East Africa Philanthropic Safari

Duration: 17 days

Highlights: Ebenezer School, Bwindi Community Hospital, Ilboru Primary School, Duuma Wajane Bike Shop, Mwika Beekeeping Project, Enkereri Primary Shool

A safari through the AK Philanthropy projects in East Africa starting with visits to the Bwindi Hospital & Nursing School in Uganda, the Ilboru School for the Blind and Duuma Wajane Bike Shop in Tanzania and the Enkereri Primary School in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive Entebbe

Arrive Entebbe International Airport. After clearing customs and immigration formalities, you are met by our representative and transferred to Hotel No.5.

Huddled within the verdant suburbs of energetic Entebbe, Hotel No. 5 enhances these charming surroundings with its own style and comfort. The hotel has been completely cocooned by a well-maintained garden, which can be enjoyed from one’s private terrace or balcony, available in all rooms and apartments. The gardens are so lush that several indigenous birds have made themselves at home amongst the trees – including African Grey Parrots. A swimming pool, spa and gym help guests to sink deeper into the hotel’s atmosphere of complete relaxation. Hotel No. 5 also offers a creative menu which has been extremely well-reviewed, and from the terrace a lovely sunset view can be admired whilst sipping on cocktails. With its great location – only 10 minutes from Entebbe International Airport and very close to the city’s best attractions – and exceptionally accommodating staff, Hotel No. 5 is a must for those visiting Entebbe.

Overnight: Hotel No.5

Meal Plan:

Day 2 - Ngamba Island

After breakfast, you are picked up from the hotel lobby and transferred to the jetty to take a boat ride to Ngamba island for a day visit. Trips are half day on the speedboat - approximately 50 minutes by speedboat to the island. Included is viewing either a morning or afternoon feeding of the chimpanzees with an informative talk by sanctuary staff and tea /coffee. Enjoy lunch (optional on full day trips only), kayaking, swimming on the equator, viewing a neighboring fishing village, fantastic bird-watching and other wildlife encounters, or just sunbathe and relax!

Ngamba Island is part of the Koome group of islands located on Lake Victoria 23 kilometres (14 miles) south of Entebbe, Uganda. It consists of approximately 100 acres, 95 of which are forested and separated from the visitor’s area by an electric fence. Ngamba Island was officially opened to visitors in October 1999 and is currently home to 48 orphaned chimpanzees, 29 of which have been confiscated from captivity and brought to the island since its opening.

Overnight: Hotel No.5

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 3 - Fly to Bwindi National Park

After an early breakfast, you are met by our representative at 06:00 who drives you to Entebbe Airport where you take your scheduled flight to Kihihi airstrip. The flight takes about 75 minutes. On arrival, you transfer to Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp which is about a 90 minutes’ drive.

Hidden deep within Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park – home to almost half of the world’s mountain gorillas – Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp is the forest’s only concessionaire luxury camp. The location is unrivalled; not only is it mere minutes away from the gorilla trek starting point, but the magnificent creatures often swing by the camp themselves – as if returning the visit. With only ten tents, the camp retains an intimate atmosphere. Each room, with queen-sized beds, a private terrace and large free-standing bathtub, has been designed to blend seamlessly into the forest, their contemporary elegance enhanced using natural materials and indigenous fabrics. After adventuring with the gorillas, guests can relax at the camp’s mini spa, which uses locally sourced ingredients – such as banana and avocado – in its rejuvenating treatments. Visitors can also relish being in this UNESCO World Heritage Site by walking the Munyaga waterfall trail, visiting the local Batwa tribe, or enjoying a safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

In the afternoon, you have the opportunity to visit the first AKP Project – the Bwindi Women’s Bicycle Enterprise. The bike shop enterprise provides seven women with the opportunity to earn a much-needed income while also giving their community vital access to transportation. The bike shop serves as a social enterprise, setting aside a portion of the profits to be used in charitable initiatives in the community such as the school fee sponsorship of orphaned students, investments in local health care and conservation initiatives.

