YOUR O.A.T. ADVENTURE TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDE®

New! Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti 2022

Small Groups: 8-13 travelers—guaranteed! (average of 12)

Overseas Adventure Travel ® The Leader in Personalized Small Group Adventures on the Road Less Traveled 1 Dear Traveler,

At last, the world is opening up again for curious travel lovers like you and me. And the O.A.T. New! Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti itinerary you’ve expressed interest in will be a wonderful way to resume the discoveries that bring us so much joy. You might soon be enjoying standout moments like these:

There’s something magical that continues to draw me back to eastern Africa. With a rich and complex cultural heritage and vast terrain rife with wildlife, it is truly a wonder to behold. But when I reflect on my time there—from images of the towering Mount Kilimanjaro and sounds of exotic animals wandering through the night air—the most vivid memories are those of the people I’ve met along the way, like the many Maasai people who’ve welcome me into their homes and eagerly shared their long-held tribal traditions. You’ll see what I mean when you experience A Day in the Life of a Maasai village in Amboseli National Park where you’ll have the opportunity to make connections with the Maasai people as you take part in their daily activities—from milking the cows or plastering a home to jumping into ceremonial rituals.

One of the most memorable things for me, though, was meeting some of the local school children and seeing firsthand the difference that access to a good education can make in their lives. I was saddened to learn that just 10 years ago, the nearby Amboseli Primary School was considered one of the lowest- performing primary schools in the country. But I am proud to see that the school has transformed into one of the top-ranking primary schools in Kenya with the support of Grand Circle Foundation. You’ll have a chance to meet some of the children at the Amboseli Primary School, too, and see some of the projects they’ve done to improve school performance and help the community at large.

The way we see it, you’ve come a long way to experience the true culture—not some fairytale version of it. So we keep our groups small, with only 8-16 travelers (average 13) to ensure that your encounters with local people are as intimate and authentic as possible. It’s also why your O.A.T. Trip Experience Leader will be a resident “insider” who can show you the culture as only a local can.

To ensure that your adventure is truly unique, put your own personal stamp on it. You can arrive early and stay later, add a pre- or post-trip extension, spend time in a Stopover city, or combine two or more trips. Plus, your itinerary offers ample free time so you can pursue your own interests.

So until the day comes when you are off to enjoy your New! Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti adventure, I hope you will relish the fun and anticipation that this O.A.T. Adventure Travel Planning Guide® will inspire. Should you have further questions, feel free to call our Regional Adventure Counselors at 1-800-955-1925.

Love and peace,

Harriet R. Lewis Vice Chairman, Overseas Adventure Travel

P.S. For further peace of mind, please know that we are EXTENDING our Risk-Free Booking Policy through 12/31/21. Learn more at www.oattravel.com/risk-free-booking.

USA Today “Best Tours” 10Best Readers’ Presented by Choice Awards Solo Traveler

2 CONTENTS

A Letter from Harriet Lewis ...... 2 The O.A.T. Difference...... 4 The Freedom to Personalize Your Experience ...... 6 Grand Circle Foundation...... 8 The Leader in Solo Travel ...... 9

KENYA & TANZANIA SAFARI: ABOUT YOUR DESTINATIONS: MASAI MARA TO THE SERENGETI CULTURE, ETIQUETTE & MORE Your Adventure at a Glance: Kenyan Culture ...... 78 Where You’re Going, What it Costs, Tanzanian Culture ...... 79 and What’s Included ...... 10 Shopping: What to Buy, Customs, Your Detailed Day-To-Day Itinerary ...... 12 Shipping & More ...... 85 Optional Tours ...... 33 Pre-Trip Extensions ...... 34 DEMOGRAPHICS & HISTORY Post-Trip Extensions ...... 42 Kenya ...... 87 Dates & Prices ...... 49 Facts, Figures & National Holidays ...... 87 Kenya: A Brief History ...... 88 ESSENTIAL TRAVEL INFORMATION Tanzania...... 89 Travel Documents & Entry Requirements. . . 50 Facts, Figures & National Holidays ...... 89 Visas Required ...... 51 Tanzania: A Brief History ...... 90 Rigors, Vaccines & General Health ...... 53 Rwanda ...... 91 Vaccines Required ...... 54 Facts, Figures & National Holidays ...... 91 Rwanda: A Brief History ...... 92 Yellow Fever—Documentation Required . . . 54 Uganda...... 93 Money Matters: Local Currency & Tipping Guidelines...... 58 Facts, Figures & National Holidays ...... 93 Air, Optional Tours & Staying in Touch ..... 62 Uganda: A Brief History ...... 94 Optional Tours ...... 62 Optional Tours: Reserve Before You Go .... 63 RESOURCES Communicating with Home from Abroad . . 64 Suggested Reading ...... 96 Packing: What to Bring & Luggage Limits . . . 66 Suggested Film & Video ...... 98 Suggested Packing Lists ...... 68 Electricity Abroad ...... 72 Climate & Average Temperatures ...... 74

