KIBOKO TENTED SAFARI

KIBOKO TENTED SAFARI CB7012

For those who would like to see the very best that both Kenya and Tanzania have to offer, this road safari is ideal. Offering superb value for money, it showcases both luxury tented safari camps and traditional lodges. It also features the most famous parks in both regions while offering the unique opportunity to travel the Great Rift Valley, see Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro, take a boat safari on Lake Victoria, tour the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater, and spend plenty of time in both the Masai Mara and the Serengeti.

Wildlife Highlights: lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, cheetah, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebra, antelope, gazelle, impala, waterbuck, topi, eland, plains game, giraffe, black and white rhino.

Kiboko Tented Safari schedule

Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi

Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to the historic 5-star Sarova Stanley Hotel. One of Nairobi’s oldest and best renowned city hotels, it stands in the city centre within easy reach of both shops and tourist attractions, and offering a health club, roof-top swimming pool and a wide selection of restaurants and bars. Overnight at Sarova Stanley on bed and breakfast.

Day 2: Nairobi to Samburu

After an early breakfast, drive north to the Samburu National Reserve arriving in time for a late lunch at the Samburu Ashnil camp, a traditional Kenyan safari camp set in extensive grounds on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River. After lunch, take a game rive in the twin Samburu and Buffalo Springs Reserves followed by sundowners and dinner at the lodge. A place of endless skies, dust-red plains and palm-fringed rivers, Samburu National Reserve lies on the fringes of the vast and arid desert once known as the Northern Frontier District, whose heat-scorched scrublands extend all the way to the jade-green waters of Lake Turkana and beyond. Physically dramatic, the 104 sq kilometre landscape of the Reserve features rocky battlements, craggy scarps, dry river beds and fallen boulders rising out of the thorn scrub against a backdrop of the far-distant hills and the great red table mountain known as Ololokwe.

Distance/drive time: 340 km/5.5 hours

Day 3: On safari in Samburu

Enjoy a full day on safari in Samburu followed by optional sundowner, meals and overnight at the camp.

Day 4: Samburu to the Aberdare

Leave the camp after breakfast and travel south along the flanks of Mount Kenya before Aberdare National Park. After lunch at the lovely Aberdare Country Club, transfer to The Ark. The Ark is world-famous and one of Kenya’s ‘must do’ experiences. Built to resemble Noah’s Ark it floats amid the forests of the Aberdare National Park, joined to the world by its own wooden drawbridge. TheYasabara Waterhole, meanwhile, attracts animals from all over the park- notably large herds of elephant. An expectant hush pervades the Ark. Conversations are whispered, binoculars and cameras head in readiness. There is an early wake-up call – to catch both the wildlife and the first glimpse of the snow-capped peak of Mount Kenya. It’s the public viewing areas, however, that give the Ark its utterly unique appeal. Guests can see the animals from three different levels, inside or out. The ground level photo hide has no glass in the windows-allowing visitors to be literally feet away from a herd of elephants. Elsewhere, viewing can be done in warmth and relaxation. Spend the afternoon and evening game-viewing from The Ark.

Aptly dubbed ‘Scotland with Lions’, this atmospheric park showcases the chill, wild and beautiful moorlands of the Aberdare mountain range. An often mist-wreathed realm where elephants roam through lichen-hung forests; spectacular waterfalls plunge into churning pools, and trout-filled streams cascade through mossy dells, it offers matchless views of the glittering coronet of Mount Kenya and the sparkling lakes of the Great Rift Valley.

Distance/drive time: 220km / 3.5 hours

Day 5: The Aberdare to Lake Nakuru

After breakfast, drive to Lake Nakuru National Park in time for lunch at Lake Nakuru Lodge. After lunch, enjoy a game drive in the park before returning to the lodge in time for a swim, optional cocktails and thereafter dinner. Entitled ‘the greatest bird spectacle on earth’ thanks to the millions of fuchsia-pink flamingo that flock to feed on the teeming algae of its alkaline waters, the pink-frosted shores and sky-mirrored waters of Lake Nakuru yield some of the most evocatively beautiful photo-images in Africa. As Kenya’s first and largest rhino sanctuary, sightings of both black and white rhino are almost guaranteed, while plentiful waterbuck, warthog, zebra, gazelle and buffalo graze the shoreline. Echoing to the haunting cries of the numerous fish eagles, this is also the park in which you have the best chance of seeing a leopard.

Distance/drive time: 200 km / 3 hours

Day 6: Lake Nakuru to the Mara

After breakfast depart very early and drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve in time for a late lunch at Ashnil Mara Camp, which is a relatively new tented camp, offering 30 luxury tents close to the Mara River. After lunch, enjoy your first game drive in the Mara. In the evening, perhaps take an early swim before enjoying sundowners in the bush or back at the lodge, followed by dinner.

Offering an abundance of herbivores, the Mara makes the ideal hunting ground for Kenya’s famous ‘big cats’ and hosts her largest population of lions. It also offers the best chance of spotting a leopard in the wild. Other predators include cheetah and spotted hyena. Historically teaming with wildlife, the Mara is famous for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that meander its plains; also for the fat pods of hippo that wallow in its mud-brown rivers. Other stars include the distinctive Masai giraffe, plum-coloured topi, Coke’s hartebeest, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelle, zebra, impala, Kirk’s dik-dik, bushbuck, waterbuck and red duiker. The Reserve also boasts plentiful Nile crocodile, monitor lizard, baboon, vervet; blue and red-tailed monkeys, nocturnal bush babies, and tree hyrax. There are over 550 resident and migratory species of birds.