After meeting the ladies and hearing their stories you can rent one of the bikes and do a tour of the village through the banana, tea and coffee plantations and see how crops are harvested and processed.

Overnight: Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 4 - Bwindi National Park

After breakfast, drive 15 minutes from Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp to Bwindi Community hospital and Ebenezer School. Starting life as a simple clinic operating beneath a mango tree, Bwindi Community Hospital is now a 112-bed facility that treats 15,000 families in the community and has been ranked among the best hospitals in Uganda for six consecutive years.

You first go on a tour of the hospital with one of the senior staff for an in-depth overview of where they started to where they are now. The maternity waiting ward is a particularly successful project and the demand for the beds increases daily. From here you visit the Uganda Nursing School Bwindi and meet the enthusiastic students and teachers and hear their stories.

Once the tour is complete sit down with the expectant mothers and participate in one of their projects such as knitting items for their newborns and/or purchase a ‘Mama Kit’ and donate it to one of the expectant mothers in the ward.

After lunch back at the camp drive down to the Ebenezer Primary School. AKP's support of the school focuses on helping build the classrooms and administrative buildings, as well as providing resources vital to the students’ education. The school is currently under construction and should be completed by 2021. On arrival at the school you are given an overview of the projects that have been implemented by AKP including the Safe Water for Schools Initiative before going on a tour of the school and meeting the teachers and students. At the end of the tour join the children in the playing fields for a game of soccer or the Ugandan equivalent of hopscotch or piggy in the middle.

There are various ways that you are able to donate to any of the AKP Projects that you have experienced over the last two days including several pre-purchased options such as buying bicycles in advance and gifting them to a needy family when you are there. For the full range of options please contact us.

Overnight: Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 5 - Gorilla Tracking

After an early breakfast, your guide escorts you to the Uganda Wildlife Authority Park headquarters where you meet fellow trackers and the gorilla guide who then lead you into the forest to find the Mountain gorillas. The trekking may be strenuous - up to six hours or longer is not uncommon – at relatively high altitude. Mountain Gorillas are wild animals, and sightings cannot be guaranteed, however the success rate is well over 95%. These massive primates are extremely rare, only approximately 650 remaining in Uganda. You get within meters of the family and be privileged to spend up to one hour amongst them.

Returning to the lodge later in the day and time permitting, you may have an opportunity for further forest or community walks with the guides, visit the Batwa tribe or just to relax and enjoy your photos of the mountain gorillas.

Overnight: Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 6 -  Fly to Kilimanjaro Airport Tanzania - drive to Arusha

After breakfast, depart for the airstrip in Kihihi at 07:30 for your scheduled flight back to Entebbe - the drive to the airstrip is about 90 minutes from the camp. Your scheduled flight takes off 09:45 and arrive at Entebbe Airport at about 11:25 where our representative meets you and transfers you to departures for your flight to Tanzania.

Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport where you clear immigration and collect your bags before being met by our Guardian Angel and assisted with your transfer to your hotel, approximately 1-hour drive from the airport.

Just 10 minutes from Arusha town lies the scenic Crater Lake named 'Duluti' and on its shores is Lake Duluti Lodge. The lodge is made up of 18 contemporary African styled chalets ideally positioned in a thirty-acre active coffee farm. All chalets face the coffee farm and each has a private deck. Canoeing trips on Lake Duluti, hiking in the Great Duluti Forest, Bird watching, and Coffee tours are different ways to explore the area or if you prefer to relax in your beautiful surroundings enjoy a sundowner on the lake shore.

Overnight: Lake Duluti Lodge

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 7 - Tour of Shanga and Ilboru Primary School

After breakfast, visit Shanga, a social enterprise that employs people with disabilities to produce beautiful jewelery and other creative works using recycled products. You tour the workshop as your guide gives a brief history of the enterprise. Thereafter choose to try your hand at glass blowing, necklace making or sign language. You have time for visit the Shanga store for souvenir shopping.

