CW 43: 14 DAYS KENYA-UGANDA COMBINED (INCLUDING GORILLA TRACKING)

DAY 1: Nairobi to Masai M
You will depart from the Boulevard Hotel, leaving the hustle and bustle of Nairobi and climb the escarpment to your first viewpoint stop overlooking the Great African Rift Valley. Descending into the Rift valley you enter Masai land, and these habitual pastoralists are seen quite regularly on the side of the road as they tend their cattle. You will arrive at your campsite - Acacia Camp - early evening in time to enjoy sunset on the Masai Mara.

Meals : LD

DAY 2: Masai Mara
Game drives through the Mara find you looking for the famous Big 5 as well as giving you the opportunity to see this 'garden of Eden' in the state nature intended it to be: huge plains, rolling hills and an abundance of game matched nowhere else on earth. Elephant, lion, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck are just a few of the animals that inhabit this wonderland. Sitting around a campfire and watching the sunset is the perfect way to finish a day's game viewing in the Mara.

Meals : FB

DAY 3: Masai Mara to Nakuru
Departing the Masai Mara early we will pass through the third largest town in Kenya, Nakuru, where we will stop for the night to buy supplies and shop.

Meals : FB

DAY 4: Nakuru to Kampala
Today, you cross the border into Uganda and travel via the lakeside town of Jinja (the source of the Nile) before reaching Kampala, Uganda's capital, for an overnight stay. Uganda is a small country of striking physical beauty. Its landscapes vary from the fertile green areas around the northern shores of Lake Victoria to the snow-covered Ruwenzori Mountains in the west and the semi-desert parts of the north facing the border of Sudan.

Meals : FB

Day 5-6: Kisoro
After an early morning departure from Kampala you drive further west into the depths of Uganda and arrive at your base in Kisoro. From your Kisoro base, depending on where the gorilla travel permits are available, and where the gorillas are located, you will be viewing them in either the Magahinga or Bwindi National Parks in Uganda, the Virunga National Park in the DRC or at Ruhengeri in Rwanda. Due to the nature of the gorillas and their habits, viewing cannot be guaranteed. The gorillas themselves can tend to move around the locality quite a distance and the trek can be quite arduous.

The cost to trek the gorillas differs from park to park and can range from US$250 to US$375, per 1-hour viewing. The gorilla travel fees help to set up and finance patrols that are instrumental in protecting the gorillas from poachers and their lethal snares. Please note that we are not in control of the price of gorilla permits and therefore cannot be held responsible for any increases in fees levied by the relevant authorities. National parks usually allow people who fail to see the gorillas a second chance to trek the next day if time and availability allow or they may refund your trekking fee. This is purely at their discretion.

Please note: This is an optional excursion and visas to the DRC and Rwanda can be obtained at the border.

Meals : FB

DAY 7: Kisoro to Lake Bunyoni
A short drive through arguably some of the most picturesque scenery in Africa brings you to Lake Bunyoni. Lake Bunyoni is the deepest crater lake in Africa and is home to a large number of bird and fish species as well as otters.

Meals : FB

DAY 8: Lake Bunyoni

Today you have the whole day at leisure to enjoy the beauty of Lake Bunyoni. There is the option to swim, visit the local villages or just sit back, relax and enjoy the tranquil surrounds. A well deserved rest day!

Meals : FB

DAY 9: Lake Bunyoni to Kampala

After enjoying the peaceful surrounds of Lake Bunyoni you drive to Kampala for another overnight stay, and perhaps the chance to sample the nightlife. Today you will cross the equator for the second time and there will be ample opportunity for photos at the Equator crossing.
DAY 10: Kampala to Jinja

Today you have the option to either white water raft the Nile or visit Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary. For the adventurous, you will be collected from Kampala and transferred to Jinja where you will experience some of the best white water rafting in Africa. For the less adventurous, you will have the morning at leisure or the option to take a full day excursion to visit Ngamba Chimp Sanctuary before your departure to Jinja. Your overnight camp is right on the edge of the Nile River where there is an abundance of resident bird life and some truly amazing photo opportunities from right outside your tent!

DAY 11: Jinja to Nakuru

Today will be a full day driving back towards Kenya. You will cross the border before lunch and stop for supplies en route. Tonight you will overnight again in Nakuru.

DAY 12: Lake Nakuru National Park

Today you move on to Lake Nakuru National Park, famous for the thousands of flamingo that inhabit the lake's edge. The numbers vary depending on the level of the lake, and are more numerous when the water level is low. The park has also been established as a sanctuary for black and white rhino, which are frequently seen, along with buffalo, giraffe, waterbuck, various antelope, leopard and the occasional hippo. After entering the park in the morning you will spend the rest of the day game driving.

DAY 13: Lake Nakuru National Park to Lake Naivasha, moving further east, you drive to Lake Naivasha where you make camp in peaceful surroundings beside the lake. The highest of the Rift Valley lakes, Naivasha lies at about 1880m. The lake is home to a multitude of bird life and pride of place must go to the African Fish Eagle. The afternoon is spent at leisure here and you have the opportunity (time permitting) to enjoy some optional excursions, such as a boat ride to the Crescent Island Game Sanctuary, Hell's Gate National Park or Elsamere, the retirement home of Joy Adamson ("Born Free").

Meals : FB

DAY 14: Lake Naivasha to Nairobi

After breakfast, you leave Naivasha and return to Nairobi, arriving in the early afternoon. The truck will stop at the Boulevard Hotel for those staying there, and then continue to the campsite to finish the trip.