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SILVER AFRICA TOURS & SAFARIS

 

 

 

 

The Plains of Africa Safari

 

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TOUR CODE: SAT002
Validity: 01st March 2011 ? 15th December 2011
Minimum: 02 pax
Transportation: Seven (7) 4 x 4 Landcruiser 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	Nairobi	Norfolk Hotel	BB	Trsf, LE
02	Amboseli Park	Amboseli Serena Lodge	LDBB	P
03	Amboseli Serena Lodge	Naivasha Sopa Lodge	LDBB	E, P
04	Aberdare Park	Treetops Lodge	LDBB	GV
05	Nakuru Park	Lion Hill Lodge	LDBB	P
06	Masai Mara Reserve	Mara Sarova Camp	LDBB	P
07	Masai Mara Reserve	Mara Sarova Camp	LDBB	E, A, P
08	Departure

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 upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Silver Africa Tours Representative. Assistance and transfer to The Norfolk Hotel. Rest of the day at leisure with the possibility of realizing optional excursions. Accommodation on bed and breakfast basis at The Norfolk Hotel (BB).

The exterior of The Fairmont Norfolk Hotel has changed little since the colonial era. Timbered walls covered in vines and creepers, the taxi rank with old London cabs queuing to take guests where they will, look much the same as they did in the old photographs that chart the history of Kenya. Opened on Christmas Day 1904, (and still justifiably famous for its Christmas Morning cocktail party) The Fairmont Norfolk has hosted such luminaries as Lord Delamere, Theodore Roosevelt and Karen Blixen. Now expensively refurbished the hotel still retains a sense of history. The new reception areas of the Norfolk Hotel are light, bright and immediately welcoming. Ceiling fans, cane chairs, plump animal-print cushions and deep sofas combine with locally sourced woods to create a tranquil ambience with echoes of the colonial period in which The Fairmont Norfolk featured so strongly. However, not all is new - the long case clock in the hall, for example, was presented to the hotel by the drivers in the Nairobi to Johannesburg Race on 26th October, 1936. The Ibis Restaurant, at The Fairmont Norfolk, is renowned locally for its innovative use of the best and freshest of ingredients Kenya has to offer. The executive chef ensures that the chefs gain experience in the finest hotels and restaurants in Europe. The cosmopolitan cuisine features classic and new dishes exquisitely prepared, and finely tuned as to seasoning and accompaniments. The chic clientele bear witness to the restaurants popularity. The Lord Delamere Terrace and Restaurant offers less formal dining. Here you may take a light meal or indulge in the sumptuous themed buffets. The Hibiscus lounge is ideal for a colonial-style afternoon tea. Accommodation at The Fairmont Norfolk varies from large opulent suites to smaller, more intimate rooms. All are beautifully furnished and many look out onto the hotel's lovely gardens. The grounds are immaculate and profusely planted with indigenous plants. Artefacts from the hotel's history are dotted around including a sedan chair from the colonial era. The Fairmont Norfolk Hotel offers all the comforts of a modern first class hotel yet combines it with an intriguing sense of history.

   

 

 

DAY 02 ? NAIROBI/AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast drive to Amboseli National Park arriving in time for lunch at Amboseli Serena Lodge. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Amboseli Serena Lodge (LDBB)

DAY 03 ? AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

Early morning game drive returning to the lodge for breakfast. Rest of the morning at leisure. Lunch. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Amboseli Serena Lodge (LDBB).

In the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, beside acacia trees and a natural spring, amidst more big game than almost anywhere else in Africa, stands Amboseli Serena. Influenced by Masai Manyatta architecture, the lodge is in harmony with its environment. Guest rooms are appointed with genuine Africana. Unique guest services and exceptional amenities enhance the distinctive ambience.

   

 

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 04 ? AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK/ABERDARES NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast drive to Nairobi arriving in time for lunch at The Carnivore Restaurant. After lunch drive to Nyeri arriving at The Outspan Hotel. Late evening transfer to Treetops Lodge in The Aberdare National Park. Rest of the day at leisure with game viewing from the lodge. Dinner and overnight at Treetops Lodge (LDBB).

Note: Only small overnight bags are allowed at Treetops. The rest of the luggage will be stored at Outspan Hotel from where it will be collected the following morning.

Treetops is the original tree lodge, legendary for its historical royal connection, for the animals it attracts and for the sheer joy of exploring a tree house visited by rhino, elephant, buffalo, lion, bushbuck, waterbuck and many other species.You leave the Outspan after lunch for the ten-mile drive to Treetops and are met by a ranger who will help you with the common sense rules of behaviour necessary for safety and good animal viewing. The lodge rises dramatically out of the ground on stilts and overlooks a water hole and salt lick. It has four decks and a rooftop-viewing platform. Solely dedicated to game viewing, the accommodation is compact and cosy. At 6450 feet above sea level it is chilly at night at all times of the year and during the Kenyan winter, from June to September, you will need sweaters and hats for comfort and warmth.The fifty twin bedded rooms are small and neat and cosy, like cabins on board ship. Dinner is served at refectory tables with bench seating - what fun.

