The Great Migration Chase

DAY 1; NAIROBI - AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

You will be met by our representative at the hotel. After a short tour briefing, transfer to Amboseli National Park, famous for its big game —elephants, lions, and cheetahs are the main attractions —and for its scenic beauty. Amboseli embodies five main wildlife habitats, plus a generally dry lake bed, Lake Amboseli. These are open plains, extensive stands of yellow-barked acacia woodland, rocky, lava-strewn thorn-bush country, swamps and marshes. At the western end of the reserve, above Namanga, the massif of Ol Doinyo Orok rises to over 2,760m (8,300ft) and is, for the most part, zoologically unexplored.

You'll enjoy your afternoon game drive at Amboseli National Park. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the lodge.

DAY 2; AMBOSELI - LAKE NAIVASHA

You'll depart after breakfast for Lake Naivasha. After lunch, you'll proceed to Lake Naivasha and visit the Crescent Island Game Sanctuary —a peninsula or "island" on the eastern side of Lake Naivasha. On the island, you will walk with the animals living in the sanctuary. After the walk, you will be taken out for a boat ride. During the ride, you will be taken to visit the many hippos living in Lake Naivasha. Lake Naivasha is also an excellent place for bird-watching, with over 200 species of birds, such as fish eagles, ospreys, lily-trotters, black crakes, and a variety of herons. After the boat ride, you will return to the resort for dinner and an overnight stay.

DAY 3; LAKE NAIVASHA - MAASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE

You'll depart after breakfast for Masai Mara National Reserve. Wherever you go in the Mara, you will see a large amount of wildlife such as Maasai giraffes, baboons, warthogs, bat-eared foxes, grey jackals, spotted hyenas, topis, impalas, and wildebeests. Elephants, buffalos, zebras, and hippos also exist in great numbers. It is common to see lions either basking after a heavy meal or surveying the plains for their next meal. Cheetahs and leopards are harder to spot but are still reasonably common. The ultimate action here is, without a doubt, the annual wildebeest exodus in July, August, and September when millions of these grass eaters move north from the Serengeti in search of lusher grass before turning south again in October. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the lodge/camp.

DAY 4; MAASAI MARA NATIONAL RSESERVE

After breakfast, you will head towards the Mara River in hopes of seeing the wildebeest crossing (Jul-Oct). You'll spend the full day exploring Masai Mara in search of the Big Five. You will have picnic lunches in the reserve as you scale the Mara's beauty. You'll return to the lodge before dusk for dinner and an overnight stay.

Optional activities:
1. Early morning balloon safari. You will be dropped off at the takeoff site by the balloon company and picked up from your landing site by our safari driver. Balloon safaris are a romantic and evocative way of experiencing the wilderness of East Africa, as you gracefully and silently fly over the plains teeming with herds of wildlife in the early morning. The cost is USD 480 per adult.

2. Visit a Maasai village. You will witness the singing and dancing that are part of their daily lives and sacred rituals. A glimpse into their homes and social structure is a poignant experience. The cost is USD 30 per adult.

DAY 5; DRIVEN BACK TO NAIROBI

After breakfast, you will depart Mara for Nairobi with an en-route lunch. You'll arrive in the late afternoon. Depending on your flight schedule, you'll be transferred to the airport or hotel in Nairobi