Gnus & Gorillas
The Great Migration &
Mountain Gorillas of The Impenetrable Forest
Arusha, Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park, Queen Elizabeth National
Park & Chimps, Bwindi National Park & Gorillas.
16 Days
Day 01: Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge
After your arrival in Kilimanjaro airport, you will be met by your Wildlife Explorer vehicle and your personal driver-guide,
and transferred to your lodge. Ngare Sero is the most beautifully situated lodge in the Arusha region. Colobus monkeys
are abundant in the grounds overlooking the lake, which is a natural Heronry.
Light dinner.
Day 02: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
After breakfast, you will depart for Manyara National Park for your first game drive. Nestled at the base of the Great Rift
Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is one of the most beautiful places in Africa. Manyara is noted for its amazing bird life,
numerous buffalo, elephant, giraffe, impala, hippo, as well as a great variety of smaller animals, and of course the very
elusive tree-climbing lions.
In the afternoon, you will proceed towards Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. We climb steadily through the Ngorongoro Highlands before reaching the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. A brief stop will be made at the viewpoint so that we may admire the vista of the crater some two thousand feet below.
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is a magnificent return to the noble elegance of the travelling colonials. Inspired in design by the Masai Manyatta (village), three separate camps of twelve suites each are decorated with handcrafted items, graceful antiques, grand chandeliers and treasures collected from travels throughout Africa. Each room enjoys magnificent views over the Crater below, and each has a private, en-suite bathroom, which includes that wonderful tub with a view! A personal butler will look after your every need.
Day 03: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
Standing at 2236m above sea level, Ngorongoro is the largest unbroken caldera in the world and is surrounded by very steep
walls rising 610m from the floor. Covering an area of 259 sq.kms, it is considered to be one of the Wonders of the Natural
World and is a veritable haven for wildlife.
Leaving early in the morning and taking a picnic lunch with you, you will spend the day game driving on the floor
of the crater.
Dinner at the lodge.
Day 04: Serengeti Luxury Private Tented Camp
After breakfast, you will leave for Serengeti with picnics, and enjoy a game drive en-route to your camp. A stop at Olduvai
Gorge will be arranged, as well as perhaps a hike up Nasera Rock!
Exclusive and remote, our private camps feature roomy walk-in tents with attached bathrooms and hot showers, and comfortable
beds made up with linen and duvet. You can also expect delicious, freshly cooked meals and menus adapted to your preferences.
Dinner in Camp.
Day 05, 06 & 07: Serengeti Luxury Private Tented Camp
Three full days will be spent exploring the nearby areas of the Serengeti ecosystem, following conditions and the movement
of game. The Serengeti is where thousands of wildebeest, gazelle, topi, buffalo and zebra draw predators such as lions, cheetahs,
leopards, making it the world's most exciting wildlife environment.
Dinner in Camp.
Day 08: Kirwaira Luxury Tented Lodge - Serengeti
Today you will leave your Private Camp and drive towards the Serena Kirawira Camp in the Western Corridor. This exclusive
camp maintains the high standards of Serena Lodges, providing the essential luxuries required by today's discerning traveller.
Situated on a hill overlooking the Grumeti River, Kirawira is a blend of Victorian and African craftsmanship. An intimate
camp that allows you to feel at one with nature yet still has every luxury imaginable - from first class cuisine to
heated showers and even valets. You may also relax in the dramatically set plunge pool!
Dinner in Lodge.
Day 09: Kirwaira Luxury Tented Lodge - Serengeti
Riverine habitat, hill country, thick bush and short grass plains provide the unique character of this area.
Kirawira is renowned for its amazing crocodile pool close to the Grumeti River, which is home to monsters up to eighteen feet long. It is also in this area that the migration crosses the river from sometime May to July, providing food for the waiting crocodiles!
Giant sycamore, fig and mahogany trees fringe the Grumeti and Orangi Rivers where the foliage is favoured by black
and white colobus monkeys. The Retima Hippo Pool on the Orangi River is reputed to be Serengeti's finest with more
than sixty animals occupying the pool during the dry season. Water dikkops, nocturnal plovers and several species of
kingfisher and bee-eaters have been sighted here.
Dinner in Lodge.
Day 10: Queen Elizabeth National Park
This morning you will Private Air Charter directly into Queen Elizabeth National Park from the Serengeti via Mwanza. There
is a wide variety of wildlife in the park and superb habitat changes.
We will be staying at Mweya lodge, which is situated on the Kazinga channel, a large channel running between Lake George and Lake Edward.
The views from the lodge are fantastic - the channel where the elephant come to drink, the savannah beyond, and the
snow capped Ruwenzori Mountains loom in the distance. Hippos often come right up to the lodge to graze at night. In
the evening we will have a game drive.
Dinner at the lodge.
Day 11: Queen Elizabeth National Park
The day starts with an early morning drive to Kyambura Gorge to go chimp tracking. Long trousers and strong shirts are necessary.
The tracking can last up to 4 hours but it would normally be a two and a half hour walk.
The walking is not as strenuous as the tracking of mountain Gorillas. We will go for an afternoon boat trip on the
Kazinga channel where you will see lots of Hippos, elephant, tremendous bird life, and other game at close range.
Dinner at the lodge.
Day 12: The Impenetrable Forest
Today we leave Mweya Safari Lodge for Bwindi with picnic, driving through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National
Park famed for its tree-climbing lions.
We will stop in the park for a game drive and a lunch break. You will be able to see Topi and other antelope, have lunch by the hippo pool and hopefully find the tree-climbing lions. We will then continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to the endangered Mountain gorillas. Tonight you will stay in a comfortable tented camp - Gorilla Forest Camp, with hot baths, and soft beds!
Day 13: The Impenetrable Forest
Gorilla tracking! Today's' Group has an 8.00am report to the ranger station where the guides will take you through the bush,
slashing at the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track. (The trek can take from one hour to eight hours - a reasonable
degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes) Sit in the forest among the gorillas, listen to
them grumble to each other, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male; the silver back. Amazing to think that there
are only 650 of these creatures left in the World.
Dinner in Camp.
Day 14: The Impenetrable Forest
A second chance to track the Mountain Gorillas of The Impenetrable Forest.
Dinner in Camp
Day 15: Kampala
Long but beautiful trip back to Kampala (8 hours), stopping at the Equator along the way. Kampala is a great city, with outstanding
restaurants and a vibrant 'night scene'.
Dinner on own in the restaurant of your choice.
Alternatively Private Air Charter back to Kampala.
Day 16
After breakfast transfer to the airport to depart on your International Flight.
