Decagon Safari: Completer Wildlife Safari

Tour duration: 3 Days / 2 Nights

Starting from: USD $7100 per person based on two travelers

Cost per person:

Single Room Supplement: USD $250

Summary:

This is a 10 Days Kenya Safari to the world famous Masai Mara Game Reserve; Kenya's finest wildlife sanctuary with well over 450 animal species. You also have the option to book a balloon ride (400US$ per person additional).

• Destination – Masai Mara Game Reserve.
• Activities – Game drives

• Tailor-Made- We are specialists in personalized, tailor-made travel and your holiday will be custom-designed to suit your requirements. We are all individuals, so why be tied to a set group tour or a set itinerary? Our experienced staff can help you design your own individualized holiday. Explore at your own pace, choose your own style of accommodation, and include your own choice of sightseeing and activities.
• Accommodation – It is valid and will greatly depend on your budget. We can and will help you choose from the list when planning your trip. At whatever level, we provide the very best for our guests. Kubwa Five Safaris reserves the right to substitute equivalent or superior hotels. If a hotel of equivalent standard is not available Kubwa Five Safaris may substitute the next best quality hotel or suggest a superior at an extra charge.There is free Wi-Fi in hotels.
• Transportation – 4x4 Safari Landcruiser / Minivan (up to eight passengers) with pop-up tops and seven window seats for game viewing. Groups of twelve or more people who would like to travel in one vehicle are offered 25-28 seat coasters that have about 16 window seats. Our Safari vehicles are well maintained to provide maximum level of comfort and safety.
• Our Drivers /Guides - We recognize this for a fact! The success of your safari will largely depend on your driver/guide. It is because of this that we have a great team of carefully selected drivers /guides, well trained.
• Package includes – Ground transportation, full board accommodation and enroute meals as indicated in the itinerary, park fees and relevant government taxes, services of an expert guide, airport transfer.
• Package excludes – Airfares, Visa fees, Personal insurance, Expenses of personal nature such as; drinks, tips, laundry, telephone, cigarettes, accommodation and meals not indicated in the itinerary.

Day One: Nairobi – Amboseli

Sweeping across the Kenya-Tanzania border, the savannah grassland of Amboseli National Park is your playground for the day. This morning you’ll meet with your guide and set out into the park for a chance to share the terrain with some of the world’s most elusive animals. You have the option to do your game viewing either before or after check-in, so call upon the knowledge of your expert guide for their recommendation based on your arrival time and park hours. This afternoon you’ll meet with your guide and head to Amboseli National Park. The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants among other wildlife species, and its other attractions include opportunities to meet the Masai Tribe’s people. On a clear day, you’ll also have spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Dinner and overnight at the Kibo Safari Camp.

Kibo Safari Camp has 73 self-contained tents for single, double, triple and family accommodation. The beds have been custom designed and locally made using bush logs and will ensure a good night’s sleep! All tents have flush toilets, showers, and wash basins. You can enjoy your shower as you like: bubbling hot or refreshing cold. For the duration of your stay in the African bush, Kibo Safari Camp will be your home away from home! For the newlyweds, Kibo Safari Camp offers special packages which can be tailor-made to your requests. Do you fancy a romantic dinner by the pool under the stars? All meals can be taken in privacy away from the main dining area under the open skies. And even a surprise from the camp manager is included! Your honeymoon at Kibo Safari Camp will be an unforgettable experience!

Day Two: Amboseli – Namanga – Arusha

Today you will bid a fond farewell to Kenya as your guide drives you from Amboseli to the Kenya/Tanzania border crossing of Namanga. Meet your Tanzania guide. Visas can be purchased at the border: for Kenya it’s a per person cost of 50$ USD, for Tanzania it’s a per person cost of 100$ USD for American Citizens and 50$ USD for all other Nationalities. Please Note: Visas must be paid in USD, and in CASH. No bills can be older than 2006 as a local counterfeiting safeguard. A Single entry Visa is valid for 3 months and can be used for multiple entries into Kenya and Tanzania. It is also required that you have your Yellow Fever certification handy upon crossing. Enjoy a box lunch while you travel (included in tour price). Overnight at Roika Hotel Arusha.

Welcome to Roika Tented Lodge – lying in a unique flora & fauna of shrublands and acacia woodlands with hearty Baobab trees strewn around. Welcome to the birds’ paradise of over 500 bird species. Roika Tarangire Tented Lodge is situated roughly 125km from Arusha town and is ideally accessible by Dodoma Road although it can also be reached by air since there is an airstrip just nearby in the Park.The lodge lies nestled on the banks of Tarangire River and a mere 5km away from the main entrance to Tarangire National Park. The lodge is also within driving distance to Lake Manyara and the famous Ngorongoro Crater.

