Kenya and Tanzania, well known for their great concentrations of game animals, protected in an excellent system of national parks and game reserves, guarantee you the supreme wildlife adventure of your life. Our annual safari to East Africa has been planned to give you every opportunity to view and photograph the magnificent animals of this region and, in particular, front row seats to the world's greatest wildlife spectacle - the Serengeti Migration.
EAST AFRICA SAFARI
Itinerary
(Breakfast - B, Lunch - L, Dinner - D)
Day 1 Thurs. June 26
Departure Day from North America
If you have booked your group flights from North America with Quest Nature Tours, you will be leaving this evening on an overnight flight to Europe. Please call the Quest Nature Tours’ office for a quote on the airfare from North America to Nairobi, Kenya.
(Airline Meals)
Day 2 Fri. June 27
Arrival Nairobi
Flights from North America will arrive in Europe early this morning. The connecting flight to Kenya will leave later in the morning and is scheduled to arrive into Nairobi this evening. We will be met at the airport by our Kenyan hosts and transferred to our comfortable hotel in Nairobi.
(Airline Meals)
o/n Mayfair Court Holiday Inn, Nairobi
Day 3 Sat. June 28
Nairobi
We have
designed a pleasant day, not too strenuous, after our flights from North America, which will take us to some interesting places around the city. We’ll visit Nairobi National Park, to view the orphan elephants and rhinos being fed, enjoy a leisurely welcome lunch and briefing at Hardy House, the home of our hosts Tony and Liz Farrell and then on to the Karen Blixen Museum in Langata. The rest of the afternoon and evening will be spent at leisure to give us time to relax and get over our jetlag.
o/n Mayfair Court Holiday Inn, Nairobi (B, L, D)
Day 4 Sun. June 29
Nairobi / Tanzania / Tarangire National Park
We’ll have an early morning start as we drive to the Tanzanian border town of Namanga, where we will go through customs and immigration. With Mount Kilimanjaro possibly visible in the distance, we’ll drive through the dry countryside to the town of Arusha and then on to Lake Manyara. After a picnic lunch along the way, we’ll arrive at our lodge, Taragire Sopa near Tarangire National Park. This wonderful lodge is skilfully blended into the surrounding countryside in the midst of abundant African wildlife.
We’ll start our morning in the park with an early morning game drive. The park has a spectacular concentration of wildlife. The lake itself is sometimes jammed with flamingos, ducks, waders, jacanas, and egrets and is surrounded by open grassland and Acacia forest where kingfishers, plovers, coursers and many more species are found. The Blue (Sykes) Monkey is found in the forested areas and the park is also one of the best places in East Africa to photograph hippos.
o/n Tarangire Sopa Lodge (B, L, D)
Day 5 Mon. June 30
Gol Kopjes / Serengeti National Park
Today we’ll drive to Serengeti National Park where we’ll have a game drive through the Gol Kopjes. The Kopjes are home to the fastest animal on earth, the stately Cheetah. Then we’ll make our way to our lodge for the night.
o/n Serengeti Sopa Lodge (B, L, D)
Days 6 - 7 Tues. July 1 – Wed. July 2
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti NP is home, all year, to a fascinating array of large mammals, birds and reptiles. After spending the winter in the grasslands of southern Tanzania, the mammals begin their long trek across the Serengeti to the Masai Mara in southern Kenya. In late June the dramatic annual migration of Wildebeest and Zebra will be under way, with an estimated 1.4 million animals moving north. The great herds move westwards and northwards in columns that are often several km long. The stragglers and cripples are at the back and the predators close by. If the migration is early and the animals have already gone through this area, then we are guaranteed to be able to view huge concentrations of animals, later in the safari, when we spend three days in the Masai Mara Game Reserve.
o/n Serengeti Sopa Lodge (B, L, D)
Days 8 - 9 Thurs. July 3 – Fri. July 4
Olduvai Gorge / Ngorongoro Crater
As we drive out of the Serengeti Plain, we will first stop at Olduvai Gorge, where the Leakey family first discovered remains of early man dating back 1.7 million years. After a short visit to the fascinating museum, built here at the edge of the gorge, we’ll continue on to the renowned Ngorongoro Crater - 600m deep and 16km wide. This giant crater, created by a volcanic eruption of unimaginable proportions, is populated by an incredible concentration of animals: large herds of Wildebeest, Hartebeest, Cape Buffalo and gazelle along with prides of lion, gangs of hyena and a number of Black Rhino.
