Maasai Mara and Serengeti Classic Safari

Highlights

• Unrivalled Big 5 game viewing
• Witness the Great Migration (July to October)
• Legendary Masai Mara & Serengeti
• Spectacular Ngorongoro Crater
• Diverse & unique Lake Manyara
• Day & night game drives
• Nature walks & mountain biking
• Selection of Africa’s best lodges

Day 1: Welcome to Kenya | 2 Nights

Masai Mara, Kenya

Upon arrival at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, a vehicle waits to transfer you to Wilson Airport, where you board a scheduled flight to the Masai Mara National Reserve.

The reserve’s vast plains are dotted with clusters of trees giving rise to the Masai name ‘Maa’, which means ‘spotted’. Affectionately known as the Mara, this reserve protects the northern-most section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, a magnificent 25 000 square kilometre (9600 square mile) natural migration corridor. Your home for two nights is the opulent Bateleur Camp.
Bateleur Camp is located where the iconic final scene of Out of Africa was filmed, set within the shade of an indigenous forest overlooking the grasslands. During the heat of the day, the pool offers a refreshing escape complete with glorious poolside loungers and the subtly attentive service of your personal butler.

Your tented suite is a romantic blend of canvas and polished hardwood, with a generous bathroom and magnificent views from a private deck. You may well find yourself seated at the carved writing desk, pen poised above a postcard, quite lost in the splendid view of faraway rolling plains.

Day 2: The Mara

Bateleur Camp is located in a private concession in the Western Mara. The plains are best explored by vehicle on early morning and late afternoon game drives when wildlife is most active. Guided nature walks provide a more intimate insight into the natural environment and spotlit night drives add a thrilling sense of adventure to the possible sighting of nocturnal species. One of the camp’s delightful traditions is stopping at a scenic spot for refreshing sundowners during the late afternoon drive.

The Mara has a richly varied resident population of wildlife, including all the Big 5 along with rarer species like cheetah, bat-eared foxes and Roan antelope. The Great Migration occurs when the vast herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle move through the ecosystem following the rains and fresh grazing.
More than 470 bird species have been recorded here, including 60 raptors. Among the resident species that top the must-see list are vultures, marabou storks, secretary birds and African pygmy falcons. The national bird of Kenya is the aptly named lilac-breasted roller, a whimsical beauty that flashes its jewel colours against the muted tones of the savannah.

Day 3: Tanzania awaits | 2 Nights

Lake Manyara, Tanzania

After an early morning game drive and a hearty breakfast, you will return to Wilson Airport for a scheduled flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania. One more air transfer delivers you to Lake Manyara, the area Hemingway described as, ‘the loveliest I had seen in Africa’. Your home for two nights is the enchanting Lake Manyara Tree Lodge. Elegant and comfortable, the lodge’s delightful tree houses are cradled in the boughs of an ancient mahogany forest. For a highly recommended treat – especially on the day you arrive – book a deeply relaxing spa massage.

Day 4: Charming Lake Manyara

Manyara’s lush forests are alive with skipping blue monkeys and the joyous honking of hornbills. Where the forest gives way to plains, the eye is drawn past clouds of flamingo on the lakeshore, up to a line of pale purple volcanic. Inland from the floodplains lies a narrow belt of acacia woodland, home to tree-climbing lions, Africa’s graceful giants, elephants and the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik. Clans of banded mongoose add a comical touch to the panorama.

Manyara is a birder’s delight thanks to the combination of wetlands, woodlands and hot springs. Birds flourish here with over 400 recorded species in the area. While flamingos put on the most ostentatious show, Manyara is a haven for many large, migratory water birds, including pelicans and storks.

The Lodge offers daily game viewing expeditions on foot, safari vehicle or mountain bikes, all led by expert guides, as well as night drives that offer fascinating insights into the rich nocturnal life of the Park, and the chance to spot elusive creatures like aardvark and bat-eared foxes.

Day 5: Journey to the Crater | 2 Nights

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

After an early game drive and delicious breakfast, you will be transferred by road from Lake Manyara to the dramatic and breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater. This is a place of wonders – from its miraculous terrain to the abundant fauna and flora it supports, from its status as a World Heritage Site to the harmonious coexistence of its people and wildlife.

Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is architecturally spectacular. Perched on the edge of the crater, every suite offers impressive views. Glamorous opulence rules this Lodge, from the chandelier-lit bathrooms to the personal butler service and fine dining.

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater: a true original

The Crater is the world’s largest intact, un-flooded caldera. Your route from the lodge descends over the lush rainforests of the rim, 610m (2 000ft) down to the grasslands of the crater floor, an area of about 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). This haven provides a year-round home to wildebeest, zebra, eland and gazelle, along with Africa’s densest population of lion. The rainforests shelter elephant, mountain buck, buffalo, hyena, wild dog, leopard and cheetah.

Spend your day game viewing and exploring the crater floor, stopping to picnic on the grasslands amidst the grazing herds. Return to the Lodge for sundowners on the crater’s rim and a sumptuous feast in the domed dining area.

Days 7-8:  Exploring the Legendary Serengeti | 2 Nights

After breakfast, a short flight whisks you to the place the Maasai call Siringitu, the ‘place where the land moves on forever’. Tanzania’s first game reserve, the Serengeti National Park is one of the last remaining natural migration corridors and one of the oldest ecosystems on earth. Its climate, vegetation and fauna have remained mostly unchanged over the past million years. The natural instinct that drives the annual Great Migration of more than a million wildebeest, gazelle and zebra is so powerful that neither drought nor crocodile-infested rivers can halt it.

The drive to your Serengeti Under Canvas Camp whets your appetite for more. After settling into your suite, you waste no time taking your place on the afternoon game drive. There is so much to see here that the drive lasts until sundowner time, when your ranger selects a scenic spot to stop and delve into the generous picnic hamper.
After sunset, the game drive continues with a deftly operated spotlight seeking out the nocturnal creatures that emerge after dusk. You return to camp in time to freshen up and join your fellow explorers to dine under the stars. The emphasis at this camp is on comfortable luxury and a romantic, close-to-nature experience. In addition to daily game drives, we highly recommend an early morning hot-air balloon ride.

Day 9: Farewell to Africa

After breakfast, you begin your journey home. Scheduled flights take you to Kilimanjaro International Airport and on to Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, where a driver waits to transfer you to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your flight home. You have seen spectacular sights and created unforgettable memories – simply close your eyes to feel the warmth of the African sun on your skin, catch the scent of wild sage on the cool evening air, and hear the low, spine-tingling moans of lions at dusk. All this and more you have witnessed on your East Africa safari.