SILVER AFRICA TOURS & SAFARIS
Airport North Rd, Nyayo Embakasi suite 88/13,
P.O.BOX 60854 code 00200 city square,
Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa
Email:
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http://www.silverafricatours.com
CUSTOMISED GROUP ? OCTOBER 2011.
Validity: 01st March 2011 ? 15th December 2011
TOUR CODE: SAT009
Minimum: 02 pax
Transportation: Seven (7) seater minibus with the services of an English speaking driver/guide
Start: Nairobi
End: Nairobi
Departures: Guaranteed daily departure
|
Itinerary at a glance |
||||
|
Day |
Location |
Accommodation |
Board |
Activity |
|
01 |
Tsavo East Park |
Voi Safari Lodge |
LDBB |
P |
|
02 |
Nairobi |
Jacaranda Hotel |
LDBB |
LE |
|
03 |
Masai Mara Reserve |
Mara Sopa Lodge |
LDBB |
P |
|
04 |
Masai Mara Reserve |
Mara Sopa Lodge |
LDBB |
E, A, P |
|
05 |
Mombasa |
Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge |
LDBB |
LE |
|
06 |
Amboseli Park |
Oltukai Lodge |
LDBB |
P |
|
07 |
Tsavo West Park |
Ngulia Safari Lodge |
LDBB |
LE |
|
08 |
Departure |
|
|
E |
Trsf ? Transfer, BB ? Bed & Breakfast, L ? Lunch, D ? Dinner , LDBB ? Lunch, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast, E ? Early morning game drive, A ? Morning game drive, P ? Afternoon game drive, LE ? Leisure, CT ? Crater Tour, GV ? Game viewing from the lodge, FLT - Flight
DETAILED ITINERARY
DAY 01 ? ARRIVAL NAIROBI
Met on arrival at the Moi International airport or pick up from your beach hotel. Drive to Tsavo East National Park. Spotting game as you go, you'll reach Voi Safari Lodge in time for lunch. Overlooking the vast expanse of Tsavo East with the scenic 300 kilometre long Yatta Plateau in the background, this comfortable lodge offers spectacular views of the park and its multitude of wildlife. Afternoon game drive in the park. Dinner and overnight at Voi Safari Lodge (LDBB). Perched on the top of a cliff faced hill, Voi Safari Lodge is uniquely designed to be a hinge like structure overlooking the Tsavo east plains extending as far as the undulating terrain of the Yatta plateaus. This vantage positioning of the lodge has made it a stop over for many safari adventures, nature lovers and holiday makers who are assured of sampling Kenya's wildlife attractions that continuously beat a track to the three water holes sunk by the lodge below the cliff. The visitors to the lodge have the rare chance of coming as close as a breath away from the wild animals in a specially designed tunnel with protective barricades that has proved popular for Post Card quality close-ups of Kenya's wildlife. The 52 roomed lodge is designed to blend with the rocky surroundings and boats of a unique dug up rock swimming pool with the surroundings dotted by wild flora planted around the lodge.
