Grandeur of Kenya & Tanzania

Amboseli is quintessential Africa with its large elephant herds and views of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, looming in the distance. It is also the home of the legendary Maasai Tribe who tend to their cattle and live in villages just on the outskirts of Amboseli’s boundaries. Game is easy to spot and the large tuskers are accustomed to vehicles and can come quite close! You may see herds of up to 100 elephants who can be found drinking in one of the permanent springs in the swampland. Keep your eyes trained and you might see lions, cheetahs, warthogs, baboons, jackals, hyenas, and flamingos, among others. Amboseli is the second most visited park in Kenya only after Maasai Mara and it is small enough and flat enough that you will get to explore most of the park. Mostly open country, there is good visibility over the plains although Kilimanjaro—with its base at the Tanzanian border—is often shrouded in clouds. Dawn and dusk are the best times to see the mountain looming in the distance and, with some luck, elephants will pass by at just the right time for you to photograph them with colossal Kilimanjaro as the backdrop. The marshes in Amboseli are permanent and allow for hippos to remain all year. There is prolific birdlife in Amboseli with over 400 species identified.

Cultures from across Tanzania are represented here and it is fascinating to walk through the village and shop for local crafts. You will need to hone your bargaining skills in Mto Wa Mbu. Lake Manyara National Park is a lovely scenic park famed for its tree-climbing lions, bountiful birdlife, and large numbers of hippos and baboons. Elephants are easily seen and its varied landscape supports other game, including zebras, giraffes, warthogs, impalas, dik-diks, waterbucks, and flamingos, which come to the park intermittently. The park is a combination of mahogany forest, marsh, and grasslands. Manyara is two-thirds water, one-third dry land and home to a spectacular concentration of game. The park is a flash of green amid an otherwise parched landscape. Over 350 species of birds populate the park.

Drive down the 1900-foot crater wall from the rim of this spectacular extinct volcano. Here you will find Africa’s largest permanent concentration of wildlife. Ngorongoro has been referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Ngorongoro towers above the Northern Serengeti Plain and it is celebrated as containing some of the most magnificent scenery in the world. Ngorongoro’s 105-square-mile crater is the largest unbroken crater on Earth and is packed with just about every species of wildlife found in East Africa. It is possible that we will see the Big Five—all of them—in one day. Large plains game permanently inhabit the area and the scenery is sensational. Some 30,000 animals live in the crater and, because the grasses are short, game is easily spotted and can often be approached quite closely. It is also one of the few parks in Africa where rhinos are relatively easy to locate. Enjoy the awe-inspiring views from your lodge of the crater below (weather permitting), spying herds of buffalo and wildebeest that look like ants from the distance. You quickly realize that you are in a very special place.

On the Serengeti Plain live an estimated 2,500 lions and there are more cheetahs here than anywhere else in Africa. Hyenas, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, ostriches, hippos, and other animals can be seen in abundance. Covering more than 5,700 square miles, the Serengeti is breathtaking terrain composed of acacia savannah, grass plains, and dense woodland grouped around kopje rock formations standing in a sea of grass. The kopjes provide shelter to a great variety of plants and animals, from the elusive leopard to the tiny dik-dik. It is estimated that one million animals live in the area with more than one-third of them being wildebeests, making it arguably the greatest wildlife theater on earth. Back at your luxury tented camp—where relaxation and romance dance together in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable—soak up all of the wide-open breathing space that is often lost in our usual day-to-day existence back home.

The park is without a doubt one of the greatest safari destinations in Africa and you have the best seats in the house. Your classic and intimate safari camp is ideally placed for all that is to come. Game drives in the Maasai Mara are unforgettable due to the abundance of wildlife and spectacular landscapes. At your luxury tented camp—where relaxation and romance dance together in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable—soak up all of the wide-open breathing space that is often lost in our usual day-to-day existence back home. Travelers can expect to encounter large numbers of animals year-round, with big herds of elephants, buffalos, and other plains game. It is also common to see predator interaction. Maasai Mara—a vast savanna grassland, dotted with acacia trees, with rolling hills and breathtaking panoramas in every direction—is one of the best places in all of Africa to spot the Big Five. “The Mara” is well-known for its great herds of plains game, like black-maned lions, leopards, cheetahs, and elephants, as well as virtually every other kind of animal found in Kenya. Between July and October, millions of zebras and wildebeests make the dangerous trek across the Maasai Mara in search of new grazing territory. Culturally, the reserve is extraordinary because of the proud and colorful Maasai who inhabit the area. Highlights during our time here include phenomenal game viewing, a walk along the banks of The Mara River—where hippos and crocodiles are often seen in great numbers—and exploring the optional activities in The Mara which include bush dinners and sundowners, visits to a local school and other cultural experiences, and of course the legendary early morning hot air balloon safaris over The Mara, among others.

The “Grandeur of Kenya and Tanzania” covers a lot of safariland at its best. If you like movement, covering a lot of ground and exploring different cultures and topographies, this is a great tour for you. The “Grandeur of Kenya and Tanzania” is a source of inspiration as you travel through and see so much of breathtaking East Africa. We leave plenty of time at the lodges and camps to decompress. By traveling overland you end up having a full experience with the land, culture, and wildlife of East Africa.