DAY 1 NAIROBI
Meet at the airport and transfer to your lodge for pre-safari briefing.
FAIRVIEW HOTEL (Dinner)
DAY 2 NAIROBI - MASAI MARA
After breakfast, a 4-5 hour drive through agricultural country to Masai Mara Game Reserve to enter for afternoon game driving. The Mara Game Reserve is largely plains and the open grasslands are habitat to rich and varied wildlife such as lion, leopard, cheetah, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, crocodile etc. There are also several species of birds such as vultures, herons, shrikes, etc. The annual migration of millions of wildebeest and antelope from July to September is a spectacle never to be missed by any visitor to the Mara. Continue to luxury camp for overnight.
MARA LEISURE CAMP (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 3 MASAI MARA
We spend all day on game drives in the Mara. Early start recommended. We'll have our picnic lunch on the banks of the Mara river as we watch hippos.
We return to the camp in the evening for dinner and overnight MARA LEISURE CAMP (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 4 MASAI MARA - SERENGETI
After breakfast, early transfer to Isebania border post with Tanzania. Meet your Tanzanian guide for Tanzania briefing and then continue onto Speke Bay (Lake Victoria) for overnight.
SPEKE BAY LODGE (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 5 SERENGETI
Serengeti is calling today - drive directly to the Serengeti! Game drive in the rolling grasslands. Criss-crossed with forested riverine valleys, the Serengeti plays home to millions of Africa's large mammals, making this one of the world's most famous wildlife destinations. Continue to our private mobile camp that moves throughout the year to follow the wildebeest migration.
NASIKIA LUXURY MOBILE CAMP (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 6 SERENGETI
All day game drive in Serengeti.
Best time for the wildebeest migration is Dec to June but there are spectacular wildlife sights at anytime of year NASIKIA LUXURY MOBILE CAMP (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 7 SERENGETI - NGORONGORO
Game drive out of the Serengeti -optional pass through Olduvai Gorge and a view of the archaeological sites (and visit the museum) where early human tools and fossils have been found. Otherwise, we continue through the conservation area and onto the Ngorongoro crater rim for overnight in a Maasai run lodge.
NGORONGORO SERENA LODGE (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 8 NGORONGORO - CRATER HIGHLANDS
Ngorongoro is collapsed volcano -an incredible natural amphitheatre, 25 km across and teeming with all of the African big game. Early morning descent into the crater for spectacular scenery and game viewing in what has been described as the eighth wonder of the world. In late afternoon, we return to the rim for a wilderness walk that showcases incredible views of the caldera.
Continue onto the crater highlands for overnight PLANTATION LODGE (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 9 CRATER HIGHLANDS
Leisurely walking safari through farms and villages on the rift valley escarpment. You can discover the farming, irrigation and cattle husbandry techniques, visit houses and, if you want, sample local cuisine of the Iraqw tribe. There is also traditional wood-fired brick making, local musicians and you can generally gain a deeper understanding of the lifestyle of the people who live and work here.
PLANTATION LODGE (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 10 CRATER HIGHLANDS - LAKE MANYARA -ARUSHA
Game -drive around Lake Manyara National Park. This park is famed for the bird life around the soda lake -flamingos in particular, and is home to unusual tree-climbing lions. It also has a large elephant population. In the mid-afternoon, we transfer into the Maasai Heartlands to a village called Esilalei (Toothbrush Tree) located in the wildlife corridor in between Tarangire and Lake Manyara. We enjoy a packed lunch just as we enter the village and are met by the village elders and morani (warriors) singing and dancing to welcome us. Your visit supports the building of their school here.
Return to Arusha for overnight KIGONGONI LODGE (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 11 ARUSHA & BEYOND...
Transfer to Arusha departure point.
(Breakfast)