EAST AFRICA'S WILDLIFE AND BIRD DIVERSITY
Kenya and Tanzania

A reasonable small-group supplement will be added if the group size falls below 8, and wll be adjusted according to the number of travelers.

Relatively few flights fly into Kilimangaro Airport in Moshi, Northern Tanzania. Northwest Airlines, partnered with KLM, however, has an excellent schedule and prices. Northwest departs Seattle at 1:00am (NW also flies from other US cities) arriving in Amsterdam at 8:00am, and KLM continues at 10:00am to arrive at 8:30pm in Tanzania.

From Kilimanjaro airport near Moshi we drive an hour west to Arusha (pop. 200,000), where we settle into our hotel for a good night's sleep.

We sleep in, and after breakfast begin the 2.5 hour drive south to vast Tarangire National Park. Passing through Arusha we'll see busy markets where tribes from this rich northern region gather. Important products include coffee, varied bananas, vegetables, grains and cattle. Mining is also important, including the regional specialty, Tanzanite.

Entering Tarangire Park at midday we make limited stops en route to the spectacular lodge, located on a bluff overlooking savannah and river. After checking in and lunch we relax at our deluxe tents with lights and attached hot water. Late afternoon we have our first safari. Wildebeeste, zebra, great herds of elephants and myriad birds are attracted to Tarangire's water and rolling grasslands studded with massive, contorted Baobabs. Tarangire is one of Africa's most beautiful landscapes. Leopards and lions are here too, and special birds include Bare-faced Go-away birds, Grey Kestrel, and Ashy Starling.

Morning and evening wildlife drives in Tarangire NP. Tarangire Tented Lodge.

After a final Tarangire wildlife drive this morning we continue west through the arid Rift Valley and then climb steeply to the 8000 ft. rim of Ngorongoro Crater NP. Two thousand feet below lies the savannah floor of the 10-mile wide volcanic caldera. The Crater supports the densest population of ungulates on earth, as well as lions, cheetahs and rhinos. Thousands of wildebeeste, antelope and zebras forage the perennially green highland grasses. We spend this cool night at a lodge on the crater rim.

This morning we descend into the Crater via a rugged one-way road. Watch for Lions, huge bull elephants and rhinos. The Crater has one of the few secure black rhino populations in East Africa. A soda lake in the Crater supports thousands of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes as well as waterfowl and shorebirds. At midday we drive up to the cool rim and continue down the western slope of the Ngorongoro Highlands and across the Serengeti Plains to Lake Ndutu Lodge, located at the edge of Serengeti National Park where we spend two nights. A small, personal lodge, Ndutu is the closest accommodation to The Migration, on the plains in every direction.

The Serengeti ecosystem protects the world's largest population of ungulates; over one million wildebeeste and nearly half a million zebra annually follow the rains from plains to savannah to woodland. It is a view into the Pleistocene. We'll find lions and hyenas, and probably leopards and vheetahs. Antelope include Topi, Hartebeeste, Dikdik, Eland, Steinbok, and Grant's and Thompson's Gazelles. Birds of the plains include many raptors, larks, lapwings, bustards and sand grouse. We spend one night at the splendid Seronera Lodge, built over and into a Kopje (ancient granite outcrops) where hyraxes and baboons still reside. Two nights we are at famed Ndutu Lodge, beside a flamingo lake and in the heart of the plains where two million eildebeeste, zebra, and gazelles are raising young and avoiding predators. Fabulous.

This morning a final safari across the Plains to reach Olduvai Gorge at the base of the Ngorongoro Highlands. Olduvai is the most famous site in anthropology. An African excavator who aids the international researchers with their Olduvai digs will provide an informal lecture, and there is an excellent museum. Afterwards we continue east over the highlands to the Lake Manyara Hotel, perched at the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment overlooking Lake Manyara.

After an early birdwalk on the delightful hotel grounds which overlook Lake Manyara a thousand feet below, we begin our journey to Kenya, making occasional short walks en route. Our first stop is a stroll in lush groundwater forest, fed by springs that burst from the Rift escarpment, the waters originating in the moist Ngorangoro Highlands. We'll break in Arusha, possibly for some shopping if needed, then continue to the easy border crossing into Kenya.