O.A.T. Health & Safety Measures...... 101 Notes...... 102 Map ...... 107

3 EXPERIENCE THE O.A.T. DIFFERENCE in Kenya & Tanzania

This adventure not only showcases iconic sights, but takes you beyond them to experience the culture through unique activities, engagement with the natural world, and authentic encounters with local people. Since our founding in 1978, O.A.T. has become America’s leader in personalized small group journeys on the road less traveled.

SMALL GROUPS: 8-16 TRAVELERS LOCAL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION (AVERAGE OF 13)—GUARANTEED To see the world like the locals, you should The world feels more intimate and engaging travel like one. Our small group size allows when your experience of it is also personal us to take the roads and waterways that are and genuine. That’s why our groups never less traveled, and we often follow them using exceed 16 travelers. This gives you access to the same unique modes of transportation people and places larger groups simply can’t that the locals use—be it a canoe, a camel or a reach. More authentic interactions. Deeper vintage cab. bonds with your travel mates. Personal service from your Trip Experience Leader. Smoother UNIQUE LODGINGS transitions. And a far more satisfying Our lodgings reflect the local character, experience than any traditional tour offers. from smaller family-run hotels and historic manors to comfy inns. Occasionally, larger THE BEST TRIP EXPERIENCE LEADERS hotels closer to city centers are used. Wherever Your English-speaking, O.A.T. Trip Experience you stay, you’re assured fine comfort and Leader is a resident of the region you are visiting, hospitality. so you will get a true insider’s perspective that brings each place alive—the stories, food, OUR WORLDWIDE OFFICES customs, hidden treasures and more. With 36 regional offices around the world, we are perfectly poised to leverage our local AUTHENTIC CULTURAL CONNECTIONS relationships to deliver an excellent experience Engage with local people through visits to and value. During this trip, you’ll be supported farms, factories, markets, and artisans’ by our team in Arusha. studios; school visits; Home-Hosted meals; and more.

Immerse yourself in the long-held traditions of the Maasai people Witness an array of wildlife in Tarangire National Park

4 THE PILLARS OF DISCOVERY En riching. Inspiring. Unforgettable. These features form the foundation of your Kenya & Tanzania Safari adventure.

