Overview
An African safari is a truly awe-inspiring and humbling experience where we become immersed in the rich history and culture of the local people as well as the spectacular wildlife of the region. After many years of very successful tours, we are delighted to again offer this tour to the regions of Kenya and Tanzania. With perhaps the most amazing and famous game reserves and national parks of anywhere on earth, this region offers an astonishing amount of game in the midst of ravishingly beautiful and dramatic panoramas that will simply take your breath away.
Discover and experience the landscapes, the wildlife and the culture in the ultimate Big Safari areas of Kenya and Tanzania, from the open plains of the Masai Mara, to the snowy peaks of Mt Kilimanjaro. This adventurous safari (in absolute comfort) showcases the ultimate in East Africa’s national parks and diverse scenery and provides the perfect opportunity to spot the “Big Five” as well as the myriad of other wildlife that populate the region.
Highlights include:
The tour is full of daily highlights but some of the more prominent highlights include:
- Diverse modern Dubai
- Nairobi, the Kenyan capital – including visit to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orphanage
- Mt Kenya & Mt Kilimanjaro
- The Great Rift Valley
- Masai Mara National Reserve
- Visit a Masai Village
- Serengeti National Park
- Amboseli, & Lake Nakuru National Parks
- Outstanding hotel, lodge and tented camp accommodation
Accommodation:
For this tour, we have chosen some of the very best of luxury lodges and wildlife camps available. These include:
- Lake Elmenteita Serena Luxury Camp
- Mara Intrepid Tented Camp
- Mara Elatia Camp
- Kirawira Serena Tented Camp, Serengeti
- Serena Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- Amboseli Serena Lodge in the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro
Some of the camps offer tented accommodation but these tents are something else. All of the accommodation tents include ensuite bathrooms, wooden floors, electricity and heating and the finest of bed linen. The “mess” and lounge tents are furnished with your comfort in mind even to the point of chandelier lighting, grand sofas and bookcases. Enjoy sundowner drinks around the campfire in the evening before retiring to the “mess” tent for “silver service” dinner. “Out of Africa” safari camp luxury!
Itinerary
Tuesday 05 May Auckland – Dubai
Late this afternoon, we report to the airport and join the flight to Dubai.
Wednesday 06 May Dubai (B,D)
We arrive in Dubai early this morning and after clearing Customs and Immigration formalities, we are met and transferred to our hotel for a two-night stay. There is time to rest up after the flight until mid-afternoon where we meet up to enjoy a visit to Dubai Miracle Garden. Each season, as the weather begins to cool at the onset of winter, the gates reopen. With more than 150 million flowers in full bloom, this 72,000-sq-m paradise has flowered into one of the region’s most picturesque, sweet-scented destinations for more than a decade now. There is time for exploration at the garden, before we return to the hotel for dinner this evening.
Thursday 07 May Dubai (B,D)
We start our day with a visit to the Museum of the Future. One of Dubai’s most famous landmarks, the museum takes pride of place along the city’s superhighway, Sheikh Zayed Road. Founded by the Dubai Future Foundation and launched on 22 February 2022, the museum explores how society could evolve in the coming decades using science and technology. Termed a ‘living museum’, it incorporates elements of traditional exhibitions, immersive theatre and themed attractions, so visitors can look beyond the present and towards the future’s limitless possibilities. Visitors have the chance to engage with this game-changing technology. Each floor of the museum is designed like an expansive, interactive movie set, brought to life by expert storytellers, technologists and visionary artists. Early afternoon, we return to the hotel to relax. The remainder of the day is at leisure, until we meet up again for dinner this evening.
Friday 08 May Dubai – Nairobi (B,D)
A morning transfer to the airport where we join the 5 hour flight to Nairobi. We are met on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport and transferred to the Nairobi Serena Hotel, Nairobi’s finest hotel, for our overnight night stay.
Saturday 09 May Nairobi – Mt. Kenya (B,L.D)
After a leisurely morning, we visit the nursery at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orphanage. Working across Kenya, their projects include anti-poaching, safe-guarding the natural environment, enhancing community awareness, addressing animal welfare issues, providing veterinary assistance to animals in need, rescuing and hand rearing elephant and rhino orphans, along with other species that can ultimately enjoy a quality of life in wild terms when grown. We then depart Nairobi and travel to our accommodation at Sweet Waters Tented Camp, with magnificent views across the plains to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya. The luxury tents overlook the waterhole, floodlit at night, providing excellent and rarely seen game viewing. We stay here for two nights.
Sunday 10 May Mt. Kenya (B.L.D)
This morning, we enjoy our first game drive before returning to our lodge for breakfast. There is the opportunity for another game drive in the afternoon, or you can opt to relax and enjoy the facilities.
Monday 11 May Mt. Kenya – Great Rift Valley (B.L.D)
After breakfast, our drive takes us to the floor of the Great Rift Valley up the Mau Escarpment, destination Lake Nakuru National Park where the waters of the lake are often coloured shimmering Flamingo pink from thousands of birds lining the shore. We enjoy a hot lunch before proceeding on an afternoon game-viewing drive. We end the day at Soysambu Conservancy, where we can relax for 2 nights at our stunning accommodation, Lake Elmenteita Serena Luxury Camp.
