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SILVER AFRICA TOURS & SAFARIS

 

 

Airport North Rd, Nyayo Embakasi suite 88/13,
P.O.BOX 60854 code 00200 city square,
Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa
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http://www.silverafricatours.com

 

Wings over Kenya Safari.

 

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TOUR CODE: SAT013
Validity: 01st March 2011 ? 15th December 2011
Minimum: 02 pax
Transportation: 4x4 vehicle on seat in car basis with the services of an English speaking guide
Start: Nairobi
End: Nairobi
Departures: Guaranteed daily departure

Itinerary at a glance
Day	Location	Accommodation	Board	Activity
01	Nairobi	Nairobi Serena Hotel	BB	Trsf, LE
02	Amboseli Park	Amboseli Serena Lodge	LDBB	Trsf, FLT, P
03	Amboseli Park	Amboseli Serena Lodge	LDBB	E, P
04	Samburu Reserve	Samburu Serena Lodge	LDBB	Trsf, FLT, P
05	Samburu Reserve	Samburu Serena Lodge	LDBB	E, P
06	Masai Mara Reserve	Mara Serena Lodge	LDBB	Trsf, FLT, P
07	Masai Mara Reserve	Mara Serena Lodge	LDBB	LE
08	Departure			E, FLT, Trsf

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 Nairobi Serena Hotel. Rest of the day at leisure with the possibility of realizing optional excursions. Accommodation on bed and breakfast basis at The Nairobi Serena Hotel (BB).

The Serena group is renowned for offering excellent hotel facilities throughout East Africa, and the Nairobi Serena is no exception. A member of the Leading hotels of the World, the Serena enjoys a location on the edge of the Central Park and the City Centre. Shaded by the glorious Jacaranda, Bougainvillea and Acacia trees and surrounded by lush manicured gardens, the hotel provides a peaceful and luxurious retreat to travellers, business people and famous dignitaries in a bustling city. Rooms with private bathroom facilities, TV, air-conditioning, minibar, telephone and electronic safe are spacious and elegantly furnished and overlook the Central Park to the east and acacia groves and lush gardens to the west. Amongst its excellent facilities are comprehensive business services, 2 superb restaurants providing world cuisine, health club and spa, outdoor pool and an intimate pub. The Serena is one of the finest hotels to stay in when in Nairobi.

DAY 02 ? NAIROBI/AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

Early breakfast and transfer to Wilson Airport for scheduled flight to Amboseli departing at 07h30. Met upon arrival at Amboseli Airstrip at 09h00 by Serena Lodge vehicle/guide. Proceed to Amboseli Serena Lodge with a game drive enroute. Check in. Lunch. Afternoon game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis. Dinner and overnight at Amboseli Serena Lodge (LDBB).

DAY 03 ? AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

Early morning game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis. returning to the lodge for breakfast. Rest of the morning at leisure. Lunch. Afternoon game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis.. 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/SAMBURU GAME RESERVE

After breakfast transfer to the airstrip for scheduled flight to Nairobi departing at 09h05. Arrival at Wilson Airport and connect on scheduled flight to Samburu departing at 10h20. Met upon arrival at Samburu Airstrip at 11h30 by Serena vehicle/guide and transfer to Samburu Serena Lodge. Lunch. Afternoon game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis. Dinner and overnight at Samburu Serena Lodge (LDBB).

DAY 05 ? SAMBURU GAME RESERVE

Early morning game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis. returning to the lodge for breakfast. Rest of the morning at leisure. Lunch. Afternoon game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis.. Dinner and overnight at Samburu Serena Lodge (LDBB).

Situated on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River, Samburu Serena Lodge captures the earthy rhythms of riverfront life. The flavour is rustic but sophisticated. Supremely comfortable guest rooms overlook the river, where the crocodiles feed in full view. Delicious meals are taken under shady palm thatch. In the evenings there may be entertainment or a wildlife lecture from a local expert. Nearby lies rare game - long necked gerenuk, Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and Beisa oryx. Leopards are frequent passers-by.

