This 11-day tour will bring you to the famous wildlife habitats of both Kenya and Tanzania.
You will experience the sprawling, wildlife-rich grasslands
of Kenya and Tanzania, a sight to behold.
Meet and greet on arrival at the airport. You will be met and transferred to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay at Nairobi Hilton Hotel.
After breakfast head to the Elephant orphanage, founded in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick in honor of the memory of her late husband, famous naturalist and founding Warden of Tsavo East National Park, David Leslie William Sheldrick. After our visit, we will take a break for lunch. In the afternoon we will go to visit yet another rescue center for giraffes. Rothschild giraffes in Kenya were in danger due to a compulsory purchase by the Kenyan government of an 18,000-acre privately owned ranch at Soy, near Eldoret, which was their sole habitat.
On arrival to Amboseli National Park we will do a short game drive to our lodge located in the midst of the Phoenix palm, surrounded by herds of elephants and buffalos. From our lodge we will be able to see Mount Kilimanjaro peeking through the clouds in the early mornings and late evenings. Overnight at Oltukai Lodge
An early morning game drive in this beautiful national park will get you close to large herds of elephants. Midmorning we will visit the Maasai people, famously known worldwide for their rich cultures and heritage. The Maasai are a nomadic tribe moving from place to place in search of rich grazing lands for their livestock. After lunch, afternoon game drives to witness the crossings of the Elephants from the swamps to the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro for overnight foraging. Crowned by Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, the Amboseli National Park is one of Kenya’s most popular parks. The name “Amboseli” comes from a Maasai word meaning “salty dust”, and it is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. Nature lovers can explore five different habitats here ranging from the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, wetlands, sulphur springs, savannah and woodlands. Overnight at Oltukai Lodge
After an early breakfast, we set off to Tanzania crossing the border from Kenya. The drive is beautiful with views of Mount Kilimanjaro and rich agriculture activities at the foot of the mountain. Once we reach the border, we will get stamped out of Kenya and enter this great and beautiful country called Tanzania. Our drive will take us to some amazing views and landscapes with opportunities to take a break and pictures. We will stop in Arusha,which is the hub of the southern Tanzania Administration, for a hot lunch. When we get to Mto wa mbu (river of mosquitos) we will have a short walk to interact with the local markets, briefly stopping at the view point of Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro. Overnight at Ngorongoro Farm House
After breakfast we will drive in to Ngorongoro crater for a full day game drive with a stop for picnic lunch at the floor of the crater. Here we will get a chance to see the wildlife in the crater surrounded by the steep walls of the caldera. Ngorongoro is thought to have been formed about 2.5 million years ago from a large active volcano whose cone collapsed inward after a major eruption, leaving the present vast, unbroken caldera as its chief remnant. The caldera’s floor is predominantly open grassland. It is home to a diverse array of animals including elephants, black rhinoceroses, leopards, buffalo, zebras, warthogs, gnu (wildebeests), Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, and the densest population of lions in the world. Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake ringed by extinct volcanoes, is renowned as a habitat for great flocks of pink flamingos. In the afternoon we will ascend to the top of the crater for our overnight with breathtaking views of the crater and its surrounding. Overnight at Serena Ngorongoro
After our breakfast drive out to Serengeti National Park via the Olduvai Gorge. The drive will take us through the vast open plains and savannah with game viewing opportunities. Here we will get to witness some of the most amazing number of cats. Arrive for late lunch and followed by an afternoon game drive in the Seronera region. Olduvai Gorge, also spelled Olduwai, is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world in the eastern Serengeti Plain. It is a steep-sided ravine consisting of two branches that have a combined length of about 30 miles (48 km) and are 295 feet (90 meters) deep. Deposits exposed in the sides of the gorge cover a time span from about 2.1 million to 15,000 years ago. Olduvai Gorge was designated part of a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
The Serengeti region encompasses grasslands and plains, rivers and forest, active volcanoes and rocky outcroppings known as kopjes. The entire ecosystem stretches across more than 6 million acres and is home to some of the largest grazing herds in the world. The Serengeti is Tanzania’s oldest national park which has over 2,500 lions and more than 1 million wildebeest. Overnight at Seronera Serengeti
Enjoy the scheduled morning and afternoon game viewing activities. The daily safari routine usually involves an early morning wake-up call with tea/coffee and freshly baked muffins. An early departure greatly increases the chances of unusual sightings, as the majority of mammals are active at the beginning and end of the day when temperatures are lower. We will end our game drive with a sunset in the Serengeti National Reserve. Later we will head to our lodge for our rest and overnight. Overnight at Seronera Serengeti
After our breakfast we will depart for Lake Victoria on the western corridors of the Serengeti. Making the most of our drive we will look for game viewing as we go. We will leave the Park and arrive in time for lunch at our lodge on the shores of Lake Victoria. After lunch we will take a boat ride over the vast lake in search of hippopotamus and the clawless otters. Here we will have the chance to interact with the local fishermen and a chance to have an insight to the ways of life and an opportunity to visit a local fish market. Later we head to our lodge for the evening.
Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by area, the world’s largest tropical lake, and the world’s second largest fresh water lake by surface area, after Lake Superior in North America. Lake Victoria is relatively young –about 400,000 years old – and was formed when westward-flowing rivers were dammed by an up thrown crustal block. Overnight Speke Bay Lodge
After an early morning breakfast, we will head to Maasai Mara Game reserve in Kenya. We will need to cross the border of Kenya and Tanzania once again in an area called Isibania. Once the immigration procedures are completed, we will drive to Maasai Mara National Reserve, arriving late afternoon for a short game drive as we head to our Lodge set on one of the hills overlooking the Maasai Mara River. Maasai Mara is world renowned for its exceptional population of Maasai lions, African leopards and Tanzanian cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration. Overnight at Serena Mara
This morning we will take a short flight to Nairobi. Arrival for lunch and an afternoon visit to the National museum of Kenya. Afterwards, we will have day use of the hotel to freshen up and pack. Since this is your final day, we will have an early dinner and later transfer you at the airport to catch your flight home from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
WHAT IS INCLUDED:
• Accommodation on full board as per the itinerary based on Double Occupancy rooms.
• Airport Transfers and ground transportation by Private AC minivan.
• Entries to the cultural villages as per the itinerary & Photography Lessons
• Expert English speaking local guide
• All meals on itinerary days
• Cold bottled mineral water
• Dinner on final day as per the itinerary
• All admission fees to sites on the itinerary
• AMREF Flying Doctors cover while on tour; evacuation insurance to an Addis Ababa hospital (transportation only, the cost of hospitalization is not included)
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED:
• International flights to and from Kenya
• Overnight accommodation in Nairobi on the last day
• Personal Travel Insurance: we strongly recommend you purchase Travel, Medical and Cancellation Insurance.
• Beverages, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic
• Gratuities for the guides, staff at accommodations, and airport transfers
• Personal expenses, such as curios, telephone calls, internet and laundry
• Meals and accommodations before and after the tour dates
• Visa and Passport fees
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
A deposit of 40% per person is required at time of booking. We recommend you reserve your spot as soon as possible. You can pay your deposit by Bank Wire Transfer. Bank details will be provided upon registration. The tour will be confirmed 8 weeks prior or sooner. Please do not make any travel arrangements to Kenya before we have confirmed the tour. Full payment is due 60 days before the tour begins.
TO REGISTER
Please send us an email at john@johnrizzophoto.com with your first and last name, your phone, which tour you are registering for, along with any additional information that you would like us to know.
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