Realm of the Original African Animal Safari
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zanzibar and Mombasa
Wild, adventurous and wonderful. Immense concentrations of wildlife, amazing birdlife, rich and diverse cultures…places like no where else on earth: Mount Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater, Masai Mara, Serengeti plains, Murchison Falls - source of the great River Nile, the long, timeless white-sand beaches of Zanzibar…East Africa, the home of safari.
Learn more in our 
East Africa Safari Planner.(3.1MB)
Review our Safari Price List.(2.9MB)
Prices effective:
03 October 2010 - 18 October 2010
Package: CAD $8280.00 (Per Person - sharing)
Single Supplement: CAD $1340.00 (Per Person - single occupancy)
PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Subject to a minimum of 15 participants otherwise a surcharge may apply.
David Skillan's Best Of East Africa Safari - Kenya & Tanzania – October 2010
Join seasoned world traveller David Skillan to see the best of East Africa with the security and the assurance of a worry-free, relaxing escorted holiday. David has in excess of 30 years in the Travel and Tourism industry and has successfully organized and led well over 100 tours abroad. This tour is a high quality, first-class excursion, offering extremely good value.
Book now as these tours have a habit of filling up quickly!
Sunday October 3 - Vancouver to London
Our great adventure begins with an overnight Air Canada flight to London. Dinner, breakfast and drinks on board.
Monday October 4 - London to Nairobi
On arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport we will transfer to a convenient and comfortable hotel where day rooms have been booked for us. The afternoon is at leisure to relax, take a taxi to Windsor or the Underground into the city. This evening we will transfer back to Heathrow Airport for our Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi.
Tuesday October 5 - Nairobi
On arrival in Nairobi we will be met and transferred to our hotel.
The Nairobi Serena is situated in the lush gardens surrounding Nairobi's Central Park. Here, you can enjoy quiet and peaceful moments away from the bustling city and yet remain within walking distance of it. The superlative accommodation, excellent cuisine, impeccable service and luxurious facilities have all contributed to the Nairobi Serena acquiring the status of Member of the "Leading Hotels of the World". Fully air-conditioned, a variety of restaurants and a magnificent swimming pool ensure that our stay here will be a treat!
This afternoon, after we have had a chance to settle in, we will visit Giraffe Manor and the Karen Blixen Museum.
Overnight at Nairobi Serena on a bed and breakfast basis.
Wednesday October 6 - Sweetwaters Private Game Reserve
This morning we will be met at our hotel by our driver/guides. We will then drive north in our comfortable safari vans through everchanging landscapes to the famous Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club for lunch and an afternoon visit to their exclusive animal orphanage. With magnificent views of majestic Mount Kenya, the Mount Kenya Safari Club is set in over 100 acres of landscaped gardens. Originally the retreat of movie star and Club founder, William Holden, the Club's illustrious former members have included Winston Churchill and Bing Crosby.
From Mount Kenya Safari Club it is a short drive to the privately owned Sweetwaters Game Reserve.
Sweetwaters Tented Camp and Chimpanzee Sanctuary lies in the heart of Sweetwaters Game Reserve. A 3 hour drive from Nairobi, this wonderful place enjoys magnificent views across the African bush to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya. Overlooking a floodlit waterhole, the camp offers visitors an unforgettable opportunity to watch and photograph game in its natural habitat. Accommodation is provided in 25 luxuriously appointed tents set under thatch with en suite facilities and private verandah. Game drives are offered by four wheel drive vehicle, walking safaris escorted by a knowledgeable ranger, and night game drives ensure that there is always plenty to do! There is also a swimming pool for relaxation.
Overnight at Serena Sweetwaters Tented Camp on a full board basis.
Thursday October 7 - Sweetwaters Private Game Reserve
Today we will enjoy morning and afternoon game drives and a visit to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary is the only one of its kind in Kenya. The riverine forest and savannah grasslands that make up the 1 square kilometre sanctuary are home to 26 orphaned chimps varying in age from 2 to 15 years. Most of these chimps originally came from the Jane Goodall Institute in Burundi, where a great many were placed after being rescued from a miserable existence. Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary is playing a critical part in finding a solution for the plummeting population of chimps in the wild through education and rehabituation of this, our closest living relative. It is a wonderful experience to see these marvelous creatures in a natural environment.
Overnight at Serena Sweetwaters Tented Camp on a full board basis.