Samburu is different from many of the other frequently visited areas. These forty square miles of reserve is not the oft-seen Kenyan landscape of savannah and flat-topped acacias, but harsh, dramatic terrain. The people from this area, the Samburu, are similarly dramatic to the outsider. Dressed in bright red, with their braided hair and skin daubed with red ochre, the "Moran", the youthful warriors of the Samburu almost always spear-in-hand, are a wonderful sight. The permanent water supply of the Ewaso Nyiro River is what attracts the game to Samburu. Much of the reserve is arid, hilly landscape but riverine forest fringes the riverbanks and there are doum palms, the fruit of which is a great favourite with elephants. Crocodiles lie quietly in the mud and it is here that you will find abundant Birdlife, including palm-eagles, storks, hornbills, bee-eaters and plenty of weaverbirds. Some species in the area are specially adapted to the arid environment, and are particularly northern - the magnificent Oryx, for example and the gerenuk, a rather odd looking long-necked gazelle which can stretch up to reach the lower branches of the thorn trees. You will also find Grevy's Zebra, larger than the more commonly seen Burchell's zebra, and reticulated giraffe, with their irregular netted pattern of white. Desert lion are found here, leopards can be seen, and the ostrich (Ethiopian) have blue legs! Elephant wander, browsing in family groups. Buffalo Springs has the Uaso Nyiro River as its northern boundary, and thus may almost be seen as an extension of Samburu Reserve, which is bounded in the south by the river. The game here is the same as Samburu, but here there is more marshland and the large pools from the springs themselves. You may cross from one reserve to the other via a bridge over the river. Samburu and Buffalo Springs are becoming more sought after as a wildlife destination. They are only a couple of hundred miles from Nairobi and thus an easy hop on the light aircraft that fly from Wilson Airport, which itself is just outside Nairobi. In addition, the harsh beauty of the landscape is compelling.

DAY 06 ? SAMBURU GAME RESERVE/MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE

After breakfast transfer to Samburu airstrip for scheduled flight to Masai Mara departing at 09h30. Met upon arrival at Mara Serena Airstrip by lodge vehicle/guide at 11h00 and transfer to Mara Serena Lodge. Check in. lunch. Afternoon game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis. Dinner and overnight at Mara Serena Lodge (LDBB).

DAY 07 ? MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE

Early morning game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis. returning to the lodge for breakfast. Rest of the morning at leisure. Lunch. Afternoon game drive with lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis.. Dinner and overnight at Mara Serena Lodge (LDBB).

A masterful interpretation of a traditional Masai village, Mara Serena Lodge seemingly floats on a sea of savannah. A beautiful pool looks out over the wide plains. The rooms are Masai-influenced in style yet extremely comfortable. The main dining room, where delicious meals are served, has three large domes and three small ones depicting Maasai manyattas (villages). Occasionally an African al fresco barbecue is served by the pool overlooking the Mara plains. Fresh fruit juices and cocktails, wines, spirits or liqueurs are available at the bar until lat in the evening. At Serena, the views are stunning. It is on this very terrain, stretching endlessly before the lodge, that the annual migrations take place. Millions of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle pass through on their way to and from their alternative feeding grounds in Tanzania. The Mara Serena offers you a grandstand seat for one of the greatest shows on earth.

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

Early morning game drive with the lodge vehicle/guide on seat in car basis returning to the camp for breakfast. After breakfast transfer to Mara Serena Airstrip for scheduled flight to Nairobi departing at 11h00. Met upon arrival at Wilson Airport at 12h15 by Silver Africa Tours representative and transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your ownward 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	3367	3316	3290	3275	3265	3257	354
01.04.10	31.05.10	3052	3001	2975	2960	2950	2942	83
01.06.10	30.06.10	3262	3211	3185	3170	3160	3152	354
01.07.10	31.10.10	3631	3580	3554	3539	3529	3521	354
01.11.10	15.12.10	3262	3211	3185	3170	3160	3152	354

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
? Shared 4x4 vehicle (seat in car basis) for game drives and airstrip transfers
? Flights Wilson/Amboseli/Wilson, Wilson/Samburu, Samburu/Mara and Mara/Wilson
? All park fees
? 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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