Due to the popularity of these sparkling destinations, we have designed the safari in 3 segments, allowing you to choose your hop-on / hop-off point or complete the entire safari.
You should arrive at the hop-on point/city at least one day before the start of that segment to effectively join the tour on the tour start. Minimum of 4 persons are required for this safari.
Segment 1: Cape Town and Garden Route (8 days / 7 nights)
Segment 2: KNP + Greater Kruger + Vic Falls + Chobe (8 days / 7 nights)
Segment 3: Great Migration (Kenya and Tanzania) (8 days / 7 nights)
Optional extra: Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (1 day / 1 night)
Hop-on Hop-off
Segment 1 Cape Town Cape Town
Segment 2 Skukuza Victoria Falls
Segment 3 Nairobi Nairobi
Segment 1
You should arrive in Cape Town at least one day prior to the start of the tour. Your guide will meet you at a prearranged place to introduce him/herself to the group. Alan Tours can arrange for accommodation prior to the start of the tour.
Day 1; Night 1
Cape Town- Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch, City of Cape Town
Meet and greet by your Alan Tours representative at the Waterfront Hotel after breakfast.
We make our way to the base of Table Mountain and the cable way to board the cable car for the trip to the top of Table Mountain, this is something that every visitor to Cape Town should do. We will be sure to book priority tickets to skip the long queues. We are able to look down over the city bowl with the harbour situated on the foreshore with Robben Island and its once sinister prison in the far distance. The prison on the island has hosted many political prisoners in times gone by, including the illustrious Nelson Mandela. Three hundred and sixty degree views can be had of the city, the peninsula, the mountains beyond and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean.
Alternatively, if the weather prevents us from scaling Table Mountain, we can choose to do a historical city tour or take a scenic drive around the mountain. Either way we take a break and enjoy a tasty lunch at one of the many restaurants in this cosmopolitan city before we continue to the renowned Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
Cape Town has recently been voted the best city in the world to visit, and it is obvious why this prestigious accolade has been awarded to what is endearingly referred to as our Mother City.
After your first eventful day in Africa, we head back to our hotel to freshen up before our evening meal in one of the many superb restaurants to be found in the Tavern of the Seas, Cape Town.
Overnight Waterfront hotel Cape Town, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
The program might change according to the weather or other factors that may influence the day.
Day 2; Night 2
Cape Town and surroundings
After breakfast we meet our guide and depart for the Cape Point, the south-western most point of the African continent.
(Cape Agulhas, 300 km south and east of Cape Town is geographically the southernmost point of the African continent).
Continuing from the Cape Point and its spectacular scenery, we stop for lunch en route before we enter False Bay, (often mistaken by early sailors as Table Bay, their intended destination), Simonstown and Boulders Beach to view this land-based African Penguin colony.
These delightful seabirds streak out of the clear waters, up onto the sandy beach of the bay where hundreds can be seen sunbathing on this beautiful beach.
Finally, after another full day we head back to Cape Town and our hotel. Here we freshen up before our evening meal, either at the hotel or at one of the many restaurants in this popular area.
Overnight Waterfront hotel Cape Town, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
The program might change according to the weather or other factors that might influence the day.
Day 3; Night 3
Cape Town – Cape Winelands
This day is set aside to travel to and explore the wonders of the Cape Winelands.
Meet your guide at the hotel after breakfast and depart into the interior away from Cape town and the Cape Peninsula.
Our first stop will be in some of the closer towns and wine estates.
Somerset West and Stellenbosch are home to some of the earliest and most prestigious wineries and produce some of the most exquisite wines in the area. Stellenbosch has the added advantage of being the second oldest town in the country and is characterized by tall oak trees planted by early Dutch settlers, hundreds of years ago. The town is home to some of the earliest and enduring examples of Cape Dutch architecture. Thatch roofs with white walls and intricate gables attest to the skill and financial well-being of the early colonists.
We arrive back in Cape Town in time to watch the sun setting over the wide Atlantic Ocean, possibly from some elevated area to make the most of a spectacular sight.
At the hotel we freshen up in preparation for the evening meal and good night’s rest.
