After a good breakfast, and an early start from your hotel, we will drive to the Samburu Game Reserve, crossing the Equator and passing Kenya’s highest peak, Mt Kenya, which was once even higher than Kilimanjaro, on the way. We arrive at The Samburu Intrepid Tented Lodge for lunch, which is located in the narrow stretch of palms and woodland by the Uaso Nyiro River, which provides water for the animals and welcome shade from the equatorial sun. Overnight at the Samburu Intrepid Tented Lodge. This luxury tented lodge, provides guests with an authentic African experience, with the luxury of a five star hotel. Accommodation is in Tented Bungalows set on stilts in the bush, with a luxury bathroom, a lounge area and luxury sleeping quarters with king sized four poster beds. No small detail is overlooked. Relax after your voyage in the large swimming pool, look at the game from your bungalow, or enjoy a sun downer by the pool, followed by a superb meal in the restaurant with its authentic African architecture.

After a copious breakfast, you will spend a full day doing your first « game drive » in your specially adapted safari vehicle. The Samburu is noted for its spectacular scenic beauty, and its rivers and forests. Because there are permanent springs there is an abundance of wildlife including, leopard, hippo, elephants, lion, giraffe and zebra, and lurking in the Uaso Nyiro River, crocodiles. The area is home to at least 450 bird species. The landscape in the Samburu is unique, it is an arid zone, bordered by mountains like the dome shaped Mt Lolokowe, the highest mountain in the area, where game concentrates around the water sources. Look out for large elephant herds. The vegetation is acacia and thorn bushes. Look out for some species common in the Samburu like the Gerenuk, a striking and beautiful antelope, which looks like a cross between a gazelle and an impala. It has a strikingly long neck for grazing in acacia trees which is why its Swahili name is “swala twiga” meaning gazelle giraffe. There is a concentration of Gerenuk in the Buffalo Springs area of the Samburu. After a full day of game viewing you will spend another night at the Samburu Intrepid Lodge.

After breakfast an interesting drive takes us to Lake Nakuru National Park, which lies in the Great Rift Valley. The park comprises of an eco-system, based around the lake, of grasslands studded with acacia trees. The lake is an alkaline soda lake, and its concentration of algae attracts the vast quantity of flamingos that famously line the shore. Other birds also flourish in the area, as do warthogs, baboons and other large mammals. Black and white rhinos have also been introduced. You will continue your game drive until dusk. Dinner & overnight at the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, where each chalet offers a view of the flamingo covered Lake Nakuru.

After breakfast we head for the Mara, world famous for its great herds of grazing animals. All the “Big Five” are found here. The Mara offers wildlife in such a variety and abundance that it is difficult to believe. There are 450 species of animals recorded here. You will easily see lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, warthogs, hyena, jackals, wild dogs, leopards, elephants and many kinds of antelopes .It is in the Mara that perhaps the most spectacular event of the natural world takes place. This is the annual Great Migration of millions of Wildebeest and zebra from the Serengeti in Tanzania in search of water and fresh grazing. Following on their heels are their predators, lions, cheetah, wild dogs, jackals, hyena, and vultures. Dinner and overnight at the Sarova Mara camp.

If you are in the Mara in October, you will spend another full day following the herds. During the month of October, the Wildebeests are in the process of returning to Tanzania to the Serengeti National Park. If you are not in the Great Migration period, you will be hunting down the savannah animals and birds that abound in the Mara /Serengeti ecosystem. The Maasai Mara stretches for 1510 ² km, the Mara has 450 animal species and is particularly interesting for its big cats .Dinner and overnight at the luxury Sarova Mara Camp, where the luxury tented bungalows have spectacular views of the park from their viewing decks plus all the five star facilities of a pool, restaurant, a beautiful garden, and a nearby Maasai village , which you can visit.

Now we will drive west to Tanzania passing from one country to the other at Isibania border crossing, for a change of guide and visa formalities. We will drive to the Serengeti, the ultimate safari destination in Africa, 30,000km² of bio-diversity, home to an astounding 20% of the whole continent’s large animal population. Later you will go on another “Game Drive” on the way to the Mbuzi Mawe Tented Camp, for dinner & overnight, The Mbuzi Mawe (Klipspringer) is located In the Western Corridor of the Serengeti in a group of Kopjes (rocky outcrops), a luxury “tented lodge”, made up of a large central canvas and stone building, containing the reception area, a comfortable lounge for relaxing with a “sun downer”, a shop and an excellent restaurant. The dozen or so guest rooms are comfortable “Meru” tents on stone foundations, with verandas and luxury beds and bathrooms. The tents are dotted among the Kopjes, stone outcrops that dot this part of the Serengeti , which are often host to small mammals such as the Rock Hyrax and the Klipspringer, a small deer; from which the luxury camp takes its name .Birds like rock thrushes and cliff nesting raptors abound.

