DAY 1:

ARRIVE IN NAIROBI

• Upon arrival at JOMO KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, we will be transferred to our hotel in Nairobi.

• Overnight in Nairobi

 

DAY 2:

NAIROBI - LAKE NAIVASHA (RAMSAR SITE)

• After breakfast we depart from NAIROBI through the Great North road to Lake Naivasha and stop enroute
  at the view points to enjoy the scenery.

• Arrive Naivasha mid morning for bird walk before time for lunch.

• After lunch, spend our afternoon relaxing at the lodge and enjoying nature.

• Later in the evening you have an option of taking a bird walk around the lodge or spend your time relaxing.

• Dinner and overnight in Naivasha

 

DAY 3:

LAKE NAIVASHA

• After an early morning bird walk, return to the lodge for breakfast.

• Lake Naivasha is a fresh water Lake which was declared a bird sanctuary in 1967.

• During our full day field trip we study the birds of the region such as herons, fish eagles, ospreys, black crakes and Lily – trotters.

• The Lake being on the Rift floor is home to an incredible variety of species. Over 450 bird species have been recorded. On this day you have the following optional activities;

• Visit to the Crater Lake game sanctuary. The 10,000 acre game sanctuary houses the famous hilltop grave where Happy Valley’s tragic heroine, Lady Diana Delamere is buried with her late two husbands, Gilbert Colvile and Thomas Delamere. For the truly intrepid, there are the mysterious ‘caves of God’ in the golden wheatfields of Ndabibi reputed to be an inspiration for H. Rider Haggard’s Allan Quartermain.
• Boat ride around the Lake for more birding opportunities and spotting Hippopotamus
• Take a visit to Elsamere museum/game reserve. Elsamere house is the former home of the late Joy Adamson who together with her husband George are world famous for their pioneering conservation work and relationship with the lioness Elsa.
• Hiking Gorges and biking opportunities at Hell’s Gate National Park. Hell’s Gate National Park is famous for being the main setting of the 1994 film, The Lion King. The park is also known for being the production setting for the movie Tomb Raider with world famous actress Angelina Jolie.
• Hiking Mount Longonot , the mountain is located South East of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley. Its name is derived from Masai word oloonong’ot meaning “mountains of many spurs or steep ridges”
Dinner and overnight in Naivasha

 

DAY 4:

LAKE NAIVASHA- LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

• After an early breakfast we depart for Lake Nakuru National park, regarded by avid birders as the greatest world ornithological spectacle on earth.

• Arriving mid morning for a bird watching game drive. The park is also a home of different wildlife species including being a sanctuary to the black, white rhino and Rothschild giraffe.

• Here we will have a chance to look out for some of the common species like the lesser and Greater flamingoes, African fish eagle, Tawny eagle, Green wood hoopoes, Cliff chat, Great white and pink pelicans plus other intra – African migrants.

• Dinner and overnight in Nakuru

 

DAY 5:

LAKE NAKURU - LAKE BARINGO NATIONAL RESERVE

• We depart in the morning and drive further North to Lake Baringo.

• The Lake is a fresh water Lake with its own share of birdlife species like the White Faced Scopes Owl, Brimstone Canary, Bristol Crowned Starling, Goliath Heron, Little Weaver, Jacksons and Hemprich’s Hornbill, Black Throated Barbet, Mouse Collared tit among many others.

• Dinner and overnight at lodge

 

DAY 6:

LAKE BARINGO NATIONAL RESERVE

• After an early morning bird walk, we return to the hotel for breakfast.

• After breakfast we leave for a motorboat tour of the lake, your ornithologist captain will point out many water birds, including the world’s largest flying bird, the Goliath heron. The African openbill stork is amazing to see, a wading bird with a large, unique bill that only meets at the tip.

• A highlight is when your guide throws fish into the lake to entice magnificent African Fish Eagles which swoop down at incredible speed to grab the fish, just ahead of the crocodiles.

• Return to the hotel for lunch and later in the evening you have an option of going for a guided bird walk and spending your time relaxing at the hotel.

• Dinner and overnight at lodge

 

DAY 7:

LAKE BARINGO – KAKAMEGA FOREST

• Depart Baringo for Kakamega Forest National Reserve (with boxed lunches) for an extensive bird walk in this only and unique remaining rain forest in Kenya with some of the rare species in the world.

• Arrive in the afternoon.

• Later in the evening you can take a bird walk around the hotel.

• Dinner and overnight in Kakamega

 

DAY 8:

KAKAMEGA FOREST NATIONAL RESERVE

• After an early morning bird walk, return to the hotel for breakfast and thereafter leave for unforgettable bird watching experience in Kakamega forest.