Optional extras:
Wine tasting
Overnight Waterfront hotel, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
We make our way over a pass which takes us through beautiful mountain scenery, down into the valley of Franschhoek, where the early French Huguenots settled around 1688 after escaping religious persecution back home in France.
They brought with them the refined art of making fine wines and the very grapes needed to make these wines. This small town is referred to as the cuisine capital of South Africa and for good reason. Many related activities can be sourced here, wine tasting, wine trams, etc.
We stop here to browse the town and take a well-prepared meal at one of any number of fine restaurants.
We slowly make our way home, possibly over some passes that take in beautiful scenery or back past some of the wineries we missed on our way through earlier.
Day 4; Night 4
Cape Town to Seaside village
After a delicious breakfast we check out of the waterfront hotel and travel through some spectacular sea and mountain landscapes along the southern shoreline to Hermanus, renowned as the best shore-based whale watching spot in the world.
We walk along the shore, have lunch at one of the local restaurants before continuing to the southernmost point of the African continent, Cape Agulhas.
Here we take a short walk to the southernmost point with its fully operational lighthouse for a photo session before heading down to our accommodation in a delightful fishing village on this coast.
We check into our hotel in the village and, if time allows, explore a bit before freshening up and meeting at the restaurant for a delicious evening meal.
Overnight seaside village hotel, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
Day 5; Night 5
Seaside village to Karoo Town
After a scrumptious breakfast, we check out and depart inland crossing the Agulhas Plain, home to some of the oldest farms in the country and form the breadbasket of South Africa, where most of our wheat is grown.
Day 6; Night 6
Karoo Town to Garden Route/Knysna
After a well-prepared breakfast we check out and depart via a spectacular route over the mountains. We make our way up the spectacular Swartberg Pass, a national monument offering views, both to the north and later to the south, of the country as we drive slowly through fynbos covered slopes with protea and many other species of flowering plants and shrubs decorating the verges
Contorted rock formations and tight winding roads provide us with a memorable drive.
We continue to the magnificent Cango Caves for a guided tour of these incredible underground caverns with some of the biggest stalagmite formations to be found.
Completing the tour, we make our way to Oudtshoorn for lunch. Oudtshoorn, the capital of the Ostrich feather industry, a town that sprung up on the back of the Ostrich feather fashions of the late 18th and early 19th centuries
We cross the plains and travel through shady mountain passes as we head for the semi-desert areas of the Little and Great Karoo, areas where the views are so distant you can see into tomorrow.
After a long day of travel, we arrive at a delightful small town on the edge of the Great Karoo, where we check into our hotel.
After our evening meal, we head for bed and a peaceful night’s rest in the cool, clean Karoo air.
Overnight Karoo Town hotel, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
We drive through the town stopping to view some of the fine colonial architecture with its fabulous feather palaces, as the large houses built by the “Feather Barons” are referred to. These were mostly merchants who made their fortunes from the ostrich feather boom.
“You can buy a ticket back home for the price of a single fine feather,” it was said.
After Oudtshoorn we head back to the coast to the famous Garden Route and the town of Knysna with its spectacular “Heads” and lagoon.
We check into our hotel before enjoying a tasty evening meal at one of the many local restaurants.
Overnight Knysna hotel, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
Day 7; Night 7
Garden Route
This day is set aside to explore the Garden Route.
After a delicious breakfast we depart along the famous Garden Route and the Tsitsikamma National Park. Here we descend to sea level with stunning views and scenery on this steep Indian Ocean coastline.
Here we take a walk through evergreen forests overlooking the rugged shoreline to the mouth of the river over suspension bridges that span these amber coloured waters. After lunch we continue to the Bloukrans River Gorge with its massive arch bridge and one of the highest bungee jumps in the world at an astonishing 216 m above the riverbed below.
We continue through the heart of the Garden Route to the holiday town of Plettenberg Bay with its spectacular views out over Bahia Do Formosa or “The Beautiful Bay” as first described by the early Portuguese explorers. Back in Knysna, we freshen up before dinner.
