Stellar Wildlife Tour in Kenya and Tanzania

Day 1. Samburu Game Reserve.
Morning pick up at the airport / city hotel followed by orientation for your two weeks tour in Kenya and Tanzania, depart for a journey to Samburu national reserve in the rugged semi-desert region of northern Kenya the homeland of the nomadic Samburu people, whose culture attaches great value to tending their livestock of cattle, sheep, goats and camels as their main economic activity.
The Samburu people’s appearance is dramatic with bright reds, braided hair and skin daubed in red ochre. Samburu is rich in species not seen in southern Kenya’s more famous parks, such as Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx and gerenuk.
You’ll also have a good chance at spotting lions, cheetahs and the elusive leopard. The semiarid landscape is dramatic, with the rugged outcrop known as Mt. Ololokwe a prominent feature.  Arrive in time for lunch. Afternoon game viewing drive inside the park. Dinner and overnight at Samburu Sopa Lodge / similar.

Day 2. Samburu.
Full day in Samburu, breakfast and leave with picnci lunch boxes as you proceed for a full day game drive inside the park.
Search for the stars of Samburu, the liver red reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s Zebra, Beisa Oryx, Blue flanked Somali Ostrich, Vulturine Guinea Fowl, Longneck Gerenuk. See braving lions on the grass, Cheetah, Leopards among plenty of other plains game. (optional visits to Samburu villages). Dinner and overnight at Samburu Sopa Lodge / similar.

Optional activities:
Samburu Village Tour, $30.

Day 3. Lake Nakuru National Park.
Breakfast and drive to the Dramatic Rift Valley via Thomson Falls arriving at the Pink Lake for lunch and later proceed for an afternoon game drive.
The Bird Watchers’ Paradise On the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland, lies the beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park.
Enjoy the wide ecological diversity and varied habitats that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges. Lake Nakuru National Park is ideal for bird watching and game drives.
Attractions include:
Flamingo (Greater and Lesser) and other water birds including a variety of terrestrial birds numbering about 450 species in total.
Mammals: 56 different species including white rhinos,waterbuck etc.
View-points: Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of Africa
Hills: Enasoit, Honeymoon, Lion hill ridge etc
Waterfalls: Makalia.
Unique vegetation: About 550 different plant species including the unique and biggest euphorbia forest in Africa, Picturesque landscape and yellow acacia woodlands.Afternoon game drive inside the beautiful Park to view thousands of pink flamingos and numerous wild game including the Rhinos. Dinner and overnight at a lodge in Lake Nakuru Lodge / similar.

Day 4. Masai Mara National Reserve.
Breakfast and depart for the Masai Mara National Reserve, which borders Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. Every year, between June and September, millions of wildebeests and zebras migrate into the Mara in search of water.
The timing of this phenomenon varies, depending on the rains, but they usually start heading back to the Serengeti in October. Whether you see the migration or not, the grassy plains and lush landscape offer a huge variety of game including lions, cheetahs, buffalo and abundant bird life such as ostriches, cranes and storks. Lunch followed by afternoon game drive, Dinner and overnight at Mara Leisure Luxury Tented Camp / similar.

Day 5. Masai Mara National Reserve.
Breakfast and leave with picnic lunches for a full day game drive inside the Park. Search for Wild game black manned lion for which Mara is famous for, cheetah, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, leopard, grants gazelle are quite common, even the rare rhino might come out of the thicket for you, hyenas are plentiful.
Extend your drive to the hippo point where schools of hippo submerge on the approach of vehicles only to surface seconds later to shot and gamble their displeasure as the crocodiles sunbathe on the river banks mouths agape. Between meals there is optional visit to the Maasai villages for an insight to their culture if clients so wish. Meals and overnight at Mara Leisure Luxury Tented Camp / similar.

Optional activities:
Masai Village Tour, $30.
Masai Mara Hot Air Balloon Safari, $500.

Day 6. Lake Naivasha
You will be driven from the Maasai Mara National Reserve to Lake Naivasha. The road first heads north and east to Narok, before turning east to Maai Mahiu, south of Lake Naivasha. The drive will last between four and nine hours. Route details and journey times may vary depending on road conditions. You will arrive at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge for check-in and to enjoy lunch later in the afternoon.
You will also enjoy a fun boat ride to discover Lake Naivasha. Spread around the lake are rich green plains supporting zebra, hartebeest, waterbuck, buffalo, impala, giraffes, monkeys, and, at night, hippos. There is also an important bird population (over 300 species of birds), including African fish eagle, osprey, jacana, and black rail. Lake Naivasha covers nearly 139 square kilometers and is surrounded by a marsh of 64 square kilometers. Dinner and overnight at Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp / similar.