These two national parks form a vast area for game preservation in the south of Kenya. The Mombasa to Nairobi road and the railway divide their eight thousand square miles into east and west. Denys Finch-Hatton, the professional hunter played by Robert Redford in "Out of Africa"and lover of the author Karen Blixen often came here to hunt. Of the two parts of Tsavo it is Tsavo West that is visited by far the most frequently. Tsavo West's scrublands initially appear boundless and harshly unwelcoming. However, the variety of animal species testifies to a reasonably diverse environment including woods, riverine forest and volcanic hills. Indeed Tsavo boasts Mzima Springs where an incredible volume of crystalline water finally flows above ground. Filtered by the volcanic rock, such as that of the Chyulus, the waters form a sequence of wildlife-attracting pools where hippo and crocodile may be observed. Previously famous for its vast elephant herds, drought and poachers in the seventies and eighties caused a substantial drop in numbers. Effective anti-poaching patrols have now increased the population to around eight thousand head and growing. In addition to the Tsavo elephant there are cheetah, buffalo, gerenuk, klipspringer, lesser kudu and oryx, baboon, a good population of gazelle and zebra and, of course, lion. The lions of Tsavo are notorious for it was here that they held up the building of the Uganda railroad by killing and eating many of the labourers. Colonel Patterson, who finally shot the man-eaters, became a hero and his rather over-dramatised telling of the story was eventually made into a film called "The Man-eaters of Tsavo". Tsavo also offers a rhino sanctuary, for the rhino population suffered from poaching even more badly than the elephant. They are still hard to spot but you might be lucky! Tsavo East is, to the casual observer, a bleak place. Vast tracts of desert boast only a sprinkling of thorns; the bush and the flat landscape appear harsh and profoundly unwelcoming. However, there are those who find it immensely rewarding. The Yatta plateau offers stunningly limitless views that are balm to both eyes and soul and there are excellent game viewing areas: the Lugard Falls are famous for huge crocodiles; the Voi River valley is good for buffalo, elephant and gazelle; and climbing the huge Mudanda Rock allows the visitor to look down on a much frequented waterhole. Much of this part of the park is closed to the public for security reasons and may only be seen by those with special permission from the warden. The rest of Tsavo East is not popular with visitors and this loneliness and isolation is very attractive to some and is accentuated by the striking landscape. Desolate it might be, but to some a visit here is a profoundly spiritual experience, as indeed it was for Finch-Hatton.
DAY 02 ? TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK/NAIROBI
After breakfast at Voi Safari Lodge, you travel back through the town of Voi, where you'll turn and head north on the Mombasa Nairobi road, passing through towns like Mtito Andei, the arid boundary land of the Wakamba people, Makindu, with its two ornate mosques, arriving in Kenya's bustling capital city, Nairobi around mid day. Lunch at the Mamba Restaurant. This restaurant also incorporates a crocodile and ostrich farms and after lunch, guests are invited to visit these farms. Later on transfer to the Jacaranda Hotel. Accommodation on bed & breakfast basis at The Jacaranda Hotel (L-BB)
Originally opened its doors in the early 1960's as the Agip Motel, later re-branded as Jacaranda Hotel with a major renovation thereafter under the Block Hotels management. Its location with the Westlands suburb makes the charms and attractions of the city easily accessible. A comfortable well equipped garden hotel, within five minutes drive from the capital city central business district, it avoids the noise and bustle of the city.
DAY 03 ? NAIROBI/MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE
Leaving Nairobi after breakfast, you will travel towards Kenya's lush highlands and drive down the Rift Escarpment on a road built during world war II by Italian prisoners of war. As you negotiate the winding road, interesting views of the Rift Valley reveal themselves below and the scenery becomes awe-inspiring. You'll be able to view the impressive dormant volcanic Mountains of Longonot and Suswa as you head across the valley floor to Narok. Arrive Mara Sopa Lodge in time for Lunch. There will be time to settle in. Afternoon game drive in the reserve. Dinner and overnight at Mara Sopa Lodge (LDBB).
DAY 04 ? MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE
Very early in the morning, after a cup of coffee or tea in the lodge you will join your driver-guides and set out for an early morning game drive in the reserve. This is usually the best game viewing time as during the early hours, temperatures are low and the animals are the most active. The plains game roam the savannahs licking on the morning dew on the leaves, watching all the while for the predators. Back in the lodge, enjoy your sumptuous buffet breakfast then it?s time to relax or swim in the lodge?s pool. Mid morning game drive followed by lunch in the lodge. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Mara Sopa Lodge (LDBB).
