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East Africa Tour to Kenya & Tanzania |
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| Note: |
Meals are included in the itinerary as
B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner |
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19.10.12
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Australia - Dubai
Depart
Sydney at 9.45pm on EK 413, arriving in Dubai at 5.30am the next
morning
(20.10.12).
Depart Brisbane at 8.45pm on EK 435, arriving in Dubai at 5.30am the
next morning (20.10.12).
Depart Melbourne at 10.25pm on EK 407, arriving in Dubai at 5.40am the
next morning (20.10.12). |
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20.10.12
(B)
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Dubai
Upon arrival you are met and transferred to the Holiday
Inn Al Barsha for a two night stay, where your rooms will be ready for
you as the hotel will be booked from the night before. |
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21.10.12
(B/D)
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Dubai
This morning we have a half day city tour of Dubai, where we view the
Burj Al Arab, which is considered by many to be the most
famous
building in Dubai. Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel which stands on
an artificial island. The shape of the building is designed to mimic
the sail of a ship. Also view the Jumeirah Mosque, which is located
within a coastal residential area of Dubai. There is also a visit
to the Gold Souk, which is a traditional market in Dubai, located in
the heart of Dubai's commercial business district. The souk consists of
over 300 retailers that trade almost exclusively in jewellery. By some
estimates, approximately 10 tons of gold are present at any given time
in the souk. In the afternoon there is a four wheel drive 'desert
safari' excursion including dune driving, camel ride, henna painting
and Arabic costumes for photographs. For dinner there is a dune safari
meal, including barbecue meats and salads, as well as fresh fruits and
local Arabic sweets.
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Al Barsha |
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22.10.12
(B)
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Dubai
- Nairobi
Breakfast
at hotel. This morning you will be transferred to the airport for your
flight to Nairobi. Depart
Dubai at 10.45am on EK 719, arriving in Nairobi at 2.45pm.
Upon arrival
at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met with
a traditional, unique and
special welcome (champagne and hot/cold towels). It is a tradition in
Africa to present a gift as an expression of joy and happiness -
what better gift than an authentic safari hat and other safari
souvenirs! We then transfer to the hotel, located in a serene
environment away from the busy central business district, a nice
place to relax and unwind before you
begin your safari. Nairobi is Kenya's principal economic,
administrative and cultural centre and is one of the largest and
fastest growing cities in Africa. Nairobi means 'place of cool waters'
in the Masai language. The remainder of the day is at leisure.
Accommodation: Sarova Panafric Hotel |
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23.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Lake
Nakuru National Park
Your guide driver will meet you at the hotel after
breakfast, help you load your luggage into the safari Land Cruiser then
off we go to Lake Nakaru. We will have a brief stop at the scenic
view point as we enter the Great Rift Valley to enjoy some
breath-taking panoramic views of the valley with its spectacular
features including the dormant caldera top Mount Longonot, Mt.Suswa and
Lake Naivasha in the distance. We arrive at Mbweha Camp to a warm
welcome, check-in and then have lunch.
This afternoon we depart on a game viewing drive. The 68km square
alkaline
Lake Nakuru is home to hundreds of lesser and greater flamingos. The
environment here is welcoming, one of the best places to relax, to
unwind, to enjoy nature's beauty. The scenery is breathtaking. A sight
of the virgin forest is re-assuring. Some of the interesting places to
visit include the Baboon cliff, the Lion hill and the Mau escarpment.
The park is one of the best game viewing parks with various animal
species including prides of lion, Cape buffalo, waterbucks, wart hogs,
the endangered Rothschild giraffes, the black and white rhino, the
Burchell's zebra, impalas and the elusive leopard among many others.
Over 300 bird species have been recorded here too. This is one of the
best places to see the endangered black and white rhino. Dinner and
overnight at the lodge.
Accommodation: Lake Nakuru Lodge |
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24.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Masai
Mara Game Reserve
A hearty early morning breakfast then drive to the Masai
Mara National Reserve, offering wonderful scenery and plenty of game.
We arrive at our camp to a very warm welcome for lunch.
This afternoon is the moment we have been longing for - we depart on an
exciting game viewing drive. 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,
wildebeests, the elusive leopard, cheetah, the spotted and stripped
hyena, the rhino, topi, Burchelle's zebra, the Maasai giraffe and
many others. The Mara Game Reserve is one that can never disappoint.
One is spoilt by the variety of bird and wildlife species in this game
reserve. For a long time, Mara Game Reserve has stubbed her authority
as the 'granary' of wildlife in Kenya. We return back to the lodge for
dinner.
Accommodation: Ashnil Mara Camp |
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25.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Masai
Mara Game Reserve
After a sumptuous breakfast we depart for a
full day
adventure. We are right in time for the greatest spectacle on earth;
the eighth wonder of the world - the wildebeest migration. From July to
October, the fields are awash with thousands of wildebeests that yearly
migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to Maasai Mara in
search of pasture. They cross the Nile crocodile infested Mara River.
