Day 1: December 23

After pick up from Nairobi International Airport, passengers are transferred to Acacia Camp in Langata. At 5:00 pm, we meet for our pre-departure meeting and discuss and answer questions about the adventure ahead of us. ( Lodging upgrades available)

Day 2: December 24

We leave Acacia Camp and head to Lake Nakuru National Park. This park is home to endless flocks of greater and lesser flamingoes, white and black rhino, and four (leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhino) of Africa’s Big Five. We spend the day game-driving through the park, viewing its brilliant spectacles. We spend the night camping within the confines of the park, listening to the sounds of Africa’s nocturnal animals. LD

 

Day 3: December 25

We spend the morning game driving in the park looking for those animals we may have missed. We then travel to our campsite on the shores of Lake Naivasha where we have our Christmas celebrations. BLD (Lodging upgrades available)

 

Day 4: December 26

We awaken early and head to the Maasai Mara, the northern-most point of the Serengeti ecosystem, where we will have a chance to meet the iconic Maasai people and the area’s fascinating wildlife. After entering the park in the afternoon, we game-drive to Acacia Camp Mara where our twin-share, bedded tents await us. BLD

 

Day 5: December 27

A full day of game-driving begins with sun up. We won’t have to go very far to see the herds of wildebeest and zebra that have made the Maasai Mara their seasonal home as well as the predators that hunt them. Lions, leopards, and cheetah are all possibilities to be seen along with elephants, buffalo, giraffe, over a dozen antelope species and endless bird life.

At lunch we will have the opportunity to do an optional walk along the Mara River to view the enormous crocodiles and hippos that inhabit the waterway. In the late afternoon, we may choose to visit a neighboring Maasai village and see how these fascinating people live. BLD

 

Day 6: December 28

We have a morning game-drive out of the Maasai Mara and head to one of Africa’s most famous bodies of water, Lake Victoria. Crossing the border from Kenya into Tanzania, we find our campsite at the lake-side town of Musoma. If time permits, we will have the option of boating on the lake. BLD (Lodging upgrades available)

 

Day 7: December 29

Leaving Lake Victoria behind us, we head into the depths of the Serengeti. In the Maa language ‘Serengeti’ translates to “vast, open space”. As we drive through the Serengeti’s vast, open plains during the afternoon, we are likely to see the huge numbers of migrating wildebeest and zebra which make the Serengeti the proud owner of the world’s largest agglomeration of mammals.

After a full day of viewing the teeming life here, we find our campsite deep in the Seronera area. At night we fall asleep to the calls of the curious hyenas and roar of the Serengeti’s lions. BLD

 

Day 8: December 30

We awaken early for another day of exploring the plains of the Serengeti. We venture further afield to examine the life that lives on the ‘kopjes’, or granite inselbergs, that mysteriously dot the grassland. These kopjes are often home to mother lions and their cubs as well as such novel creatures as hyraxes, the tiny antelope, the klipspringer, and the psychedelically-colored Mwanza rock agama. After a full day, we find our way back to a welcoming dinner to share our game-viewing experiences around the campfire.  BLD

 

Day 9: December 31

Our third day of game-driving in the Serengeti takes us along the Seronera river where many animals come to drink, particularly large herds of elephants. We also search for the elusive creatures we may have not yet been able to see like leopards in the huge Fever-trees along the watercourse. After lunch, we head east from the plains to our campsite on the edge of Ngorongoro Crater. BLD

 

Day 10: January 1

Arguably the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, Ngorongoro Crater holds an endless array of Africa’s wildlife in a spectacular setting. The world’s largest unbroken caldera, the Crater is home to almost 20 endangered black rhino, huge bull elephants with abnormally large tusks, and great flocks of lesser and greater flamingoes.

Saving, perhaps, the best for last, we spend the entire morning of the first day of the New Year on the Crater floor soaking up its treasures. After lunch in the Crater, we take the afternoon to drive to our campsite, Meserani Snake Park on the outskirts of Arusha. After dinner, our New Year celebrations begin with a guided tour of the snake park for those who are interested and/or brave enough. BLD

Day 11: January 2

We make the trip from Arusha to Nairobi, stopping hopefully to catch a glimpse and take photos of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro. We cross the border into Kenya and make our way back to Acacia Camp. For our end-of-the-trip dinner and those interested, the world-famous restaurant, Carnivore, is a possibility where we can recount our safari together and say our farewells. BL