Welcome to Nairobi. The largest city between Cairo and Johannesburg, Nairobi is a modern, cosmopolitan capital. Graceful jacaranda and bougainvillea line the main streets, and parks and gardens occupy large areas in the centre. Located in the fertile highlands at 5,000 feet, it has a delightful climate, with warm sunny days and cool nights. The city has undergone a dramatic expansion in its recent past. Today, you will see a thriving business centre, with the modern Kenyatta Conference Centre and Parliament Building, first-class restaurants and hotels. The traditional architecture still survives in colorful wooden buildings with tiled roofs and arcades from the colonial era. Your Olivia-Micato Safari Director will meet you after you pass through customs at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and you will be transferred to the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel. A dedicated Airport Team will coordinate and handle all the arrivals. Olivia-Micato porters will expedite luggage at the airport for you. Enjoy a cool drink in the vehicle while you transfer from the airport to the hotel, where you will be pre-registered for check-in. You will be greeted with a welcome drink and a welcome package. Overnight at the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel. (-/-/-)

After an early morning breakfast at your hotel, your Olivia Staff and Olivia-Micato Safari Director will give you a Safari Briefing where you will have a chance to ask all the questions you have about your upcoming safari. You will also be properly welcomed with an authentic safari hat and a hand-carved animal necklace. (B/L/D)

• Visit to Giraffe Centre: The Giraffe Centre, resting within 120 acres of primeval forest, is only eight miles from Nairobi. It is home to the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW), devoted to the preservation of endangered Rothschild giraffe. The centre raises and relocates the giraffes to the wild. In addition to a multitude of other good works, AFEW brings thousands of African school children, many of whom would otherwise never see a wild animal, to the centre for educational programming. You will have the rare treat of hand-feeding these gentle giants while facing them eye-to-eye from an elevated viewing platform.
• Visit the Dame Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage: Featured on Oprah, it was established by Dame Daphne Sheldrick adjacent to her home on the edge of Nairobi National Park. An engaging world-class conservation figure, her late husband was the first Game Warden of Tsavo National Park and in his memory, she initiated a memorial foundation and animal orphanage. Mrs. Sheldrick is the premier authority on the successful raising of milk-dependent infant elephant and rhino orphans, and their re-releasing into the wild. Out visit will coincide with the animals’ 11 am feeding.
• Lunch and Shopping: Enjoy lunch and optional shopping in the Karen area of Nairobi. We will visit a shop with a little bit of everything from carvings, belts, beads, paintings, t-shirts and so much more. We return in the late afternoon for free time. Dinner and overnight at the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel.

After an early breakfast, you’re off on safari! A flight will take you to Kilimanjaro Airport in northern Tanzania. After clearing immigration formalities, you will continue with a charter flight to the airstrip at Lake Manyara. Enjoy lunch at the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge before driving two hours to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There’s something rather magical about Ngorongoro – beginning with the bewitching name itself. N-go-ron-go-ro we go, way up to the volcanic highlands of Tanzania. And then suddenly, look, the enormous crater formed more than two million years ago when a mountain as big as Kilimanjaro exploded and collapsed. The wonder of it all, this world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, is ours to explore from the most magnificent homebase of Ngorongoro Lodge Melia. Our home-from-home has been designed with all respect due a World Heritage Site, with the sustainable, self-sufficient bells and whistles we expect (including solar-powered electricity and on-site bottling plant). We’ll sleep accompanied by the sounds of nature, and wake to a natural oasis excitingly inhabited by the major predators, including the Big Five.

The new and pleasingly boutiquey Ngorongoro Lodge achieves a sense of soothing sanctuary – pale wood and hand-woven rugs amid splashes of colorful local artwork and traditional African motifs. Its rooms are decorated with uplifting Maasai artwork, minimalist roomy en-suite bathrooms, and show-stopping panorama windows onto the verdant caldera. There are plenty of outdoor spaces to relax and soak up the Ngorongoro Conservation Area’s endless landscapes (and, if you’re inclined to share with the folks at home, there’s wifi throughout). Don’t be surprised if you see rainbows over the crater as we always do! Dinner and overnight at the Milia Ngorongoro Hotel. (B/L/D)

