East African Safari (13 Days)

Leaving Nairobi after breakfast, you'll travel towards Kenya's fertile highlands and head down the Rift Escarpment on a road built by Italian prisoners of war during World War II. Look for the charming chapel they built at the foot of the escarpment.

You'll pass the impressive Longonot earth satellite station as you head across the Valley to Narok, and then travel across acres of wheat and barley, before you reach the Masai Mara in time for lunch. Following lunch and a siesta, there is an afternoon game drive returning to the lodge as the sun sets. Overnight at Mara Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.

Day 4 Masai Mara Game Reserve- Great Rift Valley

Leaving the Masai Mara after breakfast, you'll travel across the ‘breadbasket’ of Kenya, where acres of wheat and barley litter the landscape as you head north to Narok, the district headquarters of this part of Maasailand. Now travel across the vast plains on the floor of the Rift Valley, keeping an eye out for herds of giraffe and gazelle as you head up the Mau Escarpment, before arriving at Lake Nakuru lodge for lunch. The waters here are often coloured shimmering flamingo pink, from thousands of the beautiful birds lining its shores. After lunch you will take an afternoon game drive in Nakuru National park before continuing to Lake Naivasha or Lake Nakuru for overnight. Overnight at Lake Nakuru Lodge / Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.

Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge is situated on the southern shores of Lake Naivasha. The lake is host to an abundance of fresh water fish and water sports, as well as an ornithologists paradise, as it’s home to a vast array of wonderful birds. A wide variety of game such as the giraffe, waterbuck, buffalo, black faced colobus monkeys make the area their home, and within the lake large pods of hippo and a few crocodile lurk.

The lodge consists of 21 cottages, with 4 guest rooms in each - all with extensive views across the lodge grounds and onto the Lake. Ground floor rooms feature spacious sunken lounges, while upper floor rooms have their own private balcony on which to relax, sunbathe or take in the view.

All rooms are en suite, with luxurious furnishings, bath tubs for the ground floor rooms and walk-in shower for the upper floor rooms, lavatory, wash basin and bidet, hairdryer and shaving socket. Meals provide a combination of European, African and Asian dishes, all made with fresh produce and served from a splendid buffet. There is also a great pool and several bars to enjoy.

Day 5 Great Rift Valley - Amboseli National Park

After an early breakfast you will depart with a picnic lunch, leaving the Rift Valley behind, you continue towards Nairobi and then head south towards Amboseli Sopa Lodge. Then proceed with afternoon game drive in the park enroute to the Amboseli Sopa Lodge arriving in the evening. Overnight at Amboseli Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.

Each of the 47 rooms has their own private veranda on which to relax, sunbathe and take in the views. All rooms are en suite, with walk-in shower, lavatory, wash basin and shaving socket – they’re all modern, spacious and comfortable.

Set on 200 acres of private land on the foothills of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, the lodge is perfectly poised to provide a luxurious base from which to explore the park and get some great pictures of this incredible mountain.

The lodge is also close to where Ernest Hemingway lived whilst writing his famous novel, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Meals are a cosmopolitan combination of European, African and Asian dishes, all made with fresh produce and served from a colourful buffet. There are also several bars, a great pool, TV lounge and many other small niceties that make this a superb location.

Day 6 Amboseli National Park

Early morning and afternoon game drives in Amboseli. Overnight Amboseli Sopa Lodge

Day 7 Amboseli National Park - Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast, you continue the journey to the Tanzania border post and then on to Arusha for lunch. After lunch, drive across the Masai Steppe to the Great Rift Valley. Here, your hotel is perched high on the rim overlooking the park below.

Overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge on a full board basis.

It would be difficult to find a more dramatic setting than the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. Situated at the edge of an escarpment, this deluxe lodge overlooks both the Great Rift Valley, which formed millions of years ago, and the beautiful soda lake of Manyara with is lavish supply of bird life. The birds themselves have provided the inspiration for the lodge's architecture. Graceful, curving and free flowing, it is built in the local circular style and exudes an atmosphere of peacefulness where man and nature co-exist. From the patterns in the reception area resembling bird migration paths, to the soft geometric designs in the bedrooms, there is barely a single straight line in its design. The bar and restaurant offer guests both indoor and outdoor seating at each meal. Sumptuous menus, buffets and barbecues are served to guests alongside authentic African dishes.

Dinner and overnight at the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.

Day 8 Lake Manyara National Park - Serengeti National Park

After breakfast there is a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park that returns to the lodge for lunch. Leaving Lake Manyara after lunch, the journey continues north west across the stunning hilly countryside of Karatu and the highlands which is filled with wheat and coffee plantations, and then into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. From here, lies the vast plains of the Serengeti, where you’ll hopefully start spotting game well before you enter into the park.

Overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.

Day 9 Serengeti National Park

Morning and afternoon game drives. Dinner and overnight at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge.

