16-Day Kenya Safari & Uganda Gorilla ...

>> After breakfast at your hotel in Nairobi, we will pick you up and leave for Masai Mara. We’ll drive through the Great Rift Valley to Masai Mara National Park. This enormous reserve is part of the vast Serengeti plains that are famous for the spectacular great wildebeest migration and home to the “Big Five.” We’ll eat lunch at our camp and relax before departing for an afternoon drive. Other animals in the park include Maasai giraffe, buffalo, eland, impala, zebra, tophi, and both Thomson’s and Grant gazelles. We’ll return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and your overnight stay.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: Lunch & dinner (Breakfast not included) Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Mara Maisha Camp Mid-range tented camp located just outside Masai Mara NR (Kenya)

>>
We’ll be up early to enjoy the sunrise and birdsong on this great reserve. This is a day of unlimited game drives, so get ready to check off a variety of animals on your “to see” list.

The Masai Mara features the greatest density of wildlife in this region of Africa, and you’ll be right in the middle of the action. Should you be here during the Great Migration (July–October) you’ll be witness to the sight of thousands of gazelles, zebras, and wildebeest streaming over the Mara River in search of sustenance.

We’ll visit the river and enjoy a picnic lunch while checking out the hippos, crocodiles, and other wildlife before us.

If you wish, you can pay an optional visit to the local Maasai people in their village. You’ll learn about their customs, herding lifestyle, and perhaps pick up some of their beaded handiwork. Later we’ll drive back to the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Mara Maisha Camp Mid-range tented camp located just outside Masai Mara NR (Kenya)

>> Masai Mara National Reserve
Return to the Masai Mara National Reserve and
immerse yourself once again in its peerless safari
possibilities.
Imagine being out in the soft, early morning light,
wrapped in a blanket, just as the animals emerge
from their night’s rest or from the shadows of their
nighttime adventures. The world feels fresh and new
on an early morning game drive, the sun has yet to
beat down upon the earth, and it may end up being
your favorite time to be out on safari.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Mara Maisha Camp Mid-range tented camp located just outside Masai Mara NR (Kenya)

>> We drive to in Lake Nakuru. Lake Nakuru is known for leopards, which are frequently sighted here, the two rhino species, thousands of flamingos, and a variety of bird species (among many other animals).

Later we’ll drive to Lake Naivasha and arrive in the afternoon. Upon arrival you can go on an optional boat trip where you will be able to see many species of birds and water animals, including hippos.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Lake Nakuru Lodge Mid-range lodge located inside Lake Nakuru NP (Kenya)

>> Today we’ll go on a morning game drive to Hell’s Gate National Park. This is the only park in Kenya where you can cycle or walk while seeing the animals. After breakfast we’ll leave for Amboseli National Park with a hot lunch along the way in Nairobi. Upon arrival we’ll go on an evening game drive if time allows. Amboseli is famous for its scenery and the backdrop of snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, which is dominates the landscape.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Kibo Safari Camp Mid-range tented camp located just outside Amboseli NP

>> Amboseli is also known for some of the biggest elephants in the world and beautiful views of Mt. Kilimanjaro! You’ll leave the camp in the morning with a packed lunch in hand for the full-day game drive. We’ll spend time in search of its popular residents like the well-known predators and their prey, including zebra, giraffe, hippo, and big elephants.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Kibo Safari Camp Mid-range tented camp located just outside Amboseli NP

>> We’ll go on early morning game drive today in search of predators hunting their prey. Later we’ll come back to the lodge for breakfast and then check out. We’ll then transfer to Nairobi and eat lunch along the way. In Nairobi you’ll be dropped off at your hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Tamarind Tree Hotel Mid-range hotelnear Nairobi (City, Kenya)

>>
After breakfast at your hotel in Nairobi you will fly to Uganda. Our representative will pick you up and drop you off at the hotel.

Your magical experience starts the next day early in the morning. You will stay in a nice lodge with beautiful views of Lake Victoria. The hotel is on the slopes of Buziga Hill off Route 109, four km from Ggaba Beach and 10 km from Kabaka’s Palace. The airy, relaxed rooms come with balconies, flat-screen TVs, and minifridges in addition to en-suite bathrooms and free Wi-Fi. Amenities include a restaurant, bar, a terrace with lake views, as well as an outdoor pool.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Cassia Lodge Mid-range lodgein Kampala (City, Uganda)

