We recommend you arrive in Nairobi at least the day before, however if you're there with a few days to spare there's lots to see and do around the city. Close to the hotel is the National Museum, there are markets in and around Nairobi or you can venture further afield to Karen Blixen's house, Langata Giraffe Centre or even Nairobi National Park for a first glimpse of African wildlife.
Week One Leaving Nairobi we descend into the Great Rift Valley and stop for a couple of nights at Lake Naivasha, well known for its hippo population that come ashore every night to graze. Close by is Hell's Gate National Park where you can hire bikes to take you around the park and see the herds of zebra, buffalo and antelope. There is some spectacular scenery here, red cliffs, grassy plains and rock towers made of hardened lava, the remains of ancient volcanoes. Also on the lake is Elsamere, once the home of Joy Adamson and Elsa the lion of 'Born Free' fame. Elsamere is now the centre of the Born Free Foundation and you can find out more about their work, see the rare colobus monkeys and take afternoon tea in the gardens.
We travel west out of the rift valley towards Uganda . Before leaving Kenya we stop at the town of Kisumu on Lake Victoria . In its heyday it was a bustling port, nowadays Kisumu is much quieter and a pleasant, laid back town to visit.
Travelling past Lake Victoria , we enter Uganda . Jinja is at the source of the River Nile and we can watch it begin its 4000 mile journey north from Lake Victoria through the Owen Falls Dam. Further upriver at Bujagali Falls you can go whitewater rafting on the White Nile 's tumultuous rapids or, if you're after a more relaxing time, just sit back and watch the local fishermen glide by in their dug-out canoes.
Week Two Passing through Uganda 's capital, Kampala , we head to the west of the country. This hilly region is characterised by terraced fields on steep slopes and we drive slowly up and downhill along the winding gravel roads. As the landscape changes from agriculture to forest, we reach the habitat of the mountain gorilla on the edge of the Ruwenzori Mountains .
In groups of 6 to 8 people with two guides we trek deep into the forest to find one of the gorilla families. The trek is an experience in itself, following your guides as they cut a path through the thick vegetation. The guides track the gorillas almost every day but even so, sometimes it can take several hours to find them. You will be rewarded though by the sight of these human-like giants playing with their young, feeding, grooming and staring curiously back at you. We spend an hour observing these amazing animals - remember to bring plenty of camera film.
As the groups going to the gorillas are small, it takes a couple of days for everyone to do the trek. Whilst others are searching for the great apes, you can take walks around the surrounding countryside or just chill out with a beer and a book. Leaving the slopes of the Ruwenzoris behind, we return to the farmers and their fields. We stop at Lake Bunyoni where local men in their dug-out canoes glide out of the morning mists.
Week Three Kampala is a lively city with plenty of places to eat out or have a beer and the open-air nightclubs are an experience not to be missed.
Back in Kenya we stop at Kembu Camp; a working farm in the old settlers area of Kenya From the camp we visit Lake Nakuru National Park which has the largest herd of black rhino in East Africa , over a million pink flamingos and more than 400 other bird species. 'Nakuru' means 'place of the waterbuck' in Swahili and these antelope abound in the park as well as impala, buffalo and warthog.
We spend two days visiting the Masai Mara Game Park , camping on the edge of the park with frequent forays into the park to spot the wealth of wildlife in this Eden on the plains. The sweeping plains evoke a picture of East Africa that most people hold in their minds and they are rarely disappointed when confronted with the real thing. We are likely to see amongst others, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, impala, buffalo, elephant and of course the big cats - lion, cheetah and if we're lucky, leopard
En route back to Nairobi we stop at lookouts with some amazing views over the Great Rift Valley.
Price: £450 GBP plus Local payment of £GBP270 payable on day 1.
Optional extras: Gorilla Trek US$500; Whitewater rafting £60; Hell's Gate and bike hire £20. All prices are approximate and may change due to currency fluctuations. Further options available in dossier.
NB: This Overland Safari is not suitable for anyone under 18 years old
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We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and would recommend their trips, which represented excellent value for money.
The comfy sleeping mats were brilliant, and saved us having to carry separate mats, which would have been far inferior to the thick comfy ones supplied.
The campsites visited were all friendly and welcoming and overall we enjoyed a wonderful trip.
I had a great trip with from Livingstone in Zambia, through Botswana, Namibia and ending in Cape Town, South Africa.
