Discover Tanzania by Private Air: Join AWF For a Tailor-Made Safari This Summer

Join AWF's Craig Sholley this summer for the African Safari of a lifetime. Visit some of the best wildlife areas that East Africa has to offer with the people who know the land, the wildlife and the people the best. Having worked in Africa for 45 years, AWF has designed a unique safari that you won't want to miss.

Main Safari - northern Tanzania circuit: June 4 - 13, 2006

Optional pre-trip extension to go Gorilla-Trekking in Uganda: May 31 - June 5, 2006

Optional post-trip extension to the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania: June 13 - 16, 2006

For Additional Information Please Contact Trip Leader Craig Sholley at csholley@awf.org or 1-888-4-WILDLIFE. Click here for tips on planning your own safari.

YOUR TRIP LEADER

Craig Sholley's experiences with wildlife and conservation began in 1973 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, Africa. He has worked and traveled extensively since that time providing conservation expertise in a variety of world arenas. As an L.S.B. Leakey grant researcher in the late 1970's, Craig studied mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey. Craig has served as a Senior Associate of the African Wildlife Foundation and on AWF's Board of Trustees. He has also served on the Board of the Ecotourism Society. Throughout much of the '90's, Craig was Director of Conservation and Education for International Expeditions, an organization widely recognized for its ecotourism initiatives.

Craig returned to Rwanda in 1995 on assignment with the National Geographic Society surveying the conservation status of mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Zaire, and Uganda in the aftermath of Rwanda's civil war. The findings of that trip are the basis of a 1995 article in NG Magazine on mountain gorilla conservation. Craig now works full time for the African Wildlife Foundation.

ITINERARY:

Optional Pre-trip Extension: Gorilla Trekking in Uganda

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

ENTEBBE/QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA

Upon arrival this morning at Entebbe airport, you are met and transferred to a nearby hotel to freshen up and have breakfast. You will then board your aircraft to fly to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enjoy the short flight through Portal and then south along the eastern length of the Rwenzori Mountains, with opportunities of viewing the glaciated peaks. Descending into the Great Rift Valley, you enter Queen Elizabeth National Park and arrive at Mweya Safari Lodge, situated on a peninsula overlooking Lake Edward and the Kasinga Channel. This location offers beautiful views of the park with the Rwenzori Mountains in the background. The lodge is situated in a prolific game area, with a resident pride of lions on the peninsula itself. The lodge has been recently renovated to a high standard with excellent rooms, en suite facilities, restaurant, bar area, outside dining and a swimming pool. Mweya Lodge (B,L,D)

Thursday, June 1, 2006

QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK / UGANDA

Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park include a launch trip of about two hours on the Kasinga Channel to view one of the largest concentrations of Nile hippopotamus in the world.

In addition to these giant semi-aquatic mammals, the launch affords unique opportunities to view a host of other mammals and birds as they come to the water's edge to drink or bathe. Birding from the launch is excellent as QENP is one of best birding parks in Africa, with 560 + recorded species and a record of 296 bird species seen in one 24 hour period. After the launch trip, you leave the water to explore the park in overland vehicles. Uganda kob occur in the thousands, and you can expect to see Defassa waterbuck, bushbuck, African buffalo, topi, warthog, and herds of elephants. Giant forest hog are fairly common, and lion and leopard are by no means rare. You return to Mweya this evening for dinner and to overnight. Mweya Lodge (B,L,D)

Friday, June 2, 2006

BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST/ UGANDA

This morning, you depart for the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. En route, you'll stop at the Maramagambo Forest. On foot, you'll visit bat caves where one can see thousands of fruit bats and potential bat predators like reticulated pythons and monitor lizards. Afterwards, you'll wind up, down and over high-forested hills and through deep-farmed valleys. The drive is reminiscent of traveling through central Europe--the reason why this area of Uganda is often described as "Little Switzerland." The drive is only about sixty-three miles, but it may take seven hours because of the region's beauty and frequent stops along the way. Your destination and accommodation for the next two nights is the Gorilla Forest Camp. This permanent tented camp is located on the immediate edge of the Bwindi Forest. During your stay here, you'll be joined by AWF and International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP) staff that will fully brief you on the history of gorilla conservation in this region, and discuss issues which continue to affect the fate of this critically endangered primate. Gorilla Forest Camp (B,L,D)

