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Kenya: Masai Mara National Reserve - Uganda: Lake Nakuru National Park - Ngamba Island - Chimpanzee Sanctuary (optional) - Lake Victoria - Lake Bunyoni - Bunyoni Impenetrable Forest - Mountain Gorilla (optional) - Queen Elizabeth National Park - Nile River - Kenya: Great Rift Valley
Day 1 Nairobi to Lake Naivasha Hell’s Gate NP
Leaving Nairobi we travel north to Lake Naivasha and then to Hell’s Gate NP. Here, one of the more popular optional activities is to go game viewing on a bicycle. Optional Activities: Cycle hire, High Tea at Elsamere.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Day 2 Masai Mara National Reserve
The Masai Mara National Reserve is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti NP (located in Tanzania). Today the tour will be entering this huge area of spectacular game viewing to photograph some of Africa’s most abundant wildlife. Famous for the annual migration of around 1.5 million wildebeest, the Masai Mara is also home to many other animals, including lions. Cultural interaction with Kenya’s native Masaai people will round off your experience.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3 Nakuru National Park
This morning there’s more game viewing in the Masai Mara before we travel towards Lake Nakuru NP, a great place to spot flamingos. White Rhino also inhabit the transitional savannah area surrounding the lake
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 Uganda - Kampala
Leaving Lake Nakuru we drive to the Uganda border, and then stop for a photo at the equator. Later we arrive in Uganda’s capital and largest city, Kampala.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 Kampala Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary
Although officially this day is set aside for everyone to explore Kampala, most people take an optional day trip to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary of Ngamba Island. This non-profit eco-friendly project was set up in 1998 to care for orphaned chimpanzees. Optional Activities: Ngamba Chimpanzee Excursion, Kampala Markets, Dinner Out.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6 Lake Bunyonyi
Lake Bunyonyi is a small but attractive lake with steep sides and abundant birdlife. Ringed by mountains, the lake is best known for its dense Otter population and stunning scenery. We make use of this beautiful spot to relax the night before the final drive to the gorillas.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7/8/9 Gorillas
The mountain gorilla is extremely endangered and while exact numbers vary it is widely assumed that there are only around 650 left. Visiting the gorillas is a great way to support their future on earth as the money spent on permits is used for their protection. An extremely important part of the future conservation of the remaining gorillas rests in the community development work – as local communities change their attitudes towards wildlife and start to protect rather than poach, the future of the mountain gorilla is assured.
As permits granting permission to visit the gorillas are extremely limited we require flexibility in both the tour itinerary and where we actually visit them. The home of the mountain gorillas is completely at odds with man-made borders and so their range encompasses Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Whenever possible we choose to make use of the National Park in Uganda, but this depends on the availability of permits.
Should we not obtain permits to visit the mountain gorillas in Uganda then we will inform all passengers beforehand that the tour will travel to Rwanda or DRC.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Please note: Although there are 3-days allocated to Gorilla Trekking you will only spend one-day on the trek. The other days are there to provide a large enough window in which to obtain permits and to allow the entire group to trek if there are more than 6 of you on the tour.
Day 10 Queen Elizabeth National Park
Many game species are to be found in this wetland park including the (elsewhere elusive) giant forest hog, and the legendary tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha Sector. Optional Activities: Kasinga Channel Sunset Cruise.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11/12 Jinja
The morning is spent on further game viewing and this afternoon we travel to Jinja. Jinja is Uganda’s second largest city and is famous as the point where the Nile (officially the Victoria Nile) flows out of Lake Victoria and begins the 6695 kilometre journey to Egypt and the Mediterranean. If you do not want to go rafting, why not volunteer for the day at Soft Power Education, a UK registered charity that is doing a wonderful job educating Jinja’s youth. Optional Activities: White Water Rafting, Soft Power Education Project.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13 Kenya - Eldoret
Returning to Kenya we visit Eldoret, the country’s 5th largest city. The Great Rift Valley is still the dominant geographical feature of this region and the altitude at Eldoret is 2100 metres above sea level.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 14 Nairobi
Returning to Nairobi, the largest city in the East Africa region, there’s an optional dinner, where we can swap stories and exchange contact details. Optional Activities: Meal out in Nairobi.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Safari Facts
Price 2012: Camping EUR 795 + EUR 380 (for the Activity Package, which includes all acitivites that are mentioned as included in the itinerary, except for the optional activities)
Start in Nairobi/Kenya
End in Nairobi/Kenya
Gorilla Permit: Between USD 505 - 605
Meals B x 13, L x 14, D x 12
Tour in english
Accommodation: Participatory camping in twin share tents
Transport: Overland truck
NB: The itinerary is flexible and can be changed without notice in order to accommodate the best possible viewing of the Gorillas. The Permit price to visit the Gorillas can also change without notice.
Departure Dates 2012:
25-Apr-2012 to 08-May-2012
09-May-2012 to 22-May-2012
23-May-2012 to 05-Jun-2012
06-Jun-2012 to 19-Jun-2012
20-Jun-2012 to 03-Jul-2012
04-Jul-2012 to 17-Jul-2012
18-Jul-2012 to 31-Jul-2012
01-Aug-2012 to 14-Aug-2012
15-Aug-2012 to 28-Aug-2012
29-Aug-2012 to 11-Sep-2012
12-Sep-2012 to 25-Sep-2012
26-Sep-2012 to 09-Oct-2012
10-Oct-2012 to 23-Oct-2012
24-Oct-2012 to 06-Nov-2012
07-Nov-2012 to 20-Nov-2012
21-Nov-2012 to 04-Dec-2012
05-Dec-2012 to 18-Dec-2012
19-Dec-2012 to 01-Jan-2013
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