Each year, after the traditional " short " rains in November the migration starts when the herds amass in their thousands on the plains below the Ngorongoro highlands. During February they move north and west following the rains and the new grasslands, and they start to move into the Masai Mara in July. In October they move back to Tanzania. This annual phenomenon involves more than 1.5 million animals, including the Lion and other predators who follow the herds for easy pickings. The whole process affects the lives of thousands of other species who rely on the passage of the migration for their survival, even the insects, not to mention the trees and plants which rely on the droppings for their fertilization.

The Serengeti Sopa lodge is located in the Nyarboro Hills in the south west of the Serengeti National Park and is the only tourism development in this section of the park. Year round water and the acacia woodland in this area create an ideal environment for the wide variety of wildlife seen in the immediate vicinity of the lodge. Looking out over the seemingly endless Serengeti plains, this hill side lodge is a tranquil oasis set in thousands of square kilometres of Serengeti National Park. The lodge can accommodate around 170 guests in 79 suites, each enjoying wall-to-wall carpeting, a private lounge with a mini bar, a bedroom with two queen size beds and ample room for a third guest. Each has a private veranda which offers stunning views over the plains. As the sun sets, you may enjoy sundowner cocktails by the pool, and in the evening, after a 4-course dinner, traditional dancers entertain guests. Slide presentations are also held daily by resident naturalists.

Day 10 Serengeti National Park - Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast you depart for Ngorongoro Crater, viewing game across the vast Serengeti plains and stopping off at Olduvai Gorge en route. The Gorge acquired its name from the Sansevieria bush that grows profusely in the area, named Olduvai by the Maasai. The Gorge is about 50km long and in some places around 90m deep and is found between the Crater and the Serengeti. It was first discovered by a German entomologist named Professor Kattwinkel, who instigated an expedition just before the First World War. Later, the exploration was continued by Dr Louis Leakey and his wife, who in 1959 found humanoid remains of Zinjanthropus, later renamed Australapithicus Boisei, an early form of man. You will have time to walk through the simple small museum at the gorge, where you can view copy displays of some of the finds as well as pictures of what life was like for the gorge’s earliest inhabitants. After a picnic lunch you continue to your lodge, set high on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater.

Overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.

"It is impossible to give a fair description of the size and beauty of the Crater , for there is nothing with which one can compare it. It is one of the Wonders of the World." This is how the Crater is described by Bernard Grzimek in his classic "Serengeti Shall Not Die". The area is given over to Wildlife Conservation and comprises 8300 square kilometers of which the Crater is 260 square kilometers, and consists of grasslands, swamps, forests, rivers, and even an arid area of shifting dunes. The Crater supports a year round resident population of varied wildlife, and as the game is concentrated into a relatively small area you are likely to see lion, elephant, hyena, jackal, cheetah, the very rare Black rhino, primates and many more. The area is also home to the proud and colorful Masai tribe.

Dinner and overnight at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.

The lodge is located on Lemala Hill on the uppermost eastern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, making this the only tourist development on the eastern rim of the crater. The views into the crater floor from here are spectacular and sunsets magnificent. Another major advantage here is that guests can enjoy a safari begins within five minutes of leaving the lodge, as the park gate is very close. The lodge is tastefully decorated, spacious and all the bedrooms are modern, comfortable and equipped with everything one would expect from a hotel of this class. With an altitude of 2,375 metres, the lodge experiences cool and even cold weather, especially during the winter months of June and July when temperatures can get as low as 10' C. However, guests enjoy sunshine during most of the year and must take care when sunbathing by the pool due to the altitude. The food and service here is stylish with meals being a massif collection of delicious international and Tanzanian dishes.

Day 11 Ngorongoro Crater

A highlight awaits you this morning as you depart by 4x4 to explore what is commonly referred to as the World’s largest wildlife zoo. After breakfast, you’ll descend through the early morning mists and 2,000 feet into the crater for game viewing return to lodge for lunch. Afternoon visit Masai Village returning to the lodge late afternoon.

Day 12 Ngorongoro Crater - Tarangire National Park

Morning drive to Tarangire National Park arriving in time for lunch and a siesta. This afternoon will be spent on a game drive returning to the lodge as the sun sets.

Tarangire Sopa Lodge

Tarangire is recognised as one of the best parks on the northern circuit for elephant viewing during the dry season and Tarangire Sopa is ideally placed to experience this. The lodge welcomes guests to its vast marble-floored reception area with cold flannels and iced juice. In the pretty gardens a large circular pool with a central island, a pool bar and elegant wooden loungers demonstrates the lodge's commitment to comfort. Delicious barbecue lunches are often served here. A broad veranda wraps itself around the lodge and gives prime viewing for the waterhole below, which is filled during the dry season and becomes a magnet to wildlife. The rooms at the lodge are simple, comfortable and spacious and arranged in groups of four, in African-style buildings. Large sliding doors open to a private balcony. Overnight at Tarangire Sopa Lodge on a full board basis.

	Day 13 Depart:- Tarangire National Park - Nairobi Depart Tarangire after breakfast and drive back to Arusha arriving in time for lunch. After lunch you continue the journey by road to Nairobi and onto the Carnivore Restaurant for Dinner before drop off at JKIA airport or City Center Hotel.

2008 Rates