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Day 1
Nairobi - Nairobi Safari Club
Arrival at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport, met and greeted
in our traditional style by uniformed AfriChoice! representatives,
transfer to your city hotel. An hour after checking, we
take you on a city orientation tour that takes you through
the Central Business District viewing the shopping areas,
parliament buildings, Conference Centre ( KICC) and the
Railway station and many of Nairobi's modern and historical
buildings. Our city tour also takes you to places of interest
such as the View Point to get a panaromic view of the
city, National Museums of Kenya, the famous snake park
and the colourful city market. Balance of the day is spent
at leisure at your hotel. Dinner on own in your hotel.
Overnight at Nairobi Safari Club, Bed & Breakfast.
Day 2 Nairobi
- Masai Mara Game Reserve
Leaving Nairobi after breakfast, you'll travel towards
Kenya's fertile highlands and head down the Rift Escarpment
on a road built by Italian prisoners of war during World
War II. You'll pass the impressive Longonot earth satellite
station as you head across the Valley to Narok, and then
travel across acres of wheat and barley, before you reach
the Masai Mara in time for lunch. Following lunch and
a siesta, there is an afternoon game drive returning to
the lodge as the sun sets. Overnight at Mara Sopa Lodge
on a full board basis.
Day 3 Masai Mara Game Reserve
Early morning and afternoon game drives. Overnight at
the Masai Mara Sopa Lodge .This Reserve is one of Africa's
best known wildlife areas, and is part of the Serengeti
ecosystem. A land of undulating hills and rolling grasslands
it supports a large animal population. Even a casual visitor
is treated to the sight of lions in prides sometimes numbering
more than thirty beasts with a handsome black maned male
in dominance; a cheetah at great speed runs down its prey;
a leopard in the lower branches with its kill. In the
Mara river there are crocodiles sunning themselves on
the banks, and hippos playing in the water. Elephant,
Cape buffalo, giraffe, Topi, gazelle are all in abundance,
and during the months of July to September the great migration
of wildebeest and zebras spill over from the Serengeti.
The sight of these beasts legging it across the Mara River,
avoiding both the crocodiles in the river, and the predators
harassing them from behind is amazing, and the topic of
some of the most spectacular photography ever seen. In
the afternoon there is a game drive followed by dinner
and overnight at the Masai Mara Sopa Lodge.
Day 4 Masai Mara Game Reserve-
Great Rift Valley
Leaving the Masai Mara after breakfast, you'll travel
across the ‘breadbasket’ of Kenya, where acres
of wheat and barley litter the landscape as you head north
to Narok, the district headquarters of this part of Maasailand.
Now travel across the vast plains on the floor of the
Rift Valley, keeping an eye out for herds of giraffe and
gazelle as you head up the Mau Escarpment, before arriving
at Lake Nakuru lodge for lunch. The waters here are often
coloured shimmering flamingo pink, from thousands of the
beautiful birds lining its shores. After lunch you will
take an afternoon game drive in Nakuru National park before
continuing to Lake Nakuru for overnight. Overnight at
Lake Nakuru Lodge on a full board basis.
Day 5
Great Rift Valley - Amboseli National Park
After an early breakfast you will depart with a picnic
lunch, leaving the Rift Valley behind, you continue towards
Nairobi and then head south towards Amboseli Sopa Lodge.
Then proceed with afternoon game drive in the park enroute
to the Amboseli Sopa Lodge arriving in the evening. Overnight
at Amboseli Sopa Lodge on a full board basis. Each of
the 47 rooms has their own private veranda on which to
relax, sunbathe and take in the views. All rooms are en
suite, with walk-in shower, lavatory, wash basin and shaving
socket – they’re all modern, spacious and comfortable.
Overnight at Amboseli Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.
Day 6 Amboseli National Park
Early morning and afternoon game drives in Amboseli. Overnight
Amboseli Sopa Lodge. Set on 200 acres of private land
on the foothills of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount
Kilimanjaro, the lodge is perfectly poised to provide
a luxurious base from which to explore the park and get
some great pictures of this incredible mountain. The lodge
is also close to where Ernest Hemingway lived whilst writing
his famous novel, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Meals are
a cosmopolitan combination of European, African and Asian
dishes, all made with fresh produce and served from a
colourful buffet. There are also several bars, a great
pool, TV lounge and many other small niceties that make
this a superb location. Overnight at Amboseli Sopa Lodge
on a full board basis.
Day 7
Amboseli National Park - Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast, you continue the journey to the Tanzania
border post and then on to Arusha for lunch. After lunch,
drive across the Masai Steppe to the Great Rift Valley.
Here, your hotel is perched high on the rim overlooking
the park below. Overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge
on a full board basis.
It would be difficult to find
a more dramatic setting than the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.
Situated at the edge of an escarpment, this deluxe lodge
overlooks both the Great Rift Valley, which formed millions
of years ago, and the beautiful soda lake of Manyara with
is lavish supply of bird life. The birds themselves have
provided the inspiration for the lodge's architecture.
Graceful, curving and free flowing, it is built in the
local circular style and exudes an atmosphere of peacefulness
where man and nature co-exist. From the patterns in the
reception area resembling bird migration paths, to the
soft geometric designs in the bedrooms, there is barely
a single straight line in its design. The bar and restaurant
offer guests both indoor and outdoor seating at each meal.
Sumptuous menus, buffets and barbecues are served to guests
alongside authentic African dishes. Dinner and overnight
at the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.
