Down the Valley Safari

After breakfast, depart for the Masai Mara National Reserve, an enormous wildlife haven that is Kenya’s leading safari destination. It is home to numerous interesting species of animals and birds, and your expert Kenyan guide will help you find them. And it is geographically part of the vast Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, and combined, they stage the spectacular annual wildebeest migration as the massive herds cross back and forwards over the Mara River to follow the new rains and fresh pastures. Arrive in time for lunch, then explore the Mara on an afternoon game drive, and in the evening, relax around the fire at our camp/lodge before dinner.

• Overnight in Masai Mara National Reserve
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water, all other drinks are extra

The next two days will be spent game-viewing in the expansive Masai Mara, and after an early breakfast and with packed lunches, a full day is spent exploring the reserve. On the grassy plains and rocky kopjes look for the Big Five—lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino—and other animals to spot include cheetah, giraffe, hyena, warthog, jackal and various species of antelope like Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, waterbuck and hartebeest. In the many watercourses you may spot pods of hippos, and the Mara River is home to some of the biggest crocodiles in Africa. An optional hot air balloon safari can be arranged for US$425 per person, and it’s a wonderful experience to float over the plains and rivers in the first light of dawn and watch the wildlife below.

• Overnight in Masai Mara National Reserve
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water, all other drinks are extra

As well as early morning and late afternoon game drives, this is a day to relax and enjoy the scenic beauty of the Masai Mara from the comfort of your camp/lodge. Spa treatments are available at most accommodation options for an extra cost, and visiting a Maasai village is another optional extra for US$20 per person. The national reserve is named after the Maasai people, the ancient tribe that inhabits the region, and this excursion is a wonderful introduction to the culture of the semi-nomadic Maasai warriors who have a deep and symbolic relationship with the lands and animals of the Mara. You’ll be greeted with exuberant singing and dancing and invited to explore a Maasai home to further learn about their traditional way of life.

• Overnight in Masai Mara National Reserve
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water, all other drinks are extra

Our morning drive goes from the Masai Mara to the Isebania border with Tanzania where we swap from Kenyan to Tanzanian guides and vehicles and begin your Tanzanian safari. Continue to the western gate of the Serengeti National Park—meaning ‘endless plains’ in the Maasai language, it is one of Africa’s largest and most celebrated wilderness areas. You will spend the next two nights at a comfortable safari lodge or tented camp, which is located in the south-central region of the park known as the Seronera Valley. It’s a very scenic area with acacia-studded open plains lined with low hills and abundant wildlife including large numbers of big cats.

• Overnight in Serengeti National Park
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water, all other drinks are extra

Today is a full-day safari in the Serengeti to look for the numerous animals and birds, all expertly identified by your Tanzanian safari guide. Grazing herbivores include giraffe, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, waterbuck, hartebeest, eland and topi, and you’ll see hippos wallowing in the pools and large crocodiles sunning themselves on the riverbanks. The Serengeti is famous for its large prides of lion, cheetah that are seen hunting in family groups, and other predators like jackal, hyena and bat-eared fox are often seen on the prowl in the early morning. Depending on the season, you may witness the annual wildebeest migration, when an estimated two million hooved animals move between the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. There is another opportunity to take the memorable, out-of-the-ordinary experience by starting the day with an optional hot air balloon safari; US$599 per person.

• Overnight in Serengeti National Park
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water, all other drinks are extra

Departing the Serengeti, we drive into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This highland region of plains, woodlands and forests protects the 600-metre-deep Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest caldera and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was formed when a volcano erupted and collapsed on itself approximately two and a half million years ago, and the well-fertilised volcanic soils create rich grazing for the animals and it is often referred to as ‘the Garden of Eden’. On the way, and for an extra fee, you can stop at the museum at Olduvai Gorge to learn about the archaeological excavations that escalated the studies of early man. We drive down to the crater floor with a picnic lunch, and your expert guide will show you every corner of the dramatic landscape to see some of the 20,000 or so large mammals that live there. These include a number of black rhino, and it’s also well-known for high densities of carnivores including leopard, lion, hyena and jackal. When we ascend back to the crater rim, you may catch a glimpse of a magnificent sunset before heading to our camp/lodge.

• Overnight in Ngorongoro Conservation Area
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water, all other drinks are extra

After breakfast, we depart the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and drive to Arusha. After stopping off at Arusha Coffee Lodge for our final lunch, we proceed to the Namanga border with Kenya and drive back to the capital Nairobi where this exciting 8-day safari ends on arrival in the early evening.

• No accommodation; this is the last day
• Breakfast & lunch (dinner not included)
• Drinking water, all other drinks are extra