Each one of the 21 luxury en-suite tents has a unique theme with beautifully handcrafted furniture and uniquely built animal shaped baths as well as showers. Every tent has got coffee making facilities for the self preparation of a cup whenever you desire and of course, a private balcony that affords you a relaxed view of Tarangire’s Wilderness. Shopping in the Curio Shop for memorable souvenirs, antiques and/or Safari books.

Day Three: Arusha – Ngorongoro

Your guide will meet you at the reception at an agreed time and you will depart to Ngorongoro. It will take three hours and a half to reach the crater rim itself. The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera. This geological masterpiece was formed as a result of an extremely large volcanic explosion which caused the volcano to collapse in on itself, thus creating a crater. The crater is roughly 20 kilometers wide and some 2000 feet deep, making the trip from crater floor to rim around 45 minutes by 4×4. The extremely fertile crater floor is the reason why there is such a highly concentrated amount of wildlife here.

Over 20000 mammals call the crater home, including some of the only remaining black rhinos in the world. The crater floor also boasts one of the highest carnivore densities in the world including large pride of lions, packs of hyenas and solitary predators like cheetahs and jackals. A keen eye and expertly recommended search patterns from your guide may help you spot some of the less common species like leopards, servals, and bat-eared foxes.

Overnight at the Rhino Lodge.

The lodge located on the edge of the Ngorongoro crater rim, Rhino Lodge offers a perfect base from which to explore the Ngorongoro crater and its surroundings. With 24 comfortable ensuite rooms, a cosy living space, friendly local staff and generous African-inspired meals, Rhino Lodge welcomes guests to Africa’s most remarkable game park.

There are 24 guest rooms, all with a verandah overlooking a stretch of high montane forest. Each room has its own shower, toilet and hand basin. To keep away the cold each room has a wood-burning stove, and hot water bottles can be filled if you want one.

Day Four: Ngorongoro – Serengeti

Your guide will pick you up from the Ngorongoro Conservation area and drive you to the famous plains of the Serengeti. On this drive, you have the option of stopping at Olduvai Gorge, the Serengeti welcome centre and lookout point or stop for lunch at a picnic spot. After entering Serengeti Park you will have the chance to enjoy game viewing as you drive through the park to your next accommodation. This drive takes 5 hours depending on the number of stops you make and how much game viewing you enjoy along the way. The massive Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge is often referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind.” Beginning in the eastern Serengeti plains, the gorge is roughly some 48 kilometres long. Resulting from millions of years of natural erosion, this gorge boasts a steep-sided ravine that cuts and stretches its way through the Great Rift Valley along eastern Africa. The gorge is named after a commonly used plant by the Masai people with the scientific name of Sansevieria-Ehrenbergii, or Oldupai for short.

Overnight would be at the Serengeti Serena Lodge. Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge has been designed to blend seamlessly into the landscape of acacia groves and sparkling streams. The 65 guest rooms and one suite are housed in clusters of traditional domed “rondavels” arranged around the lodge’s stunning infinity pool. Set high on a hill with the rolling plains below forming a natural amphitheater, your room offers a ringside seat for the greatest show on earth, the annual migration of the wildebeest. Sweeping views, traditional stone-built and thatched architecture and private balconies immerse you in the stunning beauty and solitude of Serengeti National Park like no other accommodation can.

Day Five: Serengeti

This morning’s African adventure begins with an exploratory game drive through Tanzania’s oldest and most recognized National Park, the Serengeti. This location offers the most expansive game viewing in Tanzania. From predators to prey, great herds of grazing herbivores to tactically cunning packs of carnivores, life on the plains of the Serengeti can best be defined as a complete “circle of life.” A photographic dream unfolds before your eyes as giraffes and elephants feast on tasty shrubbery, whilst impalas, gazelles and buffaloes dance carefully through the plains as to not become the latest meal for on-looking lions, cheetahs and hyenas. Spend today searching out Impala, one of Africa’s most beautiful and graceful animals. Previously thought to be part of the gazelle tribe, Impalas have been found to be so different that they are now classified as their own sub-family status. When frightened or startled the whole impala herd starts randomly leaping to confuse their predator. They can jump distances more than 10 meters (33 ft.) and 3 meters (9 ft.) high. Leopards, cheetah, lions and wild dogs prey on impala. Impala can reach running speeds of approximately 50 to 55 mph (80 to 90 km/h) to escape its predators. See if you can track these incredible animals! Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Lodge.

Day Six: Serengeti – Isebania – Masai Mara

We will drive you from Serengeti to the Isebania border. Once there, you’ll meet up with your Kenyan guide and continue into Kenya to the Masai Mara. This full-day commute includes game viewing in Serengeti and Masai Mara. The excursion will include a multi-hour drive across the highway and bumpy patches of road to the border. You’ll have the option to enjoy a boxed lunch at Lake Victoria, visit a local fishing village, or simply drive straight to the border. NOTE: This is a scenic drive through rural East Africa. A good part of this drive cuts across the national park so there is plenty of opportunities to still see amazing wildlife.