Day 7.  Amboseli National Park
You will be driven from Lake Naivasha to Amboseli National Park, ascends the Rift Valley escarpment before reaching Limuru, known for its tea plantations, and continuing down to Nairobi. From Nairobi, the road leads south and east, mainly through open grassland, descending to an altitude of 1145 meters at Amboseli.
The journey will last between six and eight hours. The route details and journey times may vary depending on road conditions. You will arrive at Amboseli Sopa Lodge for check-in and late Lunch. Then if time permits you will later in the afternoon enjoy a game drive through the Amboseli National Park. Dinner and overnight at Amboseli Sopa Lodge / similar.

Day 8. Amboseli.
Breakfast and proceed for a full day of game viewing drive inside the Park. Amboseli is a photogenic Park and hosts a great number of game and birdlife including the lion,Huge herds of elephant and the splendid cheetah. If weather permits you will enjoy early morning spectacular views of the snow-capped Mt Kilimanjaro. All meals and overnight at Amboseli Sopa Lodge / similar.

Day 9. Lake Manyara National Park.
Today you start the second part of your Kenya Tanzania budget tour, Breakfast and proceed for Namanga Border town, Crossover to Tanzania arriving Arusha at 1200hrs, Lunch at a selected Arusha Hotel / restaurant. After lunch proceed to Lake Manyara for late afternoon game viewing. Dinner and overnight at Eileen’s Trees Inn / similar.
From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy.
Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes – some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.
Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favoured haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park.

Day 10. Serengeti.
After breakfast drive to Serengeti.The park covers 12,944km2 of open plains making it one of the largest in the world. Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park, also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th world wide wonder, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle among other wild game. Late afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Tukaone Serengeti Camp / similar.

Day 11. Serengeti National Park.
After breakfast take a packed lunch with you and continue with game viewing on Serengeti Park. The migration can be seen on a long chain approximately 40 Km heading to the south western direction. Around 1230hrs and 1300hrs break for your lunch. After lunch have a rest for one hr, then proceed with your game viewing following the move of the migrants on the southwest of the park. Late afternoon / early evening return for dinner and overnight at Tukaone Serengeti Camp / similar.

Day 12. Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Breakfast and leave via Olduvai Gorge, Arrive for lunch at lodge. Afternoon at leisure or take optional nature walks. Dinner overnight at Eileen’s Trees Inn / similar.
The jewel in Ngorongoro’s crown is a deep, volcanic crater, the largest un flooded and unbroken caldera in the world. About 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder, an extinct volcano teeming with wildlife often compared to the Garden of Eden. Wildlife viewing in the crater is out of this world. All major animals are easily seen. The only exception is giraffe, which is present in the Conservation Area, but not in the crater because of the steep descent. Elephants are common. All big cats are easily spotted and the density of spotted hyenas is quite extraordinary.
A real special of the crater is the black rhino. Rhino is hard to see in Tanzania and black rhino is typically very shy- sticking to thick vegetation. This is not so in the crater, where they have a predictable routine of spending the night in Lerai forest, and the day in open grassland. Black-backed and golden jackals are equally common in the crater.

Day 13. Ngorongoro Crater.
Today you will descend 2000 feet (0ver 600 metres) to the floor of the crater for a crater tour with picnic lunches. Explore the forest areas that are inhabited by monkeys and elephants, the lake area, where you may see the flamingos and the open savannah where the lions hunt for food.  breaking for lunch at the Lerai picnic site. Dinner and overnight at Eileen’s Trees Inn / similar.

Day 14. Arusha / Nairobi.
After breakfast, depart for Arusha for early lunch and board 1400hrs shuttle bus to Nairobi arriving approximately 1900. Your Kenya Tanzania tour ends with a drop off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your flight out.

Inclusive in Kenya Tanzania Tour:
Nairobi airport transfers
Transportation in 4×4 Van in Kenya and Land Cruiser/Jeep in Tanzania all fitted with HF Radio communication and pop-up roof for easy viewing and photographing
Full board accommodation on safari
All park entrance fees and government taxes
Services of English speaking skilled and experienced driver/guide
Extensive game drives in the national parks
1L bottle mineral water per person per day on game drives
Flying doctors emergency evacuation services
Arusha to Nairobi Shuttle Bus Day 14.

Exclusive:
Accommodation on the day before the tour departs
Accommodation on the last day
Airport departure Tax
visa fee
Driver/guide gratuities
Laundry
Personal Toiletries
Alcoholic drinks
Beverages
International flights (from/to home)
Tips (tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
Drinks