East African Safari

Saturday 05 September

Evening departure from Auckland on Emirates Airlines to arrive early morning. Change planes.

Sunday 06 September

Arrive Nairobi early afternoon and transfer to your hotel. After a Safari briefing, enjoy an evening Welcome Dinner.

Monday 07 September

After breakfast enjoy a city tour of Nairobi including the Giraffe Centre where you are able to get up close and personal with these gentle giants. 

After lunch enjoy a drive through pineapple, tea and coffee plantations before arriving at the private conservancy - Ol Pejeta for a two-night stay.

Tuesday 08 September

After breakfast, depart for game drives in the park, return for lunch before an afternoon game drive. Ol Pejeta conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctury in East Africa as well as the only place in Kenya one can see Chimpanzees in a sanctury. 

Wednesday 09 September

Today’s drive travels via Nyahururu to Lake Naivasha with a stopover at Thompson’s Falls en-route. Arrive at the Lodge for a late lunch.

The Great Rift Valley is a region of enormous geological significance and fabulous natural beauty, extending all the way down from the Middle East to Southern Africa.Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake fringed by thick papyrus, a bird-watchers paradise – with a large hippo population that sleep during the day in its shallows, numerous giraffes and buffalo, this is a wildlife paradise. The lake was immortalised in the film ‘White Mischief.’

Thursday 10 September

Following an early breakfast, drive to Maasai Mara National Reserve where you can see animals in abundance. Arrive at your tented lodge for lunch and later enjoy an afternoon game drive until sunset.

In Kenya’s south west corner, Maasai Mara is regarded as the most unique and most visited reserves, boasting an astonishing amount of game. Gazelle, wildebeest and zebra graze in large numbers, and where prey is found, so are predators. The reserve is widely considered to be Africa’s greatest, where the Maasai community co-exists in harmony with the wildlife. Maasai Mara is said to have the biggest population of lions in Africa. The wide, greenly-gold savannahs spotted with thorn trees are ideal for photographs. The Mara is the northerly end of the Great Migration where herds of wildebeest, zebra and antelope mass along the Mara River. Many fail in the life-death struggle – terrible yet wonderful, but not to be missed.

Friday 11 September

An optional early morning champagne breakfast hot air balloon ride is available. The flight passes over spectacular, breathtaking scenery, giving passengers the opportunity to see and experience the surrounding wildlife and nature from the air. Alternatively enjoy a morning game drive. Later an afternoon game drive gives further opportunity for viewing the natural surroundings.

Saturday 12 September

Another opportunity to experience the fabulous wildlife in its natural surroundings with game drives through huge, seemingly endless plains. 

Sunday 13 September

After breakfast, drive to Isebania on the Kenya and Tanzania border to join your Tanzanian drivers and guides en route to Serengeti National Park. Enjoy a game drive on the way to our accommodation, before dinner at our overnight luxury camp. 

Monday 14 September

Spend a full day game viewing on the vast plains of Serengeti with a picnic lunch included. Return to the Lodge late afternoon.

George Adamson, co-raiser of Elsa the Lioness and husband of ‘Born Free’ author Joy Adamson, visited Serengeti in the early sixties and brought the world’s attention to large scale killing of game. The 14,763sq km of the Serengeti at the southern end of the Great Migration is a place of huge skies of shimmering heat hazes, majestic termite mounds and rock formations called kopjes – ideal vantage points for predators.

Tuesday 15 September

After breakfast drive to the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world. En route visit the Olduvai Gorge site where archaeological findings dating back 3.5 million years have been discovered – the work of Dr Louis and Mary Leakey. Arrive at the Lodge in time for sunset over the caldera.

The Ngorongoro Crater in the Great Rift Valley is one of the natural wonders of the world. The extinct volcano that collapsed in on itself has formed a super bowl where the largest permanent concentration of African game is on display.

Wednesday 16 September

Today is a special day driving into the crater bowl - 250sq km of rich pasture and a haven for a resident population of more than 20,000 animals who are not confined to the crater walls but choose to make this their home. See gnu, zebra, gazelles, buffalo as well as hippos, the scarce black rhino and elephants. Time to reminisce back at the lodge.

Thursday 17 September

Early morning at leisure before departing for Arusha. Arrive at Lake Duluti for a guided walk and overnight.

Friday 18 September

Morning transfer to the airport for the flight to the island of Zanzibar. Check into hotel before a guided walking tour of the UNESCO World Heritage coastal town with its townscape virtually intact. Stone Town is an amalgam of Arab, Persian, Indian and European heritage with its narrow alleys, palaces, mosques, old houses and tiny shops.

Zanzibar (also known as the ‘Spice Island’), is an island steeped in culture and history – a destination which brought adventurers, seafarers and traders from far and wide.

Saturday 19 September

After breakfast, depart for a spice tour on the way to Nungwi, a village at the northern end of Zanzibar, for a two-night stay. Afternoon at leisure before dinner and overnight at the beachside Double Tree Hilton Hotel.

Sunday 20 September

Day at leisure with time to relax and reflect on your African experiences.

Monday 21 September

After breakfast transfer to Zanzibar Airport for our return flight via Nairobi to Dubai. Overnight Dubai.

Tuesday 22 September

Mid morning check in for our flight to Auckland

Wednesday 23 September

Arrive Auckland