GRAND CIRCLE FOUNDATION (GCF) VISIT A DAY IN THE LIFE GCF was established in 1992 to help change Do you ever wonder, “What would it be like people’s lives in the world where we live, work, to live here?” when you visit new lands? Let’s and travel. To date, we have pledged or donated find out during your O.A.T. A Day in the Life, an $200 million worldwide. exclusive, immersive experience that places you in the heart of a community where you’ll meet You’ll see GCF’s work in action when we visit a various people where they live, work, and play; local primary school where we’ll meet some of visit the neighborhood school; lend a hand with the children, take part in morning activities, daily chores; and break bread with our hosts. and learn about the unique challenges of life here—including the elephants who were This adventure includes A Day in the Life of a known to stroll through school grounds. Grand Maasai village in Kenya’s Amboseli National Circle Foundation installed a solar-powered Park, where we’ll learn more about how they electric fence here to keep students safe and tend their livestock, make natural medicine, elephants off the property. and create their ceremonial dress. We’ll also have the opportunity to take part in these CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS daily activities—from milking the cows or Every culture has its joys and achievements, plastering a home to jumping into ceremonial and we celebrate them all. But every place rituals—and make connections with the warm also has its challenges, and to gloss over them and spirited Maasai people along the way. would not do justice to those whose stories need to be told—nor to you, as a traveler who HOME-HOSTED EXPERIENCES deserves more than a sugar-coated version of Stories shared. Differences solved. Taste buds things. So our Trip Experience Leaders will engaged. Good will extended. It’s amazing the lead frank discussions on controversial issues, things that can happen across a kitchen table, and introduce you to people whose stories will so we’ll break into groups of 4-5 to join a local expand your understanding. family in their home for a snack or a meal. This is a rare opportunity to witness family life, learn For example, we’ll speak to an expert in local customs, and taste some home-cooked fare. Russia about free speech and the popularity of President Vladimir Putin; in Zambia, we’ll For example, on our adventure in Scotland, have a candid conversation with a park ranger we’ll get a taste of Scottish hospitality and in Kafue National Park on trophy hunting, a sample traditional flavors when we join a controversial sport which generates around family for dinner in Glasgow; on our Baltic $200 million in annual revenue across Africa; adventure, we’ll observe life from a communal and we’ll meet a local Tangier woman to Russian apartment in St. Petersburg as we discuss women’s roles and the challenges they share lunch with the residents; and, on our face in contemporary Moroccan society. Adriatic adventure, share a meal with a Bosnian family who has lived along Sarajevo’s “Sniper Alley,” since before the siege of the city.

5 You're in control with THE FREEDOM TO PERSONALIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE Exclusively with O.A.T. Your Choice. Your Adventure. Your Way.

It’s your adventure, so why not make it exactly what you want it to be? We offer an exclusive variety of options that let you tailor your adventure so it’s completely your own. In fact, O.A.T. is the only travel company to offer this level of flexibility and choice for a truly personalized experience.

PRE- OR POST-TRIP EXTENSIONS 2. Great value: All extensions include Every O.A.T. adventure offers at least one accommodations, daily breakfast, and optional pre-trip and one post-trip extension. airport transfers. Here’s why more than 55% of O.A.T. travelers 3. Continuity and camaraderie: You’ll usually choose to take a pre- or post-trip extension: travel with the same Trip Experience 1. You’ll maximize your discoveries—often Leader who leads your main trip, enjoying in an even smaller group than your main more of his or her insider expertise— adventure (on average, 6 travelers with a and more time to bond with the group. dedicated Trip Experience Leader)—and take advantage of your included airfare.

Optional Extensions offered with your Africa adventure

NEW! Rwanda: Gorilla Trekking & NEW! Mount Kenya National Park & Rebirth of a Nation Sweetwaters Game Reserve 4 nights pre-trip from $3795 6 nights pre-trip from $2095

Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Zebras, Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Kenya

NEW! Uganda: The Pearl of Africa Revealed NEW! Southern Kenya: Taita Hills Wildlife 5 nights post-trip from $2995 Sanctuary & Mombasa’s Maritime Coast 6 nights post-trip from $2395