Friday October 8 - Lake Nakuru
This morning we will descend into the Great Rift Valley with its stunning volcanic landscapes to Sarova Lion Hill Lodge for lunch and afternoon game viewing and birdwatching around Lake Nakuru, seasonal home to millions of flamingos and a multitude of other birdlife and animals.
Sarova Lion Hill overlooks the lake, offering a unique vantage point. Each of the 64 superbly appointed chalets has a separate lounge and secluded verandah with views over the lake and the distant hills. They offer a private toilet and shower, mosquito nets and electricity. The lodge restaurant and bar open onto a large viewing deck with panoramic views. The lodge also has a swimming pool, sauna, laundry service, curio and gift shop, conference facilities and a medical clinic. Each night, guests are treated to a performance of traditional dance.
Dinner and overnight at Lion Hill Lodge.
Saturday October 9 - Masai Mara
This morning we will be driven to the Masai Mara with lunch en route.
Set in the heart of Africa's Great Plains, the Masai Mara boasts 1,672 square kilometres of unspoilt wilderness. It is home to the highest concentration of animals and birds anywhere on the continent. Throughout the year the Mara is a place of natural drama, a kaleidoscope of colour, life and activity. The famed "Big Five" - elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard - roam the reserve, together with hundreds of others from the fastest animal on earth, the cheetah, to one of the most secretive and unknown, the bat-eared fox.
After the rains, when the first flush of grass turns the Mara's golden savannah green, the most mesmerising wildlife spectacle anywhere takes place here: the Great Migration. This is the time when 1.5 million wildebeest, accompanied by vast numbers of zebra and gazelles make the long and dangerous trek from drier lands in Tanzania, northwards to this corner of Kenya. For most of the century the Mara has drawn those searching for adventure and the thrill is still the same today, with days spent face to face with nature at its most untouched and enthralling.
Situated in the heart of the Masai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Serena Safari Lodge is set on the saddle of a hill overlooking 1 800 square kilometres of rolling plains and woodlands that contain one of the world's richest wildlife sanctuaries. Few other lodges have such a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape and the game and birdlife that inhabits it. It is on this very terrain, stretching endlessly before the lodge, that the annual migration takes place, when millions of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle traverse the landscape to feed on the rich new grass and give birth to their young.
The Mara Serena is an interpretation of a traditional Masai Manyatta village of domed huts that are styled and arranged to blend into the natural landscape. The public areas of the lodge include a restaurant, bar, lounge, curio shop, swimming pool and beauty salon. There are 76 huts with en suite shower facilities, mosquito nets, direct dial telephones and a private verandah. Each hut is well spaced to give an uninterrupted view of the plains, the meandering riverine forest and the silhouetted hills beyond. Breakfasts, cocktail parties and dinners are served on the terrace overlooking the waterhole where big game comes to feed. The evening entertainment includes musicians, Masai dancers, wildlife films and talks given by a resident naturalist. Game viewing can be done from the lodge or on the daily game drives onto Masai Mara plains. Safaris by balloon or plane are also offered at an additional cost.
Overnight at Mara Serena Safari Lodge on a full board basis.
Sunday October 10 - Masai Mara
Morning and afternoon game-viewing with an overnight at Mara Serena Safari Lodge on a full board basis.
Monday October 11 - Serengeti National Park
After an early breakfast we will cross into Tanzania at Isebania then drive through the Western Corridor of the Serengeti National Park with a picnic lunch and game viewing en route.
The Serengeti National Park is arguably the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world. "Serengeti" means "endless plains" in the Masai language, and within its boundaries are more than three million large mammals. About 35 species of plains animals can be seen here including the so- called "big five" - elephant, rhino, lion (more than 2,000 of them), leopard and buffalo.
The huge herds of wildebeest and zebra are in the northern Serengeti and the western corridor during the dry season, July-October, returning south again as the November rains approach. In their wake follow the predators; lion, cheetah and hunting dogs with vultures circling overhead. Other common species found here include hippo, giraffe, eland, impala and other antelope types, baboons, monkeys and a profusion of almost 500 bird species.
Serengeti Serena Lodge is set high on a hill with breathtaking vistas of a landscape teeming with game. The wildlife defines the Serengeti - countless zebra, buffalo, gazelle, wildebeest, and other species make it their home. Big game feed in full view of the lodge itself. The terrain is the main stage for the great wildebeest migrations, an awesome spectacle involving millions of these beasts. The lodge design is simple but stunning. Inspired by a traditional African village, separate rondavel "huts" house the luxury guest rooms. From the overall impression to the
smallest detail, the lodge is rich in local atmosphere created by indigenous handicrafts and art.
