Wagon Trails - Small group adventure holidays and safaris in Africa

Johannesburg, Gorillas to Nairobi 50 days - NORTHBOUND

South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe,Malawi, Tanzania,Kenya, Uganda

Trip Cost - £770

(Local Payment - UK£ - 400) What's This?

Highlights

Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba, Kapishya Hot Springs, Zanzibar Island, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park, Highland Gorillas, Nakuru National park.
Note - On this trip we will see the gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda or D.R.Congo.

Local Payment Covers

2 meals a day, Camping costs.

Optional Extras

Optional Extras, 3 Day/2 night Okavango Delta Trip, 1 hour flight over Delta, House Boats Lake Kariba, Vic Falls Park Entry, Rafting the Zambezi, Jet Boat, Bungee Jump, Adrenalin Day, 15 Min Helicopter Ride, Booze Cruise, 1 Day Ngorongoro Crater Trip, 3 Day Serengeti/Crater Trip, Return Ferry to Zanzibar, Accomodation on Zanzibar, Spice Tour & Stone Town & Slave Market, 2 Scuba dives & Lunch, Snorkelling day out with boat, Option to go to Lamu or Mombasa, Nakuru National Park Entry, Trekking Mountain Gorillas, White Water Rafting on the Nile River.

Week 1 - South Africa, Botswana

Leaving Johannesburg we head north up through Pretoria to Martins Drift where we cross into Botswana. Heading across the Nxai Pan, we come to Maun where we can go in the Okavango Delta for a true wilderness experience, before heading up to the Chobe National Park for game drives and a river boat cruise. Crossing the Zambezi by Ferry, we arrive in Zambia to see the mighty Victoria Falls; locally called Mosi-oa-Tunya, The Smoke That Thunders, when the river is in full flow you will understand why.

Week 2 - Zambia/Zimbabwe

You can also join the trip here in Victoria FallsWe spend a few days in Livingstone, a town where you can blend in, and soak up the culture of a busy town.. There is an interesting Museum and a large curio market beside the Falls. From here we head up to Lake Kariba where you have the option of spending two nights on a houseboat. Here the chef cooks the food and we can relax and go fishing for the famous Tiger Fish. Then we spend a night in Lusaka at a game farm where zebra and giraffe walk through the campsite.

Week 3 - Zambia/Zimbabwe

We travel up the Great North Road to Shiwa House and Kapishya Hot Springs where Sir Stuart Gore-Browne built a stylish English manor house in the heart of the Zambian bush, and we can relax in the hot springs, which produce water at a constant 40 C. From the hot springs we enter Tanzania near Mbeya, a bustling little market town before heading down into the impressive Baobab Valley. We pass Mikumi National Park and onto Dar es Salaam, where we see the Indian Ocean, before catching the ferry to Zanzibar Island.

Week 4 - Tanzania, Kenya

In Zanzibar we can wander through the streets of Stone Town and explore the many wonders of the town, which had electricity ahead of London before heading up to the Northern Coast for the beautiful white sandy beaches. Then back to Dar es Salaam for a night before heading north.†In Arusha we hire Landrovers to visit the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.  From Arusha we then head up to Kenya, crossing the Athi Plains, where you should glimpse Mount Kilimanjaro.  We finish in Nairobi in Karen, a suburb named after Karen Blixen who first settled there.

Week 5 – Nairobi, Kenya

Here we take a week away from the truck where you have the opportunity to either stay in Nairobi or you can venture down to the coast at Mombasa, or even go to the beautiful island of Lamu.

Week 6 – Kenya, Uganda

Leaving Nairobi we stop at the Rift Valley scenic lookout at 8,000 feet high. Crossing over the Ugandan border at Malaba or Busia. The scenery changes to tropical rain forests and tea and sugar plantations. We continue southwest to Kabale town, gateway to the Mountain Gorilla Reserves. Climbing through lush terraced hills to Kisoro, there are panoramic views of this unique Ugandan landscape on every turn. In groups of six to eight people with two guides we trek deep into the forest to find one of the gorilla families. We spend an hour observing these amazing animals - bring plenty of film.

As the groups going to the gorillas are small, it takes a couple of days for everyone to do the trek. Whilst others are searching for the great apes, you can take in the local markets; walk to the nearby mountain lakes, or enter the Magahinga National park for a day hike up a volcano or a guided nature trail.

Still on a high from our time spent with the gorillas, we head back to Lake Bunyonyi meaning 'place of little birds'. It is known, not only for its water birds, but also for its fresh water crayfish population. Lake Bunyonyi is a great place to relax, or for the more energetic you can canoe to one of the many islands dotting the lake, swim, or take in the scenery on mountain bikes.

Week 7 – Uganda, Kenya

We return to Uganda's capital. Kampala is a modern bustling city leaving you no shortage of things to see and do. Crossing the Owen Falls dam we arrive at Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria. Our campsite for the next few days above Bujagali Falls is a welcome break from travelling, and we have a lazy afternoon to put up our tents on the grassy terraces overlooking the Nile River. You can spend an action-filled day white water rafting down the Nile. There is no shortage of other activities in Jinja; head off on a quad bike, bungee jump, fish on Lake Victoria, take a guided village walk or give up a day of your holiday to volunteer for the local community education project.

Leaving Uganda, we head back into Kenya and onto Nakuru Town, the capital of the Rift Valley Province. We visit Lake Nakuru, viewing game in a park famous for its soda lake surrounded by thousands, sometimes millions of pink flamingoes. The park is home to over 400 species of bird, and we may spot leopard or black and white rhino amongst the zebra, waterbuck, impala, giraffe and many more. From Nakuru we return to Nairobi and the end of our trip.

 

OVERLAND PRE-DEPARTURE INFORMATION