We are up early for breakfast and head off into lush countryside. Watch for long horned Ankole cattle. On the way we stop at a local drum and craft market, and at the Equator there is time for a photo shoot. Heading on we camp beside Lake Mburo National Park, a picturesque small gem of a park, with forest fringed lakes hemmed in by rolling green hills. A morning game drive in the park as well as a boat cruise are included hoping for sightings of giraffe, impala, Burchell’s zebra, topi, eland, waterbuck and reedbuck. Our safari takes us across savanna and wetland habitats, the park also boasting much birdlife. Crocodile and hippo inhabit the lakes. Evening game drives are also of offer

Distance, Day 1: 242 kms
Est. Drive Time, Day 1: 6 1/2 hours incl stops for lunch and photos at The Equator
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners

Included wildlife activities: Morning game drive and boat trip, Lake Mburo National Park
Vehicle for game drives: 4×4 open safari vehicle

Optional excursion: Evening game drive

We have an early start to drive through to stay by the hillside tropical forest of Kalinzu on the edge of the Rift Valley and Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here we have the option to trek in lush forest to search for habituated chimpanzees. The park also has black and white colobus monkey and other monkey species.

Distance: 140 kms
Est. Drive Time: 4 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Optional excursion: Chimpanzee trek in Kalinzu Forest.

We make our way to Kisoro, stopping over at Kabale where we stock up. We spend the next two nights at a local hotel in the border town of Kisoro which is surrounded by the Virunga Mountains, the home of the endangered mountain gorilla. A visit to Lake Bunyoni can be arranged on the way to enjoy time on the lake.

Distance: 226 kms
Est. Drive Time: 9 hours incl. lunch
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

At altitudes of up to 3,500 feet, gorilla trekking through dense vegetation on the volcanic slopes of the Virungas is one of the trip’s high points.

There are currently approximately 1,000 endangered mountain gorillas left in Africa. On the gorilla trek we head out early morning across flower farms with local trackers to find and spend an hour with the gentle mountain gorillas in their natural forest habitat – a special and magical, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Gorillas spend approximately 25% of their day eating, and usually rest during the middle of the day, whilst the young ones spend much of their time playing with each other, and even with the adults in their family.

The trackers know the various gorilla families well and are expert at locating the habituated groups, usually within a few hours. To protect the gorillas, once they are found we are allowed an hour to observe the gorillas as they continue with their daily activities playing, eating and relaxing in their forest home.

Whilst in Kisoro there are other activities on offer as well.

You can visit a local children’s orphanage if you wish to spend some time with the children here. Or consider a trek to see the golden monkeys in the lower reaches of the forest, or a tour to an indigenous group of Batwa or Pygmy can be organised, this group of local peoples sadly having being relocated away from their traditional life in the forest.

Distance: 0 kms
Est. Drive Time: 0 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Included wildlife activity: Gorilla trek, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Optional excursions: Golden monkeys trek or orphanage visit. Batwa (Pygmy) village visit or coffee tour. Lake Mutande

We cross the border into Rwanda, a country rich in flora and fauna and stunning natural beauty in its scenic rolling, lush and breath-taking landscape.

In Musanze you can try your hand at banana beer making and basket weaving at camp where they have established a simple cultural centre where you can get involved in traditional activities. Alternatively a cycle tour in the local area can be arranged.

Those wishing to head out on the steep trek to see Dian Fossey’s grave spend time today in the Rwandan forest.

Although controversial at the time, Dian’s robust approach to conservation and fierce determination to safeguard the mountain gorillas played a vital role in saving the species from extinction.

In 1978, Dian Fossey established the Digit Fund, named after one of her favourite gorillas, Digit, who was brutally murdered by poachers that same year. The Digit Fund helped finance vital ranger patrols through the gorilla habitat, keeping gorillas safe from hunters. Meanwhile her autobiography and the 1987 Hollywood movie made about her life – “Gorillas in the Mist” – helped make gorilla conservation a global concern.

Tragically, Dian Fossey died in 1985, killed in the forests she had called home for two decades. However, her legacy lives on, her work inspiring a new generation of African conservationists, giving the gorillas new hope and helping to ensure her work was not in vain.

Distance, day 6: 51 kms
Est. Drive Time, day 6: 3 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X2 Breakfast, X2 Dinner

Optional excursions: Golden monkeys trek, Banana beer making, basket weaving, bike tour, Trek to Dian Fossey’s grave..

Today we head off early towards the capital Kigali, now a very cosmopolitan city to spend the night in Kigali. With its lush hillsides, flowering trees, winding boulevards and bustling streets, it is arguably one of the most attractive capital cities in Africa.

There is time now to visit some of the museums and the memorial to reflect upon the genocide of 1994 in which over a span of 100 days, an estimated one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were systematically butchered by the Interahamwe army. This powerful and moving memorial honours the estimated 250,000 people buried here in mass graves and also has an excellent exhibition that tries to explain how the horrific events unfolded.

Some also like to take the time to visit the Nyamata Church Memorial, a Women’s Centre, Hotel des Mille Collines (well known from the movie Hotel Rwanda) or simply wander in the local markets or enjoy some of the excellent eating options.

