RWANDA

25th June: The Bishop’s House
On arrival at Kigali Airport you will be met by an Akagera Aviation representative with a sign board at the Arrivals Gate and escorted to the VIP lounge where soft drinks, coffee, tea or mineral water will be served. The Akagera Aviation representative will collect your passports in order to clear immigration and luggage tags to collect your luggage. Once this process is completed you will be assisted to your driver /guide (who will be with you throughout your stay in Rwanda) to depart by road up to your accommodation for the next two nights, The Bishop’s House.

25th to 27th June: The Bishop’s House

The Bishop’s House is located in the Northern Province of Rwanda in a town called Musanze; well known as the gateway to the Volcanoes National Park which is home to the Mountain Gorillas and the Golden Monkey. The colonial style architecture and furnishings of The Bishop’s House sets it apart from others, with nine luxuriously decorated rooms. It is a haven of tranquility, surrounded by flora and fauna along with the sights and sounds of nature, making it the perfect location for you to unwind, recover from your jetlag and enjoy the calm of the land of a thousand hills.

27th to 29th June: Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge

On the morning of 27th, your driver will take you across to Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, your home for the next two nights and located only 3km from the main entrance to the Volcanoes National Park where you will be trekking each day (28th & 29th) to see the gorillas. Situated in the foothills of the mighty Virungas, the chain of 15,000 ft volcanoes stretching through Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sabyinyo offers wonderful views of the volcanoes and the surrounding countryside. Guest cottages and the main lodge building have been beautifully constructed – the perfect base from which to explore this unique and fascinating corner of Africa.

In the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda there are over twenty families of Mountain Gorilla, comprised of around 280 individual gorillas, living on the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes. Of these twenty families, twelve families are visited with ten families being visited each day. The Parks Authority rotates the families that you trek to see, on a daily basis. For many, seeing gorillas in the wild offers a wildlife experience of a lifetime.

Gorilla treks take place in the morning and depart from the Park Headquarters at around 07h30. Prior to departure you are given a briefing by park staff, assigned a gorilla family to visit and rangers to guide you. The treks take place on the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes and clients should be in good physical condition as some of the trek can be physically demanding. The treks normally start in the cultivated land on the base of the volcanoes and then you are guided up into the beautiful dense misty forests. The trek normally lasts between 2 and 5 hours depending on the location of the gorilla family and a maximum of eight visitors is allowed per gorilla family. Once you reach the gorillas you are permitted to stay for one hour to view them.

KENYA

29th June: Eden Hotel, Nairobi

On your final day in Rwanda, once you have returned from your morning gorilla trek, had lunch and freshened up, your driver will take you back down to Kigali (approx 2hrs) for your 17h30 Rwandair flight to Nairobi.

On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta Airport at 20h10 you will be met by a representative from Tradewinds and escorted through immigration & customs and out to your Airports & Beyond driver who will transfer you across to Eden Nairobi, in the suburb of Langata.

30th June: Nairobi to Masai Mara

After a leisurely morning and a visit to the AFEW Giraffe Center, you will be transferred across to Wilson Airport to check-in for your 14h15 Safarilink flight to the Masai Mara.

30th June to 4th July: Richard’s Camp

The Masai Mara is located in South Western Kenya. Together with Tanzania’s Serengeti it forms one of the world's most diverse and spectacular eco-systems. With riverine forest and short grass plains, this area is renowned for the most exceptional big game viewing worldwide.

Richard’s Camp was initially established as Richard and Liz’s ‘home away from home’ in 2006. Perfectly situated on the banks of the Njageteck River in the private Mara North Conservancy, the camp allows for total privacy and exclusivity. The Ngoyanai springs provide permanent water, drawing in large numbers of animals to the area around camp. This camp is also particularly known for its resident lion pride which can often been seen hunting right in front of the camp, and most always can be heard roaring during the night.

With only seven tents, this camp offers guests the Masai Mara experience in a personal intimate setting. Beautifully appointed with furnishings and fabrics collected by Liz on her travels - the result is a casually luxurious tented camp, combining exceptional wildlife with a contemporary ‘Out of Africa’ experience.

Richard’s Camp offers day and night game drives, birding and scenic bush walks, sundowners, bush meals and cultural visits to a local Masai Village nearby.

4th July: Masai Mara to Tsavo

At 09h00 this morning you will take an East African Air Charters private flight from the Mara straight into Tsavo, where a driver from Karisia will be waiting to collect you (your driver/guide will be with you for the next 3 days) and transfer you across to Galdessa Little

4th to 7th July: Galdessa Little

The first thing you might notice from the air when you are approaching the airstrip in Tsavo is the grand size of this park. These are big expanses and very wild country.

Fringed with doum palms and overlooking the Yatta Plateau, Galdessa offers a luxurious yet wild experience for travellers seeking to immerse themselves in a hidden and untouched corner of Tsavo East National Park. Enjoying a position on the Galana river, wildlife sightings are frequent, whether you enjoy a game drive or stay at the camp watching hippos, elephants and more as they come to cool off in the river. Galdessa Little has just three tents and is exclusive to you for the next three nights.

The Sheldrick Trust that runs Galdessa Camp as well as the Elephant Orphanages at Voi, Nairobi, Ithumba, Kibwezi is a not for profit organization that has done more to relive Elephant suffering in Kenya than any other conservation operation on Earth. The trust was begun by Dame Daphne Sheldrick who pioneered not just the physical methods of raising an elephant but also the emotional investments that these social animals require to survive. All the orphan Elephants within the Sheldrick Trust’s care underwent severe trauma when they became separated from their mothers and herds. Many experienced violence and cruelty that is hard to imagine. To see the beaming happiness of these same animals as they wallow in their ponds, interact with their keepers, or roll in the mud is genuinely reaffirming and brings tears to many a visitors eye. To hear directly from the keepers their latest Elephant stories and to understand how these young animals are learning to fend for themselves in Tsavo, gives a far deeper understanding of their beautiful and complex intelligence.

7th July: Tsavo to Laikipia

Transfer back to the airstrip to meet the East African Air Charters plane at 09h00 to fly you up to Tumaren.

7th to 9th July: Tumaren Camp

Set on the edge of a wide plain this beautiful camp looks west towards granitic inselbergs that define our local landscape. Each tent is furnished uniquely and all the tents offer sweeping verandas from which most of our plains game can be spotted. The grasslands are rich with wildlife and you can spend hours watching animals wander by or photographing the huge variety of birds coming to the bird bath.

Tumaren is rich in wildlife and our Samburu and Masai guides provide a great perspective on not only the game but also the local cultures of Northern Kenya. Our guides will plan the days according to your desires, wildlife and the local calendar. Each day can include guided walks, camel rides, visits to the camel creche, game drives, birdwatching, picnics, tracking, visiting a local manyatta or market (if the day is right), visiting a school and rock climbing.

9th July: Laikipia to Nairobi. Depart

Early departure with a Karisia vehicle/driver to Ol Pejeta Conservancy for a game drive to see rhino, before heading across to Nanyuki airstrip to meet the 11h55 Safarilink flight to Wilson Airport, Nairobi. On arrival at 13h15 a driver from Airports & Beyond will meet you and be at your disposal until your international departure from Jomo Kenyatta Airport.

CONTACTS:

Kerry +254 721 836792

Kennedy +254 722 738228