Following a leisurely breakfast we head north through the homeland of Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu. Their mud and thatch homes are scattered among fields of corn, vegetables, coffee and pineapples. We arrive for lunch on the western shoulder of Mt. Kenya at Naro Moru Lodge, beside a quiet river in a dry forest of Podocarpus conifers. This lodge is the staging site for many climbers ascending 17,000 foot Mount Kenya, which we'll likely view if not shrouded in cloud. Even at midday the grounds are rich with birds, especially iridescent Sunbirds, as well as hornbills, turacos, parrots, trogons and Cinnamon-chested Beeaters. After a fine lunch we continue north to Samburu National Park. En route we pass through the frontier town of Isiolo, where traditionally-clad Samburu, Somali, Turkana, Rendille and Boran tribes gather to trade. We spend two nights at Samburu Park, overlooking the river where animals gather.

During morning and evening safaris we'll search out the arid-land specialties of Samburu. Unique mammals of the region include the reticulated giraffe, beisa oryx (an antelope), Grevy's zebra and the long-necked gerenuk antelope. Elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah and Nile crocodile are here too. A river runs through the park and is the focal point of the ecosystem. The birdlife is astounding, with many species found only here within our itinerary. Raptors, hornbills, bustards and kingfishers are especially well-represented, but also several warblers, weavers and finches.

We safari our way out of Samburu visiting new areas of the park, then continue south with a pack lunch to arrive mid-afternoon at Mountain Lodge, situated beside a pond and natural salt lick high on Mt. Kenya, Africa's second highest mountain at 17,000 ft. The mountain forests of East Africa are endangered, most having been logged and cultivated with tea, coffee and temperate vegetables. Rare and shy forest animals can be seen here coming to the lighted clearing through the night. Rhino, elephant, giant forest hog, leopard, duiker and suni antelopes, and bushbuck are but a few. Dozens of birds are limited to these heights and are easily seen from the lodge's viewing balconies and short forest trails. Robins, raptors, doves and starlings are well represented.

The forest around the lodge will be alive with birds this morning. Guenon and Colobus Monkeys are often seen. After a sumptuous breakfast we continue with pack lunch on a spectacular route west, traversing the Abedare Range, and dropping into the 20 to 40-mile wide Rift Valley, then continuing north to famed Lake Baringo at 3,000 feet, our hotel a flowered lakeshore oasis in an arid landscape.

Before breakfast we walk along the nearby escarpment. On the cliff and in the scrubby forest beneath are found plant and animal species difficult to find elsewhere, many at the southern end of their northern range, including Jackson's and Hemprich's Hornbills, Verreaux's Eagle, Cliff Chat and Bristle-crowned Starling. Following breakfast we boat along the shoreline, where we can approach hippos, Goliath Herons and dozens of other waterbirds Baringo is famous for. We depart after lunch for freshwater Lake Naivasha, where we overnight. Naivasha lies at 7000 ft., and the area is seething with waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors.

A relaxed morning of woodland and lakeshore walks before we continue two hours to Nairobi, where we have a break at our previous hotel, and travelers continuing on the coastal extension can leave bags in storage. Those going to the Indian Ocean fly at 2:00pm. Travelers not on the extension will have a dayroom and could visit the nearby National Museum, or shop in Nairobi. The KLM flight to Amsterdam leaves at 11:00pm, arriving at about 6:00am.

Our KLM flight arrives in Amsterdam at about 6:00am. Connections to the East and West coast are in late morning. The Northwest flight to Seattle departs at about 11:00am and arrives at about 12:00 Noon. Welcome home.

At 2:00pm. we fly from Nairobi to Malindi, where we are met by our drivers and taken to our beautiful hotel on the beach overlooking the Marine Park where we will snorkel. This afternoon and the next three days we will have a variety of relaxing options.

These days we will visit the market in the old town of Malindi and walk through a Giriama village to the home of friend, Rodgers Karabu. At least one early morning we will have a bird and nature walk in relict Sokoke Forest to search for rare lowland birds and the Golden-backed Elephant Shrew with talented local guides. Nearby is Mida Creek, one of the largest mangrove-lined estuaries on the East African coast and home to thousands of interesting waterbirds, many wintering from Europe. There is also the ruined 14th century Arab city of Gedi, set amidst the encroaching forest. And each day we can swim and snorkel. In the afternoon of the last day we fly to Nairobi, and at about 11:00am our KLM flight leaves Nairobi for Amsterdam, arriving at about 6:00am.

We arrive in Amsterdam at about 6:00 am this morning and connect with flights arriving in the US this same day, the Northwest flight to Seattle arriving at about 12:00 noon.