Overnight Knysna, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
End of Segment 1 of the tour
Important
Please pack all luggage before going to bed as we will have a very early start to catch our flight from George airport to the Kruger National Park the next morning
Important Notice
• For those guests wishing to end the tour here, you will return to Cape Town on Day 8 and disembark in this city and the end of the Alan Tours services.
• Those wishing to continue on their tour to the Kruger National Park and beyond will catch their connecting flight on Day 8 to Skukuza in the Kruger National Park.
Segment 1 of the tour includes:
• 8 day professional guided tour, guide, fuel and vehicle
• 7 night accommodation as per itinerary
• Meals as per itinerary
• Table Mountain priority tickets
• Conservation and Entrance Fees
o Cape of Good Hope
o Boulders Beach
o Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
o Cango Caves
o Tsitsikamma National Park
• Toll fees
• Activities per itinerary
• Transfers as mentioned in the itinerary
• Domestic Flights (quoted separately)
Tour excludes:
• Meals as per itinerary
• International flights
• Bar bills
• Gratuities
• Personal shopping
• Optional Extras
• Visas
Segment 2
You should arrive in Skukuza at least one day prior (Day 7) to the start of the tour (Day 8). Your guide will meet you at a prearranged place to introduce him/herself to the group. Alan Tours can arrange for accommodation prior to the start of the tour.
Day 8; Night 8
Garden Route to Cape Town to Kruger National Park
We have an early morning departure for our flight leaving George airport to Cape Town.
• Guests leaving the tour will disembark in Cape Town.
• Guests continuing to the Kruger National Park will catch a connecting flight to the Kruger Park.
We arrive at Skukuza airport at about lunch time.
On arrival in the Kruger National Park, we will be met by our guide and board the open game drive vehicles for your first taste of the pristine clean air in this magnificent park, the largest in South Africa.
The Kruger National Park is an area of nearly 2 million hectares or approximately 5 million acres and home to a greater diversity of mammal species than any other place in the world and that is just the mammal species, never mind the vast array of birds, reptiles, insects and lush vegetation that abounds here.
Our guide will transfer you to your accommodation in the rest camp.
Once we have checked into our accommodation and freshened up, we meet your guide for your first safari in the African bush in an Open 4 x 4 Safari Vehicle.
We return to our camp and your accommodation to freshen up before the evening meal at the park restaurant.
Early to bed, early to rise is a good adage to keep in mind while on safari. We make our way to bed after a hearty evening meal and fall asleep with the sounds of the African night and a sense of excited anticipation of the day ahead.
Overnight Kruger National Park rest camp, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
Optional extra: Night Drive (2 hours) in the park’s open game drive vehicle, bookings essential. Activity for own account.
Day 9; Night 9
Kruger National Park Skukuza
After an early wake up, a cup of coffee and rusks, we board the open vehicle for our morning game drive where we head out as the gates open to discover what might have happened during the night.
We search for the lions we might have heard, the whoop of a hyena may indicate a kill, while vultures are a sure sign of a free meal in the area.
Herds of elephant make their way to the riverbed to quench their thirst, while herds of impatient impala line the road and mingle freely with the local troop of baboons grooming in the middle of the road, the youngsters bounding playfully around the trunks of the giant trees, tumbling from their lower branches.
The saw-like grunting of a female leopard in the riverbed might stop all the action as predator and prey play out the ancient, if deadly game of survival in this pristine wonderland.
After an exciting morning, we have the option to head back to camp or alternatively move onto another camp or picnic site for a well-deserved brunch before returning to our camp in time to freshen up and enjoy some quiet time before meeting for the evening meal.
Overnight Kruger National Park rest camp, bed and breakfast.
Lunch and dinner for guests own account
Day 10; Night 10
Kruger National Park to Greater Kruger
Information: The Greater Kruger Park is an extended area of the Kruger National Park where the land is privately owned and managed under the guidance of the Kruger National Park and SANParks.
Early wake up for a cup of coffee or tea and depart with your luggage pre-packed ready to be picked up for your transfer on your return from the morning game drive. We have breakfast at the restaurant before the transfer to your private lodge in the Greater Kruger Park.
The transfer, in a closed vehicle that will take you out of the Kruger National Park, into the rural countryside and back into the fenced area surrounding the Greater Kruger Park. We arrive at our lodge, for two nights of relaxed luxury set on the banks of a sand river. We check in and freshen up before meeting in the communal area for lunch.