Journey in a 4-wheel-drive vehicle into one of the world’s largest calderas—nine miles in diameter and 2,500 feet deep. Spend the morning tracking animals on the floor of the crater. Declared a sanctuary in 1928, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area contains within its borders 30,000 mammals, including the last population of black rhino in northern Tanzania and all the “big five” game animals. Diverse habitats of forest, swamp, grassland and lake make it an exciting area to explore. After a day of adventure and a privately catered picnic lunch on the crater floor (subject to the approval of park authorities), return to your lodge. Then relax on the terrace, cocktail in hand, while the fiery sun makes its dramatic exit and spreads its glow over the crater. Overnight at the Milia Ngorongoro Hotel. (B/L/D)

After breakfast, drive to Serengeti National Park. Stop en route to visit Olduvai Gorge, where for more than 50 years the Leakey family has been uncovering fossils of humans and animals, including the fossil of Homo habilis (handy man), the first tool user, thought to have lived 1.75 million years ago. The area has yielded abundant specimens dating back at least two million years, including the remains of prehistoric elephants, giant horned sheep and enormous ostriches. With its vast rolling plains, flat-topped acacias and huge herds of animals, the Serengeti is just what you expect Africa to be. It is an amazing wildlife spectacle, with herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle covering the plains from horizon to horizon. The Serengeti is the first, largest and most famous of Tanzania’s national parks. An estimated three million large animals inhabit 5,700 square miles, an area the size of Connecticut. Stop for a picnic lunch, and then continue on your game drive. Here, most ostrich and Grant’s gazelle are semi-migratory. Topi, hartebeest, impala and African buffalo are resident woodland creatures. Giraffe browse alone or in small groups wherever they find trees and shrubs. Bohor reedbuck and waterbuck restrict themselves to the dense vegetation near watercourses. We may even see the end of the wildebeest migration. You’ll arrive at the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti in the late afternoon. Nestled in the Central Serengeti for the best wildlife observation, Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti ensures your peace of mind with strategic fencing and an expert security team of local Maasai who are familiar with life in the Serengeti. Elevated wooden walkways keep you safely above the animals while providing a superior viewing perspective. Highlights include being able to take a dip in their infinity pool while watching over the watering hole where local wildlife frequent! All Horizon rooms are well appointed. This is luxury at its best while on Safari. Dinner and overnight at the Four Seasons Lodge. (B/L/D)

On morning and afternoon game drives, explore the vast Serengeti in depth. The open woodland and plains are ideal places to observe large predators. Lions are plentiful, and spotted hyenas even more so. Golden jackals and bat-eared foxes are the most abundant canine species. Cheetahs are regularly sighted pacing the plains, and at dusk or dawn you stand the best chance of seeing nocturnal felines such as civet, serval, genet and African wildcat. The wealth and diversity of birds is just as staggering as the mammal population. Ostriches, secretary birds and bustards wander the plains; vultures and eagles are abundant; and the sunbirds, king fishers and bee-eaters are well-represented. Perhaps the most distinctive small bird is the lilac-breasted roller, an exquisitely-colored creature often seen perched on trees along the roadside. All meals and overnight at the Four Seasons Lodge. (B/L/D)

Following breakfast this morning, transfer to the airstrip for your private charter flight to the Maasai Mara, via a stop in Kisumu for customs and immigration formalities. Continue to the Maasai Mara. (Please note we may have to switch planes in Kisumu). Arrive in the early afternoon and transfer to your tented camp. This is the Africa of your imagination, where panoramas are vast. It is a country of rolling grasslands, dense thickets of scrub, groves of acacia woodland, and even luxuriant forest, which grows along the Mara River and its tributaries. The Maasai Mara is considered the finest game sanctuary in the country, home to an astonishing number and variety of animals. According to the season, hundreds of thousands of migratory wildebeest, gazelle, and zebra move back and forth between the Mara, the plains and the woodlands to the south. Overlooking the Talek River — at the very confluence of the Mara’s four game and bird-viewing areas, with large local populations of plains game, elephants, rhinos, buffalos, and all the Big Cats — Mara Intrepids Camp enjoys one of the most spectacular locations in the world’s best-known wilderness. Luxury tents, with four-poster king size beds, ensuite bathroom, porch to listen to the sounds of the hippos in the river below and free wifi in the public areas. The Mara Intrepids is a short drive from the Mara River, where you will find some of the world’s finest game viewing. In 2004, some 75% of the footage for the BBC’s famous Big Cat Diary was shot in the vicinity of the camp. After lunch and some free time, you will have an afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at the Mara Intrepids Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

