On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met by your driver and transferred to Machweo Wellness Retreat, where you will spend one night in a cottage room.
Renowned for having the best food in Arusha, Machweo Wellness Retreat is a serene sanctuary from the bustle of Arusha.
If you arrive earlier in the day, stretch your legs with an optional work-out with Delyse, brush up on your photography skills at a talk with award-winning travel and wildlife photographer Julian Asher, or indulge in a jetlag-fighting treatment in the Machweo Spa.***
This evening, gather with the group for a welcome dinner in the critically acclaimed restaurant run by star chef Axel and his team. Mixing local influences with classic French cuisine and only working with the best and freshest products, every bite and every sip will be an experience for your senses.
* There will be three transfers timed to meet flights arriving in the morning, midday, and afternoon. While they will be timed to minimise waiting times, if your flight arrives outside the scheduled times or you do not wish to wait please let us know and we can arrange a separate transfer.
** Single rooms and room upgrades available on request (subject to availability).
*** Advance booking for spa appointments is recommended.
Onsea House & Machweo Retreat
Welcome Dinner
Photography talk with Julian Asher
Spa treatments at Machweo
This morning you will be met by your driver and transferred to Arusha Airport for your light air transfer to the Northern Serengeti. At the Kogatende Airstrip you will be met by your guide and transferred to Serengeti Safari Camp where you will spend three nights in a luxury safari tent.
Serengeti Safari Camp moves seasonally to shadow the herds of the great migration. At this time of year, it is based only a few miles from where the wildebeest cross the Mara River. We have exclusive use of this small intimate camp, with only 6 stylish classic luxury safari tents.
The most remote part of Serengeti National Park, the northern Serengeti is the ideal place to experience the Great Migration in privacy, with the herds usually massing in the area between mid-August and mid-October. With luck, patience is rewarded with dramatic crossings of the Mara River, where the herds brave the sheer banks and the immense crocodiles lying in wait. In addition to playing host to the epic herds of the Great Migration as an integral part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, the unique soil composition of the region supports one of the highest year-round concentrations of wildlife in the Serengeti, with plains game, elephants, and big cats in abundance while the Mara River teems with hippos and crocodiles.
Due to remoteness of this mobile safari camp. we’ll begin with a few days of tennis fitness & training.
On the morning of September 12, rise at dawn for your optional hot air balloon safari. Soaring over the plains of the Serengeti as dawn breaks over the herds of the Great Migration is an amazing experience - in addition to the Migration, elephants, giraffes, and hippos are often spotted from the air. Some very lucky people have even seen lions on the hunt!
Following your final morning at Lamai Serengeti, your guide will transfer you back to the airstrip for your private light air transfer to Singita Grumeti. On arrival at the Sasakwa Airstrip you will be met by your private guide and vehicle for a game drive transfer to Singita Sasakwa, where you will spend three nights in a luxury safari cottage.
Sasakwa Lodge rambles along a rocky promontory perched above the rolling plains. It is among the most deluxe accommodations ever built in East Africa. The entrancing view from on high is an ever-changing tapestry of grasslands, clouds and wildlife as they move across the landscape. The view within of long elegant hallways and inviting sitting rooms is faithful to the architecture and furnishings of the most splendid colonial era homes. Were Karen Blixen, the author of Out of Africa, to arrive at Sasakwa today, she would recognise a spot imbued with the same aesthetic that she lavished on her beloved home in the Ngong hills outside Nairobi.
Sasakwa's facilities include tennis courts featuring a unique termite-clay surface. Enjoy daily midday tennis clinics between game drives, culminating in a round-robin in the bush!
Spanning over 350,000 acres of untouched private wilderness - an area equivalent in size to Kenya's Maasai Mara National Park - Singita Grumeti Reserves is located adjacent to the remote western and northern sectors of the Serengeti National Park where it forms a vital part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. In addition to being positioned on the epic migratory route traversed annually by more than a million wildebeest, even out of migration season the plains at Singita Grumeti teem with wildlife, including lion, leopard, cheetah, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, and a multitude of antelope and smaller species such as mongoose, porcupine, and genet, while birders can spot over 600 species. As Singita Grumeti is a private game reserve and not subject to the same restrictions as the national parks, night drives offer the opportunity to spot nocturnal animals and to follow predators on the hunt.
In addition to superb game viewing, Singita is also home to one of the largest private cellars in the Southern Hemisphere - we highly recommend a personalised wine tasting where the sommelier selects wines based on your preferences.
Following a final morning at Singita Grumeti and a last delicious farewell brunch in the bush, you will be transferred back to the airstrip for your light air transfer to Zanzibar. On arrival at Zanzibar International Airport you will be met by your driver and transferred to Baraza Resort and Spa, where you will spend four nights in an ocean view villa.
Baraza Resort & Spa is located along the beach that was named as one of the top 30 island beaches in the world by Conde Nast Traveler magazine. With just 30 villas, this stunning fully inclusive boutique resort evokes the heritage of Zanzibar dating back to the era of the Sultans. A fusion of Arabic, Swahili and Indian design, with Swahili arches, intricate hand carved décor, and antiques. Each villa boasts large bathrooms as well as a spacious terrace and private plunge pool. Facilities include an excellent restaurant featuring the very best produce that the island has to offer as well as an impressive spa, yoga center, and fitness center.
Enjoy evening tennis clinics on Baraza's floodlit courts, including a final round robin on the beach!
Containing more than 50 islands scattered like a handful of jewels across the azure waters of the Indian Ocean, the Zanzibar archipelago is one of the world's legendary beach destinations. The lush main island of Zanzibar is home to stunning beaches with powdery white sand shaded by palm trees, lapped by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Known as the Spice Island, the air is infused with the scent of exotic spices and Zanzibari cuisine blends Swahili, Portuguese, and Arab influences. Offshore, enjoy some of the world's best snorkelling and diving sites along Zanzibar's coral reefs.
Following a final morning in Africa, you will be met by your driver and transferred back to the airport for your light air transfer to Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, where you will connect to your flight home.
