Gorillas, Chimps and Beach

Day notes

On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi you will be met airside as you descend the aircraft steps by the dmAFRICArepresentative who will assist you with immigration, baggage collection and customs formalities and escort you to your driver who will drive you to the beautiful Giraffe Manor. You can spend the afternoon with the elegant Rothschild Giraffe - watching and feeding them.

Day notes

You are transferred to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your scheduled service flight to Kigali, Rwanda.

You are met on arrival by the dmAFRICA representative and transferred by helicopter to the Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Parc National des Volcans, taking time to view the stunning volcanic landscape from the air.

The lodge hospitality staff meet you from your helicopter and settle you in the lodge. The rest of the day is at leisure to stroll around the lodge, or simply take in the panoramic sunset over the volcanoes.

Day notes

An early morning start of your very exciting day spent gorilla trekking. Before 8 am report to the ranger station for registration and a safety talk by one of the rangers; the guides will then take you through the bush pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas.

The trek can take from half an hour to 7 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes.

Once you are close to the group the guides will ask you to leave behind your bags as no food items should be carried close to the gorillas. Just take your cameras with you as you are about to meet the gentle giants! Sit in the forest amongst the gorillas, listening to them grumble to each other and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male; the silverback. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rainforest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas – sadly enough there are only about 650 of these beautiful creatures left.

You are allowed exactly one hour with the gorillas before returning to the base station.

Day notes

Leave after breakfast and drive to Lake Kivu; the journey time is under 2 hours through spectacular scenery. Your stay is at the beach resort of the Lake Kivu Serena at Gisenyi.

Day notes

A day at leisure by the beach with time to explore of the old colonial town of Gisenyi.

Day notes

Leave after breakfast for Kigali, capital city of Rwanda and have a short sightseeing tour of the city including a visit to the market, a pottery project, handicraft shops and the genocide memorial.

The city has a population of almost one million people. Spanning wide ridges and valleys, Kigali is an attractive city of lush hillsides and flowering trees, winding boulevards and bustling streets.

Ideally located on one of Kigali's most charming boulevards, the five-star Kigali Serena Hotel is built around a polished granite atrium, which showcases the very best of Rwandese cultural art.

Relaxed yet elegant, the hotel has a wide sundeck overlooking the newly refurbished swimming pool, which is the centrepiece of the hotel.

Day notes

At the appropriate time the dmAFRICA representative will collect you from the hotel and transfer you to Kigali airport for your homeward flight or onward arrangements with dmAFRICA.