11-Day Spirit and Soul of Africa (Kenya/Tz) – High End

You'll have an early morning drive to Masai Mara National Reserve. It holds on as one of the few places left on earth where wildlife still lives comparatively undisturbed, in the numbers that once roamed the plains and forests of Africa. As the northern tip of the vast Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara hosts the spectacular seasonal migration of many thousands of wildebeest, zebras and attendant predators. You will arrive in time for lunch followed by an afternoon game drive.

You'll have one full day in the Masai Mara with a flexible schedule and unlimited mileage. After breakfast, we will have a full-day game drive with packed lunch provided. The reserve is well known for its black-manned lions as well as its abundant resident wildlife. It’s one of the few places where it's possible to see the Big Five during a morning game drive. Many of the cheetahs are so tame they seek shelter from the hot sun under one's vehicle and several even climb onto the roof to get a better view of prospective prey. For the bird enthusiast, almost 500 species have been recorded: among these, 16 species of eagle, many hawks and falcons, 6 species of vultures, 8 species of storks, 4 of bustard (including the kori bustard, the world's heaviest flying bird), and 9 species of sunbirds.

We will initiate the day with an early morning game drive in Masai Mara while driving out of the national reserve. After border formalities, drive to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It will be a long day of driving but the game drives going in and out of the parks can be surprisingly incredible. However, we always recommend flying from one park to the other so that you can have more time to go on safari. Alternatively, you can add an extra day to visit Lake Victoria, halfway between the two parks.

As you crest the hillside, spread out before you, as far as the eyes can see, is the vast Serengeti. Serengeti means "endless plains" in Kiswahili. This 6,900 sq. mile (18,000 sq. km) park is inhabited by more than 2 million large animals including more than a million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of plains zebras, and Thomson's gazelles. Large predators including lions, cheetahs, and hyenas are drawn to the area by this abundance of prey which migrates throughout the park. Many smaller animals like rock hyrax, bat-eared foxes, mongoose, honey badgers, jackals, monkeys, baboons and African hares also inhabit the area along with nearly 500 species of birds. On the way into the Serengeti, you have an option to stop at the famous Olduvai Gorge, where Dr Louis and Mary Leakey made their discovery of the first man that walked the earth. You'll have an afternoon game drive en-route to the campsite.

In the morning, transfer to Ngorongoro, the 8th Natural Wonder of the World. You'll stop for a picnic lunch. In the afternoon descent down to the crater floor for a day of wildlife viewing in one of the most incredible places on earth. With walls 2,000 ft high and a crater floor that spreads for 102 sq. miles, the crater is a virtual Noah's Ark, inhabited by almost every species of wildlife indigenous to East Africa including the rare black rhino. In fact, the crater has the greatest concentration of wildlife on the planet. It contains a river, several swamps and a soda lake that from the top looks like steam. It's full of flamingoes, forest and open plains. Later on, drive up the steep road out of the crater and transfer to your accommodation for your overnight stay.

After breakfast, depart and drive across the Great Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park for a full-day game drive. Although only 205 sq. miles in size, this enchanting park is noted for its beauty and incredibly lush acacia forest of giant figs and mahogany trees, which are home to troops of baboons and blue monkeys. The park is also home to a large number of buffalos, giraffes, elephants, impalas and a Hippo Lake, where large numbers of hippos usually gather. Well known for its birds (over 400 different species), Lake Manyara is one of the few places where you'll be able to see the ground hornbill and the crested eagle. This park has become famous for the climbing lions and the flamingos on the lakeshore. The game drives are done along the shores of the lake, providing incredible views of giraffes and buffalos in the foreground with the lake, flamingos and flat plains on the horizon. You'll have great photo opportunities and you can also do a walking and night safari.

Early in the morning you'll start and drive to Amboseli National Park. Check in at your accommodation and in the afternoon, have a rest or game drive, as you prefer. Amboseli National Park is situated south of Nairobi, most of the park consists of a dry, ancient lake bed and fragile grassland with patches of acacia woodland, while in the southern area there is a number of small rocky volcanic hills. Around the swamps Ol OKenya, Ol Tukai and Enkongo Narok, the vegetation is lush with yellow-barked acacias and phoenix palms.

You'll rise up early for good views of Mount Kilimanjaro before clouds build up over the summit with packed lunch provided. Despite its changing habitat, Amboseli National Park is possibly the best wildlife area in the whole of Africa to experience elephants at close range. Left unharassed by poachers, elephants feeding and bathing in the swamps must form the highlights of any safari.

You'll have a morning game drive in Amboseli. An optional visit to a Maasai village can also be planned. A visit reveals the singing and dancing that are part of their daily lives and sacred rituals. A glimpse into their homes and social structure is a poignant experience. Early in the afternoon, drive to Nairobi arriving at about 5:00 pm, and transfer to your hotel or the airport.