African Safari and Primate Tracking Experience

Today's Schedule

• Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
• You will be met inside the airport and assisted through the immigration & customs formalities,
• Thereafter you will meet a representative of Holden Safaris and transferred to Hemingway's Nairobi.
• Dinner will be served at the hotel.
• Overnight : Hemingways Hotel

Today's Schedule

• 08:00am: Enjoy breakfast at the hotel
• Depart for a full day of excursions in the Karen area.
• 11:00am: Begin the day's touring with a visit to The Giraffe Centre
• 12:00pm: Visit Karen Blixen Museum
• 1:00pm:  Lunch at Tamambo Karen Blixen Coffee Garden
• 2:30pm:  Visit Utamaduni Craft Centre and Kazuri Beads Factory for shopping
• 5:00pm:  Visit the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for the adoption visit
• After your visit, return back to the hotel
• Dinner on will be served at the hotel
• Overnight: Hemingway's Hotel

Activity information

• The Giraffe Centre is the creation of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (A.F.E.W. Kenya), a Kenyan non-profit organization. Our main purpose is to educate Kenyan school children and youth on their country’s wildlife and environment, as well as give local and international visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with the world’s tallest species, the giraffe.

• The Karen Blixen Museum in Nairobi was set up in 1985 in M’Bogani House, the main building of Karen Blixen’s coffee farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills. The Blixens moved to M’Bogani House in 1917, having spent their first years in Africa at the smaller farm of M’Bagathi.

  The Museum is part of the National Museums of Kenya and is situated in the residential neighbourhood of Karen, 15 km outside Nairobi City. Apart from the farmhouse itself, there is a kitchen in a separate building and a coffee-drying plant in the woodland. Karen Blixen’s rooms and kitchen have been renovated. Furniture that belonged to Karen Blixen and her husband is on display, along with photographs and other items. A bronze cast of Harald Isenstein’s bust of Karen Blixen, made in 1935, has been donated by the sculptor’s heirs.

• Kazuri Beads Factory: This factory was started to help women around Nairobi with regular employment so that they could support their families and educate their children. Meet the women and chat with them about their lives as they work. The jewellery also makes great gifts!
• Utamadumi Craft Centre: A converted Kikuyu house with 18 shops, is a treasure trove of African crafts, antiques and art, with friendly staff to assist.
• Interact with the elephants at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Elephant Orphanage. Established in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick to honor the memory of her husband, famous Naturalist, David Sheldrick, the founder Warden of Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. For over 25 years Kenya born Daphne lived and worked alongside her late husband and during that time she raised and rehabilitated back into the wild orphans of misfortune from many different wild species, including elephants aged two and upwards. She is a recognized International authority on the rearing of wild creatures and is the first person to have perfected the milk formula and necessary husbandry for both infant milk dependent elephants and rhinos. For her work in this field Daphne has received several prestigious awards. The elephant orphans raised by the Trust are gradually rehabilitated back into the wild elephant community of Tsavo National Park when grown, a transition that is made at their own pace and in their own time, but usually taking approximately eight to ten years. A number of ex-Nursery orphans have now had young born in the wild. Adopting one or more of these special animals gives them a second chance at living freely in the wild.

Today's Schedule

• Breakfast at the hotel
• 09:00am: Transfer to Wilson Airport for your scheduled flight to Masai Mara National Reserve
• 10:30am: Depart Wilson Airport
• 11:10am:  Arrive at Ol Seki Airstrip and be met by a Holden Safaris professional driver guide and transferred to Ol Seki Hemingway's Mara.
• Enjoy  a short game viewing drive enroute
• Lunch at the camp
• Afternoon game drive in the conservancy
• Return to the camp for dinner
• Overnight: Ol Seki Hemingway's Mara
• Note:   Today is an opportunity for a night game drive. Return from the afternoon game drive for dinner around 7:15pm, and after dinner head out again for the night drive from 8:15pm returning between 9:30pm - 10:00pm at the latest. 

Location information

• Masai Mara: It is world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lions, leopards, cheetahs and elephant, and the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra, Thomson's gazelle and other antelope, to and from the Serengeti every year known as the Great Migration
• Masai Mara is one of the world's most magnificent game reserves. Bordering Tanzania, the Mara is the northern extension of the Serengeti and forms a wildlife corridor between the two countries. It's named after the statuesque, red-cloaked Maasai people who live in the park and graze their animals here as they have done for centuries. In their language, Mara means "mottled", perhaps a reference to the play of light and shadow from the acacia trees and cloud-studded skies on the vast grasslands.
• The park is famous for the Great Migration when thousands of wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson's gazelle travel to and from the Serengeti, from July through October. In the Mara River, throngs of hippos and crocodiles lurk. The park is also known for providing excellent predator sightings thanks to its relatively large populations of lion, cheetah, and leopard - especially in the dry months from December through February. Thanks to the parks altitude, the weather here is mild and gentle year round.

