Kenya - Tanzania Safari Itinerary

Kenya Tanzania Safari Itinerary Tours
Day 1: Fly into Nairobi and overnight at the famous Norfolk Hotel in the heart of this bustling, exciting city
Day 2 - 5: Fly to Elsa's Kopje - Meru National Park in North Eastern Kenya. Elsa’s Kopje is a luxurious oasis in the wilds of Meru National Park and was named after Elsa the lioness raised and set free here in Meru National Park; by George and Joy Adamson in the film Born Free. The lodge blends into the hillside of Mughwango Hill, site of George Adamson’s original camp. Here game drives will be provided by the lodge in their open vehicles for a romantic African safari, reminiscent of bygone days.
Meru is vast with arid, open plains dotted with Doum Palms and Baobab trees and lush vegetation along 13 rivers, like green ribbons, bisecting the Park. Here visitors will see a diverse range of species, many animals differing from their counterparts in Southern Kenya and Tanzania. Regular sightings include Beisa Oryx, Gerenuk, Elephant, Grevy’s Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, Lesser Kudu, Grant’s Gazelle, Leopard, Lion, Cheetah, Rhino and the rare, elusive Greater Kudu. Meru is famous for its bird life, including riverine and forest species as well as the arid dry country species
Day 6: Return flight to Nairobi's Wilson airport and connection flight to Arusha in Northern Tanzania. Today and overnight is spent Coffee Lodge a lovely luxury lodge set in a working coffee plantation.
Day 7 - 9: Tarangire National Park: Transport 4 x 4 'safari' Land Cruiser to Swala Camp. Swala's nine private, permanent tents feature en suite bathrooms with showers, complemented by fittings and fixtures crafted from local materials to mirror the understated elegance of the time-honored safari style.
Nestled in a remote pocket of Tarangire National Park, Swala is sited in a copse of majestic acacia trees at the edge of the Gurusi wetlands and the unfurling savannah beyond. The stands of ancient baobab trees, large family herds of elephants, prolific bird life and dry season concentrations of wildlife make Tarangire the classic Africa of lore – feted by explorers, immortalized in documentaries and sought after by the discerning traveler. This picturesque safari hideaway is exclusive in the southwestern corner of Tarangire National Park, affording guests private game viewing, wilderness luxury, and a privileged glimpse of an Africa, unspoiled by tourism.
Day 10 - 11: Ngorongoro Crater: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge consists of three adjacent, glamorous camps with 30 Maasai-inspired suites perched on stilts on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. From the outside, this unobtrusive lodge resembles a magical Maasai village. Set in classic crescents, each stone and thatch suite has spectacular views of the crater from large glass windows in the bathroom, lounge and bedroom, yet is almost invisible from the crater floor.
Day 12 - 14: Central Serengeti: Your lodge will be Serena Serengeti Lodge conveniently placed for your early morning ballooning safari over the serengeti.
At dawn take off, rising as the sun rises and float in whichever direction the winds of the morning take us. Your pilot can precisely control the altitude of your balloon: sometimes flying at treetop height, sometimes lower, offering a unique perspective and great photographic opportunities of the wildlife below.
Day 15: Return flight from the Serengeti in light aircraft to Arusha for onward flight to Pemba or Mafia Island.

The site http://www.tanzania-info.co.uk has full details of National Parks and timetables for Zanzibar Ferries, flights and Buses in Tanzania – and http://sojournsafaris.com has safari information. Use responsible tourism to make a difference to the countries and peoples you visit.

Cheap safaris to Wildebeest Migration in Mara-Kenya

Wildebeest migration to and back from Serengeti into the Maasai Mara is the single most popular wildlife spectacle in Kenya. The wildebeest migration is such a phenomenon it involves movement of over 1 million animals crossing plains and rivers in the Mara migration. River crossings are the most spectacular where the wildebeest of Mara jump into rivers full of crocodiles and surging currents.

