The Heart Of Kenya & Tanzania

Plenteous and Pithy East Africa

This safari traverses Kenya and Tanzania in less than two weeks away from home. For travellers with a limited timeframe, yet who desire to see both countries, it is the ideal, perfectly crafted safari. The focus is on wildlife and the big herds, visiting four of East Africa's most renowned game viewing areas: the Maasai Mara, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Lake Manyara National Park. Three flights make the programme as comfortable and efficient as it is comprehensive, and our accommodations are the ultimate in comfort and style. This journey truly brings us into contact with the heart and soul of Kenya and Tanzania.

12 Days Departs Monday, Returns Friday

Day 1 Depart Home

Our Micato adventure begins as we board our flight to Europe.

Day 2 Arrive Nairobi

Welcome to Kenya's capital city! A Micato Safari Director accompanies us to the venerable Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel where rooms are ready and waiting.

Day 3 Nairobi

The first day is always a busy and exciting one. It begins with a safari briefing in the hotel, followed by an in-depth lecture by Maasai Elder Simon Lenini Ole Kassi. Next is the city tour, including a private tour of the National Museum, Kenya's premier institution devoted to national culture and heritage. A visit is also made to Giraffe Centre, an elevated treetop aerie where we may hand feed giraffes, quite literally face-to-face. Here a resident expert also presents a private briefing on the Centre's work to save the endangered Rothschild giraffe. Our sightseeing continues to the former home of renowned author Karen Blixen, who penned the inspired autobiography, Out of Africa. Our welcome is made complete at the home of Micato Kenya's founders, Felix and Jane Pinto, who host us for lunch or dinner. The Pintos take great pleasure in meeting all guests personally, and sharing a meal with them where fond friendships are always forged.

Day 4 Lake Manyara

Today we fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania. After lunch we wing our way to the ancient lake of Manyara, where game is plentiful and the birdwatching magnificent. It is also one of the few places in Africa to see tree-climbing lions. Our deluxe accommodations at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge overlook the gleaming water below, where we may spy a flurry of the area's pink flamingoes serving as a frantic counterpoint to the hippos lounging in the lake.

Day 5 Ngorongoro Crater

Daybreak over the rolling plains is transcendentally lovely as viewed from our room's private verandas. Then we're off on the next leg of our journey to Ngorongoro, the eighth wonder of the natural world. Along the way we drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area-a region created to accommodate the grazing needs of the Maasai people and a unique test of the idea that humans leading a pastoral lifestyle can coexist with wildlife. We arrive at Ngorongoro in time for lunch at our stunning lodge, situated on the rim of the crater, the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.

Day 6 Ngorongoro Crater

This morning we descend 2,000 feet into the giant caldera of this extinct volcano. This magnificent natural amphitheatre contains the largest concentration of animals in all of Africa. Prides of lion, black rhino and elephant share this land with the legendary Maasai tribesmen. Because the grasses are short, game is easily spotted and can be approached quite closely. We spend a splendid morning on the floor of the crater observing wildlife in this ageless World Heritage Site.

Day 7 - Day 8 Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti National Park is our destination today. En route we stop at Olduvai Gorge, the "cradle of mankind," where the Leakey family uncovered the fossil of Homo habilis, who lived 1.75 million years ago. Arriving at our lodge in time for lunch, we find ourselves deep in the heart of this famous migration corridor. With its wide-open spaces, bright blue skies and creature-filled landscape, over the next two days we will discover why the fabled Serengeti typifies the dream of "Old Africa." Large prides of lions laze in the long grasses; plentiful families of elephants feed on acacia bark and trumpet to each other across the plains; while giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, eland and the whole range of African wildlife present themselves in aweinspiring numbers. We overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge.

Day 9 Maasai Mara

We wing our way across the border to the Maasai Mara. A reserve shared with the Maasai people, the Mara offers the finest game viewing in Kenya, as well as the ideal location for an exhilarating hot-air balloon safari. During our time here, we also visit a Maasai village in the company of an insightful tribal Elder. Our tented accommodations, Mara Safari Club or Kichwa Tembo, fulfill every reverie of safari life.

Day 10 Maasai Mara

A full day to enjoy the richness of this timeless savannah on game drives and bush walks. Whether searching for that elusive leopard or perhaps playful cheetah cubs, the Mara is the pinnacle of every safari. Tonight another highlight: sundowner cocktails on the savannah overlooking the Great Rift Valley.

Day 11 Depart Nairobi

Winging back to Nairobi this morning, we marvel at the good works of AmericaShare Foundation and relax in rooms at the Norfolk Hotel before our flight tonight.

Day 12 Arrive Home

Already nostalgic for safari life, we arrive home.

If you have any questions, contact us at 1-800-MICATO-1 or send us an email.