The Masai Mara is one of the most famous game viewing areas in Africa. Large herds of game, including the amazing Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra, are still found here. Masai Mara Sopa Lodge is set in the Oloolaimutia Valley and blends perfectly with the surrounding hillside landscape. The lodge is located 206 km south of the Equator on the eastern boundary of the Masai Mara Game Reserve in southwestern Kenya, 2km from the Oloolaimutia Gate. The accent here is on the indigenous Masai people and the fabulous wealth of wildlife, birdlife and natural flora. Luxuriously appointed bedrooms, a refreshing swimming pool, a boutique and gift shop, wildlife films and CNN all ensure that your stay will be blissfully comfortable. The lodge has 77 rooms, 12 suites and 1 Presidential suite, all of which are 'rondavel' style and have en-suite bathroom facilities, which provide shaving sockets and hairdryers. Every room and suite has a private, elevated veranda with splendid views across the valley. Here guests can relax, sunbathe and watch resident birds and wildlife. Mini-bars are also available in each room. The lodge has direct-dial telephone facilities as well as satellite television and video options. Lodge generators provide 240volts, 50 cycles 24 hours a day. The water supply is from nearby springs but filtered water, provided in flasks in every room, and bottled water is recommended for drinking. Like all pools at other Sopa lodges, the free-form swimming pool here too has a stunning location, overlooking the Oloolaimutia Valley. In addition to all these modern facilities there is a well-stocked shop selling curios, clothing, jewellery, general accessories and personal requisites and toiletries. The lodge has spacious conference facilities for up to 120 guests and is an excellent venue for special occasions. It can cater for birthday and anniversary parties, bush breakfasts, lunches or bar-b-ques, sundowner cocktail parties, gala dinners or theme evenings. The Sopa has all the facilities that a modern traveller could wish for and more - a stunning location in one of the greatest wildlife havens in the world. The lodge has 77 rooms, 12 suites and 1 Presidential suite, all of which are 'rondavel' style and have en-suite bathroom facilities, which provide shaving sockets and hairdryers. Every room and suite has a private, elevated veranda with splendid views across the valley. Here guests can relax, sunbathe and watch resident birds and wildlife. Mini-bars are also available in each room. The lodge has direct-dial telephone facilities as well as satellite television and video options. Lodge generators provide 240volts, 50 cycles 24 hours a day. The water supply is from nearby springs but filtered water, provided in flasks in every room, and bottled water is recommended for drinking. Like all pools at other Sopa lodges, the free-form swimming pool here too has a stunning location, overlooking the Oloolaimutia Valley. In addition to all these modern facilities there is a well-stocked shop selling curios, clothing, jewellery, general accessories and personal requisites and toiletries. The lodge has spacious conference facilities for up to 120 guests and is an excellent venue for special occasions. It can cater for birthday and anniversary parties, bush breakfasts, lunches or bar-b-ques, sundowner cocktail parties, gala dinners or theme evenings. The Sopa has all the facilities that a modern traveller could wish for and more - a stunning location in one of the greatest wildlife havens in the world.
Probably the most famous of the reserves, the Masai Mara, in Kenya's southwestern corner, boasts an astonishing amount of game. Unfenced, the Mara is bounded in the east by the Ngama Hills and in the west by the Oloololo or Siria Escarpment. Gazelle, wildebeest and zebra graze in large numbers and where prey is found so are predators. Not only is this a great place in which to find game, but also the wide greeny-gold savannahs spotted with thorn trees make it ideal for photography. The Mara, as it is known in Kenya, is ravishingly beautiful and also offers long, undisturbed views and utterly dramatic panoramas. The weather really means something here. The sun may beat down unforgiving, huge clouds in fabulous shapes may sweep across the widest of skies; the wind ripples the grasses as though a giant hand strokes them. The landscape is stunning. The famously black-manned Mara lions are possibly the stars of the Mara show, but cheetah, elephant, kongoni, topi, Thompson's gazelle, waterbuck, hyena, and primates are all here too. As with the rest of Kenya, the birding is good. There is no settlement within the reserve however, the Mara is in theory owned by the Masai, pastoralists and, in earlier times, renowned lion-killers. Lodges and hotels offer the opportunity to buy their beadwork, checked cloths and copies of their spears. It is said that if lions scent approaching Masai on the breeze they move swiftly in the opposite direction. Famously, the Mara is the northerly end of the Great Migration, that great primeval surge of wildebeest, zebra and antelope that sweeps in from Tanzania's Serengeti to Kenya's Masai Mara as the Tanzanian grass starts to fail. The large predators who pick off the weak, the stragglers and the young track them. The great herds, nearing their destination by July, mass along the Mara River, pushing, shoving and fantastically noisy, just waiting for the first animal to cross so that they can all follow, lemming-like, on the final leg of the journey. However, crocodiles lie in wait, sluggishly cruising the waters, fully prepared for their best meal of the year. Many fail in the life-and-death struggle - drowned, eaten by the crocodiles or, made careless or weak by their stressful swim, brought down by lions. The Masai Mara is terrible yet wonderful, and not to be missed.