Overnight Serengeti Serena Lodge on a full board basis.
Tuesday October 12 - Serengeti National Park
Today will be spent on morning and afternoon game-viewing drives in the Serengeti. Look out for leopard along the riverine forest or marvel at the vast herds of wildebeest and zebra out on the plains, while lion and cheetah may be spotted lurking around the rocky Kopjes.
Overnight at the Serengeti Serena Lodge on a full board basis.
Wednesday October 13 - Ngorongoro Crater
This morning we will be transferred to the Ngorongoro Crater, stopping en route for a visit to a Masai manyatta and at Olduvai Gorge for a picnic lunch. It was here that Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the remains of some of mankind’s earliest ancestors.
Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the incomparable Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world's largest calderas. A caldera is the broad, crater-like basin of a volcano formed by the collapse of the central cone. Dominated by cliffs standing some 600 meters high and presenting a sheer drop down to a wide open space of some 264 square km, the crater is one of the most amazing sights seen anywhere. The Crater is home to 25,000 larger mammals, almost half of them zebra and wildebeest. There are also gazelle, buffalo, eland, hartebeest and wart hog. Such vast numbers attract predators aplenty, mainly lion and hyena, but also cheetah and leopard. More than 100 species of birds not found in the Serengeti have been spotted here. Countless flamingos form a pink blanket over the soda lakes.
The road around the Ngorongoro Crater sits at 2250 metres above sea level and offers breath-taking views. Just as overwhelming is the view from the private terrace of most of the guest and public rooms at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. The Ngorongoro Serena is built of local stone and is molded to the contours of the site on the rim of the Crater. The lodge consists of 75 luxury en suite rooms most with private terraces. Cultural events include Masai dancing and celebratory presentations. In the evenings a choir or guitarist performs for the guests' pleasure. At Ngorongoro Serena Lodge visitors co-exist in perfect harmony with the natural environment and the wildlife that inhabits it.
Overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge on a full board basis
Thursday October 14 - Ngorongoro Crater
A half-day game-viewing in the crater. The huge variety of wildlife and stunning landscapes make Ngorongoro one of the world’s great natural phenomena.
Lunch and afternoon at leisure at the Lodge.
Overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge on a full board basis
Friday October 15 - Lake Manyara National Park
This morning we will drive from the Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Manyara National Park with a coffee break at Gibbs Farm and lunch at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.
Lying in a shallow depression at the base of the Rift Valley escarpment is the scenic Lake Manyara National Park. Most famous for its tree-climbing lions, which drape themselves over branches of umbrella-shaped thorn trees to catch cool breezes, the reserve boasts over 40 species of large mammals and some 380 birds. There are several different types of forests with a variety of fauna – hippo, giraffe, elephant, zebra and monkey just to name a few.
The Lake Manyara Serena Lodge has a dramatic setting overlooking the Great Rift Valley and the beautiful soda lake of Lake Manyara National Park. The area is rich in birdlife and from them much of the lodge decoration has been inspired. The Lodge facilities include a swimming pool; spacious, comfortable public areas and a restaurant and bar - all which take advantage of the breath-taking view.
Afternoon game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. Look out for the famous tree-climbing lions as well as hippo, flamingo, elephant and giraffe.
Overnight at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge on a full board basis.
Saturday October 16 - Nairobi
This morning we will drive to Arusha for lunch at the Cultural Heritage Restaurant before continuing by road to the Kenyan border at Namanga and on to Nairobi, arriving in the late afternoon. We will be dropped off at the Nairobi Serena Hotel for an overnight stay on a bed and breakfast basis.
Sunday October 17 - Nairobi to London
This morning we will visit the Daphne & David Sheldrick’s Animal Orphanage which was founded by the late David Sheldrick, formerly Warden of Tsavo East National Park, and is now run by his wife Daphne. The Animal Orphanage helps to rehabilitate severely traumatized orphaned animals, particularly elephants and rhinos, thus enabling them to live their natural lifestyle once reintroduced into the wild.
Tonight we will transfer back to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and check-in for our overnight flight to London on Kenya Airways. Dinner, breakfast and drinks on board.
Monday October 18 - London to Vancouver
We will arrive in London early this morning and connect to our Air Canada flight to Vancouver where our trip ends.
Optional Extensions to exotic Zanzibar or the Kenyan Coast are available at additional cost. Please contact us about these options at time of booking.