After the visit, enjoy lunch at Jikoni then proceed to visit Ilboru School for children with special needs.

Ilboru Primary School is among the first schools in Tanzania to focus on education for children with special needs. Since 2007, Ilboru School has been enhancing quality of life and education for children with hearing, as well as intellectual impairment through various programs introduced by AKP such as the e-reader literacy campaign and vocational education.

Overnight: Lake Duluti Lodge

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 8 - Drive to Tarangire National Park

After breakfast at the lodge, you are picked up and driven to Tarangire National Park with a picnic lunch. The drive is approximately two hours.

Tarangire National Park is one of the finest parks in Tanzania. Centered on the Tarangire River, this park has expansive views with wide panoramas of wooded savannah stretching in every direction. The most outstanding feature is the Tarangire River, which is permanent, and the only reliable dry-season source of water available to wildlife in a vast stretch of Tanzania's Rift Valley, attracting tremendous concentrations of animals.

Amongst acacia trees and ancient baobabs, Sanctuary Swala offers fantastic safari accommodation in a secluded location in Tarangire National Park. As one of the less visited parks in Tanzania, as well as home to the only permanent water source in the area, the lodge offers unmatched views. Look across the grounds to a waterhole that enjoys frequent visits from Tarangire's famously large elephant herds as well as hundreds of impalas, for which the camp is named.

The spacious accommodation - each room with its own private balcony - has recently been completely reconstructed to minimise Swala's carbon footprint. Situated off the beaten track, the sense of staying in your own secluded kingdom is emphasized when you are introduced to your personal butler.

In addition to classic African game drives, night safaris and walking tours, guests can witness how Sanctuary Swala gets involved with the local community. Visit Mwika village to see the local school and learn how about the beekeeping project, all operated with the camp's support.

Overnight: Sanctuary Swala Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 9 - Tarangire National Park

After breakfast at the camp, drive to Mwinkantsi Village for a bike tour followed by a visit to the bee keeping project.

In rural Africa, those with bikes are empowered with mobility: health care workers can see more patients, students can make the journey to school, middle to low income workers can get to work in an affordable manner, and families can carry more goods to and from home. To provide access to this life-changing resource, AKP has opened a bike shop on the western border of Tarangire National Park, in the village of Mwikantsi.

Duuma Wajane Bike Shop is in Mwikantsi Village 30 minutes from Tarangire National Park. You meet the women (widows) running the bike shop and experience what a typical day looks like at the bike shop. You have the option to rent a bike and go on a village tour to experience the beautiful landscapes in the villages.

After lunch back at Swala Camp, you visit the Mwika Beekeeping Project located 15 minutes from the park.

On the western border of Tarangire National Park, AKP is working with the villagers on a grassroots beekeeping project, emphasizing the how preservation of the environment can bring rewards to the community. You are driven to one of our beekeeper’s houses, where you are briefed on the project and then taken to see the beehives (from a distance) and understand further the processes involved in beekeeping and how honey is extracted. If you wish, you can taste the raw, natural honey. Hygiene is a mandatory step for successful beekeeping and is ensured throughout.

You return to the camp and later go on a night game drive in Tarangire National Park.

Overnight: Sanctuary Swala Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 10 - Drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Enjoy breakfast at the camp and with a picnic lunch leave your lodge and drive to Mto wa Mbu for a tuk tuk Tour.

Today you explore the village of Mto wa Mbu by tuk tuk - these three wheeled vehicles are generally found in Asia but have become a common sight in the villages of Tanzania. Exploring the village by tuk tuk is a brilliant way of getting off the main road and receiving a proper introduction to village life.

Your first stop is a visit to the rice paddies before winding down the small tracks between the banana plantations. Every so often your guide stops and explains the variety of uses they have for the banana plant - from roofing their homes to brewing the local beer (which you are invited to try during the trip). You also visit a home belonging to a member of the Iraqw tribe and see how they build their houses out of nothing but sticks and clay.

See local daily life in the small workshops, churches, schools (depending on the time of year) and meet members from some the different tribes found here. Finally nestling in the centre of a banana plantation and beside a local fish farm, you have the chance to sample some of the delicious local cuisine, a blend of the different cultures and the variety of tastes is truly astounding. Finally weave through the vibrant market to end your programme.

Next visit the house of an Iraqw elder. On arriving at the house of Mzee Daniel Tewa you feel immediately at ease. He lives in a simple house on the edge of the Ngorongoro Highlands, an area in which he told us, his people were the first to inhabit over 2000 years ago before even the Maasai came along. 'Mzee' is a respectful Kiswahili term meaning an elder and Daniel Tewa is a member of the Iraqw (pronounced Irow) tribe. Almost straight away you warm up to him; his manner is kind and his smile welcoming.

The main reason you'll want to meet with him though is his story telling ability. He takes you through over 2000 years of his people's history and culture, acting it out with you all taking roles of hunter, warrior, bride, family member and villager. He tells you uses for his indigenous plants, teaches you how to protect yourselves from visiting wildlife and shows you how to power gas lighting and a cooker with a cow. In two hours, you learn a wealth of knowledge and be gripped for the entire meeting. They are a lesser known tribe, but once you have met Mzee Tewa you always remember the Iraqw.

Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp, in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area, is poised for great views from its position on the crater rim. The camp, ten glorious tents that would have satisfied safari-goers from the grand old days of Teddy Roosevelt and his ilk, manages to be sumptuously comfortable and simply elegant all at the same time. As in safari days of yesteryear, a tent attendant fills your bucket shower at precisely the right time with water precisely the right temperature.

At sundown you can sit around a campfire, nicknamed "bush television" by guides here, and indulge in recounting the adventures of the day over a drink.

Overnight: Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 11 - Ngorongoro Crater Tour

Your game drive today is like no other as you visit one of the most dramatic safari destinations in Africa, the Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro Crater is a deep, volcanic crater and the largest unbroken caldera in the world. About 20 kilometers (12 miles) across, 600 meters (1,969 feet) deep and 300 square kilometers (186 square miles) in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder. Within the crater rim large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on dew-laden grass in the morning mist. Just outside the crater's ridge, tall Maasai herd their cattle and goats over green pastures living alongside the wildlife as they have for centuries. A picnic lunch is provided so you can maximize your day in the crater.

Overnight: Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 12 - Drive to Serengeti National Park

Enjoy breakfast at the Camp, leave your lodge and drive along the crater rim before descending the outer slopes of the Ngorongoro crater and onto the vast plains of the Serengeti. You arrive at your camp in time for lunch.

Sanctuary Kichakani Serengeti Camp is a mobile tented camp, which, depending on where the migration is, and in effort to make sure it lives up to its name, relocates three times a year every year within the Serengeti National Park - in a bid to keep up with the great wildebeest migration, the most spectacular movement of mammals on the planet.

The camp, ten huge tents, sumptuously comfortable and simply elegant, is reminiscent of the bygone era of safari, with sturdy hardwood furniture and generous swathes of mosquito net over huge beds. As in safari days of old, your tent attendant is on hand to cater to your needs, from the perfect timing of your shower to the perfect pre-dinner drink. The nomadic nature of the camp, though, means it blends into its bush environments with sensitive seamlessness whilst granting its guests excellent, up-to-the-minute, game viewing.

Overnight: Sanctuary Kichakani Serengeti Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 13 -  Serengeti National Park

Spend your day exploring the extensive plains of the Serengeti in search of the Big 5. If you would like to maximize your time game viewing you can take a picnic lunch out into the park and enjoy a meal out in the vast savannah before returning to your lodge later in the day.

The Serengeti is not only famous for the great wildebeest migration that moves around the park from October – July every year but also for the vast number of species that reside in the park year-round. The concentration of predators in the Serengeti is high with large prides of lion, numerous hyena clans, and regular sightings of both cheetah and Leopard. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe, and antelope can be found feeding on the rich plains as well as some of the lesser known species such as aardwolf, mongoose, caracal, serval cat and hyrax.

Overnight: Sanctuary Kichakani Serengeti Camp

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 14 - Fly to Masai Mara National Reserve

Have breakfast at the camp and thereafter, you are transferred to the airstrip for your flight to the Masai Mara via Migori.

You’ll be welcomed at the airstrip by your Sanctuary Olonana driver and transferred to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, you go on a game drive in the reserve returning to the lodge before sunset for dinner and overnight.

Sanctuary Olonana's 14 suites, at least 130 square meters (1399 square feet) in size. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors fold open to reveal magnificent Mara River views and the interiors have been finished with elegant nature-inspired furnishings to create an ever-present sense of being connected to the great outdoors. Sumptuous king-sized beds, with overhead fans and a daybed on the deck invite you to relax inside or out, while the sprawling lower lounge area offers panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. Four of the new suites feature an extra bedroom located off the open plan bathroom, perfect for families with young children. The unfaltering attention to detail extends to fully stocked mini-fridges, specially commissioned African art and glamorous en-suites. Refined open plan marble- and slate-accented bathrooms feature a generous tub, double vanity and a rain shower with wall to ceiling glass windows ensuring you can enjoy the view wherever you are in the suite.

The soothing interiors of the main lodge are an extension of the surrounding wilderness as a Kenyan Greenheart tree extends through the centre. Dramatic glass doors open out from the lounge to the terrace. Here, faded indigo rugs and elegant Edison-bulb pendant lights gently illuminate the decking without competing with the natural ambiance. The inviting new fire pit is encircled by deckchairs, with each seat promising river views. Dine on the deck of the main lodge and overlook the river's resident hippos.

Overnight: Sanctuary Olonana

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 15 - Visit Enkereri School

Enjoy an early morning game viewing drive returning to the camp for breakfast.

After breakfast, you are transferred to visit Enkereri Primary School. AKP has been partnering with the neighboring Enkereri Primary School for nearly a decade. Support has included fundamentals such as school construction, lunchroom and kitchen construction, a daily lunch program, literary initiative and access to clean water.

You join women from the village in preparing lunch for the midday meal at the school kitchen. As the children lineup, help them serve the meal, beginning with the youngest kindergarten and first graders. A student demonstrates the use and care of LifeStraw water filters that remove 99.99% of bacteria, virus and protozoa from drinking water.

Enjoy a game drive en-route to the camp for dinner and overnight.

NB: School visits are not guaranteed when schools are closed.

Overnight: Sanctuary Olonana

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 16 -  Maasai Mara National Reserve

Rise early for a morning game viewing drive returning to the lodge for breakfast.

Enjoy mid-morning at leisure and lunch at the camp.

16:00 Depart for an afternoon game viewing drive that culminates with a sundowner.

Return to the lodge to freshen-up and later a farewell bush dinner.

The jewel in Africa's crown, Maasai Mara is host to the most spectacular array of wildlife. Her 1,510 square kilometers (583 square miles) of open savannah, woodlands and tree-lined rivers create an eco-system which supports huge numbers of bird and mammal species. The western border of the park is the spectacular Siria Escarpment, and together with the acacia dotted plains, creates scenery of stunning beauty. Lion are found in abundance throughout the park as are elephant, giraffe, a variety of gazelle species and zebra. Cheetah and leopard are also regularly seen and, if lucky, you may also find rhino.

Overnight: Sanctuary Olonana

Meal Plan: B, L, D

Day 17 - Fly to Nairobi, dayroom use & depart

Today, you bid the Mara farewell and transfer to the airstrip to connect to your scheduled flight to Nairobi, departing at 11:00 and arriving at 12:00 approximately. On arrival our representative is at hand to transfer you to Tamarind Tree Hotel where a dayroom has been reserved for you.

Later in the evening, you are transferred to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to connect your home bound flight.

Overnight:

Meal Plan: B