Price From: $18,950.00 pp Twin Share or $22,200.00 Single

With our 1st tour departure date fully booking out, we have made a 2nd departure date available for those who are still want to join our Wonders of Kenya & Tanzania Safari Tour.

An awe-inspiring African safari, where history, culture, and magnificent wildlife converge. Explore the region’s most renowned game reserves and national parks, offering an abundance of game amid ravishingly beautiful and dramatic panoramas that will leave you breathless.

Highlights include:

• The tour is full of daily highlights but some of the more prominent highlights include:
  • Diverse modern Dubai
  • Nairobi, the Kenyan capital
  • Mt Kenya & Mt Kilimanjaro
  • The Great Rift Valley
  • Masai Mara National Reserve
  • Visit a Masai Village
  • Serengeti National Park
  • Amboseli, & Lake Nakuru National Parks
  • Outstanding hotel, lodge and tented camp accommodation

Accommodation:

• For this tour, we have chosen some of the very best of luxury lodges and wildlife camps available. These include:
  • Lake Elmenteita Serena Luxury Camp
  • Mara Intrepid Camp
  • Kirawira Serena Tented Camp, Serengeti
  • Serena Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
  • Amboseli Serena Lodge in the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro

  Some of the camps offer tented accommodation but these tents are something else. All of the accommodation tents include ensuite bathrooms, wooden floors, electricity and heating and the finest of bed linen. The “mess” and lounge tents are furnished with your comfort in mind even to the point of chandelier lighting, grand sofas and bookcases. Enjoy sundowner drinks around the campfire in the evening before retiring to the “mess” tent for “silver service” dinner. “Out of Africa” safari camp luxury!

ITINERARY

Thursday 13 June                  Auckland – Dubai

Late this afternoon, we report to the airport and join the flight to Dubai. 

Friday 14 June                       Dubai                                                (B,D)

We arrive in Dubai early this morning and after clearing Customs and Immigration formalities, we are met and transferred to our hotel for a two-night stay. There is time to rest up after the flight until mid-afternoon when we visit the Palm Jumeirah – one of the world’s most daring developments. Jutting out into the Arabian Gulf, this man-made archipelago was built in the shape of a palm tree, with a 3-mile-long trunk and a fan of fronds lined with luxury villas and five-star hotels. From water parks and wildlife encounters to beach clubs and restaurants, there is an array of different activities on offer. One of the first things that strike you when visiting the Palm Jumeirah is its size. This giant archipelago is visible from space and the outer crescent is more than 10 miles long. Afterward, we visit the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 160 stories high. We travel to the observation deck which will provide you with a breath-taking unobstructed 360-degree view of the city, desert and ocean. We return to the hotel where we have dinner this evening.

Saturday 15 June                   Dubai                                               (B,D)

This morning we take a sightseeing tour of the city – a fascinating historical excursion which takes you to the magnificent Jumeirah mosque and past modern palaces sprawled along the coast. In Bastakiya, see the old wind-towered houses built by wealthy merchants and the 150-year old Al Fahidi Fort. We continue our journey coach to the gold and spice souks, where we see bustling alleys with the aromas of the numerous spices and dazzling jewellery. Next up, we visit the area of La Mer – a new area nestled between Pearl Jumeira and the upcoming Jumeira Bay. There is time to explore this artsy community and to get some lunch at one of the trendy cafes before we  return to the hotel to relax & freshen up prior to our evening activity – a four-wheel drive excursion over rolling dunes deep into the heart of the desert. Watch the sun cast its orange glow over the shimmering sand and enjoy dinner and entertainment under the stars in Bedu tents. NB: For those who may have been to Dubai previously, there is the opportunity to join a tour to Abu Dhabi today, in place of the arrangements above. Price is available on request.

Sunday 16 June                     Dubai  – Nairobi                                                 (B,L,D)

A morning transfer to the airport where we join the 5 hour flight to Nairobi. We are met on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport and transferred to the Nairobi Serena Hotel, Nairobi’s finest hotel, for a two night stay. 

Monday 17 June                    Nairobi                                                  (B,L,D)

After a leisurely morning, we visit the nursery at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orphanage. Working across Kenya, their projects include anti-poaching, safe guarding the natural environment, enhancing community awareness, addressing animal welfare issues, providing veterinary assistance to animals in need, rescuing and hand rearing elephant and rhino orphans, along with other species that can ultimately enjoy a quality of life in wild terms when grown. We then visit The Giraffe Centre, the creation of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (A.F.E.W. Kenya), a Kenyan non-profit organisation. Their main purpose is to educate Kenyan school children and youth on their country’s wildlife and environment, as well as give local and international visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with the world’s tallest species, the giraffe. We return to the hotel in the afternoon and there is time at leisure before we meet up again this evening. 

Tuesday 18 June                   Nairobi – Mt. Kenya                                                 (B,L,D)

After breakfast at the hotel, we enjoy a morning drive to the Mount Kenya region, arriving in time for lunch at our lodge. In the afternoon, we will enjoy our first game drive before dinner. Our accommodation is at Sweet Waters Tented Camp, with magnificent views across the plains to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya. The luxury tents overlook the waterhole, floodlit at night, providing excellent and rarely seen game viewing. 