Today's Schedule

• Morning and afternoon game drives in the reserve and the conservancy.
• You can also opt for a full day game viewing in the reserve with picnic lunches and confirmation can be made with the lodge
• All meals at the camp
• Overnight : Ol Seki Hemingways Mara

Today's Schedule

• Morning and afternoon game drives or a full day game viewing enjoying your picnic lunches admiring the incredible wildlife.
• Today you will enjoy a guided walk in Naibosho Conservancy
• All meals at the camp
• Overnight : Ol Seki Hemingways Mara

Today's Schedule

• Early breakfast at the camp
• Transfer to Ol Seki Airstrip for your scheduled flight to Entebbe departing at 08:45am via Kisumu
• 09:50am: Arrive at Kisumu and clear with immigrations and customs formalities
• 10:30am:  Depart on a scheduled flight to Entebbe
• 11:30am:  Arrive at Entebbe International Airport
• 12:00pm:  Depart Entebbe Airport on your connecting scheduled flight to Kihihi Airstrip
• 2:40pm: Arrive at Kihihi Airstrip and be met by a representative of Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
•  Transfer to the camp
• Arrive at the camp in time for a late lunch and a leisurely afternoon
• Dinner at the camp
• Overnight : Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp

Location information

• Bwindi Impenetrable Forest supports the biggest population of Mountain Gorilla.  It is a ancient forest also called the “Place of Darkness.”  The tree cover makes it very dark within this forest.   Bwindi is one of the richest areas for flora in Eastern Africa. The forest is also sanctuary for Columbus monkeys, chimpanzees and many bird types including some endangered species.

• The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is home to some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet, a profusion of exotic plants and animals that includes the endangered mountain gorilla. For thousands of years, the forest was also home to an indigenous people—the Batwa pygmies.

  As the original dwellers of this ancient jungle, the Batwa were known as “The Keepers of the Forest.” The history of these small-statured people is long and rich. The Batwa survived by hunting small game using arrows or nets and gathering plants and fruit in the rain forest. They lived in huts constructed of leaves and branches, moving frequently in search of fresh supplies of food. The Batwa lived in harmony with the forest and its creatures, including the mountain gorillas, for millennia. Some anthropologists estimate that pygmy tribes such as the Batwa have existed in the equatorial forests of Africa for 60,000 years or more.

• Gorilla trekking Uganda, a highlight of your tour! Gorilla tracking ranks among one of the absolute highlights of a trip to Africa for most travellers, and the spine-tingling feeling that you get being so near to one of our closest relatives is hard to describe. Uganda holds close to the  total gorilla population, and the majority of them live in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, whereas the others are found in Mgahinga Gorilla Park, however these at times cross over to Rwanda.  Fortunately the Gorillas are growing in numbers because of the protection they are offered from the government of Uganda.
• Mountain Gorillas are one of the world’s most endangered apes. It is estimated that there are only about 880 left throughout the world. Almost half of them can be found in Uganda, and populations can also be found in neighbouring Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Today's Schedule

• 06:15am:  Breakfast at the lodge
• 06:45am: You will be driven to the Bwindi Forest National Park  main gate where you will be assigned a gorilla tracking group
• 07:00am:  Briefing by the trackers then drive to the trail head and begin your adventure
• On sighting  of the gorillas, you are able to spend a magical hour observing these magnificent animals. Watch their social behavior and their protection of the young.
• Return to the lodge for lunch
• Afternoon will be at leisure
• Overnight : Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp

Your Gorilla Tracking

• After an early  breakfast, head to the Headquarters of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park for an orientation plus meeting the guides as well as separation into the groups basing on which gorilla group you are to be tracking .
• From there you will set off for your thrill experience of the Gorillas in the Mist. Hiking within this mysterious and wonderful forest offers quite a lot to see as you make your way to see the Mountain Gorillas. 
• The wildlife including additional primates, butterflies, mammals and birds, will certainly be very beautiful and really enhance this extremely special experience.
• The tracking / trekking can entail some thorough climbing as well as hiking although when you come face to face with the tranquil yet potent Mountain Gorillas, watching them only a few meters away from you observing the group, the baby with the mothers, the gorillas partaking their every day routine just right in front of you is all very overwhelming. 