Saturday & Sunday, June 3-4, 2006

BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST / UGANDA

The opportunity for gorilla trekking is the highlight of this safari. During your stay here, you'll have the opportunity to enter the gorilla's domain. Your day spent gorilla trekking begins with an early breakfast before walking to the national park boundary to begin a hike into the forest. Well-trained guides lead you to the site where the gorillas were encountered the day before. They then track them to their current location. The gorillas, whose continuous search for food requires a nomadic lifestyle, determine the duration of the hike. The trek can take between one and six hours, sometimes more, at elevations in excess of 7,500 feet and over rough terrain. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the anticipation of the exciting experience ahead is invigorating, and the beauty of the forest and its inhabitants are fascinating. When the gorillas are encountered, any fatigue is quickly forgotten. Observing a wild gorilla family in its natural habitat and on its terms is considered by many naturalists to be the most profound natural history experience in the world. Few who have had this rare privilege would disagree. Each strictly regulated 60-minute visit passes all too quickly, and you depart leaving the gorillas to their fragile existence. After time with the gorillas and a picnic lunch in the forest, you return to camp with unforgettable memories of a rare and wondrous experience. If the gorilla groups are relatively close, you'll also have the chance to hike nearby forest trails to obtain a better understanding of the forest and its other inhabitants. These hikes provide the opportunity to observe smaller primate species and regional, endemic birds. Gorilla Forest Camp (B,L,D)

Monday, June 5, 2006

BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST/ ENTEBBE, UGANDA

This morning you will take a flight to Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania to meet up with your fellow travelers.

MAIN SAFARI: AWF's Maasai Steppe Heartland, Ngorongoro Crater, and Serengeti National Park

Sunday, June 4, 2006

ARUSHA/TANZANIA

Today you arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport, Tanzania and are met and transferred to Kigongoni Lodge in nearby Arusha. The lodge is located on a historic 70-acre coffee farm amid natural forests and offers breathtaking views of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru. Enjoy a relaxing day on the grounds, swimming, or hiking. Kigongoni Lodge (B,L,D)

Monday & Tuesday June 5-6, 2006

LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK/ TANZANIA

On Monday, take your scheduled charter aircraft to Lake Manyara National Park where you will meet up with AWF Leader Craig Sholley and the pre-extension group. Located towards the north of the country, Lake Manyara National Park boasts an incredible wealth of habitats, from swamps and a tranquil lake to the mountain escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. In the heart of a mahogany forest in the southern reaches of the park, is the exclusive Lake Manyara Tree Lodge. The lodge boasts 10 spacious tree houses cradled in the boughs of mahogany trees and is situated about a kilometer from the lakeshore.

The sheer rock walls of the Great Rift Valley rock escarpment drop over 500m to the gleaming soda lake that is Lake Manyara. Surrounding the lake is a narrow bank of acacia woodland, shrub land, grassy floodplains, and a verdant groundwater forest. Towards the southern end of the lake lie hot springs, reaching a temperature of 60C/140F - hot enough to cook an egg. The water is heated as it circulates at great depths through fractures in the rocks formed by the Great Rift Valley faulting.

The park is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including leopard, buffalo, elephant and lion. It is famous for its elusive tree-climbing lions which seem to enjoy spending time spread out among the branches of acacia trees. Also of special interest are the Maasai giraffe, buffalo, zebra, warthog, hippo, slender mongoose, blue monkey, honey badger, porcupine, hyena, wildebeest, Coke's hartebeest and impala. The park features the highest density of baboons anywhere in Africa and troops can number up to 200 members.

Lake Manyara National Park is one of the best places in Africa for birdwatchers. The park has nearly 400 species and the extraordinary diversity of birdlife draws birders from around the world.