It was three weeks and I particularly liked the variety of the trip. The game drives were great, we had river cruises, wine tasting, a couple of towns we stayed in and a combination of campgrounds, which were amazing, as far as their amenities and swimming pools, etc. and we also got to experience bush camping which was in some absolutely beautiful places. We had a lion visit our camp one night which was pretty exciting. We found out in the morning we were right next to the game park fence but in the middle of the night it seemed like the lion was right in our camp. And another night after someone had found me a perfect spot for my tent right by the river I was awakened with the sound of the hippo coming up for breath and remembered that they usually come out of the water up on the land in the night time.
Our guide was great and the cost was reasonable because we participated in the meal planning, preparation and clean up. In checking other tours I think we had the most inexpensive safari which means that I will be able to do another trip with them, hopefully soon.
My trip was simply the best vacation experience of my life!
Overlanding with them is not a spectator sport- it's a way of life. I really enjoyed meeting new people and being part of a team— from cooking, to camping, even helping change a flat tire—having such an active and participatory adventure really enhanced the quality of my travel experience.
Our guide, Nic, was extremely knowledgeable and professional, making every stage of the journey fun and exciting. This is definitely not my last trip with them!
I enjoyed my African expedition immensely and im sorry to be back home.
The trip was all the things it promised to be and more. From being invited into an African home to share their meager food, swimming in rivers so we could have a wash, bush camping around a fire every night no matter how hot or cold it was, digging the truck out of bogs, wells and deep sand and just talking with the local people in whatever language we encountered at the time and not understanding a word. All these things and more made this trip totally amazing.
You must be prepared to encounter random and unexpected circumstances along the way, sleep in the bush, parking lot or even in the middle of a waterlogged road in extreme heat and cold. Of course being woken up by elephants munching on the foliage around your tent and the sound of lions, hippos and hyenas growling and wailing not far from the camp make this an adventure that everyone should make time to fit into their lives.
Africa has everything and I am sorry to leave such a vast, beautiful and diverse continent.
7
Client:
Woodcocks and Colliars - from Cyprus
Trip:
currently unavailable
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
We had a four week holiday in SA and the highlight was definitely the safari we did.
We used the operatorfor airport transfers, overnight accommodation (before and after the safari) and everything was first class.
The safari and the lodge were both excellent nothing was too much trouble for the staff and the cabins and food were brilliant. We particularly enjoyed the game drives in the private park.
Trip: The Ultimate Trans Africa - 43 weeks (Gibraltar to Istanbul)
Having never done an overland trip before I plunged into the deep end by booking a long trip, to see the majority of the African continent and spending an additional 3 weeks in the Middle East. Having read what I could expect on such a trip I am pleased to say that my expectations were greatly passed in more than one way.
The first leg which involves the West Coast of Africa brought with its many challenges that both brought the group together (digging the truck out of the sand in the Sahara) and made each person find out something new about themselves. Our driver Chris, doing his third Trans, took us on routes through countries that he has never done before and slightly off the original itinerary plan – one highlight was our border crossing from Benin to Nigeria, we were the first white people to go through this part of the border in over 20 years according to the locals.
The second leg (Cape Town to Nairobi), and shortest, took us on the safari circuit including a truly memorable visit to see the gorillas. The third leg, from Nairobi to Istanbul, goes to a couple of countries off the beaten track for many tourists – Ethiopia and Sudan, both were great places to see.
Looking back on my trip and remembering all the people, places and challenges that I encountered was very memorable and that includes Chris and the tour operator.
I wouldn’t hesitate to book another holiday with the operator in the future when coming back to Africa, no matter how small the trip is duration-wise. With other companies you may have the three meals a day etc. provided, but with the setup of buying and cooking what you want for group meals and the chance to explore an African market on your own to find what you can buy for lunch is an experience everyone should have
We had a wonderful time on the 43-week Ultimate Trans Africa trip. Both of us travelled in Africa in the 1970s, so we knew what we wanted (rough-ish truck travel with camping). The driver was knowledgeable and adventurous. We couldn't have asked for more.
As an aside, two fellow travellers were most unpleasant and very unprepared for this kind of travel. Fortunately, they were 'dematerialised' within a few months and in the nicest possible way.
Advice -- Don't do this trip unless you are prepared to be part of a community. You need to be able to depend on one another (big factor), eat most everything and push the truck when necessary. We had a blast and we are in our early 60s. Would set out again tomorrow -- or once all the laundry is done.
10
Client:
Honor Putland - from Australia
Trip:
currently unavailable
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
The Safari was amazing, a life changing trip.
We saw the big 5 close up on the first day and we were provided with guided tours on foot that allowed us to have a detailed look at the 'small things' too. Our accommodation and the service we recieved was first class. The staff made every effort to ensure that we enjoyed our trip.
