Big 5 African Safaris, accommodated, camping and fully escorted
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13 nights camping
All camping equipment
Camping Mattress
Meals as specified
Transport in a safari truck
Sightseeing as per itinerary
Gorilla Permit (this is included in the price but is subject to change)
Local payment (USD$595pp)
Sleeping bag and pillow
Meals not included in itinerary
Optional activities
Items of a personal nature
Visas
Gorilla Trek
Masai Mara
Lake Nakuru
Queen Victoria National Park
GORILLA TREKKING PERMIT INCLUDED
Kenya
Uganda
Leaving Nairobi we travel north to Lake Naivasha and then to Hell's Gate National Park. Here, one of the popular activities is to go game viewing on a bicycle. Optional activities: Cycle hire, High Tea at Elsamere.
Meals Included: LD
The Masai Mara National Reserve is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti National Park (located in Tanzania). Today the tour will be entering this huge area of spectacular game viewing to photograph some of Africa’s most abundant wildlife. Famous for the annual migration of around 1.5 million wildebeest, the Masai Mara is also home to many other plains animals, including lions. We will only arrive after lunch, but in time for an afternoon game drive, cultural interaction with Kenya's native Masaai people will round off your experience.
Meals Included: BLD
This morning there's more game veiwing in the Masai Mara before we travel towards Lake Nakuru National Park, a great place to spot flamingos. White Rhino also inhabit the transitional savannah area surrounding the lake.
Meals Included: BLD
Leaving Lake Nakuru we drive to the Uganda border, and then stop for a photo at the equator. Later we arrive in Uganda's capital and largest city, Kampala.
Meals Included: BLD
Although officially this day is set aside for everyone to explore Kampala, most people take an optional day trip to the Chipanzee Sanctuary of Ngamba Island. This non-profit eco-friendly project was set up in 1998 to care for orphaned Chimpanzees. Optional activities: Ngamba Chimpanzee excursion, Kampala Markets, Dinner Out.
Meals Included: BL
Lake Bunyoni is a small but attractive lake with steep sides and abundant birdlife. Ringed by mountains, the lake is best known for its dense Otter population and stunning scenery. We make use of this beautiful spot to relax the night before the final drive to the gorillas.
Meals Included: BLD
The Mountain Gorilla is extremely endangered and while exact numbers vary it is widely assumed that there are only 650 left. Visiting the Gorilla’s is a great way to support their future on earth as the money spent on permits is used for their protection. An extremely important part of the future conservation of the remaining Gorilla’s rests in the community development work – as local communities change their attitudes towards wildlife and start to protect rather than poach the future of the Mountain
Gorilla’s is assured.
As permits granting permission to visit the gorillas are extremely limited we require flexibility in both the tour itinerary and where we actually visit them. The home of the Mountain Gorillas is completely at odds with man-made borders and so their range encompasses Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Whenever possible we choose to make use of the NP in Uganda, but this depends on the availability of permits. Please note that each permit is only valid for one day. It is normal that the group will be split and will trek on different days; it all depends on the availability of the permits.
Should we not obtain permits to visit the Mountain Gorillas in either Bwindi or Mgahinga NP in Uganda then we will inform all passengers beforehand that the tour will travel to Rwanda or DRC. Visas for all nationalities are available on the DRC and Rwandan borders.
Please note: Although there are 3 days allocated to Gorilla Trekking you will only spend one day on the trek. The other days are there to provide a large enough window in which to obtain permits and to allow the entire group to trek if there is more than 6 of you on the tour.
Meals Included: BLD
Today we will leave the Gorillas behind and visit some of Uganda’s other wild animals at Queen Elizabeth National Park. Many game species are to be found in this mainly Wetland Park including the (elsewhere elusive) giant forest hog, and the legendary tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha Sector. The 1995 square kilometers of exceptional bio-diversity contain over 600species of birds and nearly 100 mammals. Game is best viewed from the water and we recommend a sunset cruise on the Kasinga channel. Optional Activities: Kasinga Channel Sunset Cruise
Meals Included: BLD
The morning is spent on further game veiwing and this afternoon we return to Kampala where we can dine out at one of the cities many restaurants. Optional activities: Meal out in Kampala.
Meals Included: BL
Jinja is Uganda’s second largest city and is famous as the point where the Nile (officially the Victoria Nile) flows out of Lake Victoria and begins the 6695 kilometre journey to Egypt and the Mediterranean. If you do not want to go rafting, why not volunteer for the day at Soft Power Education, a UK registered charity that is doing a wonderful job with the education of Jinja’s youth. Spending your day helping out will not only assist their projects, but will also afford you the opportunity to spend a day at grass-root level helping Africa’s youth. Optional Activities: White Water Rafting, Soft Power Education Project
Meals Included: BLD
Returning to Kenya we visit Eldoret, the country's 5th largest city. The Great Rift Valley is still the dominant geographical feature of this region and the altitude at Eldoret is 2100 metres above sea level.
Meals Included: BLD
It is a very long drive to Nairobi. The city of Nairobi was originally founded as a camp for the Mombassa-Uganda railway in 1899 and had since become the largest city in both Kenya and the East Africa region. As this is the last evening the group may choose to dine together at Nairobi’s famous Carnivore Restaurant, where vegetarians are catered for, but not encouraged… Optional Activities: Meal out in Nairobi
Meals Included: BL
