This safari has been especially designed to track the progress of the annual wildebeest migration in Kenya and Tanzania. Dubbed the ‘Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth’, the migration features a cast of millions, covers an 800-kilometer circuit, and weaves birth, life and death into a spectacular tapestry, which illustrates the concept of ‘the survival of the fittest’ in all of its tragic, comic, violent and awesome splendour.
Typically scheduled for July-October, this exceptionally popular tour sets out from Nairobi and is guided by Hanne Lindemann, a biologist, wildlife and conservation specialist and ‘migration expert’. Travelling by road, the tour allows our visitors to experience both the thrill of a luxury tented camp and the comfort of a traditional safari lodge. Crossing from Kenya’s Masai Mara to Tanzania’s Serengeti, it also enables the visitor to follow in the footsteps of the migration, without having to return to Nairobi.
Wildlife Highlights: lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, cheetah, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebra, antelope, gazelle, impala, waterbuck, topi, eland, plains game, giraffe, black and white rhino.
Accommodation: Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge, Kijereshi Tented Camp, Mara Serena Safari Lodge, Mara Fig Tree Camp and Lake Nakuru Lodge. The tour begins and ends at the Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi.
About the tour guide
Hanne Lindeman is a wildlife biologist who has worked in African wildlife conservation and tourism for the past 30 years. Committed to the fact that ‘wildlife should benefit the local people’, Hanne has 12 years experience in wildlife management and conservation in South Africa and is the advisor to an ongoing rhino monitoring programme in Palansberg National Park. Offering an unusually extensive knowledge of Africa’s wildlife, natural reserves, culture and people, Hanne also excels both in sharing her knowledge and making the entire safari experience come alive for the members of her group.
About the migration
Between the end of July and November, over one and a half million wildebeest accompanied by half again as many zebras and gazelles, migrate from the short-grass plains of the Serengeti to fresh pasture in the grasslands of the Mara; thus creating one of nature’s grandest spectacles. Moving in groups of up to 20,000 at a time they thunder across the plateau hesitating only briefly to cross the Mara River, where many fall prey to the waiting crocodiles. Towards the end of October they begin crossing back into Tanzania. The actual timing of the migration, however, is dictated by the weather and does not always run to schedule. 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.
MIGRATION 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. Ovenight at hotel.
Day 2: Nairobi to Amboseli National Park
After breakfast, drive to Amboseli National Park in time for lunch at the luxurious Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge. After lunch enjoy an afternoon’s game drive before arriving at with time for a swim then dinner and overnight.
About Amboseli 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. An International Biosphere Reserve, the park largely constitutes the usually dried-out lakebed of Lake Amboseli, which is surrounded by flat grasslands relieved by very few trees. On the plains are numerous antelopes, spotted hyenas, jackals, warthogs, olive baboons and vervet monkeys. Lions are rare. Observation Hill, a conical peak, which is easily climbed, offers stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Distance/drive time: 260km /4% hours
Day 3: Amboseli to Ngorongoro
After breakfast, drive to the border town of Namanga where you will clear customs and immigration formalities for entry into Tanzania. Drive to Arusha, where lunch will be served in a local restaurant. After lunch drive to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and check into the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, which stands on the rim of the immeasurably ancient Ngorongoro crater, the largest perfect volcanic caldera in the world. A unique biosphere, the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area shelters some 25,000 large mammals: dominated by bull elephants, rhinos and lions. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Distance/drive time: 381 km / 5 hours
Day 4: Ngorongoro to the Serengeti National Park
After breakfast descend into the crater for a half-day tour with picnic lunch.
About the Ngorongoro Crater
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.
Leaving the crater, drive to the Serengeti National Park stopping on route for a visit to 01 Duvai Gorge, the ‘Cradle of Mankind’ and one of the most famous Palaeolithic sites in the world. In the late afternoon arrive at the Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge. Set high on the saddle of tree-clad ridge commanding panoramic views across the endless plains of the Serengeti, the lodge draws its inspiration from the circular ‘Rondavel’ dwellings and winding paths of a traditional Maasai village. Below the Lodge is a sky-blue pool and a hilltop vantage point from which to view the world famous annual ‘migration’. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Distance/drive time: 170 km / 3 hours
Day 5: On safari in the Serengeti
Spend the day on safari in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives and all meals at the lodge. The vast and sensational Serengeti, covering 14,763 sq km of endlessly rolling savannah plains, 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. The million-plus wildebeest are the predominant herbivore and also the main prey of a huge cast of large carnivores, principally lion and hyena. 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 6: On safari in the Serengeti
After breakfast game drive through the vast Serengeti National park with a picnic lunch enroute to Kijereshi Tented Camp, which is situated in the western corridor of the Serengeti National Park, in the heart of ‘big game’ country.
Distance/drive time: 380 km / 4 /2 hours
Day 7: Into Kenya and the Masai Mara
After breakfast drive to the Tanzanian border, complete immigration formalities and change vehicles for your onward journey to the Masai Mara National Reserve (with a picnic lunch enroute), where you will check in to the Mara Serena Safari Lodge, which stands high on a hill with spectacular views of the river and plains.
World renowned for the breathtaking spectacle of ‘the greatest wildlife show on earth’, the awe inspiring annual migration of the wildebeest, the Mara is Kenya’s most visited protected area. Technically an extension of Tanzania’s renowned Serengeti National Park, the Mara constitutes only 4% of the entire Serengeti ecosystem but its rolling grasslands, meandering rivers and towering escarpments offer one of the world’s most rewarding and evocative wildlife arenas.
Distance/drive time: 380km / 7 hours
Day 8: On safari in the Masai Mara
Spend the day on safari in the Mara with morning and afternoon game drives and all meals at the lodge. 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.
Day 9: On safari in the Masai Mara
Take an early morning game drive before breakfast, which is the best time to see the wildlife. After breakfast at the lodge, drive through the Mara to the eastern side of the reserve arriving at Mara Fig Tree Camp in time for lunch. Located on the northern borders of the reserve, on the banks of the Talek River, this luxury tented camp offers 38 luxury tents, an open-air dining area, tree-house coffee deck, two bars and a luxury pool. In the afternoon take a game drive through this very different part of the reserve. Dinner at the camp. After dinner, guests can enjoy any of the optional activities such as display of Maasai dance, a talk on the Mara ecosystem or a night game drive.
Day 10: On safari in the Masai Mara
Spend the day game-viewing in the Mara with early morning and afternoon game drives and all meals at the camp.
Day 11: Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru National Park
Leaving the hotel after an early breakfast drive up the spectacular Great Rift Valley, passing Lakes Naivasha and Elmenteita before arriving at Lake Nakuru National Park and Lake Nakuru Lodge in time for lunch. In the afternoon enjoy your first glimpse of the Lake’s fabled 1.2 million flamingos, perhaps find rhinos grazing on the lakeshore (this park is the nation’s largest rhino sanctuary), and arrive back at the Lodge in time for a swim and thereafter a sumptuous buffet supper.
Distance/drive time: 320 km / 4 /2 hours
Day 12: Lake Nakuru to Nairobi
After a morning game drive around the lake, drive to Nairobi in time for lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant which is rated as one of the top 500 restaurants in the world. After lunch check-in to the Sarova Stanley Hotel and spend the afternoon either relaxing by the rooftop pool or seeing the city sights. Dinner on own arrangement to sample any of the restaurants within Nairobi city.
Distance/drive time: 185 km / 2 /2 hours
Day 13: Departure
Leave the hotel after breakfast and drive to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your onward flight.
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