NGORONGORO/LAKE MANYARA
AMBOSELI/NAIROBI
TREETOPS/SAMBURU
LAKE NAIVASHA/MAASAI MARA
(13 DAYS )
NOT AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 YEARS OF AGE
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The Ngorogoro Conservation Area of
6,475 sq Km (2,500 sq Miles) was established in 1959. The Crater is one of
the most spectacular game haunts in Africa: it is also one of the biggest
craters, or more correctly calderas, in the world. Over 14.5 Km (9 Miles)
wide and 610-760 Km (2,000-2,500 Ft) Deep and covering 264 sq Km (102 sq Miles).
The approach road at 2,286 m (7,500 Ft) skirts the rim of the crater floor
thousands of feet below.
Entry into the crater is by way of the Lerai Descent, an extremely steep and
winding road down the slopes of the crater wall- negotiable only by 4 wheel
drive vehicle. The bottom is open grassy plain with alternating fresh and
brackish water lakes, swamps and two patches of dense acacia woodland called
the Lerai and Laindi Forests.
Game animals and birds are abundant inside the crater. All of the so-called
'Big Five' may be seen. Elephants, Lion, Black Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus and
Buffalo. Other species encountered are Cheetah, Eland, Grant's and Thompsons
Gazelles, Common Zebra, Wildebeest, a superabundance of Hyaena, Hunting Dog
and if you are lucky Leopard. Among the notable Birds are Lammergeyer, Veraux's
Eagle and Egyptian Vulture which make their home in the highest cliffs of
the crater wall: the beautiful Rosy-breasted Longclaw, which appears on the
plains after rains; and flocks of lesser and Greater Flamingos which are spasmodic
visitors to the crater lakes. In the highland forest on the crater rim two
sunbirds are especially noticeable, the long tailed Golden-winged Sunbird
and the smaller Eastern Double-collared Sunbird. At dusk the Abyssinian Nightjar
is often seen or heard. Accommodation is available at the crater lodges on
the crater rim near the Lerai entrance road.
Lake Manyara National Park
covers an area of only 318 sq Km (123 sq Miles), but its terrain is so diverse
that its mammal and bird lists are most impressive. The Park includes the
Northern and most of the Western parts of the Lake and its shores with a Westward
expansion to the top of the Rift Valley wall where the Lake Manyara Hotel
is situated. Large areas of groundwater forest with giant Fig and Mahogany
trees alternate with acacia woodland and more open places, all well watered.
A network of roads and tracks gives the visitor maximum game and bird viewing
opportunities.
The
tree climbing Lions of Manyara are famous for this form of behaviour. It is
probably due to a combination of the need to avoid dense undergrowth and a
search for cool shade. Probably lions have found that in an arboreal resting
place the torment of biting flies is less. Numbers of Elephants are resident
in the park, Buffalo are common and herds of 300-400 have been recorded, Black
Rhinocerous are very uncommon. Leopards occur in most places and it is not
unusual to come across them in the early morning or late evening: like the
Lions, they may be seen resting in the trees. Manyara is noted for it's wealth
of birdlife. At all times the Lake is visited by many thousands of Lesser
Flamingos, together with a sprinkling of the larger species. Maccoa Ducks
and white backed Ducks are resident and the beautiful Pygmy Goose is sometimes
observed. The Chestnut-Banded Sand-Plover is found on the mudflats and sandy
areas. In addition there over 30 species of prey bird including the Palm-nut
Vulture and Ayre's and Crowned Hawk Eagles.
The accommodation offers superb views of the entire Lake area.
The Amboseli National Park
is justly famous for it's big Game - Elephants, Lions and Cheetahs are the
main attractions - and for it's great scenic beauty. The 3,810 sq Km (1,259
sq Miles) of this park and game reserve embody five main wildlife habitats,
plus a generally dry lake bed, Lake Amboseli, from which it takes its name.
These are open plains; extensive stands of yellow Barked Acacia woodland;
rocky, lava strewn thornbush country; swamps and marshes; and at the Western
end of the reserve, above Namanga, the Massif of Oldoinyo Orok rising to over
2,760 m (8,300 ft) and still for the most part zoologically unexplored. The
area is dominated by the backdrop of Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest Mountain
which frames the wild region below with its nomadic tribes rear their cattle
as they have done for centuries. The main game viewing area lies in the Eastern
half of the park, in the vicinity of Ol Tukai, here a network of roads opens
up a wild life paradise.
Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Masai Giraffe and Buffalo may all be encountered
during a single mornings drive. White Bearded Gnu, common Zebra, Eland, Coke's
Hartebeest, Common Waterbuck, Impala and Thompsons and Grant's Gazelles can
also be found. In the dry bush country towards Namanga and in the arid area
en route to Emali two especially interesting antelopes are to be found; the
long necked Gerenuk and the Fringe Eared Oryx.
Smaller Mammals always in evidence include Black Faced Vervet Monkey and Yellow
Baboon, Black Backed Jackals, Spotted Hyena and Bat Eared Foxes. Bird Life
is equally abundant, especially in the vicinity of the lakes and swamps. The
Madagascar Squacco Heron turns up at regular intervals and the Long Toed Lapwing
is a resident in small numbers. Three species of Sand Grouse, Yellow throated-Chestnut
Bellied-and Black Faced, water in hundreds during the dry season. Birds of
prey are well represented with no less that 47 different kinds, rarities such
as the Taita Falcon and Southern Banded Harrier Eagle.
Around the Lodges you may see flocks of Yellow Weaver Birds, however the bird
which will quickly draw your attention because of its brilliant plumage and
fearless behaviour is the Superb starling, which pecks crumbs from your plate
as you eat.
Treetops
Treetops was Kenya's first "treehouse game lookout" and captured
the world's headlines in 1952 when a young girl climbed up one day as a Princess
and down the next as a Queen - Queen Elizabeth II. 
Set
high on stilts, the hotel overlooks a floodlit glade with an eventful waterhole
and salt lick frequented by elephant, buffalo, rhino, giant forest hog and
other animals. The fifty twin bedded rooms are neat and cozy, like cabins
on board a huge ship. Dinner is imaginatively served at refectory tables with
bench seating. The emphasis is on making as little noise as possible so as
not scare away the animals.
The Samburu Game reserves are
the most accessible of the Northern frontier faunal sanctuaries, 343 km (213
miles) from Nairobi. The reserve covers an area of 104 sq. Km (40 sq. Miles)
on the Northern bank of the Uaso river. The Buffalo springs reserve lies on
the southern bank of the river. In addition to the rugged splendour of it's
landscape the very name 'northern frontier province' conjures up an atmosphere
of mystery and adventure. It is indeed a vast and little visited region where
the traveling is rugged and the people have changed little over the Centuries.
The main attractions are the Reticulated Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra, Beisa Oryx,
the blue necked Somali Ostrich and river crocodiles. Elephant are plentiful
and Black Rhinoceros, lion leopard, Cheetah, Gerenuk, Buffalo and the two
species of Hyena are to be seen. Among the smaller mammals the Ground Squirrel
is abundant and tame. For such relatively small area the bird life is strikingly
numerous and colourful; there is no difficulty in seeing well over a hundred
species of birds in a single day. Perhaps the most impressive sight is the
immense flocks of helmeted and vulturine Guinea fowl which make their way
each afternoon to the riverbank to drink, the latter resplendent with white
streaked necks and brilliant blue underparts.
Buffalo springs, in the reserve of that name with it's pools and streams of
fresh water, is the drinking place in the dry season for literally thousands
of Sandgrouse and doves, in addition to a galaxy of smaller birds. The tiny
Pygmy Falcon is common, the males blue-grey and white, the females with a
mahogany- brown mantle. At a distance, when perched high in some acacia tree,
they distinctly resemble shrikes. The giant Martial Eagle is often seen, usually
perched high on some vantage point, alert for Dik-Dik or guinea fowl.
Accommodation with all amenities is at the Samburu Game lodge sited on the
edge of the Uaso Nyiro River, below giant Newtonia trees and Dom palms. The
lodge is built on the camp site of the most famous of the old time Elephant
hunters, Arthur Newman. The visitor may find it fitting to take a 'sundowner',
to contemplate the austerity endured by the early hunters and explorers contrasted
with the comfort of the modern day Safari!
Lake Naivasha is a freshwater
lake, only 80 Km (50 Miles) from Nairobi. It is a bird watchers paradise.
It is also the most beautiful of Kenya's Rift valley lakes with it's fringing
banks of feathery headed Papyrus, secluded lagoons and channels, blue water
lilies and the Crescent Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Waterbirds exist in great
variety and abundance.
Fish Eagles and Ospreys are resident, Herons and Egrets are well represented,
Lily Trotters, Purple Gallinules, Red Knobbed Coots and Black Crakes are common.
African Marsh Harriers and the three migrant Harriers are often seen sailing
along just above the reed beds, hunting the little tree frogs which form a
bulk of their diet.