Kampala, Uganda Mombasa, Kenya

6 ARRIVE EARLY, STAY LATER • Cairo: $845 per person Extending your time abroad—with us or • Amsterdam, Paris, or Nairobi: $945 per person on your own—is the best way to broaden Other O.A.T. Stopovers are available. If the city your experience. It’s also a practical way to you’re interested in is not offered, our Regional maximize the value of the international airfare Adventure Counselors can arrange your airfare. covered in your main itinerary. COMBINE ADVENTURES Expand Your Discoveries Before or After Your Adventure You’re already overseas. Why not see more and maximize your value by avoiding the cost and Arrive early in the first destination on your length of another international flight? Here’s pre-trip extension or main adventure, or stay why 2,250 O.A.T. travelers combined two or later in the last city on your main adventure or more adventures in 2019: post-trip extension. By coming early, you can • Save a total of $600-$3000 per person when rest after your flight and adjust—with time to you combine two adventures compared to the explore. By staying later, you have extra time cost of taking each trip separately. to relax, pack, or continue exploring. • Apply the 5% or 6% Frequent Traveler Credit This option lets you take advantage of our you earn on your first trip to your second trip. lower group rates, with prices from $75 per person per night—including accommodations, • Sir Edmund Hillary Club members save an private airport transfer, and daily breakfast. extra $250-$350 per person when booking multiple trips in a calendar year. • Arrive early in Nairobi on your main trip or your Mount Kenya pre-trip • Our Regional Adventure Counselors make all extension for $75 per person, per night the arrangements for a seamless experience. • Arrive early in Kigali on the Rwanda pre-trip Combine this trip with our New! Rwanda: extension for $100 per person, per night Mountain Gorillas in the Land of a Thousand Hills adventure—for a total cost of $12790- • Conclude your main trip with more time $15890 per person—and save $1500-$2200 in Kilimanjaro for $75 per person, per night per person versus taking each trip separately. • Spend more time in Entebbe after the Uganda post-trip extension for $150 per AIR PREFERENCES person, per night 54% of our travelers customize their air itineraries: • Spend more time in Mombasa after the Southern Kenya post-trip extension • Choose your departure city and airline for $100 per person, per night • Depart from one city and return to another Accommodations are at the same hotels where • Upgrade to Premium Economy or you begin or end the main trip and optional Business Class extensions, so transitions will be seamless. FREEDOM OF CHOICE NEW! Stopover in any major international city DURING YOUR ADVENTURE Travelers with O.A.T. airfare have the Our itineraries provide a balance of included opportunity to Stopover in popular cities. Your activities and free time so you always have price includes 3 nights accommodations, daily the flexibility to participate in included breakfasts, and roundtrip private airport activities, go off on your own entirely, or transfers. Here are a few popular destinations: do a mix of both.

7 GRAND CIRCLE FOUNDATION Changing people’s lives, one village, one school, one person at a time

ON THIS ADVENTURE … Dear Traveler, Since our inception in 1992, the Grand Circle In 1992 we established Grand Circle Foundation has pledged or donated more Foundation, an entity of the Lewis Family than $200 million to projects around the Foundation, as a means to give back to world. Here are just a few of the ways we have the world that had already given us so partnered with the communities on this trip. much. We’ve pledged or donated more than $200 million worldwide to support Amboseli Primary School the education of young people and the Total Donations: $213,001 preservation of international treasures This primary school has transformed from a low- and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and performing school to the third-ranked primary the conservation of natural resources for school in Kenya. With the support of GCF, the school future generations. has built a new well, irrigated a garden that grows fruit trees and vegetables, installed a solar-powered Of course, none of this would be possible electric fence to protect the children and teachers without your help. A portion of the proceeds from elephants, built a new dormitory for girls, and of every adventure is donated to Grand renovated the kitchen. Recently, the Amboseli Lewis Circle Foundation—so just as your life will Secondary School was built to make a secondary be enriched by the discoveries you’ll make education accessible to more students. on your journey, you’ll also help to enrich the lives of the people you’ll meet along the Kenya Scholarship Fund way. Thank you for traveling with us, and Total Donations: $109,100 GCF supports 16 children on a variety of for helping to change people’s lives. scholarships in Kenya, who are in schools spread Love and peace, across a 200 mile radius. In addition to funding school fees and providing uniforms, writing utensils, and work books, the scholarships also Harriet R. Lewis fund personal items like soap, laundry detergent, Chair, Grand Circle Foundation undergarments, and shoes to ensure that the children can focus on their studies without worrying about these basic necessities.

SCAN ME See how Grand Circle Foundation is giving back in this video Open the camera feature on your mobile device, and hover the lens over this code to scan it. A pop-up notification will take you directly to the video.

www.grandcirclefoundation.org

8 THE LEADER IN SOLO TRAVEL in Kenya & Tanzania—and Around the World

ON THIS ADVENTURE …

FREE Single Supplements: We don’t charge The leader in solo-friendly a single supplement on this adventure travel for Americans— and optional trip extensions—a savings by the numbers of $850-$1,295 per person compared to other travel companies. But single spaces fill quickly, so early reservations More than 50% of all O.A.T. are advised. travelers are women who travel solo