Depending on your camp location and the stops on your game drive along the way, the drive to the Isebania Border is anywhere between 3-5 hours. When travelling across the Kenyan-Tanzanian border a few things must occur. Upon arrival to the Isebania Border Crossing, you will switch vehicles and guides according to the country you’ll be entering. After the Kenya/Tanzania border crossing, continue on to the Masai Mara with your Kenyan guide and vehicle. This last section of driving will be partly on a highway and partly by dirt road. The last hour by dirt road can be longer in a rainy season. Enjoy game viewing on the way to your lodge. The approximate total travel time between Masai Mara and Serengeti can range between 6 to 9 hours depending on road conditions, traffic and weather.

Overnight at the Siana Springs Camp. Just eight kilometres from the main Masai Mara National Reserve, Siana Springs offers a uniquely personal safari on the edge of the world’s most celebrated wilderness. The special tented camp offers 38 spacious tents situated in three secluded ‘wings’:

• The Bamboo Wing, surrounded by bamboo groves and flowering ornamental trees near the main camp
• The Palm Wing, overlooking a series of springs, lily clad ponds and lush indigenous forest;
• The Acacia Wing, which occupies more open acacia woodland rich in birdlife on the camp boundary.

The tents boast the very latest in luxury camping, with large single or double beds, personal closets, writing desks, and ensuite bathrooms with flush toilets and steaming hot showers.

Day Seven to Eight: Masai Mara

Just like the local wildlife, you’ll head out bright and early this morning, alongside an experienced tracker-guide for the day’s first game drive. The eco-diversity and sheer size of the Masai Mara Game Reserve provide the necessary requirements to house a wide range of animal species. The most recognized are known worldwide as the African Big 5, which includes the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Leopard, and the King of the beasts, the Lion. The term Big 5 was coined by big-game hunters, as these species were the most difficult and dangerous to track and hunt. Subsequently, the term was adopted by the tourism industry for marketing purposes, spinning a web of positivity opposed to the negative effect portrayed by the original terminology.

Numerous other species of bird and wildlife inhabit this dynamic location including Hyenas, Gazelles, Impalas, Giraffes, Zebras, Vultures, Cranes, Eagles, Falcons, and Ostriches. Head out this afternoon, accompanied by an experienced tracker-guide, on an exciting game viewing adventure. Search some of the area’s wildlife hot-spots, determined by your guide, as have an understanding of the games daily routines through tracking. Some wildlife, for instance, the Leopard, is more difficult to spot than others. These spotted cats blend almost seamlessly into the tall grass and shrubbery and are even more challenging to spot up in their favourite hangouts, the trees. Your guide will take you to nearby watering holes, where on a hot day you’ll spot many bird and wildlife species, including the elusive Leopard.

Overnight at the Ol Moran Camp. This is an exclusive tented camp for those who want to be true to wild experience. The camp is situated within the Masai Mara Eco-system and on the banks of Ololaimutia River which is a watering point for most of the wild animals especially elephants, buffalos, antelopes etc. It is located 20 Kms from Keekrok Air Strip, 15 Kms from Sekenani Gate, 2Kms from Ololaimutia Gate and 230kms from Nairobi. Masai Mara the new seventh wonder of the modern world, famous for the migration of wilder beasts.

Day Nine: Masai Mara – Naivasha

Your guide will drive you from Masai Mara to Naivasha, which will include short stop-overs for refreshments and souvenirs. This drive will take approximately 5 hours. Sign up for optional activities on-site. Activities include Crescent Island boat tour, hiking and day trip excursions to Mt Longonot and Hell’s Gate, or simply walk along the lakeshore and relax at Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp

Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp is located on the shores of Lake Naivasha at the heart of the Kenyan Rift Valley, only 90 minutes’ drive from Nairobi. The camp is constructed using canvas and has a capacity of 20 luxury tents. The tents are well furnished, have wooden floors and adequate space generously created to allow free movement inside and outside at the guests’ comfort. Our luxury camp is constructed using canvas, all tents have en-suite bathrooms with hot and cold running water and flushing toilets. The tents have an ambience and style decorated to give them traditional tent look with all the comforts of home. We are proud of our cuisine which gives an appetite even to those on diet.

Day Ten: Naivasha – Nairobi

A local guide will drive you from Lake Naivasha, along with the beautiful Rift Valley, to the urban city of Nairobi. This drive will take 1 and half hours and be dropped off at the airport.

N.B. If you like, we can make reservations for dinner at a local restaurant as well. Please let us know in advance and if you are vegetarian.