DAY 05 ? MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE/LAKE NAIVASHA
Leaving Masai Mara, head back to Narok, district headquarters of this part of Maasailand and then travel across the vast plains on the floor of the Rift Valley keep an eye out for herds of giraffe and gazelle. Turn left when you reach the road at the foot of the Rift Escarpment. Your panoramic journey ends at glistening Lake Naivasha, a popular bird sanctuary. Check into the Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge. Afternoon at leisure with the possibility of an optional one hour boat ride on the lake. Dinner and overnight at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge.
Set on 200 acres of Lake Naivasha?s southern shoreline in Africa?s Great Rift Valley, the resort blends in perfectly with its natural surroundings. Being in one of Kenya?s most upmarket destinations, it is the ideal place from which to explore the surrounding country side and nearby national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Double storied cottages offer extremely spacious rooms with en suite bathrooms and either balconies or solariums. Spacious rooms with ensuite bathroom, private lounge and balcony. Each room boasts two queen-size beds with mosquito nets on all windows.
DAY 06 ? LAKE NAIVASHA/AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
Depart Lake Naivasha and begin a panoramic journey that takes you across the top of the rift Escarpment, offering spectacular views of the Great Rift Valley, with dormant volcano Longonot taking the centre stage. Cross the Athi Plains to the colorful border town of Namanga, where you'll then turn left to Amboseli National Park. Head straight to Amboseli for lunch at the Oltukai lodge. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Oltukai Lodge.
Deep in the heart of the world famous Amboseli National Park is the magnificent Oltukai Lodge with amazing views of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Oltukai is surrounded by yellow barked acacia trees and blends effortlessly into this celebrated African wilderness. This is an exceptional location for the naturalist - elephant, lion, buffalo, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, wildebeeste, gazelle are all found here in this haven dominated by acacias, phoenix palms and a partially dry lakebed of evaporated salts, all under the shadows of Africa's highest mountain. Speakers from the elephant research centre stay within the sizeable grounds of the lodge and give fascinating lectures daily. Bird-walks offer the professional or amateur ornithologist a wide variety of bird species. At Ol Tukai, each of the 80 twin rooms, furnished in African woods and fabrics, is extremely comfortable and contain en-suite bathroom facilities. All have breathtaking views of the mountain and the wetlands where elephant and buffalo wallow in the afternoon when it is hotter. For the guests there is a superb swimming pool and a bar to relax at. The open-air Elephant Bar is the ideal place to enjoy drinks or sundowners as you watch the wildlife wander past. A well-stocked library is available to those who wish to learn more about Amboseli. With wildlife right on your doorstep day and night combined with the gorgeous views of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Oltukai offers a perfect stay inside Amboseli National Park, one of Africa's greatest wildlife reserves.