After a relaxing afternoon we meet back at the veranda for snacks and refreshments before joining your guide for the afternoon game drive. We board the 4 x 4 Open Safari Vehicle and head out into the African bush.
Here we can expect to find and learn more about a wide variety of wildlife including the Big 5 animals, the African Elephant, rhinoceros (black and white), Cape Buffalo, lion, and the shy leopard. The Greater Kruger is recognised as one of the best places in the world to view the beautiful leopard up close and personal from the comfort of your vehicle.
Your ranger will inform you of how the ecosystem works and provide information on the wildlife we find.
We return to our lodge in time to freshen up for the evening meal.
After a delicious dinner we make our way to bed for a night lulled to sleep by the sounds of the African night.
Overnight Greater Kruger Park private lodge, full board.
Day 11; Night 11
Greater Kruger
We wake early for coffee, tea and a light snack before boarding the open 4 x 4 vehicle with your armed ranger as we head out into the African bush to find the nocturnal creatures still active in the early morning. The dew on the grass will reflect the passage of an elephant bull crossing the open grassland or where a herd of buffalo has passed through the area.
The sandy track can be read like a book, the tracks of a passing leopard on its nightly patrol covered by those of a spotted hyena might indicate the presence of a fresh kill. We might come across a pride of lions walking slowly down the road or hear the alarm call of a herd of impala antelope as the pride head off into the bush at the side of the road.
Day 12; Night 12
Greater Kruger Park to Victoria Falls
After an early breakfast we check out of our lodge and meet our transfer driver and vehicle for the transfer to the airport outside of the park where we check in and catch our nonstop flight to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
On arrival at the Victoria Falls Airport, we clear customs and meet our representative of the lodge and transfer to the lodge for the next 2 nights.
A number of activities are included in the accommodation package we have booked. The activity and time schedule of these activities will be discussed when we arrive at the lodge. Lunch and evening meal will be served at the lodge set in the Victoria Falls National Park with the mist of the magnificent Victoria Falls clearly visible in the distance while a herd of elephant might take a long thirst quenching drink at the waterhole below the viewing deck.
There is always the anticipation of something exciting around the next corner.
We return to our lodge at around midmorning, where we freshen up before a well-deserved and satisfying breakfast.
After breakfast you will have the option of taking it easy in your chalet or enjoy a refreshing swim in the pool. For the more energetic there is the option of a walk in the bush with your armed ranger to learn some of the finer points of the environment while on foot in the bush.
Lunch will be served at midday after which it is probably best to take a rest before the afternoon / evening game drive.
We return to freshen up for dinner under a trillion stars in the African sky.
Your ranger will see you safely back to your chalets for another comfortable night’s rest in the heart of the wild.
Overnight Greater Kruger Park private lodge, full board
Activities for 2 days included in the package are:
Overnight Victoria Falls Lodge, full board.
Day13; Night 13
Victoria Falls
Breakfast is served at the lodge.
This day is reserved for various activities included in the package.
Activities for 2 days included in the package are:
Overnight Victoria Falls Lodge, full board.
Day 14, Night 14
Victoria Falls to Chobe/Botswana
The Chobe River is one of those must see wildlife experiences. After breakfast at the lodge, we board a boat on the wide expanse of the Chobe River and spend the morning cruising slowly from amazing sighting to amazing close up sighting. Herds of elephant come down to the shore from the dry woodland savannas that is the Chobe National Park, giraffe, antelope, zebra and warthog come to feed on the vegetation and grass that grows at the along the edge of this life giving river. The wildlife come to quench their thirst, while flocks of birds come to the water’s edge to feed on aquatic life while large crocodiles swim deceptively slowly across the river. Hippos cool off in the waters while herds of Cape Buffalo graze on the grass-covered waters of the island in mid-stream. A wildlife wonderland.
