Nairobi to Cairo via Gorillas 9 Weeks - Game parks and sites

Kenya - Naivasha, Green Crater Lake

In Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, a small placid jade green lake set amongst acacia tress in a small volcanic crater. Nature walks great for bird spotting, with Colobus monkeys and Flamingoes.

Kenya - Hell's Gate National Park

One of the few parks you can walk or cycle through, no lions here but you can see giraffe and antelope many wild animals but superb volcanic scenery. There a geothermal power plant on the edge of the park which you can see up close.

Uganda - Jinja, Lake Victoria, Murchison Falls, Owen Falls Dam, Nile River

Jinja, Uganda overlooks Lake Victoria, one of the largest lakes in the world. The White Nile flows north from the lake towards Egypt. Owen Falls Dam blocks the river below which are the Owen Falls. On and around the river you can; white water raft, canoe, horse ride, bungee jump, jet boat, quad bike and help with local community projects.

Kenya - Nairobi, Elsamere Conservation Centre

The old home of Joy Adamson and Elsa the lion of 'Born Free' fame.  Take afternoon tea on the lake shore with black and white colobus monkeys swinging through the thorn trees above.

Uganda - Lake Bunyonyi

The lake in the west of Uganda is our base while groups are off trekking to the mountain gorillas. It’s a highland mountain lake in quiet surroundings were you can row around the lake, swim and bird watch.

Kenya - Lake Naivasha

We camp by this large freshwater lake in the Great Rift Valley. You can take boats out on the lake to see hippos relaxing in groups in the water and the hundreds of different types of birds. The hippos come out of the lake in the evening and graze around the shore into the night. Around the lake are a few side trips you can take.

Kenya - Lake Nakuru

A large shallow lake surrounded by a park on the edge of Nakuru town. The big three here are pink flamingoes – sometimes millions of them, rhino and tree sleeping lions. Also living in and around the lake are; pelicans, cormorants, leopards, baboons, giraffe, waterbuck, rock hyrax and birdlife.

Kenya - Nairobi, Langata Giraffe Centre

Here you can hand feed giraffes while you stand head high with the giraffes. It’s a side trip in Nairobi with a entry fee of $7 plus a charge for giraffe food.

Uganda or Rwanda - Mountain Gorillas

There are less than 800 mountain gorillas in the wild, we see the biggest primate in either; Uganda, DR Congo or Rwanda. Trekking to see them is expensive however well worth it according to everyone when they return from sitting beside the wooly giants. There are four parks you can visit the gorillas in three different countries. Three of the parks form a super park meeting on the borders of the three countries.
Uganda - Mgahinga Gorilla National Park  
Rwanda - Volcanoes National Park 
Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, is the fourth park and separate to the other parks. Most of the gorillas live in Bwindi, which is where we try to see them. The parks are covered in rainforest and thick bamboo. Aside from the gorillas other animals you might see while trekking to the gorillas are colobus monkeys but the thick forest makes game spotting hard. The trek to gorillas can take; if you’re lucky less than an hour up to all day long. The trekking is done with ranger guides who follow the gorillas from their previous night’s nests. (They do build nests in trees or on the ground every night to sleep in). Once you reach the gorillas you sit with them for an hour while they normally feed or relax a short distance from you. There are a number of rules to follow when you’re around the gorillas which the guides show you how to follow.

Kenya - Nairobi, Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage

Stand with baby elephants and rhinos which have been rescued from the wild; normally their mothers have been poached. Now they are fed from a bottle. It’s a side trip in Nairobi with a entry fee of $5. You can pay more, and foster an orphaned elephant.

Uganda & Ethiopia & Sudan & Egypt - River Nile, White & Blue Nile

The River Nile is the longest river in the world, flowing from Lake Victoria in East Africa north to the Mediterranean Sea and drains 10% of Africa.  Most of Egypt and the new country of Sudan live off and by this river. The source of a majority of the rivers water is from Lake Tana in Ethiopia.

Kenya - Mount Kenya

One of the most beautiful free standing mountains in the world, surrounded by forests and dotted with glaciers. The locals believe it’s the house of god; surrounding village homes all have their front door facing the mountain so god can come directly into their home.  The peaks are a technical climb to reach the summit, but you can trek across the mountain in a few days. From the upper peaks you can see Mount Kilimanjaro 400 kilometres south, in Tanzania.