relax,rejuvenate and enjoy your Trip to Kenya
Great Wildbest migration Safari in Kenya and Tanzania
- COUNTRY:
- Kenya, Tanzania
- LOCATION:
- Masai Mara, Serengeti National Park
- DEPARTURES:
- This trip can be tailor made throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements
- PRICE:
- From US $3,287 (EU €2,387) - US $3,577 (EU €2,598) (10 days) per adult and US $2,385 (EU €1,732) - US $2,540 (EU €1,845) per child (under 12)
- MORE INFO:
- Price is per person based on two people sharing (season dependant). Price includes all transport, English speaking guide, activities & tours, park fees, accommodation and meals (as per itinerary).
Photo Gallery: Great Wildbest migration Safari in Kenya and Tanzania
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Great Wildebeest Migration safari in Kenya and Tanzania
Your safari begins with a journey right into the heart of the Masai land where you will be hosted by Masai tribesman – this is generally regarded as being the highlight of the trip for many of our past-clients. A totally unique experience of accompanying Masai guides as they walk through the Loita hills, sharing their knowledge of the local plants and animals with you. You can herd cattle with the men, bead jewelry with the women, visit the children in their little local schools and later fill your evenings with their stories by the fire. After your busy day, relax in the waters of natural hot springs – all under the equatorial stars.
Your next destination, the Masai Mara National Reserve, is said to be one of the world’s finest game-viewing destinations. The richness of the fauna and flora and the untouched life of Africa, continuing as it has for thousands of years, is only secondary to the Mara's annual migration of wildebeest. The spectacle of more than a million of these creatures moving as a great mass across the savannah is one of the most breathtaking sights in nature. Unique pleasure of a night game drive will also take a place here, where you can see a wide variety of animals not normally seen during the day, including aardvarks, bat-eared fox, porcupines, bush babies, bushbucks, mongoose, genet cats and a number of nocturnal birds. Why not ask us to book you an amazing hot-air balloon ride over the Masai Mara to see the vast expanses and wildlife from an unforgettable perspective.
Your journey leads you across the border to Tanzania up to Lake Victoria - Speke Bay. Divided between three countries: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, this is Africa’s largest lake and the world’s third-largest freshwater lake. Speke Bay is part of Speke Gulf, named after the famous explorer John Hanning Speke, who, in 1858, discovered Lake Victoria to be the source of the Nile. A traditional canoe trip followed by a guided walk in a local fishing village will give you a real insight into daily life on Lake Victoria.
After a short drive you will arrive at Serengeti National park (an endless savannah that sprawls across 5757 square miles - that’s 14,763 square km!), which will be your home for the next three nights. This itinerary is designed to allow you to cover almost every part of the park, giving you the best views of the natural beauty, as well as the best game-viewing opportunities. You will move from the west to the central area, then to the south ensuring that you can capture the great wildebeest migration, no matter what period of the year you travel.
The migration traditionally follows the rains to take advantage of the new grasses on the plains of the Serengeti and Masai Mara. Theoretically, if traditional weather patterns occur annually, the following information will provide a basic idea of how the migration moves throughout the year:
Late December / early January – Ndutu region, Tanzania.
Traditionally, this is when the calves are born. The migration remains passive until April when the calves are strong enough to start moving north.
Early April / May / June – Serengeti, Tanzania.
The migration begins moving north-west following the long rains across the Serengeti plains towards the western corridor and the Grumeti River.
June / July – Western corridor, Tanzania.
The animals gather in the western corridor.
August / September – Masai Mara, Kenya.
The migration crosses the Grumeti River and moves north-east into the northern steps of Masai Mara.
October / November / Early December – Masai Mara, Kenya/Northern Tanzania / Serengeti.
As the short rains begin in northern Tanzania, the migration begins to move south back into the Klein’s/Lobo region of the Serengeti. From here, they follow the rains through to Seronera and end up at Ndutu for the calving season. As the migration follows the rains, there is no hard and fast rule as to where the animals will be, and when.
Your next destination will be the stunning Ngorongoro Crater, 12.4 miles (20 km) wide, 1968ft (600m) deep, makes it the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world. It is home to a permanent population of more than 30,000 animals, including lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes as well as many of the plains herbivores such as wildebeest, Thomson's gazelle, zebra and reedbuck, not to forget the thousands of flamingos wading in the shallows of Lake Magadi, the soda lake on the floor of the crater. Maasai tribesman have grazing rights in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, so it is not unusual to see Maasai cattle and buffalo grazing together, with a lion kill just a few hundred meters away.
Your final stop will be at the Manyara National Park which is located between the Great Rift Valley's cliff escarpment and the shallow alkaline lake, Lake Manyara. The lake attracts considerable amount of birdlife, and its surrounding terrain contains such a rich mosaic of different habitats that it supports a large number of animals. This park is famous for the slight differences in the appearance and behaviour of some of the animal species – such as the tree-climbing lions or the giraffes which are quite a bit darker than their other Tanzanian counterparts. Wild animals that you can expect to see here include monkeys, antelopes, zebras, crocodiles, buffalo and a a huge number of elephants. It is also a bird-watcher’s paradise with over 350 species including flamingo, stork, pelican, sacred ibis, cormorant and Egyptian goose.
