East Africa Migration Safari

You will be met on arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport and transferred to Arusha Coffee Lodge, located just a short drive from Arusha town center in the midst of a working coffee farm. Enjoy a relaxing dinner and good nights sleep before heading out tomorrow morning after breakfast.

On day 2, meet your private guide this morning and drive across the Great Rift Valley escarpment to Lake Manyara National Park. This park has been described as one of the most beautiful places in Africa. As you progress into the park, the tall forest gives way to woodlands, then grasslands, swamps, and finally the alkaline lake itself. The bird life is prolific with over 350 species. The park is also known for its tree-climbing lions! You have a picnic lunch by the lake to maximize your game viewing time. This afternoon, continue to the slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater and your next lodge, Gibb’s Farm.

In the afternoon on day 3, descend 2,000 feet into the crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the World’s largest intact volcanic caldera, a World Heritage Site and also one of the World’s Seven Natural Wonders. Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes and springs, to open grassland and some sandy dunes. It’s an awesome wildlife experience.

Bid your guide farewell at the Manyara Airstrip and take the short flight to the remote Northern Serengeti. You will be met by your exclusive guide and vehicle from Serian Serengeti Mobile Camp and transfer to camp for lunch. This afternoon set out on your first game drive; you have three days to explore this remarkable area. Your camp is semi-mobile and it travels with the natural flow of the wildebeest through the Serengeti eco-system. From June to November the camp is perfectly positioned to intercept the same animals as they arrive in the northern Serengeti on their way to Kenya’s Maasai Mara. These vast, seemingly unending plains are inhabited during the migration by enormous herds of wildebeest and zebra. The herds attract the attention of predators such as lion, cheetah and hyena.

This morning you will be transferred back to the airstrip for the quick flight to the Kenya border crossing; after passing through customs on the ground, you will be met by your Kenyan pilot on the other side for the short flight directly into the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, where your exclusive guide from Ngare Serian Camp will be waiting to meet you.

No other place on earth compares with the multitudes of wild animals found in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, part of the vast Serengeti eco-system spanning Kenya and Tanzania. During the summer months (approximately July–September), the Great Migration comprised of 1.5 million wildebeest and several hundred thousand zebra make the Maasai Mara their home. Here herds of zebra, wildebeest, and topi mingle on the short grass plains keeping an eye out for numerous predators, including lion, cheetah, leopard, and hyena. Maasai giraffe and impala graze in the woodlands and hippos and crocodiles bask along the shores of the Talek and Mara Rivers. The Masai Mara is also home to one of the great fighting tribes of Africa, the Maasai whose culture is both fascinating and truly unique.

Ngare Serian Camp is nestled in the private Mara North Conservancy, and is also perfectly positioned to take advantage of our 1,500 acres of exclusive conservation area. Yes – 1,500 acres of wilderness that belongs just to us, and is all yours to roam and explore… If you ever dreamed of your own slice of Africa – this is it. Tucked away in this conservation area, and a mere gentle stroll from camp, is ‘The Nest’, our tree house – a gorgeous sleep-out spot, or a perfect perch to have a picnic… In general a great extension of the peace and seclusion of Serian. Because we are free to do as we please in our own little zone, night drives and fishing in the river are also possible here. Walking is another great way to see the sights: tune into the whispering savannah silence away from the hum of a vehicle.

Sadly on day 10 it’s time to depart.
Sunrise marks your final morning in the Maasai Mara. After breakfast you will be taken on a final game drive on your way to the airstrip for your flight to Nairobi, where you will be met band transferred to Ole Sereni where you have day use of a dayroom until it’s time to the return to the international Jomo Kenyatta airport for your departing flights home.