KENYA-TANZANIA SAFARI 9 DAYS 8 NIGHTS

Tour Description

A Ngorongoro Crater tour is usually combined with a safari in neighboring Serengeti National Park. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area protects the volcanically formed Crater Highlands, which are dotted with deep volcanic craters of which the best known, Ngorongoro, is the world’s largest intact caldera and a natural wildlife reserve with few peers. Ngorongoro safari tours offer your best chance in Tanzania of spotting all the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino) in one game drive. The crater is also notable for the spectacular scenic combination of the verdant plains of the lake-studded crater floor and imposing 600m-/1,968ft-high cliffs that enclose it on all sides.

The Serengeti is one of the most famous parks in Africa and is synonymous with wildlife and classic African scenery. It is Tanzania’s oldest park and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is home to the spectacular wildebeest migration and offers top-class wildlife viewing throughout the year.

Masai Mara is a unique wildlife conservation haven, famous for its spectacular natural diversity of wildlife and happens to be a premier Kenya Safari location in East Africa, offering visitors many reasons to visit this animal paradise. Large numbers of Lions, Cheetah, Elephant, Rhino, African Buffalo, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Zebra and many more animals are found in the park in their natural habitat, unconfined and free to roam the vast wilderness stretching for miles on end.

Tour Itinerary

DAY 01

ARUSHA/NGORONGORO

Early in the morning depart for Ngorongoro with a game drive en- route. While on the way, you will visit Olduvai Gorge archaeological site where in 1959, Mary Leakey an archaeologist discovered Zinjanthropus, a humanoid aged 1,600,000 years.

Picnic lunch. Continue to Ngorongoro.

Check-in, dinner and overnight stay at NGORONGORO SERENA LODGE or similar

DAY 02

NGORONGORO

After breakfast, go on a full day crate tour using 4×4 vehicles with picnic lunch. (MAXIMUM 6 HOURS ALLOWED)

One of the wonders of the world, it is difficult to give a fair description to the enormity and beauty of the Crater.

There is no comparison, if only the Garden of Eden!

A steep wall of thick forest surrounds the circumference, which looks like a natural amphitheatre 260 km2 in size.

An incredible ecosystem consisting of grasslands, swamps, lakes, rivers, woodlands, forests and an arid area of shifting dunes exists here, and thus the crater is able to sustain a vast resident population of game including elephant, buffalo, lion, hippo, wildebeest, gazelle, leopard, black Rhino, monkeys and hyena.

Return to the lodge before nightfall for dinner and overnight stay NGORONGORO SERENA LODGE or similar.

DAY 03

NGORONGORO / SERENGETI

After breakfast, we depart for the Serengeti National park.

Arrive at the Lodge. Check-in and lunch.

Afternoon game drive in the park , dinner and overnight stay SERENGETI SERENA LODGE or similar

DAY 04

SERENGETI

Full day game drive in this park that is rich in wildlife.

In the local vernacular, Serengeti means ‘the endless plains that go up to the sky’. And they do just that. It is therefore easy to understand why this is the most popular and spectacular of all game parks in East Africa. Covering 14,765 sq km, one of the striking features of this park is the series of large granite outcrops that dominate the vast plains, making it very different to the Masai Mara. Every year, after the south’s short November rains, wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, eland, topi and hartebeest gather in their thousands on the Serengeti’s southern plains and the Ngorongoro Highlands. Then, around April, they head towards the western corridor of the Serengeti, where many overflow into the Masai Mara around July/August. They remain here until late October/November, when Tanzania’s new rains prompt the move south again, towards Lake Ndutu and Lagaja. This yearly phenomenon also affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of other species, who rely on the migratory herds for their survival. These include predators, gazelles, birds and lowly insects, not to mention the grasses and trees that are fertilised by droppings.

All meals and overnight at SERENGETI SERENA LODGE or similar.

DAY 05

SERENGETI/LAKE VICTORIA

Proceed to Lake Victoria and Speke Bay in particular.

On arrival, check-in at the SPEKE BAY HOTEL.

Rest of the evening spent at leisure.

Dinner and overnight.

DAY 06

LAKE VICTORIA ISEBANIA BORDER/MASAI MARA

Early breakfast and drive to the border point of Isebania.

Arrive at the border point, exchange of vehicles and drivers. Picnic lunches en-route

to the Masai Mara National Reserve. Enter the park and commence your game drive all the way to your lodge.

Arrive for a late lunch at the MARA SAROVA LODGE or similar.

Evening game drive in the park untill sundown.

Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

DAY 07

MASAI MARA RESERVE

Full day spent in the reserve with morning and afternoon game drives.

Meals and overnight stay at MARA SERENA LODGE or similar.

DAY 08

MAASAI MARA/LAKE NAIVASHA

Breakfast at the lodge then depart to Lake Naivasha.

Arrive and check-in at ENASHIPAI or similar.

Lunch. In the afternoon, proceed for a boat ride on the lake, which will give you a close-up look at the hippos.

Lake Naivasha is a beautiful freshwater lake, fringed by thick papyrus. The lake and its surrounds are rich in natural bounty, and the fertile soils and water supply have made this one of Kenya’s prime agricultural regions. Much of the lake is surrounded by forests of the yellow barked Acacia Xanthophlea, known as the yellow fever tree. These forests abound with bird life, and Naivasha is known as a world class birding destination. The waters of the lake draw a great range of game to these shores. Giraffes wander among the acacia, Buffalo wallow in the swamps and Colobus monkeys call from the treetops while the Lakes large hippo population sleep the day out in the shallows.

Meals and overnight stay at ENASHIPAI LODGE or similar.