The Great Migration Safari

This morning you'll meet up with your guide and head off to the Masai Mara. The drive will be about 5 to 6 hours. Head directly into the park for game viewing and then return to the camp for late check-in or check-in first and then head out for an afternoon game drive. Chat with your guide for their recommendation based on your arrival time and park hours.

Enjoy a box lunch while you travel (included in tour price).

Head out this afternoon, accompanied by an experience tracker-guide, on an exciting game viewing adventure.  Search some of the area`s wildlife hot-spots determined by your guide, as they`ve learned and now understand the games daily routines through tracking.  Some wildlife is more difficult than others to spot, for instance the Leopard.  These spotted cats blends almost seamlessly into the tall grass and shrubbery, and are even more challenging to spot up in their favorite hangout, the trees.  Your guide will take you to nearby watering holes, where on a hot day, you`ll spot many bird and wildlife species, including the elusive Leopard.

The famed Masai Mara Game Reserve was named after the indigenous inhabitants of this land, the Maasai, and the provider of life to the area, the Mara River.  Game viewing is almost guaranteed at some point along the Mara River, and your experienced tracker-guide will know all the best spots to go to maximize this chance to see some of the many bird and wildlife species here.  Have your camera handy, as some amazing photo opportunities will present themselves from elephants on the river banks to hippos in shallow water.

On today’s afternoon game drive the choice is up to you: search for the Big 5 or expand your horizons to discover something different. Masai Mara not only has a rich mix of animals – it also has an incredible array of bird life with almost 450 different species.

Set out bright and early this morning on a "Migration" inspired game drive with your experienced guide.  Your journey today will take you into the thick of the Masai Mara plains, in search of some of the many grazing species which take part in the annual migration here yearly, a traditional event that has been going on for centuries.  Exceptional populations of Zebras, Gazelles, Impalas, and of course Wildebeests thunderously feed and migrate from the Serengeti and through the Mara area every year from July to October.

Set out this afternoon accompanied by your guide on another exciting game drive through the Masai Mara Game reserve.  The Mara area is one of the few places left in Africa where one can still spot Rhinos in the wild.  Your guide will take you to locations where Rhinos have been recently reported to see if you can snap some photos of these elusive lumbering giants.

You`ll depart the Masai Mara Game Reserve today in a privately driven vehicle with guide towards the Isebania border crossing.  Upon your arrival, your guide will arrange the necessary documentation for your entry into Tanzania.  Once in Tanzania, you`ll continue onward towards Serengeti making stops along the way to enjoy a boxed lunch by Lake Victoria.  A stop at a local fishing village can be scheduled if you’re craving some cultural inspiration, or you can continue straight toward the game park.

 
IMPORTANT NOTE:  Please be aware that for portions of this LONG drive, specifically through Kenya, the road may be unfinished and rather rough.  Upon entry into Tanzania, you`ll notice an improvement in stability and comfort as roadway heading toward the Serengeti National Park is newly paved.  The approximate travel time can range between 6 to 9 hours depending on road conditions, traffic and weather.

Get ready for an afternoon to remember as you set out accompanied by an experienced tracker-guide into the seamlessly never-ending expanses of the Serengeti.  The park is world renowned for its health stock of resident wildlife species, in particular the African Big 5 which or course includes buffalos, elephants, rhinoceros, leopards and lions.  Although with sightings considered a rarity, very few black rhinoceros still live within the confines of the park grounds.  The Serengeti is also home to the largest population of lions and giraffes in all of Africa.  Heavy concentrations of topi, gazelle, waterbuck and Coke’s hartebeest provide an ample food source for local carnivores including cheetah, hyenas and African wild dog.  The park is also home to some 500+ species of birds, ranging in size and weights some of these bird including ostrich, crowned crane, marabou stork and secretary bird are the most sought after photogenic birds on the planet.

This morning’s African adventure begins with an exploratory game drive through Tanzania’s oldest and most recognized National Parks, the Serengeti.  This dynamic location offers the most expansive game viewing in Tanzania, and considered by many as the best for game viewing location in all of Africa.  From predators to prey, great herds of grazing herbivores to tactically cunning packs carnivores, life on the plains of the Serengeti can best be defined as a complete “circle of life.”  A photographic dream will unfold before your eyes as giraffes and elephants feast on tasty shrubbery, whilst impalas, gazelles and buffalos dance carefully through the plains as to not become the latest meal for on-looking lions, cheetahs and hyenas.

