Kenya & Tanzania · Midrange
A 14-day midrange safari through Samburu, the Aberdares, Nakuru, the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Ngorongoro, the Serengeti and Manyara. Lodge accommodation, with Buraha Zenoni (Lake Nakuru).
Price
Price on request
Places as named in the journey title. Nights in each are set out in your itinerary.
Starts in Nairobi · finishes in Arusha
The route, days and named stays are as planned. What is included at each stop, from food, park fees and drinking water to room types, permits and border arrangements, and any camp or lodge not named here, is set out in your written quotation. Game drives on travel days depend on arrival and departure times, timings can change with road and park conditions, and wildlife sightings are never guaranteed. Photographs illustrate each day’s destination; they are not pictures of a particular departure.
Nairobi → Samburu
A fortnight of travel starts by heading north from Nairobi in the 4×4 Land Cruiser to Samburu National Reserve, a dry-country reserve on the Ewaso Nyiro managed by the County Government of Samburu. Entering through Archer’s Gate or another of the reserve’s gates, a first game drive can follow the river, where doum palms line the banks. Samburu is the safari’s introduction to wildlife that the southern parks do not have.
Samburu
A full day in Samburu is spent looking for the northern species that the county groups as the Samburu Five, from Grevy’s zebra and gerenuk to Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich and reticulated giraffe. The reserve’s elephants, often by the river, are among its great sights, and its rocky outcrops and grassland add variety to the drives. The birdlife is prolific too, with hornbills, weavers and vulturine guineafowl among the species the county highlights.
Samburu → Aberdares
Leaving the heat of Samburu, the journey climbs south to the Aberdares, a cool, misty volcanic range reached on tarmac from Nyeri and Naromoru on its eastern side. Kenya Wildlife Service describes thick montane forest, open moorland, deep ravines, icy streams and waterfalls, with elephants and buffalo emerging from the trees. Temperatures drop quickly at night in the highlands, so pack warm clothing.
Aberdares → Lake Nakuru
The Aberdares carry a great deal of history: Princess Elizabeth learned she had become Queen at Treetops in February 1952, and a fig tree used as a “post office” by Mau Mau fighters still stands. Leaving the range, the journey descends to the Rift Valley and Lake Nakuru National Park, where Buraha Zenoni, named in our catalogue, is the base for the night. Where time allows, the rhinos of the park can be the focus of an afternoon drive.
Lake Nakuru → Maasai Mara
A morning in Lake Nakuru National Park, with its semi-alkaline lake, grassland, woodland and escarpments, is followed by the drive to the Maasai Mara. Lake Nakuru is one of the three lakes in the Kenya Lake System World Heritage Site, and the Mara one of the best-known reserves in Africa, so the day links two very different kinds of protected place. A lodge in the Mara is the base for the next three nights.
Maasai Mara
The first full day in the Mara depends on the month. The Mara Conservancy says the migration usually arrives around June or July and continues until November, following the rains, so the timing shifts every year. The Kenya Meteorological Department describes the long rains from March to May and a second rainy season from October to December, and each season gives the reserve a different look. The drives are planned around what the plains hold during your stay.
Maasai Mara
A second full day lets the safari slow down. In migration season, the Mara Conservancy’s advice is to enjoy the herds rather than chase crossings, because crossings are frequent but unpredictable; out of season, a long sighting of a lion pride or an elephant family can fill a morning. Inside the reserve, stay in the vehicle except at designated points, and do not stand on the roof or sit in the windows to take photographs.
Maasai Mara → Amboseli
Today is a long travelling day from the Mara in the west to Amboseli in the south. The Land Cruiser crosses farmland and highland before the plains of the south open out, and the park is entered from the Nairobi side through Iremito or Meshanani gates. A lodge in the park is the base for two nights.
Amboseli
The full day in Amboseli follows its elephant families across the open plains and into the swamps. Kenya Wildlife Service describes the park as one of Africa’s premier places for close encounters with large elephant herds, and its swamps and marshes also make it an Important Bird Area with more than 400 recorded species. On clear days Kilimanjaro rises beyond the border, on the Tanzanian side, where the journey heads tomorrow.
Amboseli → Kenya–Tanzania border → Arusha
After a final morning in Amboseli, the journey crosses into Tanzania at a border post confirmed in your quotation. Travellers should check entry requirements for their nationality on official websites before the trip. Beyond the border, the road leads towards Arusha, the gateway to the northern safari circuit, and on towards the parks of the second week.
Arusha → Ngorongoro Crater
Today the journey reaches the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descends into the crater, which the NCAA calls the world’s largest intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. On its floor, among grasslands, swamps, rivers and woodland, live more than 25,000 animals, including elephants, buffalo, rhinos, lions and leopards. Only four-wheel-drive vehicles may enter, and walking on the floor is not allowed.
Ngorongoro → Serengeti
From the crater highlands the road descends to the Serengeti, where the plains stretch to the horizon. TANAPA describes the park as home to the world’s last remaining large-mammal migration, with more than a million and a half wildebeest moving with zebra and followed by predators. Where arrival time allows, an afternoon game drive begins two days in the park. Seronera airstrip lies in the heart of the park, which is also reached by regular flights from Arusha.
Serengeti
A full day in the Serengeti follows the herds, which move with the rain, or the park’s residents, which include lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and rhinos. TANAPA points to the dry months of June to October for the migration and to January and February for calving in the south. The park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981 and records more than 500 bird species, so even a quiet stretch of the drive has something to offer.
Serengeti → Lake Manyara → Arusha
The final day is a long one, leaving the Serengeti for Lake Manyara at the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment and then continuing to Arusha. Lake Manyara’s groundwater forest, its soda lake with lesser flamingos and its tree-resting lions make a fitting last stop. Two weeks have covered the dry north, highland forest, Rift Valley lakes and the great plains of both countries. Arusha is the end of the road, and onward travel from there is arranged with you.
Like the shape of these days? Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and our team will set out the stays, meals and inclusions in a written quotation.
Lake Nakuru
Overnight at the lodge. The camp or lodge is discussed with you during planning and confirmed with your itinerary, subject to availability. How accommodation works on our safaris
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Budget nights at Miti Mingi Eco Camp (Maasai Mara), Buraha Zenoni (Lake Nakuru) and Nyati Safari Camp (Amboseli), with camp or lodge stays at the other stops.
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and anything you would like to change. Our team will tell you what this journey can include.
