Kenya - Tanzania Safaris: SOUL OF KENYA & TANZANIA

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ITINERARY AT A GLANCE

ITINERARY DETAILS

Day 1 Nairobi
Arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport, met and assisted by a tour representative. Transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at The Norfolk Hotel ( BB )

Day 2 Nairobi
Morning City Tour, visiting the National Museum and Gemini Desai's Bead Factory. Lunch at the settlers Family's Kiambethu Farm. Afternoon excursion to Karen Blixen and Giraffe Centre. Dinner at Macushla House. Overnight at The Norfolk Hotel (L- D-BB )

Day 3 Mount Kenya National Park
After breakfast drive to the world famous Mt. Kenya Safari Club founded by William Holden. On a clear day you will see the magnificent mountain in its full splendour. The club offers glorious views of the mountain and forest, delightful gardens, a 9-hole golf course and a splendid colonial-style ambience with roaring log fires. Arrive for lunch at your lodge. Afternoon at leisure enjoying the clubs facilities. Meals and overnight at Mt Kenya Safari Club (LDBB)

Day 4 Mount Kenya N.Park/ Sweetwaters Wildlife Sanctuary
Drive to the Sweetwater's Wildlife Sanctuary for morning game drive. The reserve is also home to the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Kenya. Return to Mt Kenya Safafi Club for lunch. Afternoon at leisure. Meals and overnight at Mt Kenya Safari Club (LDBB)

Day 5 Masai Mara National G.R
Transfer to Nanyuki airstrip for your morning scheduled flight over the Great Rift Valley to the Masai Mara National Reserve offering wonderful scenery and plenty of game. It is perhaps the only region left in Kenya where the visitor may see animals in the same super-abundance as existed a century ago. Met on arrival and transfer to your lodge. Afternoon shared game drive. Meals and overnight at Mara Safari Club (LDBB)

Day 6 Masai Mara National G.R
{Early morning optional balloon ride with champagne-style breakfast.}
Whole day in Masai Mara with morning and afternoon shared game drives. Meals and overnight at Mara Safari Club ( LDBB )

Day 7 Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, transfer to the airstrip for morning scheduled flight to Nairobi. Met on arrival and assisted to connect your scheduled flight to Kilimanjaro( picnic lunch will be provided from Nairobi). On arrival Kilimanjaro you will connect your scheduled afternoon flight to Serengeti. Met on arrival and transferred to your lodge with game drive en-route. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge ( DBB )

Day 8 Serengeti National Park
All day spent in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives. Meals and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge ( LDBB )

Day 9 Ngorongoro Conservation Area
After breakfast, drive to the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world. Its enduring charm stems from its overwhelming physical beauty and the abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater floor. En route visit the Olduvai Gorge site of archeological findings , where traces of pre-historic man dating back to 3.5 million years ago have been discovered. Arrive at your lodge for lunch. Afternoon at leisure. Meals and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (LDBB)

Day 10 Ngorongoro Conservation Area / Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast, depart for morning game drive on the crater floor., then drive to Lake Manyara Lake Manyara National Park, which apart from its abundant bird life, is known for its tree-climbing lions. Arrive for lunch at your lodge. Afternoon game drive until sunset. Meals and overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge ( LDBB)

Day 11 Departure
Breakfast at your lodge, then transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport with picnic lunch for your afternoon scheduled flight to Nairobi. Met on arrival and transfer to The Norfolk Hotel for Day Room. In the evening , you will be transferred to the famous Carnivore Restaurant for farewell dinner. Drop off Jomo Kenyatta Airport for your departure flight back home. A tour representative will reconfirm your flights and assist at Check-in.

ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION

The Norfolk Hotel
The exterior of the Norfolk Hotel has changed little since the colonial era. Timbered walls covered in vines and creepers, the taxi rank with old London cabs queuing to take guests where they will, look much the same as they did in the old photographs that chart the history of Kenya. Opened on Christmas Day 1904, (and still justifiably famous for its Christmas Morning cocktail party) the Norfolk has hosted such luminaries as Lord Delamere, Theodore Roosevelt and Karen Blixen. Now expensively refurbished the hotel still retains a sense of history. The new reception areas of the Norfolk Hotel are light, bright and immediately welcoming. Ceiling fans, cane chairs, plump animal-print cushions and deep sofas combine with locally sourced woods to create a tranquil ambience with echoes of the colonial period in which the Norfolk featured so strongly. However, not all is new - the long case clock in the hall, for example, was presented to the hotel by the drivers in the Nairobi to Johannesburg Race on 26th October, 1936.

