Day 6 Mount Kenya Safari Club
Today we fly via Nairobi to the charming Mount Kenya Safari Club where the original owner’s cottage or cozy river suite awaits us. Sprawled on the slopes of majestic Mount Kenya, this historic private club was perhaps the first in Africa to offer travellers the ultimate in refined elegance and luxury. All of the amenities that you would expect from such an establishment are here, including riding stables, golf, trout
streams, tennis and sauna. While lounging at the pool one may indulge the senses in an endless display of beauty, from the towering snow-capped mountain, to the kaleidoscope of colours which surround you in a sea of gorgeous flowers. Over the years the club has been a second home to legions of internationally renowned members and guests. Sir Winston Churchill, the Duke of Manchester, numerous American presidents and Lord Mountbatten have enjoyed its pleasures alongside founding members William Holden, Clark Gable and John Wayne. Fine dining
and gracious hospitality are sure to be highlights of your stay. The Micato traveller is afforded the finest in luxury accommodations and preferred service at the
Mount Kenya Safari Club thanks to our long-standing professional relationship and the original club membership of Micato’s founders, Felix and Jane Pinto.

Day 7 Mount Kenya Safari Club
Today we enjoy a game drive to the secluded heart of Ol Pejeta Ranch and Rhino Reserve. Here at the reserve these magnificent beasts are given sanctuary from those who would take their lives in order to sell their horns. And here too, the Jane Goodall Institute offers the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, where you will truly enjoy meeting
the primates face-to-face. The reserve provides a fascinating opportunity to study and learn about the rhinos, and to experience them up close. Ol Pejeta Ranch overlooks one of the busiest waterholes in the area…elephant, giraffe, waterbuck, gazelle and the big cats all come here to drink. It is fascinating to see the variety of plains game that risk receiving too much notice from a predator in order to enjoy the bounty of the waters! We return to the Mount Kenya Safari Club for another superb dinner and dream-laden evening’s sleep.

Day 8   MaasaiMara
This morning we fly to Maasai Mara, winging our way over the scenic Great Rift Valley and the unspoiled savannah that the Mara shares with the legendary Serengeti. Below us lies the Africa of your dreams! A country of rolling grasslands, dense thickets and groves of acacia woodland, the Mara is home to an incredible variety of wildlife. Deep forest grows along the Mara River and its tributaries, where many hippos and crocodiles bask lazily in the sunlight.  Here we find the largest population of lions in Africa, carefully watched by their neighbors, the stunning Coke’s hartebeest, large herds of topi and the stately African buffalo.   Black rhino are also to be found. Huge herds of elephant often block the roads. Glorious creatures are everywhere— it is difficult to decide where to look first! This is also the home of the Maasai people. The Maasai guarding his cattle is an enduring and proud figure across the plains of East Africa. Livestock represents status, wealth and livelihood to these ancient people. Here we will also thoroughly enjoy a visit to a Maasai village, learning about their tribal social systems, customs and the place of the Maasai in today’s Africa. The residents live in their manyatta, or village, much as they have for centuries and we will have an opportunity to see the interior of these mud-hut homes, spotless and unadorned, contrasted to the Maasai themselves, bedecked with brilliantly coloured beads and cloths. The bright smiles and warmth of the tribe once considered among the fiercest warriors on earth will surely win your heart. As will your accommodations tonight at the utterly glorious Bateleur Camp or equally stunning Governor’s Il Moran Camp.

Day 9 MaasaiMara
Today we see the Mara not only from the ground, but from the air, as we take an early morning Hot Air Balloon Safari. On other safaris this thrilling experience is offered at an additional expense…on The Micato Grand Safari it is our pleasure to invite you on this amazing journey as our guest.  You will drift serenely over the great herds as birds of prey swoop past. Elephants and giraffe cast a curious glance your way. The beauty of the wilderness as seen from the early morning African sky is an unparalleled experience. Upon our descent, a sumptuous champagne breakfast is served on
the plains that you just so recently observed from your perch high above.
This afternoon an extensive game run is planned. The sheer enormity of the Maasai Mara offers endless opportunities for excitement, including one of the most glorious
evening events of the safari—sundowners on the Mara Escarpment, where cocktails await us deep in the bush.  Soon the natural world is a dark velvet cape all around us with only the firelight and the stars in the ancient African sky to light the night. As the warmth of the African day gives way to the cool of evening, we experience a rare peace and beauty, and find ourselves as one with the land and her inhabitants.