The Migration

What gives the gnu its worldwide repute is not its body structure however, but the sheer numbers and spectre created by its migration. The animals migrate between the Serengeti and Mara Savannahs in Tanzania and Kenya respectively, in search of grass and water. It is estimated that over 1 million of these animals are on the move during the annual migration between June and October.

The numbers are so high that miles upon miles of grassland is blanketed by a mass of moving gnu. They simply stretch from one horizon to the next; of the conveniently flat and treeless Maasai Mara Savannah. It is a sight to behold when on your wildlife safari. The mara wildebeest migration phenomenon is so huge that satellites miles away in space are able to capture the surge as a black moving mass on the plains of East Africa. Now, that’s huge: and it’s even more awesome watching it on the ground or with Mara balloon Safaris.

River Crossing

The most dramatic and memorable safari experience is when you observe the migrating wildebeest/gnus at the several Mara river crossings. Numbers upon numbers gather at such crossings unsure of their next move. The crossings are such notorious spots that the gnus have developed a self preservation instinct over time.

Wildebeests will amass in their thousands at banks of river Mara which is rife with the dreaded Nile crocodile and raging currents. Put in the swift current, eminent stampedes and jaw snapping crocodiles in this picture and you get a guaranteed recipe for mass genocide at such river crossings. The Masai Mara River is usually awash with bloated mass of wildebeest carcass that crocodiles feast on for days on end.

Over 250,000 of the wildebeest die from drowning, stampede, crocodiles and the predators every year. But even this annual carnage is not enough to reduce their numbers.The wildebeest deaths during migration are replenished by the over 400,000 births a year. The deaths during migration are now considered as a natural population check; natural selection at its best.

Do and Die Point

River crossings in the Mara are favourite vantage points to observe the Mara wildebeest migration on your Kenyan safari. The animals will gather hesitantly in huge numbers on the banks, unsure of when to take the plunge. The other wildebeests behind the frontline keep amassing into hundreds of thousands until the pressure on the front is too much to bear.

They finally take the leap; and when they do, even the waiting crocodiles scatter to the flanks. The fear of being trampled by the millions of wildebeest is too real for even a crocodile to risk a head-on affront. Hundreds upon hundreds make death-daring high leaps into the water, that the splash sounds like a million water falls.

The Wildebeest Predators.

Wildebeest Migration is such that a smattering population of other bovids, join in the migration including Zebras and Gazelles. Lion prides also escort (as they eat some, of course) and welcome the migrating wildebeest on either side of the Mara River Crossings. The lions stark up their stomachs with gnu carcass to a point that, they are finally subdued by wildebeest with little fear.

As long as a lion has had his 35 odd kilos of meat a day, he poses no threat. “All that is needed is to sacrifice a cousin here, a distant aunt there and we are fine.” It’s surely a game of numbers. Leopards on other hand, don’t have to move far to hunt its prey. All they'll do is pounce on unsuspecting wildebeest as they pass by their (leopards) tree parches. The rest scatter as usual in different directions. “It’s just another sacrifice after all; we still got the numbers... no matter what. This is one of the most elusive picture-perfect moments when you are on your African Wildlife Safari.

Visiting the Mara.

It’s not only the carnivores that will escort migrating wildebeests but humans as well. The Maasai Mara attracts such interest that the ensuring demand during the months of June-October cannot be met. You will find it difficult to get a space in the lodges if you do not book in advance. Your accommodation in the Mara ranges from 4star to 5star deluxe lodges, tented camps and simple camping tents. The wildebeest Migration takes place everyday of the 4(July-October) month duration. You are as such guaranteed a sighting irrespective of which month of the 4 you visit.

Your bookings are handled by several professional Kenya travel companies which also provide transportation and transfers from airports, Kenya self drive car hire and accommodation in the Mara. Make sure you see the migration the next time you make a Kenyan wildlife safari.

More information:
http://www.landmarksafaris.com/planner/