Kenya to South Africa overland. Adventurous participation overland camping safari, wildlife viewing, beach relaxation, stunning scenery, magnificient Victoria Falls. Starts Nairobi ends Cape Town.
[Daily HIghlights (as covered by Fully Inclusive Local Payment) 01 Depart Nairobi, Lake Nakuru National Park Game drive, BLD 02 Eldoret BLD 03 Kampala BLD 04 Queen Elizabeth National Park BLD 05 Chimpanzee Excursion/ Bunyonyi BLD 06 Gorilla Trek/Bunyonyi BLD 07 Gorilla Trek/Bunyonyi BLD 08 Gorilla Trek/Bunyonyi BLD 09 Kampala BLD 10 Jinja BLD 11 Jinja BLD 12 Jinja BLD 13 Eldoret BLD 14 - 15 Kenya, Great Rift Valley, Nairobi BL 16 - 17 Masai Mara National Reserve, Game Drives BLD 18 Nairobi BLD 19 Arusha BLD 20 Serengeti National Park, Afternoon Game Drive BLD 21 Serengeti, Morning Game Drive, Olduvai Gorge, Ngorongoro Crater rim BLD 22 Ngorongoro Crater, Morning Game Drive, Arusha BLD 23 Maasai village walk, Pangani/ Moshi area BLD 24 Dar es Salaam BLD 25 - 27 Zanzibar 28 Ferry to Dar es Salaam D 29 Mikumi, Iringa BLD 30 Chitimba BLD 31 Lake Malawi BLD 32 - 33 Malawi Beach, Village Walk BLD 34 Livingstonia Beach BLD 35 Chipata BLD 36 Lusaka BLD 37 Waterfront, Livingstone, Victoria Falls NP Visit BL 38 - 40 Waterfront, Livingstone B 41 Victoria Falls Visit, Kasane, Game Drive BLD 42 Nata BLD 43 Maun BLD 44 Okavango Delta, Mokoro/ Walking Safari Wilderness Experience BLD 45 Maun BLD 46 Kalahari, Bushman Walk, Ghanzi BLD 47 Windhoek BL 48 - 49 Estoha National Park BLD 50 Cheetah Park BLD 51 Spitzkoppe BLD 52 - 53 Swakopmund B 54 Sesriem, Namib Naukluft Park BLD 55 Fish River Canyon BLD 56 Orange (Gariep) River BLD 57 Western Cape BLD 58 Cape Town B TOUR ENDS
Day 1 – 8 Nairobi, Lake Nakuru, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Bunyonyi, Gorilla Trek We depart Nairobi for Kenya’s Great Rift Valley and Lake Nakuru National Park. Best known for its birdlife, especially flamingos Nakuru also contains good stocks of rhino, leopard, buffalo, warthog, baboon, antelope and lion! We continue north through the highlands to Eldoret before we cross into Uganda to the capital Kampala. After a night here we drive west to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We game drive in search of Uganda’s natural wildlife, pause to appreciate the views of Lake Edward before tracking Chimpanzee sanctuary at Kyambura Gorge. Seen in their natural habitat chimpanzees live in structured social groups but quite different to the gentle gorillas we see later in the trip. After game driving through QENP we continue to rural south-west Uganda and our camp beside Lake Bunyonyi, It is in this densely forested area that we trek in search of the gorillas. Local guides lead us through jungle into the hills. The trek can be demanding but the effort is forgotten when we finally find ourselves in the midst of a family of gorillas. We have a one hour ‘audience’ with these gentle giants, and you may be surprised at how close you can get and how human-like they are. We may spend several days in the area to allow time for everyone to complete the trek.
Day 9 – 12Kampala, Jinja Returning to Kampala we have a night in the capital before continuing to Jinja. Situated near the source of the River Nile there is the opportunity to assist a local charity in building and improving community schools - roll up your sleeves and make a difference!
Day 13 – 15 Eldoret, Nairobi From Jinja we cross back into Kenya stopping at Eldoret and driving along the Rift Valley to Nairobi where we prepare for the next leg of our journey
Day 16 – 23 From Nairobi we visit Kenya’s best-known game park, the Masai Mara National Reserve. The park is as renowned for its wildlife as much as for its scenery. Continuing our game park encounters we cross into Tanzania for a three day excursion into the Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park (and Olduvai Gorge). Game viewing here is unrivalled and the wide Serengeti plains and deep Ngorongoro offer exciting backdrops to game-driving. In Arusha we have to browse the markets and visit a Snake enclosure as well as one of the local Maasai villages near camp.
Day 24 – 29 From Arusha we drive past snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro to the city of Dar es Salaam. We take the ferry to Zanzibar and spend three days on the island. Time is at leisure: explore Stone Town and bathe in the warm Indian Ocean. We return to the mainland before heading south, via Mikumi National Park, to Malawi.