A full day’s Game Drive in the Serengeti. You will see lions, hyena, leopards, and elephants and if it is the right time of the year, the arrival of The Great Migration of wildebeest & zebras moving to or returning from the Maasai Mara. In the evening, you will stay at The Migration Tented Camp, situated on the Grumeti River, scene of one of the greatest nature spectacles on Earth when the animals mass and eventually cross over, running the gauntlet of the river’s large, crocodiles. Even away from The Great Migration period, this place is magical, enjoy gourmet dining to the bark of the large pod of resident hippos, the distant roar of a predator or the rustle in the undergrowth that you strain to identify.

Your last game drive in the Serengeti, and after a picnic lunch , you will drive to the N’Gorongoro Crater for your first night at The Crater Forest Tented Camp, a luxury tented lodge, where, at twilight, you will see and hear many animals roaming through the forest-We will drive via The Olduvai Gorge, , where the Leakeys discovered the bones and footprints of our “hominid” ancestors –you will visit the museum, which relates the history of the discoveries and where there are some interesting remains on display, and where you can learn about the evolution of our ancestors. The Crater Forest Tented Camp is situated on a former coffee plantation, bordering the N’Gorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It only has 15 luxury tented rooms (book early so you will not be disappointed). Each thatched tented bungalow is fitted out to an extremely high standard –There is even an African fire pot in each room to keep of the night time chill. The lodge situated on the hillside at 1,800 m overlooks the pristine forest of the area.

After breakfast, early in the morning, you will enter the Crater. A full “Game Drive” follows where you hopefully will see black rhinos, basking hippos, lions, elephants and some of the amazing bird life which lives in the crater, the extraordinary Kori Bustard, flamingos, ostriches and many more.. The N’Gorongoro Crater animals rarely leave the vast extinct volcano crater surrounded by its 650m high walls, and it has one of the densest wilds animal populations in the whole of Africa. You will see Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake where there are large flocks of Flamingos and Spotted Hyenas, hoping to sneak up on the wary flamingos for a fast snack. To the south of the lake there is the Gorigor Swamp, with an abundance, of bird life, and to southeast the Ngoitokitok Springs where there is a permanent hippo pool. The Lerai Forest, which mainly consists of Yellow Fever Trees, is a favourite stomping, ground of the crater’s elephants; strangely most of the elephants are old males with impressive tusks, although females do pass through. The open grassland, which covers most of the crater floor, supports a very large number of wildebeest & zebra. Predators abound. You are almost certain to see lions; golden, and black backed Jackals, cheetahs although leopards are rarer. The chances of seeing black rhinos are high. The only animals you won’t see are impala and giraffe, possibly because of the lack of the right kind of grazing, although some say it is because they cannot descend the steep sides of the crater. The crater is also a bird watchers paradise, ostrich are common, as is the beautiful crowned crane, with their conspicuous golden yellow head tufts and there are large flocks of migrant storks in the rainy season. You will spend the whole day in the crater and leave for dinner back at the Crater Forest Tented Camp, noted for its gourmet menus.

The next day after breakfast, we will set out for Lake Manyara via the Mto Wa Mbu village, with its huge craft market. If you want to buy some souvenirs of your amazing safari, let your guide do the bargaining. Lake Manyara itself is a shallow alkaline lake at the base of the Western Rift Valley with a wide diversity of scenery. You will see elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos. The Park is famous for its unique tree climbing lions. There are some unusual hot springs near the Lake. The 330² km Park is comprised of two-thirds water, but it has a surprising variety of terrestrial species in the open grassy flood plains and the acacia woodland. You will see a variety of monkeys, giraffes, hippos, and of course, a huge variety of birdlife. .You will arrive mid-morning in the Park ,and after a first game drive and a picnic lunch, you will continue in the afternoon to explore the park .Dinner and overnight at Kirurumu Tented Camp, which has a truly magnificent view overlooking the lake. A spectacle of wildlife is assured.

After breakfast we will drive to the Tarangire National Park., which is more densely wooded than the other parks, primarily covered in acacia woodland studded with the iconic Baobab Trees. After a picnic lunch, you will go to the Tarangire River which attracts a large range of mammals and birds. You might see over 500 elephants in their family groups during the course of the day, and at the other end of the size spectrum, watch out for the large scarlet termite mounds, and the endearing dwarf mongoose, that occupies the termite mounds as soon as they are abandoned. The bird life is spectacular ranging from Fish Eagles and Palmnut Vultures, storks, and brightly coloured barbets. Dinner and overnight at the Maramboi Tented Camp, where once again there are luxury tented lodges with verandas overlooking the vast wilderness. This is your last night in the Heart of Africa, make the most of it.

Sadly after a sumptuous breakfast, we will return to Arusha. One more night of total luxury is available if time allows, at the Arusha Coffee Lodge, the most beautiful hotel experience in Arusha. or you will continue your journey with a flight to Zanzibar or a Kilimanjaro climb, or regretfully board your flight home after saying goodbye to your team and hopefully “See you again soon”