The Itinerary

The lovely Clara & I are finally getting around to taking her big 5-0 birthday trip, and this blog will be an attempt to try to post a few comments and pictures about the trip as they happen so we don't have to bore everyone with pictures and videos upon our return.  We leave Pittsburgh around 1:00pm on Monday December 13th, fly through Newark and Frankfurt, Germany, and land in Dubai at 11:30pm on Tuesday December 14th.  (Thank goodness for business class and all of our frequent flyer miles!)  We are spending three nights in Dubai including the last night at the Burj Al Arab.  We are planning on doing some sightseeing around Dubai (including a seaplane ride over the city) and taking a dune-buggy ride in the desert.  We might try a side trip to Abu Dhabi, but that all depends on the time we have available.  Our flight leaves Dubai on December 18th at 2:30am and we land in Kilimanjaro Airport at 11:35am.  We have booked an extra night at the beginning of the "Safari" so we can recharge our batteries.  I am posting the itinerary for the safari below.  Day 1 of that will be December 19th and Day 13 will be December 31.  We then fly home on January 1, 2010 from Nairobi, Kenya through Istanbul, Turkey and NYC.  I will be amazed if I ever make it home!!!

Day 1 - Arusha - Tanzania's safari gateway

Tauck's Tanzania and Kenya safari begins at Serena Mountain Village, Arusha.   Your Tanzania and Kenya safari begins at Serena Mountain Village in Arusha, the safari gateway city. A transfer is included from Kilimanjaro International Airport to your hotel, Serena Mountain Village at the foot of Mount Meru, the second-highest mountain in Tanzania.

Lodging: Serena Mountain Village, Arusha, Tanzania

Day 2 - Flamingos at Lake Manyara National Park

The vast Serengeti beckons as you embark on a four-night safari in Tanzania, and a five-night Kenya safari. Take your first game drive* through Lake Manyara National Park, renowned among birders for huge flocks of pink flamingos, as well as giraffes, baboons, hippos, and elephants. Arrive in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, populated by an estimated 30,000 large mammals. Your lodge for the next two nights is on the Ngorongoro Crater rim overlooking the caldera below, an excellent spot for our welcome reception and dinner.

Lodging: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Day 3 - Wildlife in the "Garden of Eden" - Ngorongoro

Thought by some to be Africa's original Garden of Eden Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest calderas in the world and contains a variety of ecosystems and an astounding concentration of birds and animals. Your four-wheel-drive vehicle, built exclusively for Tauck, provides an excellent mobile viewing platform when encountering massive herds of zebras, wildebeests, and gazelles. This area affords an opportunity to spot the Big Five - elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhinoceros. Enjoy a picnic in the crater today.

Lodging: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Day 4 - Early human history at Olduvai Gorge

Study the development of humankind at Olduvai Gorge, where, 50+ years ago, archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the fossilized remains of some of the earliest known human species, an estimated 1.8 million years old. Continue wildlife viewing while driving the rough dirt roads across the plains to your safari lodge in the Serengeti, whose stone-built accommodations were inspired by Maasai tribal dwellings.

Lodging: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Day 5 - The Serengeti summons

Look for wildlife in the heart of the vast savanna of the Serengeti today on both morning and afternoon game drives. Sightings might include lions, zebras, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, black rhinoceros, hippos, buffaloes, jackals, gazelles, and giraffes. When the sunset paints the sky in the evening, enjoy the show from the luxury of your lodge in Serengeti National Park.

Lodging: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Day 6 - Tauck's Kenya safari begins

Leave the Serengeti behind as you fly to Arusha, where you'll tour a private coffee plantation with a local guide and a cultural center. Later, hop a short flight from Arusha to Kenya's capital, Nairobi. Tour the Karen Blixen Museum at the former coffee plantation and home of the Danish author (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen) whose story inspired the movie Out of Africa; and meet some new long-necked friends on a guided visit to the Nairobi Giraffe Center featuring a tour and a private lecture. Overnight at Nairobi Serena Hotel.

Lodging: Nairobi Serena Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya

Day 7 - Visit an animal orphanage and stay at a former celebrity playground

Depart Nairobi and continue on to the world-famous Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, your luxurious home for the next two nights. The former retreat of actor William Holden, the Safari Club was once the playground of such illustrious members such as Winston Churchill and Bing Crosby. Following lunch and an equatorial demonstration, you can spend the afternoon at William Holden's Mount Kenya Animal Orphanage on the grounds of the club; this sanctuary for animals that have been orphaned or injured and need special care also teaches local children to cherish and appreciate the unique wildlife of their homeland.

Lodging: Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, Nanyuki, Kenya

Day 8 - Village life and leisure at the Safari Club

On a morning visit to a local village, discover how residents of the region tend sheep and spin, dye and weave their wool into colorful rugs and garments such as sweaters and shawls. Return to your exceptional resort, set high on the side of a mountain, to swim, relax or indulge in all sorts of pleasant diversions, including golf and fishing, that are available at additional cost.

Lodging: Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, Nanyuki, Kenya

Day 9 - Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Visit the private Ol Pejeta Conservancy, dedicated to preserving natural habitats for the conservation of endangered species. In addition to the rescued chimpanzees that have found sanctuary here, this protected reserve boasts the largest resident black rhino population in East Africa.

Lodging: Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, Nanyuki, Kenya

Day 10 - Masai Mara National Reserve

A flight takes you to the legendary Masai Mara National Reserve in southern Kenya, where a Maasai warrior welcomes you. Your luxurious tented camp is surrounded on three sides by a river; go on a late afternoon game drive. 

Lodging: Fairmont Mara Safari Club, Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Day 11 - Game Drives, Masai Mara

The Masai Mara National Reserve is one of the most popular reserves for viewing the Big Five. Open, rolling grasslands provide a remarkable backdrop - light takes on unusual hues, colors are accentuated, and you may be lucky to spot the black-maned lion on one of today's Kenya safari game drives. 

Lodging: Fairmont Mara Safari Club, Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Day 12 - Up, up and away over Masai Mara

Today will be one that you'll always remember as you arise before dawn to board a hot air balloon* and float over the awakening plains below as the sun rises. When you land, a special champagne breakfast will be awaiting you right there in the bush! Spectacular isn't quite strong enough a word to describe such an experience, a Tauck Exclusive on your Kenya safari! Back on the ground, look for lions, impalas, cheetahs and giraffes - and the other animals you've come to love - during your final game drive, then join us for a perfect ending to your unforgettable safari... a farewell dinner at your tented camp.

Lodging: Fairmont Mara Safari Club, Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Day 13 - Homeward bound as your Kenya safari concludes

Fly to Nairobi, where a day room has been reserved for you at the Nairobi Serena Hotel. Enjoy dinner at the hotel before heading to the airport for your flight home this evening. We wish you a safe and pleasant journey home. Your Tanzania / Kenya safari ends at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.


The websites for the hotels where we are staying have promised internet access, so I am going to attempt to post some comments and pictures on a daily basis.  We should have plenty of downtime when we are on the actual game drives since they take us very early in the morning and late in the evening.  And I will have plenty of practice to learn how to edit this blog so all the fonts are the same size!!!!