 

Probably the highest national park in the world, Aberdare is all above 7,000 feet. The habitat of the Aberdare Mountains, like that of Mount Kenya that is on the other side of the Laikipia Plains, ranges from forest and thick bamboo to open moor land. Breathtaking waterfalls, brightly coloured birds, soaring raptors, a fascinating and diverse plant world and gorgeous scenery make this national park both lovely and intriguing. This is the area for those who are keen to fish. A certain Captain Grogan and the fishing, in rivers such as the Naro Moru, the Thego, introduced the trout here in 1906 and the Chania is renowned. The Aberdares are also remembered as the guerrilla base of Kenyan heroes during their war for independence from the British. Established as a national park in 1950, Aberdare lies around two high peaks, Kinangop and Lesatima, with almost 50 kilometres of high moors stretching mistily between them. The scenery here is stunning and the waterfalls particularly dramatic - the Gura Falls plunge and foam down the side of a 1500-foot rock face. Some of the indigenous wildlife in the Aberdares is equally as stunning. Melanistic black leopard, serval and genet can be found here, but are both shy and rare. Large numbers of buffalo, a few rhino, elephant, Colubus monkeys, bush pig and wart hog may be found in the forests. It is said that the elephant still remember the bombing raids by the British during the war for independence, and are thus extremely suspicious of mankind. The birding is excellent. Brightly coloured parrots, francolin, the strutting secretary bird and green ibis are among the species here. Sunbirds enjoy the open moors and raptors such as the rufous sparrow hawk, goshawk, buzzards and the crowned eagle scour the moors for prey. The Aberdares even has a Hollywood connection. This is where the film "Gorillas in the Mist", starring Sigourney Weaver, was made. The renowned naturalist studied the mountain gorillas of Rwanda and was murdered there. Perhaps even more famously, although rather longer ago, it was to Treetops, that the news of her father's death, and her accession to the throne, was brought to the then Princess Elizabeth.

DAY 05 ? ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK/LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK.

Early morning wakeup call and transfer to Outspan Hotel for breakfast. After breakfast drive to Lake Nakuru National Park arriving in time for lunch at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge (LDBB)

Situated in the heart of the Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru is one of Kenya's most famous soda lakes. A major feature of this park is the wonderful bird life, particularly the thousands of flamingos, which create a shimmering pink hue over the lake. A rhino sanctuary also provides the opportunity to see the endangered black rhino. Sarova Lion Hill offers a unique vantage point. Each of the 64 superbly appointed chalets with private secluded veranda enjoys views over the lake and the distant hills. Even the glorious pool has a view!

 

 

 

Originally declared a national park because of a superbly diverse bird population, which includes many migrants, the park is also a favourite place for travellers to seek the rare black rhino. However, it is for the flamingos that the lake is best known, and it was for their protection that the park was originally created. The level of the blue-green alkaline waters here varies and this, with other accompanying environmental changes, causes considerable variation in the flamingo population, but when they are present, en masse, the whole lake turns a gorgeous rosy pink. Although protection of the flamingo population on the lake was the original rationale for the inception of the national park, further land was included in the early seventies and it is now about 190 sq m. This expansion, which took in a large grassland area, has allowed the park to protect further species. Buffalo, zebra, antelope and both lion and leopard are to be found. The rather less ubiquitous reedbuck and waterbuck are also here as is the glamorously leggy Rothschild giraffe. Temptingly, the black rhino-breeding programme, started in the late eighties, has proved successful and this is an excellent place to view them.

DAY 06 ? LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK/MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE

After breakfast drive to Masai Mara Game Reserve arriving in time for lunch at Mara Sarova Camp. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Mara Sarova Camp (LDBB)

DAY 07 ? 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 camp, enjoy your sumptuous buffet breakfast then it?s time to relax or swim in the camp?s pool. Mid morning game drive followed by lunch in the lodge. Afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at Mara Sarova Camp (LDBB)

Sarova Mara Tented Lodge has 75 tents and is located in the world-renowned Masai Mara; home to the greatest game show on earth ? the Wildebeest Migration. The lodge is situated on an elevation astride two streams, with extremely beautiful gardens. The luxurious tents all have permanent roofs, zip-up fronts, electricity and ensuite facilities. Relax outside your own tent listening to the orchestra of rasping Cicadas, croaking tree frogs. The intermittent call of birds and monkeys is a memorable symphony. The Isokon Restaurant offers a wide range of cuisine and with special barbecues are held by the swimming pool beneath the star filled skies. The restaurant has two sections, one internal and one external with a canopy. Breakfast and lunch are buffets, whilst dinner is Table D?hote. The capacity is 150 people. The Oloip Bar is located on the ground floor, it is perfect in the evenings with a cozy log fire is lit in the fireplace in the Bar. It has a capacity of 150 people and operates between the hours of 0700hrs-2300hrs. Complementing the simplicity of the camp is cozy log fire that is lit in the Oloip bar every night, when the temperature drops. This is where traditional Maasai performers with their rich cultural dances and music entertain guests.

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 08 ? MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE/NAIROBI/DEPARTURE

After breakfast drive to Nairobi, Kenya?s colourful capital city. Drop off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your onward departure flight. 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	2382	2118	1986	1907	1854	1816	581
01.04.10	31.05.10	1981	1736	1614	1541	1492	1457	107
01.06.10	30.06.10	2338	2075	1943	1863	1811	1773	522
01.07.10	31.10.10	2648	2384	2252	2172	2120	2082	692
01.11.10	15.12.10	2344	2080	1948	1868	1816	1778	535

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
? All transfers and assistance


Excluded:
? International flights, visas and airport taxes
? Personal expenses like drinks, tips, laundry etc
? Personal insurance and baggage insurance

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