We return to shore for lunch and take a safari in an open 4 x 4 safari vehicle in the afternoon, heading inland away from the teeming shores of the Chobe River. Here we search for lion, leopard and other carnivores as they shade up in the heat of the day, away from the water so as not to disturb their nocturnal hunting after the sun sinks. A huge red orb disappears below the tree line, giving the land respite from its energy and allowing the next actors to play their role on the stage of life in these unforgiving savannas. In the evening you will be transferred back to the lodge at Victoria Falls in good time for dinner at the hotel.
Overnight Victoria Falls Lodge, full board
End of Segment 2 of the tour
Important Notice
Segment 2 of the tour includes:
Tour excludes:
• Meals as per itinerary
• International Flights
• Bar bills
• Gratuities
• Personal shopping
• Optional Extras
• Visas
Section 3
You should arrive in Nairobi at least one day prior (Day 14) to the start of the tour (Day 15). Your guide will meet you at a prearranged place to introduce him/herself to the group. Alan Tours can arrange for accommodation prior to the start of the tour.
Day 15; Night 15
Victoria Falls to Nairobi, Kenya
We have breakfast and check out of our hotel at Victoria Falls to board the transfer vehicle to Victoria Falls Airport.
Depending on the flight departure time at Victoria Falls Airport there is an option to do a village tour before the transfer to the airport (for own account)
We have lunch either at the airport or on the plane during our flight from Victoria Falls to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.
We meet a hotel representative at Jomo Kenyatta Airport for the evening transfer to a city hotel in Nairobi.
Dinner will be served on the plane due to late evening arrival.
Overnight Nairobi hotel, bed and breakfast
Lunch for guests own account
Information Maasai Mara, Kenya
Maasai Mara National Reserve (also spelt Masai Mara and referred to locally as “The Mara”) is an area of preserved savanna wilderness in southwestern Kenya along the Tanzanian border. It is situated in the Narok County of Kenya.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve spans an area of about 1,510 sq. km, equivalent to 580 sq. miles in southwest Kenya. The reserve is part of a much larger ecosystem which includes the bordering Serengeti National Park (located in northern Tanzania). The Serengeti covers an area of approximately 25,000 sq. km, equivalent to 9,700 sq. miles.
The term Maasai Mara means speckled or dotted, referring to the landscapes seen dotted with single or small clumps of trees across the grassland savannas.
While the Serengeti neighbours the Maasai Mara to the south, the western side is bound by the Siria escarpment, with open savanna grassland plains to the north and east of the reserve. The two major rainfall seasons typical to East Africa also loosely apply to the Maasai Mara, with the months from April to May and September to November seeing brief rainy spells which are accompanied by hours of sunshine.
The terrain in the reserve is typically open grassland and rolling hills, punctuated by the permanent flow of the Mara River (scene of the migration crossings). Maasai Mara and the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the south are home to the annual migration of large herbivores, primarily wildebeest or gnu and Burchell’s Zebra and is by and large the reason we are visiting the area at this time of the year where we stand good chance of observing this incredible accumulation of herbivores, the largest anywhere on dry land and their predators both on the land and in the water when they are forced to cross the Mara River.
Day 16; Night 16
Nairobi to Masai Mara
After breakfast we leave the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan capital of Kenya behind.
We board the transfer vehicle and check in at the regional airport on the outskirts of the city and board our light but comfortable aircraft and make our way to the realisation of our lifelong dream to witness the greatest land animal migration on the planet where we combine the game viewing on the plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania.
You will be met by your guide in their 4 x 4 safari vehicle and transferred to your lodge for lunch on the banks of the Talek River a major tributary of the Mara River and situated close to some important river crossings of the migrating wildebeest and zebra.
After lunch we head out into wild world from our dreams for an afternoon game drive on a shared basis returning to camp as the last glow from the setting sun illuminates the landscape for a well-deserved evening meal.
Overnight Masai Mara Camp, full board
Here we view stately giraffe glide across the savannas accompanied by elephant, buffalo and herds of gazelles while we make our way to the banks of the Mara River, a name deeply etched in the minds of wildlife enthusiasts as the stage upon which the migration stops, pauses and finally plunges into the muddy red, crocodile infested waters of this often tumultuous river.