>> After breakfast we’ll drive to Murchison Falls National Park. You will have a stopover along the way at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking and then eat a late lunch at the Kabalega Dinners Restaurant before continuing to Murchison Falls. The highlights of this park include: the roaring rapids of falls, the rolling plains, and incredible views of lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, and elephants. You’ll be fascinated by the concentration of hippos and Nile crocodiles here. For birders, Murchison Falls boasts 450 species including the elusive shoebill stork, dwarf king fisher, the white-thigh hornbill, and the Goliath heron (among others). Upon arrival at the park, we’ll first go to the top of the falls before making our way to the lodge.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Fort Murchison (Room) Mid-range lodge located just outside Murchison Falls NP (Uganda)

>> You’ll eat breakfast in the morning before going on a game drive in the park’s northern area in search of some of the ‘big five’ (buffaloes, lions, elephants, and possibly leopards). Other animals you might see include Rothschild giraffes, bushbucks, warthogs, waterbuck, and a variety of antelope. Later you’ll to your accommodations for lunch and a brief repose. After lunch, you will embark on a three-hour boat trip to the base of the falls. This trip is often called the highlight of a safari in Murchison Falls since it allows you to get up close to the animals in the water. You’ll pass huge hippo pods, crocodiles, and numerous aquatic birds adorning the north bank on the way to the mighty waterfalls. You will have an opportunity to take thousands of pictures, so carry your camera with you if you like. After the boat cruise you will drive slowly back to the lodge so you can enjoy a game drive on the way.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Fort Murchison (Room) Mid-range lodge located just outside Murchison Falls NP (Uganda)

>> You will have breakfast early in the morning and the transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. On the way to the park, you will have the opportunity to see tea and banana plantations. We’ll stop at a tea plantation for some photos before we proceed to our lodge.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Turaco Treetops Lodge Mid-range lodge bordering Kibale NP (Chimps, Uganda) without fences

>> Today you will track the most famous inhabitants of the Kibale National Park, the chimpanzees. Chimpanzees share 98% of our DNA, making them our closest living relatives. They are found in 21 countries throughout Africa, but most easily found in Uganda due to their dense populations. In Uganda today there are approximately 5,000 chimpanzees left in the wild. The chimpanzee trekking experience here is done on several well-maintained walking trails. There is also a wonderfully diverse concentration of other primates—more than any other forest in East Africa! Besides our colorful cousins, the chimpanzees, you can find red colobus, red-tailed guenon, white-nosed monkey, gray-checked mangabey, blue monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, and the black and white colobus monkey. Later you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and go on an evening game drive (if we have time).

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included) Non-alcoholic drinks

•  Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge Mid-range lodge located just outside Queen Elizabeth NP (Uganda)

>> It is time to explore Queen Elizabeth National Park with her 200 kilometers of well-maintained game viewing tracks. With an astonishing 5,000 hippos, 2,500 elephants, and over 10,000 buffalo thriving amidst its grasslands and shorelines, this park guarantees sightings of some of Africa’s most iconic species. Giraffes, buffaloes, different species of antelope, civet, genal and serval cats, black-and-white colobus monkeys, and baboons can also be found here. After a morning game drive, you will go back to the lodge for lunch and then go on a boat drive on the Kazinga Channel.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge Mid-range lodge located just outside Queen Elizabeth NP (Uganda)

>> After breakfast you’ll go looking for tree-climbing lions and then transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a big habitat for mountain gorillas in Uganda. It harbors an estimated 400 mountain gorillas (roughly half of the world’s population), including several habituated groups that can be tracked. With a strenuous day ahead, you will just check-in and relax as you prepare for the Bwindi gorilla trekking experience tomorrow.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge Mid-range lodge just outside Rushaga (Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Uganda)

>> After an early breakfast and a briefing by a ranger guide, you will enter the gorilla sanctuary for your adventure. The beauty of this rain forest is spectacular! The area offers a dramatic, steeply forested landscape that is very dense but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails that allow for tourists to access the area. The time taken to track the gorillas and the terrain may vary with the movements of these great primates. Once you locate a gorilla group, you will be allowed an hour in their presence. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be savored for a long time. Later you’ll return to your lodge for some rest time and lunch. Thereafter, you’ll transfer to Lake Bunyonyi. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the lodge.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

•  Accommodation: Arcadia Lodge Lake Mburo Mid-range lodge located inside Lake Mburo NP (Uganda)

>> You’ll enjoy breakfast with spectacular views of the Bwindi hills of Lake Bunyonyi right in front of you before leaving for the Entebbe airport. We’ll stop in Mbarara town for lunch and at the Uganda equator line in Kayabwe for some memorable photos. You may also buy some souvenirs. You’ll arrive at the airport in the late afternoon/evening. We hope to see you (or any referrals) when you return and thank you for choosing Apodiformes Adventures.

• Time: 8-10hrs
• Meals: Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included) Non-alcoholic drinks

•  Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)