• Our bird menu here will include the Grey Parrot, Turacos, Turner’s eremomela, Little Grey Greenbul, Brown snake eagle, Hammerkop, African Goshawk, Herons, Augur Bazzard, Eurasian Marsh Harrier among many others.

• The forest is a home of over 300 species of birds, 400 species of butterflies and 27 species of snakes (famous Gabon Bush Viper)

 

DAY 9:

KAKAMEGA FOREST TO KAMPALA.

• After an early morning breakfast we will be transferred from Kakamega forest national reserve to Kampala City via Malaba border post.

• At the border you are required to have yellow fever certificate and passport for identification.

• The truck and the driver will undergo all custom procedure as we enjoy our boxed lunch.

• Arrive in Kampala late evening for an overnight stay.

• Dinner and overnight in Kampala.

 

DAY 10:

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARKS

• After breakfast leave Kampala for Queen Elizabeth National Park, go through Uganda’s most beautiful green countryside.

• Watch out for the Equator enroute as well as plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits.

• Proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park arriving in time for lunch.

• Some late afternoon birding might produce views of the African Morning Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Black-headed Gonolek, Slender-billed, Yellow-backed and Lesser-masked Weavers, Pin-tailed Whydah and Black-winged Pratincole among others.

• Dinner and overnight at lodge

 

DAY 11:

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

• After an early bird walk around the lodge, return for breakfast and thereafter we leave with packed lunches for a full day game drive.

• Spanning the equator is the vast Queen Elizabeth National Park boasting impressive Crater Lake scenery, expansive grasslands, papyrus swamps and tropical forests, huge herds of Elephant among other mammals, and a diverse array of birds.

• It contains Uganda's best game populations as well as some of Uganda's best bird watching sites, an incredible bird list of 610 bird species and an overwhelming record of 296 species in a single day, makes this birding site the highest not only in Uganda but in Africa!

• Dinner and overnight at lodge

 

DAY 12:

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

• After breakfast we will leave for a game drive in the Park.

• Here, expect to see more of the famous mammals.

• The vehicle will head back for lunch at and later in the afternoon we will take a launch cruise along the Kazinga channel and you will appreciate the scores of Hippos, Buffalos and Crocodiles close to the waterside.

• 
  Expect to see a variety of bird species especially the famous Shoebill, Pelican and Jacana.

• Dinner and overnight at lodge

 

DAY 13:

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK - LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

• After breakfast we leave Queen National Park forLake Mburo.

• The Lake is a magnificent birding safari destination with a record of around 350 bird species.

• Arrival will be in the afternoon. You should be on the Lookout for bird species such as the Red-faced Barbet, only seen in Lake Mburo, the endemic African Finfoot and the rare Shoebill.

• Other key species are the Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Saddle-billed Stork, Brown-chested Lapwing, African-wattled Lapwing, Carruther’s Cisticola, Tabora (Long-tailed) Cisticola, African Scops Owl, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill and White-winged Warbler. Acacia woodland bird species are well represented.

• Dinner and overnight at lodge

 

DAY 14:

LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK – ENTEBBE

• Rise early for a morning bird walk around the lodge, and thereafter return for breakfast.

• After breakfast check out and embark on our journey to Entebbe via Kampala.

• On your way out of the Park we will get to see different species of birds and animals.

• We drive through a magnificent hilly country and lush cultivation on an approximately four hour journey to Kampala, arrival in Entebbe is expected before dark.

• Dinner and overnight in Entebbe

 

DAY 15:

ENTEBBE- MABAMBA ISLAND (SEARCH FOR SHOEBILLS)

• Early transfer to Mabamba Swamp, about 20 kms East of Entebbe.

• Look out for many different birds on our way to the swamp like the Papyrus Gonolek, White Shouldered Tit, Red Cap, Western Banded Snake Eagle, White Winged Warbler, White Spotted Fluftail and Weyns Weaver.

• This Swamp is one of the best places to spot the exceptional Shoebill Stork, but many other species can be found here, like the Allen’s and Purple Gallinule, Grey herons, Jacanas, Ruffaus Bellied Heron, Squaco, Purple and Goliath Heron, the Globally threatened Pallid Harrier and Blue Swallow a migrant species, a variety of egrets, ducks etc.

• The best way to enjoy the rich bird life is by canoe and you might even have the luck to encounter the elusive Sitatunga Antelope, adapted to swampy habitats.

• Later in the afternoon drive back to the Hotel for lunch.

• In the evening we will be transferred to the airport to catch our flight back home.