Wednesday 19 June              Mt. Kenya – Great Rift Valley                                                  (B,L,D)

After breakfast, our drive takes us to the floor of the Great Rift Valley up the Mau Escarpment, destination Lake Nakuru National Park where the waters of the lake are often coloured shimmering Flamingo pink from thousands of birds lining the shore. We enjoy a hot lunch before proceeding on an afternoon game-viewing drive. We end the day at Soysambu Conservancy, where we can relax for 2 nights at our stunning accommodation, Lake Elmenteita Serena Luxury Camp. 

Thursday 20 June                 Lake Nakuru Game Reserve                                                 (B,L,D)After breakfast, the drive will take us to Lake Nakuru game reserve.  This is another famous lake that has a plentiful population of aquatic birds who enjoy the alkaline lake environment. 

Friday 21 June                      Great Rift Valley – Masai Mara                                                 (B,L,D)We drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve offering wonderful scenery and plenty of game. It is perhaps the only region left in Kenya where the visitor may see animals in the same super abundance as existed a century ago. We arrive at our camp in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive. Our home for 3 nights is the Mara Serena Lodge. It is on this very terrain where the great annual migration takes place, when millions of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle traverse the landscape to feed on rich new grass and give birth to their young calves. The Masai Mara National Reserve is home to gazelle, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, leopard, the legendary black-maned lion and many more.  Our lodge is ideally located to enjoy this unique phenomenon.

Saturday 22 June                  Masai Mara                                                 (B,L,D)

We spend a full day in the area with morning and afternoon game drives and visits to neighbouring Masai communities. The game viewing is excellent with a large population of the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard, together with prolific wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, cheetah and hyena. 

Sunday 23 June                     Masai Mara                                                 (B,L,D)

Today, we can take some time out to relax and enjoy our surroundings.  The early risers may wish to enjoy an optional balloon ride offering spectacular views over the region or you may wish to have another morning game drive.  For some, just sitting by the wonderful pool enjoying the view will suit just fine. 

Monday 24 June                    Masai Mara – Serengeti                                                  (B,L,D)

Today, we cross the border into Tanzania as we drive to the Serengeti National Park, undoubtedly the most famous wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and the greatest concentration of game anywhere. The exquisite Kirawira Tented Camp stands high on the bluff of a bush-cloaked ridge, commanding panoramic views over the endlessly rolling reaches and volcanic reefs of the Serengeti National Park.  The tented camp is the epitome of colonially-styled safari luxury.  

Tuesday 25 June                  Serengeti                                                  (B,L,D)

A full day in the Serengeti with game drives and the opportunity to relax. (Look out for the surprise breakfast today!).  It was 1913 and great stretches of Africa were still unknown to the white man when Stewart Edward White, an American hunter, set out from Nairobi. Pushing south, he recorded: “We walked for miles over burnt out country… Then I saw the green trees of the river, walked two miles more and found myself in paradise.” He had found Serengeti which has come to symbolize paradise to many, especially the Masai, who have grazed their cattle on the vast grassy plains for millennia. To them it was Siringitu – “the place where the land goes on forever.” 

Wednesday 26 June             Serengeti                                                 (B,L,D)

We spend another full day in the Serengeti, enjoying the surroundings and viewing wildlife. The wildlife is plentiful, the landscape is fascinating and our lodge is filled with all the comforts one could need. We stay at Mbuzi Mawe this evening. 

Thursday 27 June                 Serengeti – Ngorongoro Conservation Area                                                 (B,L,D)

We drive to the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world. Its endearing charm stems from its overwhelming physical beauty and the abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater floor. En route, we visit Olduvai Gorge, site of archeological findings where traces of pre-historic man dating back 3.5 million years have been discovered. We arrive at our lodge in time for lunch with the remainder of the day at leisure. We spend 2 nights at Serena Ngorongoro Lodge. 

Friday 28 June                      Ngorongoro Conservation Area                                                 (B,L,D)

The jewel in Ngorongoro’s crown is the deep volcanic crater, the largest un-flooded and unbroken caldera in the world. About 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 square kms in area, the crater is a breath-taking natural wonder. It contains a huge number and variety of wildlife and fauna.  We have the full day to explore the crater. 

Saturday 29 June                 Ngorongoro – Amboseli                                                 (B,L,D)

Today we drive back across the border into Kenya and Amboseli National Park set below the most famous symbol in Africa – Mt. Kilimanjaro. Our home for the next 2 nights is Amboseli Serena Lodge in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro set beside acacia trees and a natural spring amidst more big game than perhaps anywhere else in Africa. The Lodge is in harmony with its environment offering unique guest services and exceptional amenities.

Sunday 30 June                     Amboseli                                                 (B,L,D)

We will have plenty of time for morning and afternoon game drives, enjoying the view of “The Roof of Africa”, Mt Kilimanjaro. Here the major attraction is the large herds of elephants. 

Monday 01 July                    Amboseli – Nairobi – Dubai                                                  (B,L)

We depart Amboseli and travel back to Nairobi Airport. Late afternoon, we join our flight to Dubai. Arrival time is late evening and overnight accommodation is reserved at the airport. 

Tuesday 02 July                   Dubai – Auckland                                                                 (B)

Time for the last leg of our journey on our flight home. 

Wednesday 03 July              Auckland

Arrive Auckland early afternoon.

 

Maher 2024

Images Courtesy of Maher Tours