We’ll explore the crater, descending from the rim by way of a tortuous road, only passable by four-wheel drive vehicles. As we explore the variety of habitats in the crater, we expect to see the endangered Black Rhino, elephant, lion, and a multitude of other mammals. Birding here is excellent and we’ll likely encounter Saddle-billed Storks, Lesser Flamingos, Crowned Cranes, and the huge Kori Bustard.
Our luxury lodge for the next two nights is a modern building overlooking the rim of the crater. Its huge windows provide its guests with superb views of the crater and the wildlife in it.
o/n Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge (B, L, D)
Day 10 Sat. July 5
Ngorongoro Crater / Lake Manyara National Park
We’ll have an early morning game drive into the crater and then on through the Ngorongoro Conservation area to the Lake Manyara area. We’ll have an afternoon game drive in Lake Manyara Park. The park has a spectacular concentration of wildlife. The lake itself is sometimes jammed with flamingos, ducks, waders, jacanas, and egrets and is surrounded by open grassland and Acacia forest where kingfishers, plovers, coursers and many more species are found. The Blue (Sykes) Monkey is found in the forested areas and the park is also one of the best places in East Africa to photograph hippos, and perhaps the famous tree-climbing lions.
o/n Lake Manyara Serena (B, L, D)
Day 11 Sun. July 6
Arusha / Nairobi
We’ll have an early morning game drive through Lake Manyara National Park and then drive to the town of Arusha. We’ll stop for lunch and some shopping and then continue on to Namanga and the Kenyan border. After going through customs and immigration, we’ll be met by our Kenyan drivers and safari vans to continue our journey northwards to Nairobi and our hotel. We’ll be able to relax here for the remainder of the day as no further activities are scheduled.
o/n Mayfair Court Holiday Inn, Nairobi (B, L, D)
Days 12 - 14 Mon. July 7–Wed. July 9
Masai Mara Game Reserve
Today we’ll drive to the Masai Mara, East Africa’s favourite game reserve, and the scene of the annual Wildebeest migration that began, to the south, on Tanzania’s Serengeti Plain. We’ll stay here in our exclusive private, tent camp for three nights. Each day we will go out on morning and evening game drives.
The Masai Mara is where we’ll come across the greatest concentration of game in Kenya: herds of Wildebeest and Burchell’s Zebra, large prides of Lions, Cheetah, Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Topi, Hippo and numerous other species of wildlife. The light in the Masai Mara has an incredible quality and is rated by many wildlife photographers as the best in the world.
It will also be possible for us to arrange to have an optional early morning hot air balloon ride across the Mara. Although quite expensive (Approx. US$450), many of our participants consider this to be one of the highlights of their East Africa safari.
o/n Private Tent Camp / TalekRiver (B, L, D)
Day 15 Thurs. July 10
Nairobi and Homeward Bound
The last day of the safari ends as we return to Nairobi and our day rooms at the Mayfair Court Holiday Inn. The day rooms will be available so we can change and freshen up prior to the late evening flights home. There will be a farewell dinner for the group in the elegant gardens of the Mayfair Court Holiday Inn. After dinner, we will be driven to the International airport for our overnight flight to Amsterdam.
(B, D)
Day 16 Fri. July 11
Arrive North America
We’ll arrive in Europe early in the morning, with our connecting flight to North America leaving in the early afternoon.
(Airline Meals)