Day 10  Serengeti National Park
This morning we fly to the Serengeti via Nairobi and Arusha. Her vast rolling plains spread out before us…the greatest wildlife spectacle in the world offers up views of over three million large animals—elephant, zebra, gazelle, rhino, cheetah and more.Within this huge park a complex ecosystem gives us the opportunity to view every variety of habitation, from the dry south where the grasslands stretch out in a sultry dance with the breeze to the park’s centre, a green oasis of open woodlands and thicket. Streams are lined by dense, brilliantly green forests. Weathered domes of
granite and gneiss are a favorite retreat of the big cats, a place to rest and to watch the surrounding vegetation  for both danger and for prey. Giraffe browse in small groups among the trees. Bohor reedbuck and waterbuck restrict their travels to the vegetation near the rivers and streams. Great numbers of ostrich, Grant’s gazelle, topi, hartebeest, impala and African water buffalo abound. Lion, cheetah, wild dog and hyena! Leopards are seen resting in the trees. No matter what your expectations, you will not fail to be astounded by life in the Serengeti. We have delightful accommodations at either Kirawira Tented Camp or Grumeti River Camp—Kirawira, a reincarnation of Victorian-era elegance standing high on the bluff, and Grumeti, a vibrant and avant-garde interpretation of African chic along a river’s edge.

Day 11  Serengeti National Park
We awaken to the sounds of Africa and begin our day with a Bush Walk, affording an intimate and profoundly personal bond to the world of the wild. Our expert naturalist is hard at work, pointing out each individual miracle of the land that we are now a part of.  An extensive afternoon game run explores the depths of the deep Serengeti. Everywhere there are animals, monkeys and, yes, birds…but look closely and you will thrill to the huge jungle cats—lion, leopard and cheetah—just watching the world go by. And go by it does. Rhino, gazelle, antelope and massive elephants by the hundreds. Animals in the trees, on the wing, camouflaged in the bush, in rivers and in streams. The adventure of a lifetime.

Day 12  Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is our next destination. Along the way we stop to visit Olduvai Gorge, where for more than fifty years the Leakey family has been uncovering fossils
of our human ancestors and of animal life, laboriously  peeling away the layers of mystery attached to the history of the continent. Under the direction of Louis and Mary Leakey, material was unearthed dating back over two million years. The remains of prehistoric elephants, gianthorned sheep and enormous ostriches have also been
found in this Stone Age site. During the last century, the very early human remains of the Nutcracker Man, or Zinjanthropus bosei were located. In 1969, Dr. Mary Leakey
uncovered the first ever intact skull of Homo habilis, dating from 1.75 million years ago. And we will stand on the very ground where these early humans walked and lived! Later in the day we check into the magnificient Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Cocktails, a sumptuous meal and a solid evening’s rest after a most remarkable day in Africa.

Day 13 Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater—one of the natural wonders of the world. A spectacular game haunt, the 102-square-mile crater is a perfect caldera, one of the largest on earth. Millions of years ago a smoldering volcano collapsed, creating the crater and a home for thousands of animals amidst its many types of vegetation grown and nourished over the centuries. Over 30,000 animals live here: prides of lion, elephant, leopard, cheetah and giraffe, gazelle by the thousands and multitudes of wildebeest. Uniquely beautiful, we will never see its likes again.We spend a memorable morning ensconced in the crater, exploring its breadth and depth.  And tonight, as we delight in another luscious meal at this exceptional lodge, we are once again stunned by the beauty of the orange sunset that hovers in the wild African sky, signaling the end to yet another unforgettable day on safari.

Day 14 Nairobi –Departure
Breakfast and one last look at Ngorongoro Crater before we head to Lake Manyara for our flight to Nairobi. We check into the Norfolk Hotel and, to bring our journey full circle, we may wish to visit an AmericaShare project this afternoon.  After dinner we proceed to the airport knowing that this has been a journey to remember for the rest of our lives.

Day 15  Europe –United States
We arrive in Europe and continue to homebound flights.

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