It is the culmination and start of our dreams to arrive and witness the drama of millions of wildebeest and zebras as they follow their noses to find grazing where rains have recently fallen, supplying life giving water to the savannas, stopping at nothing, not even the prospect of a savage death in the jaws of giant reptiles lying in wait for their annual bounty.
On arrival at the Masai Mara airstrip, your pulse racing with the anticipation from years of dreaming, planning this moment, the final expectations and arriving in the savanna covered plains of one of the world’s greatest wildlife destinations.
Day 17, Night 17
Full Day Masai Mara
After a good night’s rest with the excitement of a new day on the plains of the Masai Mara and the anticipation of what the migrating herbivores will bring, we set out early on our morning game drive. Depending on the distance we need to travel to reach the migrating wildebeest we take a picnic lunch with us to eat out on the plains or return to our lodge for a morning brunch. After the meal you can relax at your private veranda with a good book or simply take pleasure in the plentiful wildlife that comes to drink at the Mara River just opposite the lodge restaurant. In the afternoon we board the game drive vehicle and just before darkness falls over the fabled Masai Mara we return to camp for dinner.
Overnight Masai Mara Camp, full board
Optional extras:
• Bird watching
• Visit to local traditional village
• Horse riding across the savanna
• Hot air balloon viewing the wildlife in perfect peace and quiet from above
Day 18, Night 18
Masai Mara, Kenya to Serengeti, Tanzania
Too soon we wake for breakfast before boarding the vehicle for our transfer to the airstrip to catch our aircraft to the world-famous Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, just to the south of where we are in Kenya. We have a connecting flight en route as we pass through immigration before we arrive at Kogatende, a small and at this time of the year a busy airstrip connecting people to the various lodges and camps in the wide, open plains of the Serengeti.
On arrival we meet our guide and board the 4 x 4 safari vehicle for the transfer to our lodge in the Serengeti. We check in and have lunch at our lodge. After lunch we continue on our dream African adventure with an afternoon game drive through the sun-kissed plains of the Serengeti in search of more of Africa’s wonders. As the sun bids farewell to the plains of the Serengeti so do we as we head back to our camp for dinner.
Overnight at Serengeti Camp, full board
Information Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
The Serengeti National Park is the largest national park in northern Tanzania and stretches over 14 763 sq. kms (approx. 5 700 sq. miles). Located in the eastern Mara region and the northeastern Simiyu region it contains over 1,500,000 hectares (3,700,00 sq. miles) of virgin, unspoilt savanna. The park was established in 1940.
Day 19; Night 19
Full day Serengeti
Depending on which schedule the lodge is operating at, we either go out early for a game drive and return for breakfast or take breakfast before departing for the morning game drive.
The excitement runs high as we set out to find the wildlife of the endless grass plains, the Serengeti. We pass stately giraffe walking between the trees, a distant herd of elephant appearing diminutive in the wide open landscapes, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles mingle while topi and zebra feed quietly as a pair of cheetah sit, sphinx-like on a termite mound, surveying their menu. Far off in the distance towards a dark line of trees marking the riverine trees on the banks of the Mara River, a spreading dark smudge against the short grass plains becomes clearly visible to reveal a huge pulsating, running, walking, standing, breathing, eating herd of western white-bearded wildebeest on their annual migration, searching for good grass on which to feed. We approach the riverbanks, find a convenient parking and excitedly wait for the approaching column of scared and skittish antelope to take the plunge.
After witnessing all the excitement and drama of the crossing we return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch you have some time to relax and take in the wonderful sights and sounds of the Serengeti before boarding the 4 x 4 safari vehicle and enter the vast grasslands for an afternoon game drive.
After an eventful afternoon we return to the lodge for dinner.
Overnight at Serengeti Camp, full board
The word Serengeti approximates the word Siringet, a word the local Maasai people use for the area which means “the place where the land runs forever”.
The word savanna or savannah is a biological term used to describe a habitat or biome. The word refers to a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the tree canopy does not meet and close out sunlight from above.
The Serengeti is well known for the largest annual migration of herbivores in the world as they move on an approximate circular route, where 1.5 million western white-bearded wildebeest, 250 000 Burchell’s Zebra, with smaller herds of Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelle feed, breed and give birth on their annual route during their search for fresh green grass upon which to feed. The park is also home to the largest lion population in Africa.
