Kenya, The Serengeti & Maasai Mara

Day 1 - Monday 4 May 2020

Melbourne - Kenya (Meals Inflight)

Welcome to Sisterhood Womens Travel!  Meet your Sisterhood Tour Hostess and fellow travellers at the Melbourne Airport for your flight to Kenya.  Sit back, relax and enjoy the inflight entertainment of our airlines as we head towards Nairobi.  JAMBO - KARIBU!! 

Day 2 - Tuesday 5 May 2020

Melbourne - Kenya

Upon our arrival into Kenya we'll be warmly met upon our arrival with a traditional, unique & special welcome (bubbly, wet towels and presentation of authentic safari hat and a beautiful authentic canvas pouch filled with safari essentials).  Check in to our hotel in time for a good nights sleep!

Overnight - The Sarova Stanley (or similar)

Day 3 - Wednesday 6 May 2020

Nairobi Sightseeing (B,L,D)

Today we'll enjoy a visit to Daphne Sheldricks Wildlife Trust organisation, the most successful oprhan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world.  The orphanage set in the Nairobi National Park is only open for one hour in the morning, giving us a rare opportunity to come close to baby elephants whose ages vary from a few months to 3 years old.  A very unique experience.  Afterwards, we'll continue on to visit the Giraffe Centre an educational centre and part of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife.  The Centre has a small herd of Rothschild Giraffe who are an endangered species. We'll enjoy a beautiful lunch at Tamambo Restaurant in the grounds of the Karen Blixen Museum where you'll have time for an optional museum visit.  The Museum was originally the home of Karen Blixen of the "Out of Africa" fame.  Returning back to our hotel with time to freshen up before being warmly invited to the Manji family residence for dinner.

Overnight - The Sarova Stanley (or similar)

Day 4 - Thursday 7 May 2020

Nairobi - Lake Nakuru National Park (B,L,D)

After a hearty breakfast, we depart for Lake Nakuru National Park, with a brief stop at the View Point to admire the breathtaking beauty of the Great Rift Valley with Mt. Longonot and Mt. Suswa in the background. Stretching from Lebanon to Mozambique, the Great Rift Valley is a crack in the earth’s crust and is most prominent in Kenya literally cutting the country into two and consisting of some of the world’s finest mountains, lakes and plains. Driving down the escarpment is hugely scenic with views of lakes Naivasha and Elmenteita in the distance.  Arrive at our lodge in good time for lunch. 

This afternoon we'll enjoy our first game viewing drive. The park is a sanctuary for the endangered Rothschild giraffe, Abyssinian black and white Colobus monkey, black and white rhino and the elusive leopard. Over 50 other animal species freely roam the park including waterbuck, impala, Cape buffalo and warthog among many others. The scenery is breathtaking; a haven rejuvenating the soul with the largest Euphorbia forest in Africa.

Return to our lodge for dinner and overnight.

Overnight - Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge (or similar)

Day 5 - Friday 8 May 2020

Tipilikwani Mara Camp, Maasai Mara (B,L,D)

After breakfast we depart for Kenya's famous game reserve. We start the day venturing through the floor of the Great Rift Valley passing Mt. Longonot and Mt. Suswa and travelling to the northern most extension of the Serengeti Plains and one of the richest wildlife Game Reserves, the Masai Mara. 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. Arrive for a late lunch at our camp. Enjoy an afternoon game viewing drive in this vast and expansive reserve teaming with game. Be on the look-out for the 'big five' that Masai Mara is famous for. These include lion, Cape buffalo, the savannah elephant, black rhino and the elusive leopard. The vast savannah grasslands as far as the eye can see is home to impala, Maasai giraffe, cheetah, waterbuck, warthog, Thompson & Grant gazelle, topi, the migrating wildebeests, thundering herds of zebra among many others.

We will also enjoy a visit to a local school today, returning late in the evening to freshen up prior to dinner.

Overnight - Tipilikwani Mara Camp, Maasai Mara (or similar)

Day 6 - Saturday 9 May 2020

Game Viewing in the Maasai Mara (B,L,D)

Today, as a group, we will make a choice to go out on an early morning game viewing drive and return to camp for a hot breakfast OR enjoy a hearty breakfast first and head out for a full morning’s game viewing drive returning to camp for lunch OR you may opt to enjoy a hot delicious breakfast and depart for a full day’s game viewing drive with picnic lunch to return late afternoon to the camp for dinner and overnight.

OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: Balloon Safari over the Mara plains followed by a champagne breakfast and/or visit a traditional Masai Manyatta and experience the culture of this world famous community. The Masai still live as they did for centuries - interact with these nomadic people and experience their way of life as we learn about their customs and traditions.

Overnight - Tipilikwani Mara Camp, Maasai Mara (or similar)

Day 7 - Sunday 10 May 2020

Lake Victoria (B,L,D)

Enjoy an early breakfast and depart with a simple but delicious picnic lunch to Tanzania via the Isebania/Sirari border. Clear all immigration and customs procedures to enter Tanzania and continue to the shores of Lake Victoria, the largest fresh water lake in Africa.  We'll enjoy the rest of our day at the resort, where fingers crossed, we will witness a spectacular sunset shimmering over the lake. Dinner and overnight at our lodge.

 
Overnight - Serenity on the Lake Eco Luxury Resort  (or similar)

Day 8 - Monday 11 May 2020

The Serengeti (B,L,D)

Enjoy a delicious breakfast and proceed to the Serengeti National Park.  Covering an area of 14,763 square kilometers, this world famous Serengeti National Park is Tanzania's oldest park, and one of the world's last great wildlife refuge. The Serengeti ecosystem supports the greatest remaining concentration of plains and in Africa, including more than three million large mammals. Arrive at our lodge for lunch and an afternoon game viewing drive before enjoying a lovely dinner.

Overnight - Serengeti Sopa Lodge (or similar)

Day 9 - Tuesday 12 May 2020

The Serengeti (B,L,D)

This morning after breakfast, depart with picnic lunch boxes for a full day of game viewing drives on vast Serengeti plains. In the early morning and evening light, the Serengeti landscape is stunningly beautiful. The rolling plains and grasslands, stretching far into the horizons as far as the eye can see, is home to the black-manned lion, the savannah elephant, the cape buffalo, wildebeest, the elusive leopard, cheetah, the spotted & stripped hyena, rhino, topi, burchelle’s zebra, masai giraffe among many others. Serengeti National Park is one that can never disappoint.  There are many variety's of bird and wildlife species in this game reserve. Enjoy dinner and overnight stay.

OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: Dawn Balloon Safari over the Serengeti Plains ending with a champagne breakfast.

Overnight - Serengeti Sopa Lodge (or similar)

Day 10 - Wednesday 13 May 2020

Ngorongoro Crater (B,L,D)

After breakfast, we depart to Ngorongoro. We stop at the Oldupai Gorge, one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world to learn about human evolution. We will enjoy an on-site talk on the interpretation of the gorge by the resident guide. We arrive at  your lodge to a warm welcome, check-in and then enjoy lunch.

This afternoon we will relax and enjoy the breathtaking spectacular views of the crater below from our lodge. Ngorongoro Crater has the largest unbroken caldera in the world. It has been described as one of the great natural wonders of the world. Eight million years ago, the Ngorongoro Crater was an active volcano but its cone collapsed, forming the crater that is 610 meters deep, 20 kilometres in diameter, and covers an area of 311 sq. km. Spectacular as it is, the crater accounts for just a tenth of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The crater is home to many species of wild game and birds. With the exception of impala and topi (due to fierce competition with the wildebeest) and the giraffe (because there is not much to eat at tree level), almost every species of African plains mammal lives in the crater, including the endangered black rhino, and the densest population of predators in Africa. The birdlife, which includes the flamingo, is mainly seasonal, and is also affected by the ratio of soda to fresh water in Lake Magadi on the crater floor.  Depending on weather conditions we'll end the day with a Guided Walk around the Crater.

Dinner and overnight at our Crater Lodge.

NOTE: Warm jacket/cardigan is highly recommended.

