UGANDA

Days 1 - 11

We transfer on day one to our camp by the White Nile. Here we spend our first few days below the legendary Source of the Nile, overlooking Bujagali Falls. We have our Predeparture meeting and you can get to know your fellow travellers whilst familiarising yourself with the charm and beauty of Africa.

Take a village walk, canoe, swim and throw a fishing line in the river. Quad biking and horse riding are available as well as the bungee and zip wire. White water rafting in the equatorial sunshine amidst the lush tropical vegetation is for some one of the biggest highlights - get your heart pumping on rapids grade 3 to 5. There is also the option to volunteer for some community project work at a local school.  

Travelling to the capital, Kampala, we have the option to take a Sesse canoe across Lake Victoria to meet the cheeky chimps at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary on Ngamba Island.

Find out more about this primate during our visit whilst watching their antics at the supplementary morning meal. It is a perfect opportunity to get some great photos from the viewing platform. A traditional village meal is also provided for us during our visit, and we enjoy a swim in Lake Victoria on the return journey.

Leaving Kampala early we stop at the drum markets and on the equator for photos, before heading to the wilds to camp in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The cruise on the Kazinga Channel is a very special way to be introduced to viewing game, as hippo wallow close by in the water and elephant play in and by the Channel. The park has also lion, leopard, jackal, Uganda kob, buffalo and waterbuck amongst other animals of the plain and is famous for a myriad of different bird species particularly the peculiar four foot tall shoebill stork.

Please note Queen Elizabeth National Park is included in the compulsory kitty including the game cruise on Kazinga Channel.

RWANDA

From Queen Elizabeth we are on our way to the Virungas, and our trek to see the endangered mountain gorilla, a species on the verge of extinction, threatened by poachers, the effects of civil war and loss of their forest habitat.

We currently usually trek the gorillas in the Parc Nacional de Volcans in Rwanda where Dian Fossey worked. Alternatively occasionally permits are bought in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda.

The gorilla trek is a once in a lifetime opportunity to view a gentle and intelligent primate in its natural habitat. Closely related to us the gorilla lives in family groups under the charge of the silverback who is an older dominant male weighing up to 350 pounds. We spend an hour with a group, as they eat, sleep, groom and play the day away in lush jungle, their environment being described as a giant 'salad bowl', their days being spent foraging for bamboo, wild celery, nettles and other vegetation.

Our journey also takes us via Kigale, the capital of Rwanda and during our stay in Rwanda time is allowed to visit the Genocide Museum and to reflect on the horrors of the hundred days of killing that took place in 1994 which tragically left up to a million people dead. We also visit a local orphanage and enjoy a night out in a Ruhengeri restaurant.

Optional excursions: White water rafting, kyaking, canoeing, voluntary work in a local school, quad biking, horse riding, bungee jump, village walk, chimpanzee sanctuary, mountain gorilla trek.

TANZANIA

Days 12 - 17

We drop down into Tanzania below Lake Victoria, driving on some true African back roads into Arusha, stopping over to camp in the grounds of local schools or hotels on the way, and giving us a chance to get to a feel for the world away from the main tourist drag.

From here we head out on game drives in customised land cruisers with a local guide into the ancient caldera of Ngorongoro Crater and on to the Serengeti.

The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai word 'Siringet' 'endless plain', the endless vast grassy plains being our home to camp for a night. Here on the plains of the Serengeti the big herds of wildebeest, Thomson’s gazelle and zebra mass as part of the largest single movement of wildlife on earth – the famous migration. The herds are usually found in the largest numbers in the park from late November through to June. Of course wherever the herds are we watch out for the predators, lion, leopard and cheetah as well as hunting dog, hyena and jackals in pursuit of their next meal.  

The park is also home to great concentrations of other plains animals throughout the year with giraffe, elephant, black and white rhino, topi, waterbuck, roan antelope, hartebeest, impala, buffalo, Grant’s gazelle, warthog and hippo always resident, as well as Africa’s gorgeous and zany birdlife including secretary birds, crowned crested cranes and ostrich.  

                 The Migration

                                                      For more information including

                                                      migration times click here...

Following our day’s game drives in the Serengeti, we then descend the 2,000 feet into the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest extinct volcano, to view rhino, hippo, lion, elephant, hyena, buffalo, zebra, impala, wildebeest, cheetah, monkey, ostrich and flamingo.

During our time in this region we will also pass traditional Maasai herdsmen tending their cattle by the road. We stop over at Mto Wa Mbu to mingle with the locals and haggle for curios. A visit to a traditional Maasai village is arranged as well as to a museum with displays outlining the social structures of traditional Maasai life.  

Please note Ngorongoro Crater is included in the kitty including a visit to a Maasai village and museum.

Optional excursions: Serengeti National Park.

Days 18 – 24

We now head south on a days drive to Dar Es Salaam on the Indian Ocean Coast. Kilimanjaro can be seen on a lucky day rising high above the surrounding savanna. It is from Dar that we catch the ferry to the exotic Spice Island of Zanzibar.  

Arriving in the port of Stone Town, wander the winding, narrow streets and colourful bazaars of the traditional capital, Stone Town, where we stay a night for a taste of Swahili culture. Take a spice tour for a glimpse of the history of the island's spice trade. Enjoy fresh sea food in the bustling evening food markets and sundowners at Africa House as the traditional dhows sail into the harbour against the colours of sunset.  

Three nights are arranged to stay in beach cottages so you can complete your safari relaxing on the palm fringed white beaches of the island. There is time for a snorkel trip to Prison Island to view giant land tortoise, and to snorkel amongst colourful fish and corals in the tropical waters at Mnemba Atoll. Dolphin boat trips can also be organised and a visit to Jozani Forest's troop of indigenous red colobus monkeys.

Zanzibar is the perfect island paradise to finish your safari.

Optional excursion: Zanzibar Island.

Talk with us the special arrangements we can make for your stay in beach cottages and in the exotic capital, historic Stone Town.  

Other options on the Island include snorkelling excursions to Prison Island and to Mnemba Atoll, a dolphin boat trip, Jozani Forest visit to see the red colobus, scuba diving.  

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