Kenya & Tanzania Adventure

Begin your adventure in Nairobi, the capital and largest city in Kenya. There are no activities planned, so relax and settle into Nairobi life. Around 6pm say jambo to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big Kenyan welcome by arranging a group dinner. Want to explore further? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Bid farewell to Nairobi and travel west into the Great Rift Valley, taking a scenic route to the lakeside town of Naivasha, where we stay tonight. Enjoy a boat ride while the crew set up the camp, with the chance to spot some of beautiful birdlife and elusive hippos.

Drive to Lake Nakuru National Park this morning, where we enjoy a superb game drive. Although small, the park is home to an amazing variety of animals and birdlife. The soda lake here is sometimes home to thousands of flamingos. We hope to see endangered white and black rhinos, lions and, if we are very lucky, the elusive leopard. There is a stunning view above the lake from Baboon Cliffs and here we may see a rock hyrax, a small, furry relative of the elephant. Tonight, we stay just outside the park in a campsite with showers and flush toilets.

Travel into the Masai Mara, one of the most famous ecosystems in the world. This vast grassland is teeming with life; plains game including wildebeest, gazelle, topis, zebras and buffalos, and never far away are the predators: cheetahs, lions and hyenas. Between mid-August and late October, one of the greatest spectacles on Earth takes place in the Mara – the annual migration of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and zebras. Nothing is guaranteed on safari but, with the help of our brilliant guides, you should see and learn a huge amount about the resident wildlife as we game drive through the park this afternoon, jumping into 4x4 vehicles for a better game drive experience. We stay in a campsite just outside the reserve for the next two nights.

We have a full-day game drive in the Masai Mara to increase our chances of encountering many of the wildlife species in the reserve. We find a quiet spot inside the park to enjoy lunch by our vehicle, looking across the plains. There are also several optional excursions you can enjoy today in addition to the game drive, including visiting a traditional Maasai village to meet the residents.

Our long drive today is up through the Western Highlands and allows plenty of time to appreciate the superb scenery. The road begins to descend and we leave the neatly ordered rows of tea bushes as we cross into Tanzania at the Sirari/Isebania Border. We camp in a pleasant spot at Musoma on the shore of Lake Victoria.

Today, we turn east and enter the vast Serengeti Plain, one of the largest parks in Africa. There is a choice of routes into the Serengeti, depending on the weather: if it is dry, the 80mi (130km) Western Corridor is open and usually full of plains game. If it is wet, however, this road, which is built on black cotton soil, is impassable and we must enter the park from the north at Ndabaka gate. We spend two nights in the park, so we have plenty of time to enjoy the vast open spaces and the variety of game. We camp at Seronera, where there are various camping areas, all in open bush with no fences to prevent the animals from visiting during the night. A real taste of wild Africa!

We set off early, game driving through the eastern section of the Serengeti National Park, where it is unusual not to spot a lion pride sheltering under a big, shady tree. Having crossed the vast grasslands, we arrive at Naabi Hill Gate: the main entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. After passing through, we drive up towards the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. Reaching the top, we can see one of Africa’s great natural wonders: it’s the largest unbroken caldera in the world – housing grassy plains, lush forest, a soda lake and abundant wildlife. From the rim, the cliff plunges down some 1,970ft (600m) to the crater floor with a whole host of extinct volcanoes ringing the valley. We switch into 4x4s at the crater entrance and embark on a game drive to spot the wildlife that lives within. After, we continue to our camp just outside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The site is basic but does have wifi.

Bid farewell to the camp and continue our journey to the edge of the Rift Valley, where there is a great view over Lake Manyara (often tinted pink around the edges from large numbers of flamingos). Later, we arrive into Arusha, ready for our flight to Zanzibar tomorrow.

We take a morning flight to Zanzibar, an island 22mi (35km) from the mainland. First visited by Arab traders in the eighth century, and countless travellers in the following centuries, it is most famous for its spices and was once the centre of the East African slave trade. We spend our first night in Stone Town and then two nights by the beach. Stone Town is a myriad of small alleys and markets. We recommend a spice tour around the island plantations with chances to taste and buy.

After a free morning in Stone Town, we transfer to our hotel by the beach. There is plenty to occupy your days here. You can relax on the eastern and northern beaches, with excellent snorkelling, sailing in a dhow and plenty of fresh seafood. The local buses are efficient and enable you to travel all over the island if you wish to explore independently. It’s a fascinating mixture of culture, history and wonderful beaches.

Our adventure ends after breakfast and we begin our return journeys home. If you’d like more time to explore, speak to your sales representative about extending your stay.