Distance: 115 kms
Est. Drive Time: 3 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Optional excursions: Visit to the Genocide museum and memorial, Nyamata Church Memorial

We take the road to the Rusomo border today to cross into Tanzania, heading off the beaten track for the next few days.

Arriving late afternoon, we check in to simple African guesthouse into the small town of Nyakanazi. This is our first night in Tanzania and we experience a true rural African welcome from the village and owners of the guesthouse.

Next day’s adventure finds us on back roads heading for the south side of Lake Victoria. Here we board the ferry to our camp, set by the lake in the city of Mwanza.

Distance over two days: 535 kms
Est. Drive Time, Day 8: +/- 10.5 hours (depending on the border) incl. lunch stop
Est. Drive Time, Day 9: 9 hours incl. ferry journey, lunch and shopping stop
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners

Reaching Bunda we prepare for the next exciting part of the tour, our entry into the world famous Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, ecosystems boasting the Big Five. There is time this afternoon to stretch our legs on a hill walk near camp offering wonderful views.

Distance: 156 kms
Est. Drive Time: 5 hours incl. shopping
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Optional excursion: Hill walk

We pass through the Grumeti Reserve on our drive to Ikoma Gate where we enter the Serengeti in our overland truck for game drives. The famous migration often passes this area year in, year out in search of fresh grazing anytime from late April through to August.

The Serengeti is Tanzania’s oldest national park. The legendary annual migration brings a whopping 1.7 million wildebeest, 260,000 zebras, and 470,000 gazelles through the area. Home to The Big Five, the Serengeti has resident large herds of buffalo, elephant and giraffe, as well as thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. Hippo pods can be found lazing in water pools, and the park is also home to the big cats – lion, leopard and cheetah, and has fabulous birdlife including ostrich and secretary birds. On our slow game drive through the park this afternoon we regularly have wonderful viewing including of the big cats and much other wildlife.

Distance to Ikoma Gate, Serengeti: 160 kms
Est. Drive Time: 5 hours to Ikoma Gate incl. slow transit through Grumeti.
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Included wildlife activity: Afternoon game drive, Serengeti National Park
Vehicle for game drive: Overland truck

We rise early for a morning game drive, or an optional hot air balloon safari which can be arranged in advance.

The wildlife density of Ngorongoro Conservation Area is rivaled by few other places on Earth. More than 500 bird species have been recorded in the Area, including the ostrich and the Kori bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird.

The Maasai people continue their traditional way of life here, grazing their cattle, donkeys, goats, and sheep in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Still living their traditional lifestyle, they are often dressed in their distinctive brightly coloured checked fabric and beadwork. We drive past traditional Maasai bomas with zebra and giraffe in the background. We can stop over to visit a Maasai village and school en route to enjoy some traditional dancing. Maasai warriors perform mesmerizing sequences of leaping movements with songs designed to work the group into a state of trance.

By late afternoon we are on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, some 2,000 metres above sea level.

We make our camp at altitude tonight, on the Crater rim, so bundle up as temperatures drop!

Distance: 161 kms
Est. Drive Time: 5 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Included wildlife activity: Morning game drive, Serengeti. Afternoon slow transit drive, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Vehicle for game drive: Overland truck

Optional excursions: Balloon safari, visit to a Maasai Boma, Olduvai Gorge Museum depending on road conditions. Please note if you wish to visit Olduvai Museum you must let the office know prior to the tour departure.

The Ngorongoro Crater, once a gigantic volcano, is the largest intact caldera in the world. Some maintain that before it erupted, it would have been higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. Today, it is an extensive highland area with the famous 600 metre deep Ngorongoro Crater as its focal point. Nearly three million years old, the ancient caldera shelters one of the most beautiful wildlife havens on earth.

We rise early and descend in 4×4 Land cruisers to the floor of the crater with a local guide. An astonishing 20,000-plus animals populate the open grassland that spreads across the caldera’s floor. UNESCO calls the stunning combination of the landscape and its wildlife concentration “one of the greatest natural wonders of the planet”.

The walls of the crater harbor critically endangered black rhinos and giant-tusked elephants. Buffalos, spotted hyenas, and leopards also wander the forests. Lions stalk the grasslands of the crater floor and pink flamingos crowd Lake Magadi depending on the season.

Following our morning game drives we travel to Arusha and civilization, hot showers, as well as supermarkets! There is usually time for some market shopping for items such as Tinga Tinga paintings, beaded jewellery, carvings and other local crafts on the way.

A feast of a barbecue is prepared for our last dinner together as we recall our safari stories.

Distance: 195 kms
Est. Drive Time: 3 – 4 hours
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Included wildlife activity: Morning game drives, Ngorongoro Crater
Vehicle for game drive: 4×4 Land cruiser with pop up roof

Note: Transfers can be organized to Nairobi, or Arusha and Kilimanjaro airports, the following morning. Please let us know what you need before departure and we will make the arrangements for you.

Please note safari itineraries are given as a guide only. A safari is a journey and true journeys in Africa unfold and are of an adventurous nature. The unexpected can arise, so do allow for this. Feel free to give us a call about your safari plans. We look forward to your further enquiries.