The brilliant orange sun is up at 6 am, and so are you. As soon as you are ready, it’s off into the bush. The dew is fast disappearing and the predators are on the prowl. Your driver sets off in pursuit of the great herds. This is true big game country, where prides of more than twenty lions, including the majestic black-maned male, are not uncommon. Other inhabitants of the Mara include elephant, giraffe, buffalo, cheetah, leopard, hyena, topi, gazelle and black rhino, and hippos can be found along the Mara River. This morning there is an optional hot air balloon excursion available. This optional excursion will have more information and pricing 11 months prior to the trip.

• Optional Hot Air Balloon Safari (participation limited): cost TBA
  For the adventurous, a wonderful option is available today: You leave camp before dawn—the sky is clear, the air is brisk, and the conditions are perfect. As the sun rises over the Mara plain, your balloons lift off one after the other, and the scene takes on a party air as these bright splashes of color rise into the blue. Watch as a stunning panorama unfolds below you, and the balloon’s basket becomes your lookout post for a bird’s-eye view of the beauty of Africa. Float silently just a few hundred feet above herds of wild animals. Gazelle and impala watch curiously with their tails flagging—a warning to others that you are approaching. A pride of lions stalks an unsuspecting herd of wildebeest. Giraffes poke their heads out of the forest where they have been nibbling tender leaves. The tranquillity of the experience is interrupted only by the occasional “whoosh” of the air heaters. You will go aloft with one of Africa’s finest ballooning companies. Baskets of 12-18 and 20 seats are available. Their excellent professional pilots and ground crews assure your safety and pleasure both during the flight and at a celebratory champagne breakfast upon touch down in the middle of the bush. Return to the camp for lunch and a midday rest.

Overnight at the Mara Intrepids Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

Today you have a choice of a morning game drive or an optional Hot Air Balloon* excursion. Return to Intrepid Camp for lunch and enjoy a leisurely afternoon watching the hippos along the river, reading or napping. This afternoon enjoy your final game drive of the week! On your final evening on safari, savor the romance of the African plains during a special last night “Sun-Downers” on the Maasai Mara plains at sunset.

• Sundowners: A private, safe and secluded area on the Maasai Mara game reserve is set up for farewell Sundowners. As the sun swiftly sinks over the plains, we toast and share highlights of a memorable week together. Overnight at Mara Intrepids Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

*Day of Hot Air Balloon option is subject to change.

After breakfast enjoy a short morning game drive on the way to the air strip where you board your flight to Nairobi crossing the Great Rift Valley. You will be met at Wilson Airport in Nairobi and have the opportunity for an *optional visit to a few projects sponsored by AmericaShare. You are then transferred to the Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel for lunch where a private dayroom has been reserved for you. (Dayrooms are included and available from 12 pm to 6 pm). Your luggage will be in your rooms with plenty of time to shower and repack before dinner and your evening flights home. Should guests have flights that depart the following day and wish to stay in rooms later than 6 pm, a special price to turn the day room to an overnight room is available. *Those opting not to go to the AmericaShare projects will be transferred directly to the hotel. Rooms may not be ready to occupy until 2 pm.

• AmericaShare Visit: As part of Olivia’s Safari, you have an opportunity to connect personally with the people of an AmericaShare project and see first-hand how lives are changing. AmericaShare is the non-profit arm of Micato Safaris. Your excursion will take you to visit the community centre, Harambee House, an oasis in the heart of the Mukuru slum. You can hear about the lives of the young people as well as laugh, play, and share photos and stories. Every interaction seems to bring a smile to the faces of the kids and to the Olivia travelers who visit them. Each guest is invited to take part in this visit, and many mark it as the highlight of their trip. Olivia will once again provide you with the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the places we visit. Perhaps you will even be motivated to sponsor a child for boarding school for a year.

After dinner at the hotel, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight home. (B/L/D)