Arid looking as Amboseli is it has, historically, supported both game and the Masai that kept their herds of cattle here. It is thanks to the waters that run off Africa's greatest mountain that the apparently dry Amboseli, Kenya's first game sanctuary, is able to support its wildlife. Mount Kilimanjaro broods high over Amboseli, generally cloaked by clouds but appearing in all its snow-shrouded magnificence from time to time. Kilimanjaro was once part of Kenya, but on the marriage of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany Queen Victoria gifted it to her beloved grandson, whose colony Tanzania then was, as the perfect wedding present. The mountain now provides water for the park, wonderful views and, of course, the most glorious background for animal photography. There has been serious erosion in the park. Elephant feeding habits combined with light soil have made serious inroads in the Amboseli vegetation. Nonetheless, there are still high numbers of the elephant for which the park is famous, and it is here that much research has been done on the largest land mammal. Indeed, a cursory examination will show that humankind is not the only animal to destroy its own environment. The grasslands in the park can be undeniably lovely when made verdant by the rains and the three major swamps could star in a dinosaur movie. The swamps on the east of the park attract wildebeest, zebra and antelope with the predators that live off them, chiefly lion which tend to be easy to view here. In the south, Enkongo Narok swamp attracts hippos to the larger pools and plenty of buffalo, buck and teeming birdlife including the jacanas that pick their way elegantly and carefully. Giraffe are here and in areas still sufficiently treed there are leopard. Cheetah, caracal and civet may be seen. In the west of the park lies Lake Amboseli, a seasonal soda lake, sometimes with flamingos. Amboseli is a fabulous place to visit. The overwhelmingly lovely views and good wildlife sightings are too good to miss.
DAY 07 ? AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK/TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK
Morning game drive in Amboseli followed by your onward journey to Tsavo West. Spotting game as you go, you'll reach Ngulia Lodge, perched on a slope of the Ngulia Hills, rising 2,000 feet from the plains below. The lodge experiences a fantastic phenomenon in October and November each year, when millions of migrating birds, flying over Kenya on their south, are disorientated by the Lodge's night time lights and come down low in their thousands an unforgettable spectacle. Lunch in the lodge. Afternoon game drive including a visit to the Mzima Springs. Dinner and overnight at Ngulia Safari Lodge.
Ngulia safari lodge is located in Tsavo west national park situated spectacularly atop on the edge of the Ndewe Escarpment, offering a vast panorama of Tsavo's sweeping plains. It overlooks the famous rhino protected reserve which is the largest in the world, hence guaranteeing encounter with this rare African animal. The lodge is an ideal base from which to explore Tsavo, one of the world's largest national parks, boasting more than sixty mammal species within its borders. Ngulia safari lodge has fifty two rooms, all with a bath and shower and a balcony facing the vast wilderness; a swimming pool, a strategically located restaurant, two bars and a viewing bay for the wildlife it is built in a more lush sector of Tsavo to blend with the natural surrounding flora.When in the heat guests can swim in the lodges pool or take a drive to the oasis of Mzima Springs. Here the special viewing facility allows the observer to view hippo wallowing with surprising grace from below the water line. After the dark the waterloo by the lodge is floodlit allowing guests to see the nocturnal animals coming in from the bush to quench their thirst including the illusive leopard. Here the guests have a rare chance of coming close to the leopard in its natural environment as it comes for the baited meat at the floodlit view point, thus making Ngulia Safari Lodge synonymous with leopard viewing. The lodge however is more internationally renown as a haven for bird lovers who coverage at the establishment every year between October and December to "ring " migrating birds escaping the harsh winter conditions of the northern hemisphere. It is the only place where this activity takes place in Kenya. The serene natural surroundings, hills and valleys, the dark starry nights, the myriad night-sound of insects and other wildlife , the sense of comfort in a five star game lodge, amidst of all these factors- this is a dream made true.