Spend the day taking in the spectacle of the famous wildebeest migration. This annual migration through the Serengeti and Masai Mara is one of the safari highlights of Africa. The wildebeest migration moves in a basic clockwise direction throughout the year in Serengeti eco-system and move north into Masai Mara, Kenya from June/July through to Sep/October. Sightings cannot be guaranteed as the herds move according to availability of food source and migration movements can be erratic. The herds are accompanied by zebra and Thomson's gazelle and are stealthily hunted by local predators such as leopard, lion and hyena.

This African journey continues as you board a privately driven vehicle, accompanied by a local tracker-guide for your visit to the overwhelming large Ngorongoro Conversation Area.  You’ll depart the Serengeti National Park grounds at a somewhat slower pace as to get in some more game-viewing.  An optional stop at the Olduvlai Gorge is highly recommended, where at the Serengeti Welcome Centre you’ll have an opportunity to marvel at a panoramic view of the surrounding area from the lookout point.  A stop for a picturesque picnic is also scheduled during this journey.  Upon your arrival into the conservation area, you’ll head towards your overnight accommodation whilst taking in the overwhelming size of the Ngorongoro crater.  The approximate travel time may vary between 5 to 6 hours depending on weather conditions and accounting for the amount of stops you’ve made along the way.  During the heavy rainy season, longer travel times should be expected.

The massive Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge is often referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind.”  Beginning in the eastern Serengeti plains, the gorge is roughly some 48 kilometers long.  As a result of millions of year of natural erosion, this gorge boasts a steep-sided ravine which cuts and stretches its way through the Great Rift Valley along eastern Africa.  The gorge is named after a commonly used plant by the Masai people with the scientific name of Sansevieria-Ehrenbergii, or Oldupai for short.

You are provided with a personalized, experienced tracker-guide and private transportation today whilst exploring around the Ngorongoro National Park grounds.

Explore one of the most recognized wildlife conservation areas in Tanzania today. Depart your camp or lodge in a privately driven vehicle, along with a local expert guide, for approximately 20 to 30 minutes towards the Ngorongoro Crater.  To explore the extremes of the crater you’ll have to travel along one of three possible routes.  The first route travels from the top of the rim to the crater floor, the second route travels from the crater floor to the top of the crater rim, and the third routing travels both ways.  The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera.  This geological masterpiece was formed as a result of an extremely large volcanic explosion which caused the volcano to collapse in on itself, thus creating a crater.  The crater is roughly 20 kilometers wide and some 2000 feet deep, making the trip from crater floor to rim around 45 minutes by 4x4.  The extremely fertile crater floor is the reason why there is such a highly concentrated amount of wildlife here.  Over 20000 mammals call the crater home, including some of the only remaining black rhinos in the world.  The crater floor also boasts one of the highest carnivore densities in the world including large prides of lions, packs of hyenas and solitary predators like cheetahs and jackals.  A keen eye, and expertly recommended search patterns from your guide may help you spot some of the less common species like leopards, servals, and bat-eared foxes.

From Ngorongoro, your guide will drive you to Arusha. This drive will take approximately 2.5 hours.

Take your flight from Arusha (ARK) to Nairobi (Wilson) today. The flight duration is approximately 2hrs. This flight may stop in Kilimanjaro prior to departing Tanzania on the way to Nairobi.

A privately driven vehicle will provide you with a transfer to & from the airport.

Take some time to explore Nairobi on your own terms. Head out into the town for souvenir shopping at local markets or head out on a tour. Possible tours include: Nairobi National Game Park, the Kazuri Bead Factory (a local women's cooperative), David Sheldrick elephant orphanage, Giraffe Center & Karen Blixen House, or the Nairobi National Museum or Theatre (additional fees apply). Any of these items can be added to your tour, simply ask your travel advisor or guide.

Before leaving that night, stop by the Kensington office for free use of Internet and lounge. If you like, we can make reservations for dinner at a local restaurant as well. Please let us know in advance and if you are vegetarian.