The Mara Game Reserve, as
it was originally known, an area of some 1,812 sq Km (700 sq Miles), was establish
din 1961. It's Southern boundary is contiguous with Tanzania's Serengeti National
Park, and it is divided into two sections. The inner reserve has been developed
on the lines of a National Park, no intrusion or Human settlement have been
allowed, while the outer remains and undeveloped area where local Masai are
permitted to pasture their cattle but which is otherwise undisturbed.
The reserve extends from the edge of the Loita hills in the East to the Mara
triangle and the base of the Siria escarpment in the West. The inner section,
with it's network of roads specially constructed for Game watching, embraces
the area around the Keekorok Lodge and Westwards to the Mara River. Everything
in the Mara is Big. It is a country of breathtaking vistas, a panorama of
vast rolling plains and rounded hills, of intermittent groves of acacia woodlands
and thickets of scrub. The whole is bisected by the Mara river and it's tributaries
which are margined by luxuriant riverene forests. And in every direction,
there are seemingly endless herds of game animals.
Mara possesses the largest population of Lions to be found in Kenya, it boasts
large herds of Topi and a small population of Roan antelope, animals not found
in many Kenya parks or reserves. Elephants are fairly common and a traveler
may sometimes be held up by 'Elephants on the road'. The numerous large beasts
to be found here include; Buffalo, Black Rhino, hippopotamus, Leopard, Cheetah,
Zebra, Coke's Hartebeest, White Bearded Gnu, Warthog and Thompsons and Grants
Gazelle. The Bird life is as profuse as the mammalian fauna. Orange-Buff Pel's
fishing Owls, Bustards, Crested Guinea Fowl, Hornbills, secretary Birds and
at least 53 species of bird's of prey.
Accommodation is provided at the Mara Serena Lodge, sited on high ground in
the west of the Park overlooking the Mara river and two luxury campsites sited
on the Eastern bank of the Mara river near the old Mara bridge and the Governors
camp. From the Lodge it possible to see the Hippos at play from the viewing
platform, arguably the best place in Kenya.
Day 1
Morning departure from Nairobi to Tanzania, crossing the border at Namanga,
where our Tanzania guide will meet you. Proceed to Arusha for lunch before
continuing to the amazing Ngorongoro Crater. Late afternoon arrivals at a
lodge/camp built on the rim of the crater for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2
Breakfast at the camp/lodge then descend into the crater floor by special
4-wheel drive vehicles for a full day of game viewing. The magnificent Black-maned
lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino all exist in great concentration than anywhere
else in Africa. A picnic lunch will be taken at the crater. Dinner and overnight
stay at the lodge/camp.
Day 3
After breakfast depart for Lake Manyara. Lunch at the camp/lodge, overlooking
the Great Rift Valley and the Lake. Afternoon game viewing drives at Lake
Manyara National Park, famous for its climbing lions. Dinner and overnight
stay at the camp/lodge.
Day 4
After breakfast proceed to Arusha then to Amboseli National Park crossing
the border at Namanga. A brief game drive on your way to the camp/lodge for
dinner and overnight.
Day 5
Morning game drive in the Park returning to the lodge/camp for breakfast.
Rest of the morning at leisure. Lunch and another game viewing beneath the
snow capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, all meals and accommodation at the
cam/lodge.
Day 6
After breakfast drive to Nairobi arriving at noon. Afternoon at leisure, overnight
stay in a hotel.
Day 7
Breakfast then drive to Nyeri for lunch at a Tree-Hotel/budget hotel. Afternoon
at leisure, then dinner and overnight stay in a tree hotel/budget hotel.
Day 8
After breakfast continue to Samburu Game Reserve arriving in time for lunch.
Afternoon game viewing in this reserve noted for its unusual reticulated giraffe
and Grevy zebra. Dinner and overnight stay at the camp/lodge.
Day 9
Early morning and midmorning game drive looking for Somali ostrich, Oryx and
crocodile. All meals and accommodation at the camp.
Day 10
After breakfast drive via Thompson's fall to reach Lake Nakuru National Park.
A visit to the Lake Naivaha followed by a late lunch at Lake Naivasha Country
Club/camp. Continue to Lake Naivasha in the afternoon. Dinner an overnight
stay at the camp/lodge.
Day 11
Drive along the valley to reach Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Lunch at the lodge/camp
and a late afternoon game viewing. Dinner and overnight stay at the lodge/camp.
Day 12
Full day game viewing in this reserve noted for its Black-maned lion, cheetah
and leopard. All meals and accommodation at the camp/lodge.
Day 13
Breakfast, then return to Nairobi.