These two national parks form a vast area for game preservation in the south of Kenya. The Mombasa to Nairobi road and the railway divide their eight thousand square miles into east and west. Denys Finch-Hatton, the professional hunter played by Robert Redford in "Out of Africa"and lover of the author Karen Blixen often came here to hunt. Of the two parts of Tsavo it is Tsavo West that is visited by far the most frequently. Tsavo West's scrublands initially appear boundless and harshly unwelcoming. However, the variety of animal species testifies to a reasonably diverse environment including woods, riverine forest and volcanic hills. Indeed Tsavo boasts Mzima Springs where an incredible volume of crystalline water finally flows above ground. Filtered by the volcanic rock, such as that of the Chyulus, the waters form a sequence of wildlife-attracting pools where hippo and crocodile may be observed. Previously famous for its vast elephant herds, drought and poachers in the seventies and eighties caused a substantial drop in numbers. Effective anti-poaching patrols have now increased the population to around eight thousand head and growing. In addition to the Tsavo elephant there are cheetah, buffalo, gerenuk, klipspringer, lesser kudu and oryx, baboon, a good population of gazelle and zebra and, of course, lion. The lions of Tsavo are notorious for it was here that they held up the building of the Uganda railroad by killing and eating many of the labourers. Colonel Patterson, who finally shot the man-eaters, became a hero and his rather over-dramatised telling of the story was eventually made into a film called "The Man-eaters of Tsavo". Tsavo also offers a rhino sanctuary, for the rhino population suffered from poaching even more badly than the elephant. They are still hard to spot but you might be lucky! Tsavo East is, to the casual observer, a bleak place. Vast tracts of desert boast only a sprinkling of thorns; the bush and the flat landscape appear harsh and profoundly unwelcoming. However, there are those who find it immensely rewarding. The Yatta plateau offers stunningly limitless views that are balm to both eyes and soul and there are excellent game viewing areas: the Lugard Falls are famous for huge crocodiles; the Voi River valley is good for buffalo, elephant and gazelle; and climbing the huge Mudanda Rock allows the visitor to look down on a much frequented waterhole. Much of this part of the park is closed to the public for security reasons and may only be seen by those with special permission from the warden. The rest of Tsavo East is not popular with visitors and this loneliness and isolation is very attractive to some and is accentuated by the striking landscape. Desolate it might be, but to some a visit here is a profoundly spiritual experience, as indeed it was for Finch-Hatton.
DAY 08 ? TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK/MOMBASA/DEPARTURE
Early morning game drive in the park. After breakfast, head out with game drive en-route to the park gate and depart. Drive across the wild and waterless Taru Desert, until you reach Mariakani, where the scrub bush begins to give way to palm groves just a hint of what lies ahead. Within a short while you'll pass through Mombasa and get a glimpse of its busy port as you travel to your hotel. Drop off at your beach hotel. End of our services. All prices indicated are in US$ and are net and non commissionable:
|
From |
To |
Each of 2 pax |
Each of 3 pax |
Each of 4 pax |
Each of 5 pax |
Each of 6 pax |
Each of 7 pax |
Single room Sup |
|
01.01.10 |
31.03.10 |
1715 |
1485 |
1371 |
1302 |
1256 |
1223 |
285 |
|
01.04.10 |
31.05.10 |
1547 |
1317 |
1203 |
1134 |
1088 |
1055 |
858 |
|
01.06.10 |
30.06.10 |
1715 |
1485 |
1371 |
1302 |
1256 |
1223 |
285 |
|
01.07.10 |
31.10.10 |
1777 |
1547 |
1433 |
1364 |
1318 |
1285 |
306 |
|
01.11.10 |
15.12.10 |
1715 |
1485 |
1371 |
1302 |
1256 |
1223 |
285 |
Easter supplement applicable on 10+11+12+13.04.10(inclusive) US$45.00 per person per night
Included:
? Accommodation and meals as indicated above
? Seven (7) seater minibus with English speaking driver/guide
? Game drives as indicated above
? All park fees
? One (1) litre bottle of mineral water per person per day on safari
? Pick up and drop off In Mombasa at either beach hotel or Moi International Airport
Excluded:
? International flights, visas and airport taxes
? Personal expenses like drinks, tips, laundry etc
? Personal insurance and baggage insurance