Many of them are drawn to the water, others are captured and
killed by the giant crocodiles. The wildebeests are closely followed
by Burchell's, zebra's and impalas. Predators too in their hundreds
also
follow and lay in wait for those animals that become weak or
incapacitated during the long journey for a kill. Be on the look out
for the big five that Maasai Mara is famous for. These include the
lion, Savannah (African) elephant, the Cape buffalo, the leopard and
the black rhino. In the early 20th century, Kenya was a famous hunting
destination. Killing any of the big five gave one pride, a sense of
class and a feeling of heroism. We may even be lucky enough to witness
a
leopard or a cheetah sprint and make a kill! We return back to the camp
for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Ashnil Mara Camp |
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26.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Serengeti
National Park
After an early morning breakfast we depart with
picnic
lunch boxes to Serengeti National Park via the Isebania and Sirari
border. Our guide driver will help you through the immigration
procedures. We arrive in Serengeti in time for an exciting game viewing
drive in one of the best game parks in Tanzania. Covering an area of
14,763 square kilometres, the world famous Serengeti National Park is
Tanzania's oldest park and one of the world's last great wildlife
refuges. It stretches as far as Lake Victoria to the West. Its name
comes from the Maasai word Siringet, meaning 'endless
plains'. Dinner and overnight at our lodge
Accommodation: Seronera Wildlife Lodge |
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27.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Serengeti
National Park
After breakfast we depart with picnic lunch boxes on a
game
viewing drive towards Central Serengeti. In the early morning and
evening light, the Serengeti landscape is stunningly beautiful. The
Serengeti ecosystem supports the greatest remaining concentration of
plains game in Africa, including more than three million large mammals.
Dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Seronera Wildlife Lodge |
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28.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Ngorongoro
Conservation Area
After breakfast we depart for 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 for check
in, thereafter lunch. This afternoon just relax and enjoy the panoramic
views of the crater below, 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 metres 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. A strange thing is that the crater
elephants are mainly bulls! 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. Dinner and overnight at your
game lodge.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge |
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29.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Ngorongoro
Conservation Area
After breakfast we descend some 600 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 picnic lunch at a private
scenic site. Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world
teams with an abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater
floor. Prides of lions, herds of Cape buffalo, impala, Thompson
gazelles, rhino, golden and black backed jackal, zebra, cheetah,
leopard and the spotted hyena. Unmatched for its natural variety and
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. We
drive back to our game lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge |
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30.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Tarangire
National Park
After breakfast we set off to Tarangire National Park,
which of all Tanzania parks boasts the largest number of Savannah
elephants. We will be warmly ushered in for check-in, then lunch at our
game lodge. This afternoon is the moment we have been waiting for. We
depart on a game viewing drive in the vast, wildlife rich game park.
Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry Tarangire river bed of
underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo,
impala,
gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. Its 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. The swamps, tinged green
year round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding
species in one habitat anywhere in the world. On drier ground you may
find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking thighed
ostrich, the world's largest bird and small parties of ground
hornbills blustering like turkeys. Other birds include the yellow
collared lovebird, drabber rufous-tailed weaver and the ashy starling -
all endemic to the dry Savannah of north central Tanzania. Dinner and
overnight at our lodge.
Accommodation: Tarangire Sopa Lodge |
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31.10.12
(B/L/D)
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Amboseli
National Park
After a nice, hot breakfast, we depart via Arusha, on to the Namanga
border where we will clear with the immigration and proceed to Amboseli
National Park. Picnic lunch enroute. We arrive in time for an afternoon
game viewing drive and adventure. Amboseli National Park provides the
classic Hollywood image of Africa. Set in rolling Savannah scenery, it
is dwarfed by the presence of the pink-tinged, snow-capped peak of
Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing volcanic mountain in the
world and topped by one fifth of all the ice in Africa. Her
breath-taking scenery - one of the best places for photogenic view of
Mount Kilimanjaro, weather permitting is next to none. Dinner and
overnight.
Accommodation: Amboseli Sopa Lodge |
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01.11.12
(B/L)
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Nairobi
This morning we enjoy our breakfast then check-out.
Unbelievable but true, our good bush moments have come to an end. We
bid farewell to our wonderful lodge manager and his team then drive
back to Nairobi. Not empty handed though. With us are photographs - a
capture of the special moments we have had on this tour to immortalise
the experience. We transfer to Carnivore Restaurant for lunch.
Afterward our guide driver will drop you at the Sarova
Panafric Hotel. The evening is at leisure.
Accommodation: Sarova Panafric Hotel |
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02.11.12
(B)
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Nairobi
- Dubai
Breakfast at the hotel then a day at leisure before
check-out later this evening. Our guide drive will pick you from the
hotel, drop you at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport for your
onward flight.
All
passengers depart Nairobi at 11.35pm on EK 722, arriving in Dubai at
5.35am the next day (03.11.12). |
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03.11.12
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Dubai
- Sydney
Sydney
passengers depart Dubai at 10.15am on EK 412, arriving in Sydney at
7.00am the next morning (04.11.12).
Brisbane
passengers depart Dubai at 10.25am on EK 434, arriving in Brisbane at
6.40am the next morning (04.11.12).
Melbourne
passengers depart Dubai at 10.10am on EK 406, arriving in Melbourne at
6.35am the next morning (04.11.12). |
