Kenya & Tanzania Great Migration 12-Day Adventure with optional Gorilla trek add-on

Guests will be picked up at the hotel for an exciting day of seeing local attractions and learning about Kenya! Stopping at the Giraffe Center, you will have a chance to read about the amazing rescue of the Rothschild’s giraffe and will get the opportunity to feed them! Moving on, we will travel to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. There we will see baby elephants be fed and cared for by their handlers. These elephants are eventually released into the wild when possible. Our last stop will be the Kazuri Bead Factory. Our guests will get an interpretive tour and watch the making of beads by Massai women. After the tour, we will have a chance to support these local artists by purchasing their handmade jewelry.

We start the day early as we will head to the Wilson Airport to catch our flights into the African wilderness! Upon arrival, guests will be greeted by hotel staff and have lunch. Guests will have the opportunity to go out on their first African game drive to see animals along the Mara River. Adventure travelers should expect to see wildebeest, Thompson's gazelle, topi, giraffe, and predators such as hyena, lion, and cheetah. We will finish the day with dinner and stories by the fire with a native storyteller.

We start the day early with coffee and rusks before heading out for what has been called the best wildlife viewing on earth! Have your cameras ready as we 4×4 in our open-top safari vehicles to see many species of birds, hippopotamus, elephants, wildebeest, Thomson's gazelle, giraffe, zebra, topi, cheetah, lion, leopard and more all before lunch! After lunch and a rest time, we head back out for evening game viewing. We finish the day again with dinner at the lodge and stories by the fire.

As we settle in guests can expect to focus on seeing more animals and hopefully opportunities to see wildlife events such as natural predation of crocodiles after wildebeest in the Mara River or perhaps a more mild encounter of giraffe feeding lazily on acres acacia trees. Your guide will be communicating with other guides for the best wildlife sightings in the area.

Breakfast then drop off at the airstrip to board Air Kenya flight leaving at 8:45 am arriving Seronera Airstrip at 11:30 am. Upon arrival your guide will meet you and proceed to our lodge for lunch – afternoon game drives are offered and then return to our lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

A full 2 days with morning and afternoon game drives to explore the plains. Meals and overnight at Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge.

Serengeti is easily Tanzania’s most famous national park, and it’s also the largest, at 14,763 square kilometers of protected area that borders Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Park.

It is the migration for which Serengeti is perhaps most famous. Over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebra flow south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains every October and November, and then swirl west and north after the long rains in April, May and June. So strong is the ancient instinct to move that no drought, gorge or crocodile infested river can hold them back. The wildebeest travel through a variety of parks, reserves and protected areas and through a variety of habitats.

Join us to explore the different forms of vegetation and landscapes of the Serengeti ecosystem and meet some of their most fascinating inhabitants

Morning game drives then return to the lodge for breakfast and proceed south to the magnificent Ngorongoro crater via the historical Olduvai Gorge whilst game watching only interrupted by a picnic lunch en route.

The Olduvai Gorge cuts through rock beds layered in time sequence from 2 million years ago to the present.

It is here where humanoid bones have been found dating back to over 1.75 million years including a direct ancestor of modern man. Fossil footprints (over three million years old) have also been found here and are the most ancient footprints yet discovered.

There is an excellent site museum where you can explore the diggings. A stop at a Masai Village to see how native culture lives day to day will offer picture opportunities before arriving at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge to settle in for the evening.

After an early morning breakfast, you will leave with a picnic lunch for a full day crater tour. You will be taken 2000ft down the crater by a 4 wheel drive vehicle to explore the crater before ascending back to the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge for dinner and overnight. The Ngorongoro Crater is often called ‘Africa’s Eden’ and the ‘8th Natural Wonder of the World,’ a visit to the crater is the main drawcard for tourists coming to Tanzania and a definite world-class attraction. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is the home of Ngorongoro Crater.

Breakfast, then exit the park and drive to Lake Manyara National park. Explore the park famed for tree-climbing lions. Picnic lunch is offered while out and about! The Lake Manyara National Park is serene and beautiful with main attractions of rich and diverse birdlife, tree-climbing lions, elephants, and hippos that you can see at a closer range than most other places. Lake Manyara is an alkaline lake and at certain times of the year hosts thousands of flamingos and a diversity of other birdlife. Although it is one of the smallest parks, its vegetation is so diverse enabling it to host a variety of wildlife habitats.

Breakfast at leisure then proceed for a village walk- Get an inside look at the homes and exquisite craft of Mto Wa Mbu’s many tribes. You will get a chance to meet locals and learn about banana beer, Makonde wood carvings, and the tribal painting techniques. The village provides a great introduction to everyday life in Africa. Mama Africa lunch experience. After lunch drive to Arusha and check-in at Mount Meru hotel for dinner and overnight stay. End of a memorable Kenya/Tanzania Adventure, those going on to see gorillas, please see follow on the itinerary.