07/04/2015
Highlights
Encounter the Big Five of the famous Masai Mara and Serengeti ecosystems, give your camera a workout at Lake Nakuru National Park, search for wildlife in the Ngorongoro Crater from 4x4 safari vehicles.
Tour description provided by G Adventures
Nairobi's convenient international airport is your gateway to this 10-day adventure that serves up all of Africa's wildness for a decidedly mild price. Here, you'll head out across the acacia-spotted savannah of the Serengeti and the plains of the majestic Masai Mara in search of the Big Five. Our overland truck and smaller 4x4 safari vehicles will ferry you through the incredible scenery of Kenya and Tanzania safely and in good spirits — and camping will keep you close to the action. With this much stunning African wilderness so close at hand, expect your shutter finger to get a hefty workout.
Itinerary
Day 1 Nairobi
Arrive at anytime. Please make sure you have all of the necessary visas for this tour by the time of the welcome meeting. It is very important to read the Visa section in our trip details to make sure which visas you will need, if any. Please note that not all nationalities are able to obtain a visa on arrival at the border. *Please note: if you have pre-booked the Serengeti Balloon Safari your CEO will inform you when you will do the activity throughout your tour, days are subject to change: Serengeti Balloon Safari (Day 8 - Serengeti). You will miss the included morning game drive with the group, but you will have a much better view from above! For more information on the Extra see the Optional Activities section.
Day 2 Lake Nakuru (1B,1L,1D)
Travel north from Nairobi (approximately at 8am) through the Great Rift Valley stopping at Lake Nakuru National Park, home to a vast variety of birdlife, particularly hundreds of thousands of flamingoes. Search for white and black rhino, buffalo, impala, hyena, and even leopard on our afternoon game drive in this renowned game park. Kenya's fourth largest town and the capital of the Rift Valley province, Nakuru, meaning “dusty place” in the Masai language, is a cheerful and vibrant agricultural town with a variety of coulourful local markets. We camp outside of the town itself and within the Lake Nakuru National Park, the area’s principal highlight and best natural attraction. Lake Nakuru itself is one of the Rift Valley soda lakes. The alkaline lake's abundance of algae attracts the large quantity of flamingos, estimated into the millions, which famously line the shore. The surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognizable due to the continually shifting mass of pink. There are two types of flamingo species: the Lesser flamingo can be distinguished by its deep red carmine bill and pink plumage unlike the greater flamigo, which has a bill with a black tip. But flamingos are not the only avian attraction, also present are two large fish-eating birds, pelicans and cormorants. The park is rich in other birdlife, including grebes, white winged black, stilts, avocets, ducks, and in the European winter, the migrant waders. At the beautiful Lake Naivasha, take an included boat ride where you will be on the lookout for ibis, lovebirds, fish eagles, hippo, and the black and white colobus monkey on the banks of this scenic lake. Surrounded by forests of the yellow barked Acacia Xanthophlea, known as the yellow fever tree, Lake Naivasha has a fairy-tale beauty to it which is rarely matched. Due to prolific birdlife from majestic fish eagles and waterfowl to tiny malachite kingfishers, Lake Naivasha is known as a world class birding destination. Approximate Distance: 156 km Estimated Travel Time: 4 hrs
Day 3-4 Lake Naivasha/Masai Mara Game Reserve (2B,2L,2D)
Travel to the Masai Mara for an afternoon game drive in our overland truck before arriving to camp. The Masai Mara (also spelled Maasai Mara) is a game reserve in southwestern Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The reserve is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of the wildebeest every September and October, a migration so immense to be called the Great Migration. The Great Migration is one of the most impressive natural events worldwide, involving an immensity of herbivores: some 1,300,000 wildebeest, 360,000 Thomson's gazelle, and 191,000 zebra. These numerous migrants are followed along their annual, circular route by a block of hungry predators, most notably lions and hyena. With its vast open plains and distinctive flat-topped acacia trees, no visit to Kenya would be complete without a visit here. Spend time game viewing, with excellent chances of seeing the Big five - lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino, and marvel at gazelles, impala, and ostrich from wonderful vistas along the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment. The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with clusters of the distinctive acacia tree in the southeast region. The western border is the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment of the Rift Valley, and wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good. In addition, stop at a traditional Masai village for an optional visit to learn about the local Masai culture and shop some of the handicrafts produced. Approximate Distance: 288 km Estimated Travel Time: 8 hrs (including stops)
Day 5 Kisii (1B,1L,1D)
Ascend from the plains to the green hills of Kenya's premier tea-growing, and soapstone region of Kisii. Kenya is the world's 3rd largest tea exporter (after India and Sri lanka), while tea accounts for 20-30% of the country’s export income. The town of Kisii is the commercial hub of the Kisii (also known as Gusii) Highlands. Located in the highlands just east of Lake Victoria, the town and area of Kisii is one of the most densely populated areas in Kenya. Because of the dense population, agriculture is a key component of the daily life of the local people. Along with tea, the main crops of the region are millet, yams, and pumpkins. Approaching Kisii, you will experience breathtaking views of the vast rolling hills covered by the tea plantations that are one of the economic backbones of the local economy. Scattered among the tea plantations are neatly arranged housing complexes for the tea "pluckers” who roughly every 17 days picked the tea leaves on a rotational basis. Good pickers can collect up to 100kg of leaves a day! Approximate Distance: 200 km Estimated Travel Time: 6 hrs