Overnight - Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge (or similar)
 

Day 11 - Thursday 14 May 2020

Ngorongoro Crater Walk (B,L,D)

After breakfast descend some 610 metres into the crater which is home to an abundance of wildlife and a photogenic paradise, for a full day of game-viewing drive with a picnic lunch. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world. Some of the wildlife that permanent residents of the crater floor are prides of lions, herds of Cape buffalo, impala, Thompson gazelles, rhino, giraffes, golden & black-backed jackal, zebra, cheetah, leopard and the spotted hyena freely roam on the crater floor plains. Known for its natural variety & breath-taking beauty, there are few places on earth where such a tremendous diversity of landscapes exist inside a region this size. Apart from its wildlife riches, the crater is also of great archaeological importance, with the remains of some of mankind’s earliest ancestors discovered in the area, also a home to hundreds of bird species, refreshing in the small lakes in the crater floor.

Return late afternoon to your lodge. Enjoy dinner and overnight.

Overnight - Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge (or similar)

Day 12 - Friday 15 May 2020

Tarangire National Park (B,L,D)

Enjoy your breakfast then depart to Tarangire arriving at our lodge for lunch. This afternoon we depart on an exciting game viewing drive in this area dotted with majestic baobab trees, stately eland antelopes among other game. Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry Tarangire river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It's the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem - a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared Oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed. Enjoy dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Located just a few hours drive from the town of Arusha, Tarangire is a popular stop for safaris travelling through the northern circuit on their way to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. The park extends into two game-controlled areas and the wildlife are allowed to move freely throughout. After the Serengeti, Tarangire has the greatest concentration of wildlife in Tanzania and in the dry season the Tarangire River is a magnet for thirsty wildlife. Large herds of elephants and migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland gather and not surprisingly the predators follow.  Tarangire is also known for its breathtaking views of the Masaai Steppe and the mountains to the south.

Overnight - Tarangire Sopa Lodge (or similar)

Day 13 - Saturday 16 May 2020

Amboseli National Park (B,L,D)

Enjoy an early morning breakfast and depart for Amboseli passing the busy town of Arusha and towards Namanga, the border town between Kenya and Tanzania where you will clear all immigration and customs formalities. Continue to Amboseli National Park and arrive to a warm welcome at our lodge for a late lunch.We'll then enjoy an afternoon game  drive in this park with the majestic and tallest snow-capped mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro towering over the plains of this small park. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Located in the southern reaches of Kenya, the Amboseli National Park is renowned for its excellent variety of wildlife such as Masaai giraffe, elephant, lion and cheetah and not surprisingly it is one of Kenya's most popular parks. The landscape of Amboseli is dominated by the majestic snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as open plains, acacia woodland, swamps and the massif of Ol Doinyo Orok. The birding is excellent, especially closer to the lakes and swamps. The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to large herds of elephants among other wildlife species. Other attractions of the park include opportunities to meet the Maasai people and soak up spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

Overnight - Amboseli Serena Lodge (or similar)

Day 14 - Sunday 17 May 2020

Amboseli National Park (B,L,D)

Today we will enjoy more game viewing drives. Amboseli offers some of the most breathtaking views in Africa. Her scenery - one of the best places for a photogenic view of Mount Kilimanjaro (weather permitting) is next to none. This is best seen on a clear day. Amboseli National Park provides the classic Hollywood image of Africa. The park is famous for her large herds of giant elephants. Enjoy a visit to a Local School and enjoy Cooking Class, mastering the local Cuisine.

All meals and overnight at our lodge.

Overnight - Amboseli Serena Lodge (or similar)

Day 15 - Monday 18 May 2020

Amboseli - Nairobi - Melbourne (Meals Inflight)

Unbelievable but true, our fantastic bush moments have come to an end. We bid farewell to our wonderful lodge manager and his team then depart for the Nairobi Airport. Not empty handed though. With us are many photographs – a capture of the special moments we have had on this tour as a permanet reminder of an amazing experience.  Sit back, relax and enjoy the inflight entertainment of our airlines as we head towards home.

Day 16 - Tuesday 19 May 2020

Welcome Home!

Welcome Home!  We arrive back into Melbourne in the late evening.  What an amazing time we've all enjoyed.  Thank you for travelling with Sisterhood Womens Travel and we look forward to welcoming you back for your next adventure.