15-day Migration Hunter

A participatory camping safari into Tanzania's Northern parks - Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Manyara as well as Lake Victoria, the Masai Mara, the Rift Valley Lakes of Nakuru and Naivasha. The Serengeti is host to the annual wildebeest migration - a spectacular sight! This trip allows ample time to ‘hunt this down' either in Kenya's Masai Mara or the Serengeti.

Our safari travels into the best areas of this game-packed region, camping amongst the game with the sounds of the African bush all around as well as visiting Lake Victoria, and the flamingo covered Rift Valley Lake Nakuru. Camping is a perfect way to get close to nature, but with our style of trip you don't miss out on the comforts! And all the tedious daily chores are taken care of by our crew, allowing you maximum time to enjoy the bush. This is an ‘experience' of Africa, never to be forgotten.

Highlights: Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Lake Victoria, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha
Group Size: maximum 10
Type of Safari: Participatory Camping
Vehicle: 4WD

Price from: USD$3795 per person sharing*

Includes:  Pick up Arusha Hotel, Services of a driver/guide, Park entrance fees (quoted separately), All camping equipment including large walk in dome tents, mattresses and sleeping bags, all cooking and eating utensils, services of a cook/camp assistant, all nights are spent in parks or conservation areas unless noted above, drop off Nairobi hotel,

Excludes: Visas, Hotel night in Nairobi post safari, Shuttle service ex Nairobi / airport transfers, Gratuities, Drinks and meals not stated, All items of a personal nature, travel insurance, health requirements and services/activities not specified.

   

 

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Day 1 - Arrive Arusha
Overnight at hotel. (We can arrange the shuttle from Nairobi or airport transfers from Kilimanjaro Airport or flights and additional accommodation if required - additional costs)

Day 2 - Lake Manyara/Tarangire National Park
Your driver will come to greet you and conduct a pre-departure briefing at your hotel at 08h30 for a 09h00 departure. On the way your crew will stop to assist you in purchasing water, other beverages or items of a personal nature and help you, if necessary, to exchange money at a bureau de change. We depart Arusha around 10h00 and make our way directly to Lake Manyara (or Tarangire depending on the time of year) National Park for an afternoon game drive and picnic lunch in the park. All meals included. Overnight camping on park borders.

Day 3 - Ngorongoro
Departing Lake Manyara after breakfast, we weave our way upwards into the densely forested slopes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, pausing to admire the splendid view of the crater floor 600m below at Heroes Point, before driving on to our campsite on the rim of the Ngorongoro caldera. If we arrive and set up camp in good time, you may like to consider an optional extra of an early evening/sunset visit to a Maasai village boma where you can spend some time learning about the culture, traditions and beliefs of this ancient, noble warrior tribe. This is at an additional cost, and should be discussed with the guide, and paid directly to the guide. All meals included. Overnight at campsite on the crater rim.

Day 4 - Ngorongoro
Today we will descend the steep walls of the crater to admire the microcosm of life within it. We will have a picnic lunch on the floor of the crater at a pleasant lakeside location where we can stretch our legs and soak up the magnificent scenery. All meals included. Overnight at campsite on the crater rim.

Day 5 - Serengeti
Today we break camp and embark on a game drive into the great Serengeti plains. Before crossing from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area into the Serengeti National Park we should take the opportunity to visit the Olduvai Gorge Museum where we may attend a short talk on the archaeological importance of Olduvai and the work of Mary and Louis Leakey in excavating the area and discovering some of Africa's most important hominid fossils. All meals included. Overnight Serengeti, Seronera (central) zone.

Day 6 - Serengeti
Morning and afternoon game-drives in the central Seronera zone of Serengeti National Park. All meals included. Overnight camping Serengeti, Seronera (central) zone.

Day 7 - Serengeti
We continue our explorations of the Serengeti plains. Huge herds of wildebeest and zebra can be found here along with smaller concentrations of Thomson's gazelle, Grant's gazelle, impala, kongoni, Kirk's dik dik, klipspringer and small numbers of roan, oryx, oribi, eland and waterbuck. There are also significant numbers of buffalo, giraffe and warthog. Elephants are relatively scarce on the open plains, more common in the northern areas and the western corridor. The few remaining black rhinos are restricted to an inaccessible part of the park. But the most popular animals to be found here in greater abundance than elsewhere on the northern circuit are the cats. Lions, cheetahs and leopard may all be seen here along with other predators, such as the spotted hyena, golden and black-backed jackals, wild cats and servals. All meals included. Overnight camping Serengeti, Seronera (central) zone.