Today's Schedule

• 06:15am:  Breakfast at the lodge
• 06:45am: You will be driven to the Bwindi Forest National Park  main gate where you will be assigned a gorilla tracking group
• 07:00am:  Briefing by the trackers then drive to the trail head and begin your adventure

• Gorilla tracking ranks among one of the absolute highlights of a trip to Africa for most travelers, and the spine-tingling feeling that you get being so near to one of our closest relatives is hard to describe.

• After your hour with the Gorilla family, return to the camp arriving in time for lunch.
• Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure at the camp.
• Dinner will be served at the camp.
• Overnight: Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp 

Today's Schedule

• Breakfast at the Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Lodge
• 08h00: Depart from the lodge with your driver/guide and drive to Kibale National Park.
• Picnic Lunch will be provided.
• 2:30pm: Arrive Kyaninga Lodge 
• Afternoon at leisure
• Dinner will be served at the lodge.
• Overnight: Kyaninga Lodge (1 x Double Room) (Full board)

Activity information: What to wear for chimp tracking

• Tracking chimpanzees is unpredictable – you could be walking for 20 minutes or three hours before the ranger locates a group. Thankfully, the trails in Kibale are largely flat, and are not too arduous. That said, paths can be uneven, overgrown, and if it has rained recently, slippery.
• To cover all eventualities, decent walking shoes or boots are a must.
• Likewise, the weather in Uganda can change at any moment.
• Chimpanzees live in dense rainforest environments, so while it might be blazing sunshine to begin with, a torrential downpour can unexpectedly  happen at times.
• Along with a rain jacket or poncho, long trousers and sleeves are also advisable. Paths are cut with machetes, often leaving a few sharp edges. Need to be vigilant along the pathways as there may be  thorns, stinging plants and all manner of insects during the walk.

Today's Schedule

• After breakfast you will depart the lodge and drive  to the Kibale National Park headquarter for your Chimpanzee Tracking briefing.
• The drive is approximately 1 hour.  
• 07:00am: After the briefing, you begin your walk through the forest with your guides and ranger following the well-marked trails in search of the chimpanzees. 
• Explore the wonders of this enchanted region - the Chimpanzee Safari in Kibale National Park.
• Kibale Forest is the best place to see Chimpanzees in the wild. The forest is frequently used by documentary film-makers, including the great Attenborough. With the highest density of Chimpanzees in the world, and with 13 other rare primates, the enormous Kibale Forest is a world treasure. 
• On locating the chimpanzees, you will spend an hour with these incredible primates. Watch them interact with one another and get a better understanding of the social behavior.
• 1:00pm: Return to the lodge arriving in time for late lunch.
• Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
• Dinner will be served at the lodge.
• Overnight: Kyaninga Lodge 

Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale National Park:

• Uganda’s Kibale National Park is home to habituated groups of chimpanzees, which have become used to human interaction and a close encounter is quite likely.
• Walks through the park leave  from the Kanyanchu Visitors’ Centre – where the trailheads begin – at 8am, 11am and 2pm.
• Early in the morning, when the chimps are most active, is considered a better time to track, but there are no guarantees – they’re wild animals, after all.
• Before setting off, a member of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) briefs the group and explains what to expect from a chimp’s behavior. There are a few ground rules: keep a safe distance, never touch the animals and be careful not to antagonize the primates by mimicking their calls and noises.
• Tracking groups are then split into smaller parties of six people – seven including the ranger. The search then begins.
• Hiking through dense forest with tangled trees and dangling vines, the ranger leads the group to a section of the forest where the chimps were last spotted. Mostly though, they’re heard first. Their deafening calls echo around the treetops for miles. Part blood-curdling scream, part whoop, it’s an exhilarating indicator that the chimpanzees are somewhere close by. Troops can number well over 100, but they spend most of the day in smaller groups of eight to 15. Most of the time, they are up trees, eating figs and young leaves, sleeping and grooming each other playfully.
• Once a troop is found, visitors have an hour to observe them and sometimes the chimps will even come down to the forest floor for a truly special experience.
• It’s an unforgettable moment, discovering something completely wild but oddly familiar. After all, some studies have found that humans share up to 98 percent of their DNA with the primates.

Today's Schedule

• Breakfast at Kyaninga Lodge
• 07:30am: Depart to Kasese Airstrip
• 09:30am: Depart scheduled Aerolink flight to Entebbe
• 11:25am: On arrival at Entebbe International Airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to No.5 Boutique Hotel where lunch and dayroom has been reserved
• Some time to relax in the afternoon before the international departure flight
• At a time advised, you will be transferred to Entebbe International Airport for your scheduled international departure flight.