Perspectives on East Africa: Hemingway's Africa and Symposium

Explore the great parks of East Africa on this fantastic safari combining the celebrated gamelands of both Tanzania and Kenya. This is the Africa of the imagination: thrilling gameviewing each day, and the delights of safari life in a fabulous range of game lodges and intimate camps, with superb meals by candlelight and a million stars overhead. The unique northern wildlife of beautiful Samburu National Park, the thronging flamingos of Lake Nakuru, the famed herds of the mile-high Masai Mara, Eden-like Ngorongoro Crater, and remote Tarangire National Park—it all adds up to an epic safari.

Itinerary at a Glance

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Days 1-3
Perspectives on East Africa Symposium

Presentations, excursions, and other activities with our guest speakers at the Mount Kenya Safari Club.

Days 4-5
Samburu National Reserve

We head north to Samburu and our intimate, riverside Elephant Bedroom Camp, where game drives in open-sided 4WD vehicles bring us trumpeting elephants, shy impalas feeding at water’s edge, and baboons and vervet monkeys swinging through the tree canopy.

Days 6-7
Lake Nakuru National Park

Tucked away in the vastness of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru, a soda lake, is famed for its thousands of flamingos and there’s excellent lion- and rhino-viewing, too. At Mbweha Camp, we enjoy bush walks, day and nighttime game drives, and savor the African-style cottages with private outdoor bathtubs.

Days 8-10
Masai Mara National Reserve

Everything about the Mara is spectacular, from its sheer beauty to its renowned abundance of wildlife. Huge year-round populations of plains game guarantee great sightings of the dominant predators: lion, leopard, and cheetah. Our inviting six-tent camp, Mara Ngenche, is at the confluence of the Mara and Talek Rivers.

Days 11-12
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

In famed Ngorongoro, we overnight at a lodge on the crater rim for an unforgettable safari in a breathtaking setting. While exploring the crater floor by 4WD vehicle, we are likely to see elephant, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, and large prides of lions.

Days 13-16
Tarangire National Park

The thousand-square-mile Tarangire region is a magnet for migrating herds during the rainless summer months, when the Tarangire River becomes a lifeline for wildlife. Our game drives reveal elephants clustered in the hundreds, and huge herds of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, eland, and impala, while exciting game walks allow us to track big game. Depart on Day 16 from Arusha.

For a more complete description, Download Full Detailed Itinerary

What the Trip is Like

The trip is rated Level 2+, Moderate. This is a deluxe camping and lodge safari with gameviewing by 4WD vehicle and nature walks that can be enjoyed by anyone in reasonably good health. There are a few long driving days over rough roads and rugged dirt tracks. Although this is not a particularly rigorous trip, we recommend that each participant undertake a preparatory program of physical conditioning. Daily walking or regular hiking, jogging, and stair-climbing are excellent for preparing for the trip. Any African safari is an adventure, and the traveler to Africa should bring along flexibility, a sense of humor, curiosity about new peoples and places, and an openness to the unexpected.

Explanation of Trip Levels