Day 8 - Speke Bay, Lake Victoria
We enjoy a final early morning game drive in the Serengeti before setting off westwards through the western corridor of Serengeti National Park on our way to Lake Victoria. We need to get up very early and start breaking camp before breakfast in order to make good time for the long drive to the scenic Speke's Bay area along the lakeshore. All meals included. Overnight camping, Lake Victoria area.

Day 9 - Kenyan Highlands, Kericho
After an early breakfast watching and listening to the haunting cries of the magnificent fish eagles passing over the lake, our long journey into the western Kenyan highlands will get underway. We will pass over the Mara River and on towards the border at Isbania; soon afterwards we find ourselves entering the lush and fertile Kenyan highlands, home to the Kikuyu, Kenya's most populous ethnic group. Arriving at our hotel by late afternoon, we may have time for a brief stroll through the tea plantations with a walking guide who will instruct us in the gentle art of tea picking. All meals included. Overnight Tea Hotel, Kericho.

Day 10 - Lake Nakuru
Today we will wind our way down through the highlands and into the Rift Valley. The cliffs of the valley can reach one kilometre high, while extinct volcanoes and a sparkling network of lakes punctuate the dusty valley floor. One of these sparkling soda gems is Lake Nakuru and it forms the centrepiece of the Lake Nakuru National Park. The water level of the lake fluctuates considerably, but at times it is able to support flocks of up to two million greater and lesser flamingos creating a visually spectacular shimmering pink mirage across the surface of the lake; a truly mesmerising and enduring image of East African bird life. All meals included. Overnight camping, inside the park.

Day 11 - Lake Naivasha
An early morning game drive offers us the best chance of catching sight of a leopard lazing high in the branches of the picturesque yellow barked acacia trees. Even if we're not lucky in this endeavour, we can be fairly hopeful to meet up with white rhino browsing nonchalantly around the lakeshore along with a variety of other game and truly delightful bird watching for any enthusiastic 'birders' among you. After brunch at camp, we will pack up and depart the sleepy town of Nakuru and venture on towards the shoreline of one of the rare freshwater lakes in this part of the Rift Valley - Lake Naivasha. We might hope to be in time for sundowners in a bird watching hide at the lakeshore, listening to the lazy, laughing hippos as they prepare themselves for their nighttime foraging around the shores - and often around our campsites! All meals included. Overnight on lakeshore, Lake Naivasha.

Day 12 - Lake Naivasha
This morning a variety of day trips and excursions are available, including a visit to the animal sanctuaries of Crescent Island or Green crater Lake, a walk or cycle ride through Hell's Gate National Park amongst the gazelle, hartebeest, klipspringer, zebra and buffalo - occasionally even lions, leopards, cheetahs and elephants. Perhaps also a boat ride on the lake may take your fancy, before heading back to camp for a light lunch and a siesta. In the afternoon we will depart to the former home of Joy Adamson at Elsamere for afternoon tea amongst a troupe of gregarious black and white colobus monkeys, and where you may also find out more about the life and work of the Adamsons and their famous lion Elsa, hand-reared and devoted to Joy, but successfully re-introduced back into the wild against all odds. All meals included. Overnight on lakeshore, Naivasha.

Day 13 - Masai Mara
After the leisurely pace of Naivasha, we depart the lake area early to make good time on the arduous journey to the great Maasai Mara National Reserve, which may be considered as the 1 680km2 northern extension of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. Certainly the two reserves form one greater eco-system and the annual migratory movement of game, in particular, wildebeest and zebra, between these two iconic nature reserves forms the central focus of this Migration Hunter camping safari. All meals included. Overnight camping within the conservation area.

Day 14 - Masai Mara
Today we will embark on an early morning game drive for our final day of game viewing. The gently sloping savannah hillsides of the Mara interspersed with patches of acacia woodland and riparian forest serve as an excellent backdrop for game viewing where you can be reasonably confident of spotting lion, cheetah, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, elephant, hippo, Maasai giraffe and Burchell's zebra alongside buffalo, wildebeest, impala, Thompson and Grant's gazelles, topi, hartebeest, bushbuck, waterbuck and Bohor reedbuck. We'll return to camp for a light lunch, and then in the early afternoon we will set off for our final excursion into the park in order to bid farewell to East Africa's magnificent wildlife as the golden evening sunshine sets over the greatest show on earth, marking the end of our safari experience. We return to camp for our final night sleeping under the vast canopy of the African sky. All meals included. Overnight camping within the conservation area.

Day 15 - Return to Nairobi

 

 

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