NB As we leave the truck on the mainland, basic tourist class accommodation on Zanzibar is included in the Local Payment but for the sake of flexibility meals are left for your own account. Typically we spend one night in Stone Town and the next two nights in the north of the island at one of the beaches. Your tour leader will be available to assist if you experience any problems but there are no set activities - the time is entirely at leisure
Day 30 – 40 Malawi is dominated by the enormous Lake Malawi – a freshwater lake with good swimming and good fishing. There are several beaches on the lake, we pick one and have time to swim, snorkel, and take the opportunity of a guided walk to a local village. We continue to Zambia, via Lusaka to Livingstone and the Victoria Falls area where numerous activities (eg rafting, canoeing) are available, but leave time to visit the Victoria Falls themselves, one of Africa’s unrivalled sights.
Day 41 – 49 Leaving Livingstone we cross into Botswana to Chobe National Park. We enjoy a game drive and game cruise before continuing to the Okavango Delta. Explore the channels and floodplains on foot and by (dugout canoe) mokoro. Further south, we spend time with traditional Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert learning how they live. Across the border in Namibia, we enjoy two days in Etosha National Park on game drives in magnificent desert terrain.
Day 50 – 58 After Etosha, we drive south to the cheetak park then through Damaraland, making camp amongst the eerie rock formations at Sptizkoppe, before arriving into Swakopmund, Namibia’s fun-loving coastal town offers a range of optional desert based adventure activities. We then continue south, in to the desert and enjoy the dramatic terrain of sand dunes and vleis (dried lake beds) of the Namib Naukluft Park. Finally we visit the Fish River Canyon, the world’s second-largest canyon, our final stop in Namibia. We cross into South Africa and camp beside the Orange (Gariep) River before continuing south to Cape Town for a cultural township tour to end our journey.
Age: Our tours are designed to meet the expectations of adults in the 18-39 age bracket. If you are older, please enquire and one of our friendly consultants to ensure that you book a tour suited to your expectations
Price: GB £2195 plus Basic Local Payment - Mandatory = US$ 1740 which includes
Price GB£ 2295 Plus Low Season prices: Local Payment (Mandatory) US$ 1950 - broken down as follows:
Food and Camping Lake Nakuru National Park Queen Elizabeth National Park Gorilla Trek Transfer Masai Mara Excursion Masai Village Walk Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater Zanzibar Ferry and Accommodation Victoria Falls Visit Okavango Delta Chobe Cruise Etosha National Park Bushman Walk Cheetah Park Sosusvlei Dunes Fish River Canyon
Optional Activities & Excursions:
Community School Project US$30 Village/natures Walk US $5 Mountain Biking US$10 Quad Biking US$80 White Water Rafting US$125 Bungy Jumping US$95 Lake Manyara Day Trip (min 2) US $200 3 day/ 2 Nights Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater Excursion US $475 Arusha National Park (min 2) US$ 190 Zanzibar Spice Tour US$25 Scuba Diving US$150 Malawi village walk US$ 4 Malawi Horse Riding US$ 65 Livingstonia Day Hike US$ 5 Victoria Falls Bungy Jump US$ 130 White water rafting US$195 Helicopter/Microlight flights US$ 155 Livingstone Game Walk US$ 95 Lion Encounter US$150 Wine tasting US$10 Orange River canoe US$40 Quad Biking US $ 80 Tandem Skydive US$ 260 Swakopmund Township Tour US $ 60 Okavango Delta scenic flight US$ 350
N.B.Gorilla Trekking Each gorilla permit allows one trek. We stay in Bwindi or an alternative gorilla national park for the time necessary to allow everybody to trek once. The day to day itinerary may therefore vary if trekking goes over time. Optional activities can be arranged locally when not trekking. Gorilla and Chimpanzee Excursion (Nov 12)additional US$560
Gorilla Viewing: To ensure we obtain gorilla permits, we may trek outside Uganda in neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, where gorillas have also been habituated for viewing. Trekking here involves a minimal detour from the described route.
Gorilla Trekking Excursion (Permits): The Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) sets the gorilla permit price and stipulates that permits must be booked and paid for in advance. We therefore collect your gorilla permit money at the time of booking, along with your normal deposit. The Gorilla permit price is quoted in US dollars but is paid in your local currency at a rate fixed by us. Whilst the price is correct at time of going to press (Nov 2012), We reserves the right to pass on any increase in fee if the UWA raises the price. Finally please note, the gorilla permit fee is not refundable if you cancel your booking.
Included in Price: Fully equipped safari vehicle, camping and cooking equipment, all road tolls and vehicle taxes, all ground transportation, services of two crew, sleeping mattress, meals as indicated, Snake Park entrance, Maasai village walk, bushman paintings visit and Malawi cultural village walk.
Not Included: Local Payment excursions, visas, travel insurance, flights, departure taxes, airport transfers, sleeping bag, optional activities, tips drinks, items of a personal nature, Zanzibar meals (3 nights), and Nairobi meals (2 nights on days 14-15).