It is in Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara that some of the most awe-inspiring wildlife scenes are viewed by people from around the world.
Day 20; Night 20
Serengeti, Tanzania to Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
After breakfast we check out of our lodge on the plains of the Serengeti, board our transfer to the airstrip and catch the short connecting flight over the park to head to one of the world’s most iconic wildlife destinations, the Ngorongoro Crater. The world’s largest intact caldera or extinct volcano. A huge volcano that erupted, blowing the cone away in a massive explosion, leaving a huge crater to create one of the world’s most prolific wildlife refuges. A protecting barrier in the form of the rim of the extinct volcano rises up 400 to 600 meters above the crater floor, enclosing a wildlife paradise not to be missed.
We arrive at the Manyara Airport to be met by our representatives for the transfer to our lodge for the night. Here we check in and take it easy, have lunch and make use of the activities available at this sophisticated lodge set in the farmlands close to the Ngorongoro Crater.
After an afternoon of leisure and/or offered activities, dinner is served at the lodge.
Overnight Farm Lodge, full board
Optional extras:
• Farm Tour/Nature Walk
• Cycling
• Birding
Day 21; Night 21
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
After breakfast we meet our guide for the short drive to the entrance of the Ngorongoro Park. Here we check in and drive, ascending through Afro-montane Forest to arrive at the rim of the crater before descending down into the stunning crater itself. On the way down we pass groups of Masai people walking from homestead to homestead.
At the base in the crater we stop for a comfort break and picnic lunch before setting out on a journey of discovery. Here we will find, literally, wall to wall wildlife stretching for as far as the eye can see over the alkaline savannas. A lake occupies a good portion of the crater floor where hippos rest in the shallows being attended by oxpeckers, while flamingos, pelicans and a variety of storks forage and feed in the lake’s shallow waters and Cape Buffalo walk through the grasslands.
In the shade of the forest at the base of the rim, a pride of lions feed on a fresh zebra kill, while monkey’s sound the alarm and a troop of Olive Baboons take time out to socialise and groom each other, a huge bull elephant, his long tusks gleaming, cleaned by the waters of the spring, walks timelessly to his feeding ground. Time has stood still here; the only sign of the modern world are the safari vehicles and the tourists that visit this wonderland.
We spend the day here before leaving in the late afternoon for our drive back, up and down the crater rim to arrive back at our comfortable lodge in the Manyara farmlands where we will freshen up before meeting for dinner.
Overnight in Farm lodge, full board
Day 22; Night 22
Ngorongoro Crater/Tanzania to Kilimanjaro International Airport to Nairobi
We wake early for breakfast, check out before joining our guide for a road trip to Arusha for our flight back to Nairobi. En route we stop at a wonderful lodge for a superb lunch under the trees in their lush gardens before we continue to a magical shopping experience on the outskirts of Arusha. Here we find goods and wares of every conceivable type, shape and size. Buy yourself a full size ornamental elephant or a beautiful tanzanite jewel set in white gold, scarves, sarongs, necklets and bangles and bracelets, curios and paintings anything and everything one might wish to buy to remember your trip to Africa.
After shopping we head for the international airport, check in, clear immigration and fly back to Nairobi where we clear customs and meet our driver for your transfer back to your original hotel to pick up your luggage and stay the night. Take your evening meal in the hotel before a good night’s rest.
Overnight Nairobi, bed and breakfast
Lunch and dinner for own account
End of Segment 3 of the tour
Day 23
Nairobi
We have breakfast at the hotel. There is an optional extra to travel to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Elephant Orphanage.
Daphane Sheldrick started an orphanage to rescue young elephants and rhinos orphaned through the barbaric destruction of their mother due to insane need to get the ivory and horns of their mothers. This orphanage has become an icon in the land of the safari. Here one learns what it took to develop this refuge for orphaned wild animals and meet some of the animals that live here.
Drop off after the encounter either at the airport for your flight back home or at your accommodation (for own account) if you fly out the next day.
End of Alan Tours service
Segment 3 of the Tour Includes:
Tour excludes:
