If there was ever a place we could recommend for first time safari in Africa, it would be Kenya and Tanzania. Not only is the wildlife experience second to none, but the opportunity also to immerse in the Maasai culture adds magic to the experience. We recently received word from our group of 8 travelers who arrived in Tanzania on Friday last week and moved to the Serengeti on Saturday for 8 days of safari. Their trip continues across the border to Kenya and eventually to Uganda. The trip is being led by brand ambassador and expert photographer Ken Webster. Within the group, 6 are first time visitors to Africa. They report that they are overjoyed by the amount of predator sightings experienced in their first couple of days in the Serengeti.
Traveling in America’s summer months, beginning as early as June, provides guests the chance to see the large herds of wildebeest and zebra spreading North to seek green pastures before they begin the route back south again in late October. Throughout the journey you will find lions, leopards, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and a variety of antelopes. You may also see black rhino. For this group we added a mix of properties, first a permanent luxury camp in the Eastern Serengeti where cheetah and leopard are abundant, then on to a mobile camp that moves to position itself within the Serengeti to capture the best views of the massive migratory herds of wildebeest and zebras. In Kenya we have positioned the group at a tented camp located on the Mara River in one of the best private concessions bordering the Maasai Mara that allows entry into the National Park, but freedom of activities including night drives and walking safaris, without the number of vehicles one may encounter in the National Park. Animals know no boundaries!
Next the guests will move on to Uganda! What a fantastic way to end a trip to East Africa! Uganda offers both chimp trekking in Kibale National Park and Gorilla trekking in the famous Bwindi NP, and also promises sightings of rare tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth Park. A visit to a village between Kibale and Bwindi is a must stop to witness the ingenuity that protects the residents and crops from unwelcome predators and elephants, while preserving these fantastic species from harm. A visit to the Ride4aWoman collective in Bwindi gives a heartwarming background of one woman who opened her talent and wallet to single mothers, abused and elderly women in the community to support their livelihoods. (see www.ride4awoman.org )
See more Kenya and Tanzania at: www.latitudexp.com/africa
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