basin of a volcano formed by the collapse of the central cone. Dominated by cliffs standing some 600 meters high and presenting a sheer drop down to a wide open space of some 264 square km, the crater is one of the most amazing sights seen anywhere. The Crater is home to 25,000 larger mammals, almost half of them zebra and wildebeest. There are also gazelle, buffalo, eland, hartebeest and wart hog. Such vast numbers attract predators a plenty, mainly lion and hyena but also cheetah and leopard. More than 100 species of birds not found in the Serengeti have been spotted here. Countless flamingos form a pink blanket over the soda lakes. Return at the Rhino Lodge for dinner and over night.
Day 17: NGORONGORO HIGHLANDS/ ARUSHA (B)
Morning drive to the Ngorongoro Highlands, birding the Ngorongoro Highlands and Gibbs Farm Grounds, and lunch at the Gibbs Farm. After lunch drive to Arusha to catch evening International flight out.