Tuesday, after breakfast we will visit Manyara Ranch, AWF's Maasai Steppe Heartland - one of the world's richest remaining refuges for wildlife. Acquired in April 2001, Manyara Ranch became the first acquisition under the new Tanzania Land Conservation Trust (TLCT). We will have a briefing by the Manyara Ranch Manager and visit a number of project sites that demonstrate AWF's holistic approach to wildlife conservation in Tanzania. We will return to the lodge for dinner. Lake Manyara Tree Lodge (B,L,D)

Wednesday & Thursday, June 7 - 8, 2006

OLDUVAI GORGE & NGORONGORO CRATER

On Wednesday we ascend the western wall of the Rift Valley leaving behind the flat, open plains and move into the volcanic highlands of Ngorongoro Crater. This afternoon check into your luxurious lodge on the rim of the caldera, and enjoy the magnificent views as the sun sets. On Thursday descend 2,000 feet to the ancient crater floor for a full day of game viewing and a picnic lunch. The crater's one hundred square miles is home to gazelles, buffalos, lions, zebras, giraffes, and impressive bull elephants. Ngorongoro is also home to one of Tanzania's only viable rhino populations - in tandem with the national park's authority and US Fish and Wildlife, AWF is working to ensure the rhino's future . . . and you'll learn first-hand about this important work. Look for birds, such as vultures, pink-necked marabou storks, and thousands of greater and lesser flamingoes on Lake Magadi. This evening join fellow travelers for a special dinner on the crater rim. Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (B,L,D)

Friday & Saturday, June 9-10, 2006

SERENGETI WESTERN CORRIDOR

This morning depart with packed lunches and drive through the savannahs of the western Serengeti to your private luxury tented camp, strategically set up in the Western Corridor. En route you will enjoy a visit to Olduvai Gorge, the famous site where Dr. S. B. Leakey discovered a repository of prehistoric human fossils.

Over the next two days explore the vast short-grass plains with naturalist guides in search of the annual migration. During this time of year the concentration of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle attract predators such as black-maned lions, cheetahs, and leopards. This is also a time when animals are beginning to congregate around permanent water, and the crocodiles of the Grumeti river are active.

Your luxury tented camp is fully mobile and supported by a large crew who set it up in advance exclusively for your group, and this means a very private safari experience. The large Meru sleeping tents are 8 feet high, completely enclosed, and offer 140 square feet of living area. Each tent houses full-size beds with high-density mattresses and fine blankets and linens; dressing tables; a wardrobe; luggage racks; and rechargeable lights. At the front of each tent is a verandah with table and safari chairs, and at the rear is an ensuite bathroom. Hot water is available day and night on demand and there is a daily laundry service, weather permitting. Private Tented Camp

(B, L, D)

Sunday & Monday, June 11 & 12, 2006

SERENGETI MORU KOPJIES

After breakfast set off on a game drive, heading south toward Moru Kopjies and arriving at your second luxury tented camp in time for lunch. Set in a different area to the first, this camp offers the same private safari experience in the heart of the Serengeti. Over the next two days take morning and afternoon game drives with naturalists in four-wheel-drive vehicles. Search for elephants, giraffes, buffalos, and hyenas. Your naturalists will also show you the smaller things, such as animal tracks, and the birding is superb. In the evenings, enjoy sundowner cocktails in the bush before returning to your private camp for dinner and coffee around the camp fire. Private Tented Camp (B, L, D)

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

FLIGHT HOME

This afternoon fly by private air to Kilimanjaro and relax in day rooms before your international flight. Kia Lodge Day Rooms (B, L, D)

Optional Post-trip Extension: Selous Game Reserve

Tuesday-Thursday, June 13-15, 2006

SELOUS GAME RESERVE / TANZANIA

Continue on your Tanzanian adventure and travel by scheduled charter south to Selous Game Reserve. At Kiba airstrip you will be met and transferred to Sand Rivers Selous Lodge (approx. 1/2 hour drive). The afternoon can be spent having a siesta or relaxing by the pool before going out by boat on the river. The Rufiji River holds one of the highest densities of hippo and crocodile of any African river and its sand bars and forested banks provide an ideal habitat for water birds, from the Pygmy King Fisher to the Goliath Heron. As the sun sets, the outboards are switched off and you drift silently back to the lodge with sundowner in hand.

Sand Rivers, the most exclusive lodge in the Selous is comprised of six secluded cottages all with en-suite bathrooms and stunning views over the Rufiji River. As well as a large open bar and dining area, there is also a swimming pool set in the shade of a Baobab tree on the banks of the river, in which to cool off in the heat of the day.