Tuesday 12 May Lake Nakuru Game Reserve (B.L.D)
After breakfast, the drive will take us to Lake Nakuru game reserve. This is another famous lake that has a plentiful population of aquatic birds who enjoy the alkaline lake environment.
Wednesday 13 May Great Rift Valley – Masai Mara (B.L.D)
We drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve offering wonderful scenery and plenty of game. It is perhaps the only region left in Kenya where the visitor may see animals in the same super abundance as existed a century ago. We arrive at our camp in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive. Our overnight accommodation is Mara Intrepid Tented Camp. It is on this very terrain where the great annual migration takes place, when millions of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle traverse the landscape to feed on rich new grass and give birth to their young calves. The Masai Mara National Reserve is home to gazelle, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, leopard, the legendary black-maned lion and many more. Our lodge is ideally located to enjoy this unique phenomenon.
Thursday 14 May Masai Mara (B.L.D)
Today we travel to our next lodge, Mara Elatia Camp – nestled in the peaceful Northwestern plains, gracefully perched along the Oloololo escarpment of the Masai Mara. The camp overlooks the Mara River which is famous for the annual wildbeest migration between the months of July and September and faces one of the three “Kalema Hills” where the epic movie “Out of Africa” was filmed. The game viewing is excellent with a large population of the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard, together with prolific wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, cheetah and hyena.
Friday 15 May Masai Mara (B.L.D)
Today, we can take some time out to relax and enjoy our surroundings. The early risers may wish to enjoy an optional balloon ride offering spectacular views over the region or you may wish to have another morning game drive. For some, just sitting by the wonderful pool enjoying the view will suit just fine.
Saturday 16 May Masai Mara – Serengeti (B.L.D)
Today, we cross the border into Tanzania as we drive to the Serengeti National Park, undoubtedly the most famous wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and the greatest concentration of game anywhere. The exquisite Kirawira Tented Camp stands high on the bluff of a bush-cloaked ridge, commanding panoramic views over the endlessly rolling reaches and volcanic reefs of the Serengeti National Park. The tented camp is the epitome of colonially-styled safari luxury.
Sunday 17 May Serengeti (B.L.D)
A full day in the Serengeti with game drives and the opportunity to relax. (Look out for the surprise breakfast today!). It was 1913 and great stretches of Africa were still unknown to the white man when Stewart Edward White, an American hunter, set out from Nairobi. Pushing south, he recorded: “We walked for miles over burnt out country… Then I saw the green trees of the river, walked two miles more and found myself in paradise.” He had found Serengeti which has come to symbolize paradise to many, especially the Masai, who have grazed their cattle on the vast grassy plains for millennia. To them it was Siringitu – “the place where the land goes on forever.”
Monday 18 May Serengeti (B.L.D)
We spend another full day in the Serengeti, enjoying the surroundings and viewing wildlife. The wildlife is plentiful, the landscape is fascinating and our lodge is filled with all the comforts one could need. We stay at Mbuzi Mawe this evening.
Tuesday 19 May Serengeti – Ngorongoro Conservation Area (B.L.D)
We drive to the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world. Its endearing charm stems from its overwhelming physical beauty and the abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater floor. En route, we visit Olduvai Gorge, site of archeological findings where traces of pre-historic man dating back 3.5 million years have been discovered. We arrive at our lodge in time for lunch with the remainder of the day at leisure. We spend 2 nights at Serena Ngorongoro Lodge.
Wednesday 20 May Ngorongoro Conservation Area (B.L.D)
The jewel in Ngorongoro’s crown is the deep volcanic crater, the largest un-flooded and unbroken caldera in the world. About 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 square kms in area, the crater is a breath-taking natural wonder. It contains a huge number and variety of wildlife and fauna. We have the full day to explore the crater.
Thursday 21 May Ngorongoro – Amboseli (B.L.D)
Today we drive back across the border into Kenya and Amboseli National Park set below the most famous symbol in Africa – Mt. Kilimanjaro. Our home for the next 2 nights is Amboseli Serena Lodge in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro set beside acacia trees and a natural spring amidst more big game than perhaps anywhere else in Africa. The Lodge is in harmony with its environment offering unique guest services and exceptional amenities.
Friday 22 May Amboseli (B.L.D)
We will have plenty of time for morning and afternoon game drives, enjoying the view of “The Roof of Africa”, Mt Kilimanjaro. Here the major attraction is the large herds of elephants.
Saturday 23 May Amboseli – Nairobi – Dubai (B.L)
We depart Amboseli and travel back to Nairobi Airport. Late afternoon, we join our flight to Dubai. Arrival time is late evening and overnight accommodation is reserved at the airport.
Sunday 24 May Dubai – Auckland (B)
Time for the last leg of our journey on our flight home.
Monday 25 May Auckland
Arrive Auckland early afternoon.