The Ibis Restaurant, at the Norfolk, is renowned locally for its innovative use of the best and freshest of ingredients Kenya has to offer. The executive chef ensures that the chefs gain experience in the finest hotels and restaurants in Europe. The cosmopolitan cuisine features classic and new dishes exquisitely prepared, and finely tuned as to seasoning and accompaniments.

Accommodation at the Norfolk varies from large opulent suites to smaller, more intimate rooms. All are beautifully furnished and many look out onto the hotel's lovely gardens. The grounds are immaculate and profusely planted with indigenous plants. Artifacts from the hotel's history are dotted around including a sedan chair from the colonial era. The Norfolk Hotel offers all the comforts of a modern first class hotel yet combines it with an intriguing sense of history.

Mount Kenya Safari Club
The Mount Kenya Safari Club was founded in 1959 by William Holden, the late film star, highly eccentric American Ray Ryan and Carl Hirschmann, a Swiss financier. From the outset it attracted a cosmopolitan and glamorous clientele - those connected with Hollywood and the royalty and jet set who found the Hollywood connection irresistible. The Club still retains a strong sense of history and, unlike many hotels, has not swept away the old in favor of the new. The William Holden cottages retain an ambience recalling the 1950's glamour that is now so fashionable - huge french windows, white terrace furniture, and large cozy sofas in the central sitting room. The Riverside suites are more modern and very private, with vaulted ceilings and riverfront sites. The roaring fires, fuelled by huge logs that are lit every evening in the cottages add considerably to the feeling of soothing relaxation experienced by the visitor.

The huge grounds at the Club are absolutely fabulous! Immaculately kept, abundant with beautiful blooming shrubs and trees, dotted with ponds and lakes, and alive with marabou storks, little egrets and peacocks, they stretch verdantly into the distance with the dramatic bulk of Mount Kenya behind. A beautiful pool, surrounded by colonial style cane furniture, also has the mountain as its backdrop. Often wreathed in cloud it appears from time to time allowing the observer a sense of privilege. The main club building is dotted with memorabilia - huge trophy heads from the days when hunting was permitted and photographs of famous actors, actresses and various luminaries, from the past up to the present day, adorn the walls.

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge
Ngorongoro Serena Lodge is perched on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater with exquisite views of the crater, one of the wonders of the natural world. Your first sighting of the crater will simply take your breath away. The lodge is built of local stone and blends harmoniously into its surroundings. From here you will descend the wall of the crater for a most amazing game drive inside the crater. Glorious sunrises and sunsets, roaring log fires and excellent food all form part of the renowned Serena experience.

Serengeti Serena Lodge
Perched high on a hill, the Serengeti Serena Lodge and its swimming pool command beautiful views of the surrounding Serengeti plains and hills. The stylish lodge and its rondovel 'huts' are elegantly furnished en-suite bedrooms. They are built from local materials, in traditional African village style, and merge impeccably into the wilderness. Indigenous handicrafts and art adorn the walls of the rooms and the main building.

The lodge's central position within the Serengeti Park means that game drives can be conducted all around without ever having to go too far to look for the animals. From here you can explore the rich and varied game life of the Serengeti Eco-system. The area boasts all the 'big five': lion, elephant, leopard, rhino and buffalo. Occasionally you may bump into lions resting in trees during the heat of the day.

Lake Manyara Serena Lodge
Lake Manyara Serena Lodge is located at the edge of the Mto Wa Mbu escarpment, overlooking the Great Rift Valley and the stunning Manyara soda lake. The views of the lake from this escarpment are simply breathtaking. Lake Manyara National Park is only a 15 minute drive down the escarpment. The Park has long been known for its tree-climbing lions and the large elephant population, while ornithologists from around the world come to observe the masses of pink flamingos and great birds of prey around the lake which can also be seen from the lodge and its rooms.

Lake Manyara Serena Lodge is built in a traditional African architectural style, with graceful domed ceilings, swooping curves, geometric patterns and circular buildings that look like large African huts. Colourful murals adorn the walls. Each of the 67 comfortable guest rooms - with en-suite bathroom facilities - at Manyara Serena Lodge has a private balcony with panoramic views of the Great Rift Valley and of Lake Manyara. The views from the simply yet elegantly decorated bedrooms are terrific, especially at sunrise. Sunset, however, is best viewed while downing a sundowner at the superbly located poolside, a welcome facility for those who want to cool off in the scorching afternoon heat. Meals at the lodge are eclectic and of a high standard. Full English breakfasts are a Serena specialty and worth every penny! The full-service lounge and bar serves fresh fruit juices, soft drinks, tea and coffee, cocktails, wines, spirits and liqueurs. The Manyara Serena is in an ideal place to stay for the Lake Manyara National Park.