R and R 09 Itinerary

Rainforests and Reefs

16 Days from Kigale, Rwanda, to Zanzibar Island

A guide for all departures from 25 October 2009 onwards

RWANDA

days 1 - 3

This safari commences early afternoon of day one in Kigale, the capital of Rwanda. We have a departure meeting this afternoon, to familiarise ourselves with the truck and day to day life overlanding, and we take time to get to know our fellow travellers and enjoy a night out in the capital that evening.

Whilst in the city we also visit the Genocide Memorial and Museum, a sobering reminder of the horrors of the 1994 genocide.

From here we are on the way to the Parc Nacional de Volcans, a sanctuary for the mountain gorilla. Visiting the gorillas is our first big highlight, the visit taking us deep into the gorilla’s verdant forest world.

The night before our trek we stay in Ruhengeri sleeping in a simple lodge. We also enjoy some time with the kids in a local orphanage and preschool.

Ruhengeri provides fabulous views of the famous volcanoes that are home to the endangered mountain gorilla.

The current estimate is that there are only about 720 mountain gorillas left in the world all living in this region of the thickly forested Virunga Volcanoes, along the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in Uganda’s nearby Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park. We head out early morning, the gorilla trek taking us through the flower farms which back on to the national park and then on to the misty lush slopes of the volcanoes in search of the gorillas. The gorillas are usually found on the ground in a family group which can comprise up to 35 individuals, organized according to fascinating social structures. The families are led by one dominant, older adult male, a silverback named after the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. There are often then several other young males, black backs, as well as females and their offspring. The young ones particularly might be seen swinging from vines and trees and can be very curious as to their daily visitors.

Optionals: mountain gorilla trek, Dian Fossey’s grave, golden monkey hike

TANZANIA

days 4 - 16

We now head south into Tanzania below Lake Victoria, the road taking us into remote rural Tanzania. On the three day journey increasingly the scenes change as we leave the land of “many hills” and head into a world of vast vistas, the world of the rolling savanna plains of our next

highlight, the Serengeti, quite simply the park offering some of the best wildlife viewing on the planet.

The Serengeti plains dominate the southern half of the park. The rich volcanic soils set the stage from which the migration is nourished, the wildebeest following the seasonal rains to head south each year settling on the Serengeti Plains anytime from late December onwards, having spent the dry season in the Mara and the wetter northern woodlands of the Serengeti.

More than a million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of plains zebras, and thousands of Thomson’s gazelles can be found across the grasslands when the migration is in residence. Large predators including lions, cheetahs, and hyenas are drawn to the area also by this abundance of prey.

The large rivers in the park, whilst dry for most of the year, flow and

flood during the wet seasons in December, then from March to May. Even during the dry season, the water table is higher along the rivers and because these areas have more water, a dense riverine forest of evergreen trees grow here, and create a special habitat for other plants, insects, birds and animals.

The famous Ngorongoro Conservation Area is also found beside the Serengeti, and with the Serengeti these reserves are designated World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves due to the biodiversity and range of animals represented.

Three days are allocated for guided game drives in these reserves, camping in the parks surrounded by the wilderness under the African stars.

The Migration

For more information including

migration times click here...

We also stop over to visit in a Maasai village and school on route and to enjoy some traditional dancing, the Maasai warriors being famous for their leaping movements, which are part of a mesmorising sequence of movements and song designed to work the group into a state of trance. The Maasai cultural museum also provides insight into the ways of the Maasai.

From here we arrive back to the busy town of Arusha and to civilisation, hot showers, as well as supermarkets and fun busy markets. A barbecue awaits us on arrival.

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

On the road to Dar es Salaam and the Tanzanian coast the scenes again become increasingly lush. Our drives takes us through small towns and villages before parking up under palm trees by the Indian Ocean.

Our safari finishes on the barefoot paradise of Zanzibar Island. We arrive our first afternoon in to the port city of Stone Town which dominates the west coast. Wander the winding passageways of the old city, browse the bazaars, sip fruit cocktails as the dhows sail into the harbour at sunset, and enjoy an evening in the food markets. A snorkelling trip to Prison Island to view the giant tortoise can be arranged or head to the southeast coast to visit Jozani Forest, home to Zanzibar’s rare red colobus monkeys as well as a number of other primate and small antelope species.

Zanzibar’s coastline offers superb white, palmfringed beaches. Out from our beach cottages, we can swim in warm waters, much less susceptible to the tides than on the east side. The smooth beaches and white sand make for dazzling days in the sun. Snorkelling and dive excursions take us around to Mnemba and the East Coast. Here waves break over coral reefs and sand bars just offshore. At low tide small pools of starfish, small minnows, and anemones. Mnemba Atoll itself is a popular scuba diving site with a wide variety of corals and associated

species. It consists of an oval reef seven by four kilometres in extent and containing the tiny uninhabited Mnemba Island. Here we can also also at times sight larger species such as turtles and dolphins.

The spice island of Zanzibar is an idyllic exotic tropical paradise of white sand beaches, azure waters and colourful coral reefs of tropical fish, a perfect place to finish your safari.

Optionals: Guided game drives in Serengeti National Park, camel safari, 4 days bed and breakfast accommodation and transfers for Zanzibar island, staying in Stone Town and beach cottages, with a spice tour.

Other activities on Zanzibar include: Prison Island snorkelling trip with a visit to the giant Adalbran tortoise, scuba diving and snorkelling off Kendwa and at Mnemba Atoll, swimming with the dolphins, and viewing the red colobus monkeys in Jozani Forest.

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