Africa is one of those destinations that most people dream about and once visited, keeps drawing us back. Africa dances to a different tune and has a raw vitality not found in any other place. This combination trip to East Africa was the perfect trip of a lifetime, visiting the ancient plains of the Serengeti and the world’s largest animal migration. To top it all off we climb to the roof of Africa; 5895m Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest point.

Tanzania, for many people is the ultimate Safari destination, featuring vast herds of game and limitless opportunities for viewing them up close. We will visit a cluster of World Heritage Sites and globally significant National Parks. On this outstanding journey through traditional Masai homelands, you explore some of the greatest game reserves in Africa, encountering a wealth of animal and bird life.

Game Safari

Part of the adventure of Africa is in not knowing what to expect. I have witnessed lions and cheetahs hunting, elephants challenging my vehicle, wildebeests giving birth, and jackals moving their pups to a new den.

Typical Safari days include driving in the parks looking for game. These game drives are best in early morning and late afternoon when animals are most active. A photo is indeed worth a 1000 words! They are a wonderful way to capture a great trip and they help visualize up coming adventures for those that haven’t been there yet.

I traveled west to perhaps the two most famous places in Africa Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Serengeti translates from the Masai language as endless plains, and every species of savannah wildlife, from the tiny dik-dik to the magnificent African elephant lives here. Leaving the Serengeti we will stop at Olduvai Gorge, the Cradle of Mankind, before arriving at our lodge perched spectacularly on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Three million years ago, the Ngorongoro volcano imploded leaving the world’s largest intact caldera, home to 30,000 animals, including the world famous black-maned lions.

From Ngorongoro I headed to the edge of the Great Rift Valley where your lodge is perched high on the rip overlooking Lake Manyara. In tall forest rare blue-faced monkeys leap from branch to branch; in the acacia woodland the famous tree-climbing lions lie in the branches of umbrella trees; in the lake hippopotamus wallow in mud pools while flamingos wade in the shallows.

Every day brings awesome and fascinating experiences only to be found in East Africa. It truly is a trip of a lifetime!

Kilmanjaro Trek Machame Route

Just 3 degrees south of the Equator is the 5895m snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro. This trek involves some challenging walking but no technical climbing. Most normally fit, healthy people prepared for some physical exertion can make the ascent to the summit.