Classic East Africa
Lake shores and Savannah (14 days/13 nights)
Day 1 – 2: For your first sundowner of this safari, you’ll see Kilimanjaro massed in the distance, dwarfing the Chyulu Hills. East African frontier chic informs the atmosphere of the classic Campi Ya Kanzi. Standing solitary on the Kenya-Tanzania border, this authentic lodge could be from the sepia pages of Hemingway’s ‘Green Hills of Africa’. The statuesque Maasai, swathed in indigo and crimson, who support the running of this ranch, will be full of local knowledge to share with you about the wildlife and habitat of the Tsavo-Amboseli region.
Day 3 – 5: On the scenic drive to Satao Elerai Lodge, into the arid basin of Amboseli, you’ll encounter buffalo, zebra, gazelle, wildebeest, giraffe and the more discerning observer might see a lion or a cheetah sloping into range of the binoculars. From the wonderfully wonky acacia poles of your four-poster, you can point your toes at the hoary head of the old giant, Kilimanjaro. In the wetlands of Amboseli National Park, the myriad birdlife in all its vibrancy and colour will distract you from the elephants, initially. But later you’ll meet the herds –these are distinguished elephants, celebrities of sorts, made famous by their television appearances with Cynthia Moss who has devoted four decades to elephant conservation and is now the world’s expert on African elephant families. You may even meet her too.
Day 6 – 10: After a pit-stop in Arusha, you fly deeper into Tanzania to the Mahale Mountains on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Descend through the mist, through the canopy of this tropical forest to find yourself lost on the glimmering shores of a deserted island. Only this is not an island, nor is it deserted. Sharing the azure reflection of the sky with you are hundreds of chimpanzees. You’ll see them cavorting through the foliage when you trek through the mountains to get closer to these contended families, far from humanity. Floating on the lake on your dhow in the evening, the exotic music of strange birds lulls you with the tide into twilight.
Day 10: You head to the heart of the city of Nairobi – but not as you expect it. From Nairobi Tented Camp, you can see the shimmer of the glass skyscrapers of the sharp cityscape far on the horizon, but the foreground of your vista reveals the gawky necks of giraffes, stunted acacia thorns and undulating savannah grasses, topped with the curve of a buffalo’s boss.
Day 11 – 13: In the Maasai Mara, you’ll be overwhelmed by the vast expanse of wilderness, massed with herds of plains game – wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and bush buck in their thousands. Perhaps you’ll follow a cheetah bounding fluently into the distance or hear the low sigh of a lion beyond the shadows of the embers of the fire, protecting your encampment. From your lounger on the deck, you can see hippopotamus cavorting in the waterhole just below your vantage point. Champagne picnics under the umbrella of an acacia tree, and Karen Blixen Camp with its vintage canvas and polished mahogany, will give you the experience of the bush that inspired colonial writers like Hemmingway and Dinesen.
Day 14: Retire to the cool of the wooden ceiling fans and the crunch of Kenyan coffee beans at the Norfolk Hotel on the hilltop of Nairobi. It’s time to fly, Africa awaits your return. Kwaheri akwenana.