Distance/drive time: 350 km / 4.5 hours

Day 7: On safari in the Mara

With a full day to enjoy all that the Mara has to offer with morning and afternoon game drives as well as wide range of optional activities such as guided nature/bird-spotting walks, and cultural visits to local Maasai villages. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the camp.

Day 8: The Mara to the Serengeti

After breakfast cross the border between Kenya and Tanzania at Isabenia (with a picnic lunch) and enter the Serengeti arriving at Mbalageti Serengeti Camp in late afternoon. A luxurious tented camp with a central bar and dining area and widely spaced tents (with thatched roofs and ensuite bathrooms)stands on the banks of a river in the western corridor of the Serengeti National Park and enjoys spectacular views over the plains. Covering 14,763 sq km of endlessly rolling savannah plains, it is Tanzania’s first-established, largest and most famous park wherein tens of thousands of hoofed animals roam in a constant and unremitting search for the fresh grasslands upon which their survival depends.

Distance/drive time: 472km / 7 hours

Day 9: The Serengeti to Lake Victoria and back to the Serengeti

After breakfast drive to Lake Victoria, where a visit to a local village and a boat trip on the lake are planned (picnic lunch). In the afternoon, re-enter the Serengeti National Park and drive to Mbuzi Mawe Tented Camp. Lying in a hidden glade, known as ‘the place of the klipspringer (mbuzi mawe), guarded by three-million-year-old granite towers, and located at the very epicentre of one of the world’s most famous national parks, this unique luxury tented-camp offers 16 widely-spaced ensuite tents. Dinner at the camp.

Distance/drive time: 335km / 5.5 hours

Day 10: On safari in the Serengeti

With a full day’s game-driving in the park, your options are wide. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at the camp, where optional guided nature walks can also be taken as well as morning and afternoon game drives. Whilst the annual migration is the Serengeti’s most famous attraction, the Park is also renowned for its lion, many of which have been fitted with radio-transmitter collars so that their movements may be tracked, and additionally for its wealth of cheetah, zebra, giraffe, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, eland, impala, klipspringer, hippo and warthog.

Day 11: The Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast, depart with a morning game drive en-route, drive through the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, stopping enroute for a picnic lunch and a visit to the world-famous Olduvai Gorge Palaeolithic site and reputed ‘Cradle of Mankind’. Scale the side of the crater, circle the rim and arrive at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, which enjoys magnificent views down into the crater. After lunch descend into the crater for a half-day tour. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Often referred to as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s best-known wildlife arenas. A World Heritage Site, it is also one of the largest volcanic craters in the world (almost 20 kilometres wide, 610-760 metres deep and covering a total area of 264 square kilometres). An utterly unique biosphere, the Crater harbours grasslands, swamps, forests, saltpans, a fresh water lake and a glorious variety of birdlife, all enclosed within its towering walls. Due to its high concentration of wildlife, close-range viewing opportunities and striking scenery it is also Tanzania’s most visited destination.

Distance/drive time: 195 km / 3 % hours

Day 12: Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire

After breakfast drive to Tarangire National Park, where you will take a picnic lunch and a game drive before arriving at Maramboi Tented Camp, which is situated on a 25,000 hectare Maasai communal ranch and offers just 20 spacious tents, all surrounded by timber decks, while optional activities include guided walks, ornithology and cultural interaction with the Datoga and Maasai people, whose communities lie adjacent to the camp. The camp also offers its own swimming pool. Tarangire, named after the Tarangire River which runs through it, is an arid haven, peppered with ancient baobab trees, towering termite mounts, and home to huge herds of elephant.

Distance/drive time: 200 km / 3 hours

Day 13: Back to Kenya and into Amboseli

After breakfast drive to Arusha and the Namanga Kenya/TZ border. Complete immigration formalities and change vehicles. After a picnic lunch, drive to Amboseli National Park and check into Kilima Safari Camp, which offers 60 classic safari tents, each with ensuite bathroom and large private veranda. In the afternoon, take a game drive around the lush swamps of this world-famous national park.

Towered over by the magnificent bulk of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,896 m), Africa’s highest mountain, Amboseli is one of Kenya’s oldest, famous and most-visited parks. Endlessly panoramic, yet comparatively compact, it is dotted with emerald green swamps in which great herds of elephant wallow; half submerged in the papyrus grasses. The permanent marshlands also provide a potent draw to hippos and buffaloes, while offering a haven for the abundant water birds. As evening falls, return to the camp and enjoy sundowners by the campfire before dinner in the central dining room.

Distance/drive time: 350 km / 5 hours

Day 14: Amboseli to Nairobi

After breakfast at the lodge, drive to Nairobi and take lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant with its glowing BBQs serving all manner of meats to include ostrich, crocodile and more (plus fish, vegetarian choices, salads etc). Depart for your flight home.

Distance/drive time: 260 km / 4,5 hours

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