Day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive, Masai plains. Depart from Nairobi and travel towards Masai Mara plains, to a local Masai village, where Masai people will be your hosts for two days. Afternoon guided walk and evening hot spring bathing. Overnight at Maji Moto Eco Camp (FB). |
| Day 2: | School visit. Full day Masai cultural experience with local school visit. *Optional mountain bike riding can be arranged. Overnight at Maji Moto Eco Camp (FB). |
| Day 3: | Warrior training. Morning Masai warrior training, than travel to Masai Mara with game drive on route. Afternoon game drive. Overnight at Mara Tented Camp (FB). |
| Day 4: | Game viewing at Masai Mara National Reserve & Night game drive. Overnight at Mara Tented Camp (FB). |
| Day 5: | Tanzania. Travel towards Tanzania with game drive and lunch on route. Afternoon at leisure by the lake Victoria (Tanzania). Overnight at Speke Bay Lodge (FB). |
| Day 6: | Fisherman's village Morning boat trip to fisherman’s village. Depart to western Serengeti. Afternoon game viewing. Overnight at Ikoma Tented Camp (FB). |
| Day 7: | Serengeti National Park. Game viewing at Serengeti National Park. Overnight at Ikoma Tented Camp (FB). |
| Day 8: | Game viewing. Travel through central Serengeti to southern part of the park with game viewing on route. Overnight at Ndutu Tented Camp (FB) |
| Day 9: | Ngorongoro crater. Short drive and descent to Ngorongoro crater for a full day game drive. Overnight at Crater Forest Tented Camp (FB) |
| Day 10: | Lake Manyara National park. Depart towards Lake Manyara National park for game viewing. Continue you travel to Arusha town. (B,L) You can perfectly finish this trip with an optional Zanzibar beach extension. |
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment:
We aim to reveal the ‘real’ Africa to our customers. Our journey tries to stay off the beaten track as we fully believe in preserving the natural African beauty by aiming to promote local cultures and protecting the environment. We are constantly adapting and enhancing our route plan if we become aware of new points of interest and carefully select our accommodation and lodges after thoroughly evaluating their suitability for our clients. Wherever we can, we use eco-friendly camps and lodges, where management acts responsibly to the environment and local communities in all aspects possible.
Our business is small and thus unlike big agents we deal with our clients on a personal basis tailoring their journey to their needs as much as we can. Africa is our passion and we want to pass on all our knowledge and experiences gained over the years to our clients.
Maji Moto Eco Camp - The camp has been designed to be part of the environment and blend in naturally. It features Masai style dining areas, showers and toilets. Only local materials were used (sticks, grass, cow dung, stones). Accommodation is tented, and tents are put down and stored after every departure. No trees were destroyed during the building. The camp is truly a place to escape from the fullness of everyday life, with no generator it is simple and traditional, with candles, lanterns and camp fires in the evening. Small solar panels are in place to provide electricity for charging cameras and mobile phones batteries. There are no game drives from the camp, to reduce the impact of travelling with vehicles throughout the African journey.
Mara Tented Camp - This peaceful, community run tented camp, is located just outside the Masai Mara National Reserve, on a community ranch that borders the Reserve. Nestled into the Acacia tree grove, on the edge of a small, seasonal river, this lovely camp offers fine food, excellent service and all the comforts of home, but under canvas. You can relax on your private veranda, enjoying nature and letting the world to go by. The camp has twelve well furnished tents, dining room and a lounge. All tents have en-suite bathrooms and hot water showers. The camp is run on solar power. Apart from game drives they can arrange walking safaris from the camp and night game drives.
Crater Forest Tented Camp - Established on a highland coffee plantation called Kirin Coffee Estate, altitude 1,800 meters above sea-level, the lodge occupies previously cultivated fields directly bordering Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. The land immediately surrounding the lodge is being restored to some of its natural forest habitat, with the lodge management overseeing the conversion from crop cultivation to regeneration of indigenous groundcover, helping the change along by reintroducing around the lodge trees and shrubs natural to the area.
The lodge is operated as an eco-friendly small scale lodge with 15 tented rooms, all on platforms with magnificent views over the Ngorongoro Forest. The rooms are spacious and all have ensuite bathrooms with hot showers and toilets. For those chilly upland nights enjoy the warmth of your own African-style firepot. Wake up to the sounds of the awakening forest as a night full of nocturnal wildlife activities gives away to mistily rising sunlight. The area is also excellent for mountain biking, and the lodge has developed exciting trails to explore. Maasai guides from the lodge are more than happy to show you around the area, to tell you about their culture and to share their knowledge of local wildlife and vegetation with you. As the lodge is on part of a coffee farm, the management can also arrange a guided coffee tour.
Community:
Maji Moto Eco Camp - The camp is a joint venture between us and a local Masai community. Our key aims are to help the local community through the jobs we are able to provide yet at the same time to encourage young tribesman to preserve and nurture their culture. The camp was built, exclusively by local Masai people. This provided jobs for nearly 50 families at the time of a major Kenyan drought. Exploring the nature on foot with Masai guides, villages and school visits are daily activities here. The camp is also a base for our cycling trips.