An unusual combination of steep wooded hills, open Miombo woodland and grassy plains and marshes interlaced with lakes and dry sand river, this scenic area boasts an impressive variety of game, birdlife and wild flowers.

During your stay you can enjoy walks along Rufiji upstream where you will have the possibility to stalk zebra, wildebeest, impala, buffalo, giraffe, lion and elephant. Sand Rivers Selous (B,L,D)

Friday, June 16, 2006

SELOUS GAME RESERVE/DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA

After breakfast, board your scheduled air charter and fly to Dar es Salaam to connect to your international flight home.

SAFARI COSTING:

Pre-trip Extension

Gorilla Trekking in Uganda:

Per person, double occupancy

Single supplement

Main Safari:

Per person, double occupancy

Single supplement

**Included in the cost is a $1,000 per person donation to the African Wildlife Foundation

Kigongoni overnight and airport:

Transfers - June 4

Per person, double occupancy

Single supplement

Post extension

Selous Game Reserve:

Per person, double occupancy

Single supplement

Included in the cost of your land arrangements:

All accommodations, hotels, camps and lodges as indicated in the itinerary

All meals as indicated in the itinerary, shown as (B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch and (D) Dinner

All game viewing activities, guide fees and park fees as indicated in the itinerary

All safari transportation in Landrovers and transfers as indicated in the itinerary

All safari transportation and transfers as indicated in the itinerary

All Domestic African Airfare

Two gorilla permits for two days of trekking

Services of AWF Expedition Leader, Craig Sholley

Local tour guides

Flying Doctors Medical Air Evacuation

Drinks (excludes premium brands) at Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, your mobile camp in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater Lodge and Sand Rivers Selous

Laundry on your mobile camp in the Serengeti

Tips and gratuities (except for CAS driver guides)

Not Included in the cost of your land arrangements:

International air fares

Personal expenses such as curios; excess baggage fees; travel and personal insurance; phone calls; emails; faxes; gratuities; costs of obtaining passport, visas and other travel documents; airport departure taxes; inoculation fees; drinks; laundry.

Additional benefits to you which are included in the safari costs:

A complete Bushtracks ticketing and travel service, as well as accurate information and local advice available at any time from Bushtracks African Expeditions' California office on 800-995-8689

Luggage tags

Bushtracks Safari Planner

Strong ground support throughout your itinerary in case of emergency

TRAVEL WITH THE AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION

The African Wildlife Foundation, together with the people of Africa, works to ensure the wildlife and wild lands of Africa will endure forever. For more than 45 years, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has focused exclusively on the continent of Africa. Through these years AWF has played a major role in ensuring the continued existence of some of Africa's most rare and treasured species such as the elephant, the mountain gorilla, rhinoceros and cheetah. AWF has invested training and resources in African individuals and institutions that have gone on to play critical roles in conservation. AWF has significantly increased scientific understanding of Africa's extraordinary ecosystems through research, and has pioneered the use of community conservation and conservation enterprise to demonstrate that wildlife can be conserved while people's well being is also improved. AWF provides crucial assistance to national parks and reserves and promotes international cooperation to protect important sites and populations that stretch across national boundaries. Selecting an AWF trip assures one of traveling in the company of conservation experts on a well-designed and top quality safari.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

AWF is pleased to offer this program in conjunction with Bushtracks African Expeditions, a highly-regarded tour operator. For most activities a relatively low level of exertion is required. You will need to climb into and out of aircraft and vehicles where staff will be on hand to assist. You must be able to walk several miles over some rough terrain. Temperatures can range from the 40s to the 80s F, with low humidity. Accommodations are the best available at each destination; however, we will be accessing some remote locations where the tourism infrastructure is limited. If you travel with flexibility and a spirit of adventure, this unique expedition will prove an experience of a lifetime!

The Expedition Cost is based on a minimum of 8 or more guests traveling together; fewer than 8 registrants could require a surcharge. The program is limited to 16 guests (includes 7 twins + 2 single), one AWF expedition leader and one Bushtracks tour leader.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT CRAIG SHOLLEY AT CSHOLLEY@AWF.ORG or 1-888-4-WILDLIFE