Day 8
Lake Manyara National Park - Serengeti National Park
After breakfast there is a game drive in Lake Manyara
National Park that returns to the lodge for lunch. Leaving
Lake Manyara after lunch, the journey continues north
west across the stunning hilly countryside of Karatu and
the highlands which is filled with wheat and coffee plantations,
and then into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. From here,
lies the vast plains of the Serengeti, where you’ll
hopefully start spotting game well before you enter into
the park. Overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge on a full
board basis.
Day 9 Serengeti National Park
Morning and afternoon game drives. Dinner and overnight
at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge. Each year, after the traditional
" short " rains in November the migration starts
when the herds amass in their thousands on the plains
below the Ngorongoro highlands. During February they move
north and west following the rains and the new grasslands,
and they start to move into the Masai Mara in July. In
October they move back to Tanzania. This annual phenomenon
involves more than 1.5 million animals, including the
Lion and other predators who follow the herds for easy
pickings. The whole process affects the lives of thousands
of other species who rely on the passage of the migration
for their survival, even the insects, not to mention the
trees and plants which rely on the droppings for their
fertilization.
The Serengeti Sopa lodge is located
in the Nyarboro Hills in the south west of the Serengeti
National Park and is the only tourism development in this
section of the park. Year round water and the acacia woodland
in this area create an ideal environment for the wide
variety of wildlife seen in the immediate vicinity of
the lodge. Looking out over the seemingly endless Serengeti
plains, this hill side lodge is a tranquil oasis set in
thousands of square kilometres of Serengeti National Park.
The lodge can accommodate around 170 guests in 79 suites,
each enjoying wall-to-wall carpeting, a private lounge
with a mini bar, a bedroom with two queen size beds and
ample room for a third guest. Each has a private veranda
which offers stunning views over the plains. As the sun
sets, you may enjoy sundowner cocktails by the pool, and
in the evening, after a 4-course dinner, traditional dancers
entertain guests. Slide presentations are also held daily
by resident naturalists.
Day 10
Serengeti National Park - Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast you depart for Ngorongoro Crater, viewing
game across the vast Serengeti plains and stopping off
at Olduvai Gorge en route. The Gorge acquired its name
from the Sansevieria bush that grows profusely in the
area, named Olduvai by the Maasai. The Gorge is about
50km long and in some places around 90m deep and is found
between the Crater and the Serengeti. It was first discovered
by a German entomologist named Professor Kattwinkel, who
instigated an expedition just before the First World War.
Later, the exploration was continued by Dr Louis Leakey
and his wife, who in 1959 found humanoid remains of Zinjanthropus,
later renamed Australapithicus Boisei, an early form of
man. You will have time to walk through the simple small
museum at the gorge, where you can view copy displays
of some of the finds as well as pictures of what life
was like for the gorge’s earliest inhabitants. After
a picnic lunch you continue to your lodge, set high on
the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Overnight at Ngorongoro
Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.
"It is impossible to give
a fair description of the size and beauty of the Crater
, for there is nothing with which one can compare it.
It is one of the Wonders of the World." This is how
the Crater is described by Bernard Grzimek in his classic
"Serengeti Shall Not Die". The area is given
over to Wildlife Conservation and comprises 8300 square
kilometers of which the Crater is 260 square kilometers,
and consists of grasslands, swamps, forests, rivers, and
even an arid area of shifting dunes. The Crater supports
a year round resident population of varied wildlife, and
as the game is concentrated into a relatively small area
you are likely to see lion, elephant, hyena, jackal, cheetah,
the very rare Black rhino, primates and many more. The
area is also home to the proud and colorful Masai tribe.
Dinner and overnight at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
Day 11
Ngorongoro Crater
A highlight awaits you this morning as you depart by 4x4
to explore what is commonly referred to as the World’s
largest wildlife zoo. After breakfast, you’ll descend
through the early morning mists and 2,000 feet into the
crater for game viewing return to lodge for lunch. Afternoon
visit Masai Village returning to the lodge late afternoon.
Dinner and overnight at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
Day 12
Ngorongoro Crater - Tarangire National Park
Morning drive to Tarangire National Park arriving in time
for lunch and a siesta. This afternoon will be spent on
a game drive returning to the lodge as the sun sets. Tarangire
is recognised as one of the best parks on the northern
circuit for elephant viewing during the dry season and
Tarangire Sopa is ideally placed to experience this. The
lodge welcomes guests to its vast marble-floored reception
area with cold flannels and iced juice. In the pretty
gardens a large circular pool with a central island, a
pool bar and elegant wooden loungers demonstrates the
lodge's commitment to comfort. Delicious barbecue lunches
are often served here. A broad veranda wraps itself around
the lodge and gives prime viewing for the waterhole below,
which is filled during the dry season and becomes a magnet
to wildlife. The rooms at the lodge are simple, comfortable
and spacious and arranged in groups of four, in African-style
buildings. Large sliding doors open to a private balcony.
Overnight at Tarangire Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.
Day 13 - Tarangire - Arusha (approximately
2½ hours), Nairobi
Today you’ll depart after breakfast and head east,
down the fascinating escarpment of the Rift Valley towards
the village of Makuyuni and onto Arusha. The journey will
pass through the Masai Steppe filled with many picturesque
African villages as well as maize, coffee and banana plantations.
Upon arrival into Arusha you’ll have lunch before
being dropped of to catch the flight to Nairobi. From
here, you will be transferred for your onward arrangements.
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