Day 6 Musoma (1B,1L,1D)
Crossing into Tanzania, arrive to the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake. You can do some fantastic bird watching on its shores. Approximate Distance: 163 km Estimated Travel Time: 6 hrs (including border crossing)
Day 7 Serengeti National Park (1B,1L,1D)
Venture to the world famous Serengeti National Park, often touted as Africa's best game park. The park is to Tanzania what the Masai Mara Game Reserve is to Kenya, though with an area of 14,763 sq km, it is actually over 7 times as large! Enjoy a game drive on Day 7 in the overland truck. Enter from the less-visited western gate, and enjoy the multitude of animal and bird life while cruising through the acacia-spotted savannah. En route to the central Seronera plains, we begin to experience the sheer vastness of this territory, marveling at the multitude of animal and bird life while cruising through this acacia-spotted savannah. After an early rise, we enjoy an early morning game drive in our overland vehicle, returning to camp for lunch followed by a brief but well-deserved rest. Later on in the afternoon, as the animal kingdom comes alive, continue your search for the "Big Five" - lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino - while taking in the vastness of the Serengeti plains. The Serengeti, together with the Masai Mara and the Ngorongoro Conservation area, protects the most varied and greatest collection of wildlife on earth. With the Big Five, the Small Five and the extensive amounts of wildlife, this region offers arguably the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the world. That said, with its vast size and varied terrain, game viewing is only one aspect of the Serengeti - the scenery is simply breathtaking. There is no bad time to visit the Serengeti as every season has its own special highlight – even the rainy season has the daily thunder and lightening to look forward to. Changing seasons and light patterns form the most beautiful backdrop to view Africa’s majestic and incredible wildlife. It has more than 1.6 million herbivores and thousands of predators. Blue Wildebeests, gazelles, zebras and buffalos are the animals most commonly found in the region. This area is most famous for the migration that takes place every year; in October over a million herbivores travel toward the southern plains, crossing the Mara River from the hills to the north. They continue west across the Serengeti, and then north once again, crossing the Mara River, after the rains around April, and often totals more than 800km. This phenomenon is sometimes also called the Circular Migration. Over 250,000 wildebeest alone will die along the journey from Tanzania to Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya. Approximate Distance: 240 km Estimated Travel Time: 4 hours
Day 8-9 Ngorongoro Conservation Area/Arusha (2B,2L,2D)
Break camp and take in the active morning wildlife as you cross the Serengeti plains and journey to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, famous for Africa's best game viewing. The views from the Ngorongoro Crater rim are stunning, and there is an ever-present abundance of wildlife, due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor. Game drives in the crater will be in small 4x4 safari vehicles with pop-up roofs. The 8,300 km² Ngorongoro Conservation Area is named after its central feature, the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, and arguably its most spectacular natural arena. Ngorongoro Crater has often been described as one of the wonders of the world, not only because of its inherent geological significance, but also because it serves a quite extraordinary natural sanctuary for some of Africa’s most dense population of large mammals. The Ngorongoro was part of the original Serengeti National Park but was made a separate conservation area in 1956 so that the Masai could graze their cattle there. The Ngorongoro Crater became a World Heritage Site in 1978. Land in the conservation area is unique to Tanzania as it provides protection for the wildlife whilst allowing human habitation. The landscape is made up of a blend of volcanoes, grasslands, waterfalls and mountain forests, where the wildlife is extensive. The southern and eastern boundaries are approximately defined by the rim of the Great Rift Valley, which also prevents animal migration in these directions. The annual ungulate migration passes through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with wildebeest and zebra moving south into the area in December and moving north in June. The area has healthy resident populations of most species of wildlife. Day 8: Approximate Distance: 82 km Estimated Travel Time: 5 hrs (including a Serengeti game drive) Day 9: Approximate Distance: 255 km Estimated Travel Time: 4 hrs
Day 10 Nairobi (1B,1L)
Leave for Kenya, passing by Mt Meru and hopefully catching a glimpse of the mighty Mt Kilimanjaro in the distance. The tour ends upon arrival into Nairobi in the late afternoon at our hotel in central Nairobi. In order to avoid any necessary issues with timing, please book your outgoing flight from Nairobi from 21:00 hrs or later. There is no included accommodation for this night in Nairobi. You may choose to pre-reserve post-tour accommodation at through G Adventures. Approximate Distance: 283 km Estimated Travel Time: 9 hrs (including border crossing)