One of our most popular trips for solo travelers. More than 700 solo travelers In 2022, we’re offering 30,000 joined us on this adventure in the past two singles spaces across all O.A.T. years—either independently or sharing adventures. That’s 86% more than a room with a mother, daughter, sister, offered in 2019 or friend.

of our 30,000 single spaces High ratings: More than 88% of these solo 92% have FREE Single Supplements. The travelers rated their adventure excellent. remaining 8% have the lowest single On average, half of your group will also supplements in the industry. be traveling independently, so it’s easy to forge special bonds as you experience In 2022, we’re offering 25 exclusive unforgettable moments together. women’s departures on some of our most popular itineraries You’ll be in good hands, thanks to your dedicated local Trip Experience Leader (a resident of Kenya or Tanzania), and the expertise of our regional office team NEW! 101+ SCAN ME in Arusha. Tips for Solo Increased Single Space: In 2022, we have Women Travelers 78% more single spaces than in 2019, This complimentary, 96-page with up to 3 single spaces per departure. booklet is a comprehensive collection of savvy tips See available FREE single space at specifically for seasoned women www.oattravel.com/ktz2022. travelers going solo. Learn about safety for solos, packing like a pro, the best travel apps, self-care on the road, and more. Scan this code to view an online copy or to request one by mail.

9 New Adventure Savings: $500 per couple on ANY 2022 departure New! Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti Small Group Adventure Kenya:pÖĢũŋðĢ̇mÖŭÖĢmÖũÖpÖŶĢŋłÖķ˜āŭāũƑā̇ĿðŋŭāķĢ̳Ά̳Tanzania: Tarangire, Ngorongoro Highlands & Crater, Serengeti National Park

Countries: 2 ΆpÖŶĢŋłÖķ”ÖũĴŭ̆4Ά14̵pĢėĞŶŭRł¦āłŶāù!ÖĿťŭłùdŋùėāŭ

Small groups: 8-13 travelers—guaranteed! It’s Included (average of 12)

Explore in a small group of 8-13 29 small group activities, including up FROM PER DAY DAYS • • travelers (average group size of 12) to 15 game-viewing drives and walks $ $ 7095 374 19 • International airfare, airport transfers, • Services of a local O.A.T. Trip government taxes, fees, and airline fuel Experience Leader and driver-guides Including international airfare surcharges unless you choose to make Gratuities for local guides, drivers, your own air arrangements • FREE Single Supplement lodge and camp staff, driver-guides, • All land transportation and and luggage porters 3 internal flights • 5% Frequent Traveler Credit Maximize Your • Accommodations for 17 nights toward your next adventure—an average of $480 Discoveries & Value • 50 meals—17 breakfasts, 17 lunches, and 16 dinners Optional extension s : New! Rwanda: Gorilla Trekking & SCAN ME Rebirth of a Nation Watch our #1 most popular video 4 nights pre-trip from $3795 Travel from only $949 per night for this adventure Open the camera feature on your mobile device, and hover New! Mount Kenya National Park & the lens over this code to scan it. A pop-up notification will Sweetwaters Game Reserve take you directly to the video. 6 nights pre-trip from $2095 Travel from only $350 per night New! Uganda: The Pearl of Africa Revealed 5 nights post-trip from $2995 Travel from only $599 per night New! Southern Kenya: Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary & Mombasa’s Maritime Coast 6 nights post-trip from $2395 Travel from only $400 per night PLUS, see Dates & Prices for Stopover city options

Maasai women in a traditional mud hut, Kenya

Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti

10 Y Itinerary Summary Nairobi Lake E L

Masai Mara L Victoria National Reserve Pre-trip extensions: New! 4 nights in A V KENYA SERENGETI Rwanda: Gorilla Trekking & Rebirth of a NATIONAL T PARK F Nation OR New! 6 nights in Mount Kenya I Amboseli R N.P. National Park & Sweetwaters Game Reserve PRE-TRIP EXTENSIONS T UGANDA A D.R.C. E R POST-TRIP EXTENSIONS DAYS DESTINATION Mtn. Gorilla View Lodge Ngorongoro Mount . G C Murchison Falls N.P. Ruhengeri Crater Kilimanjaro . Mto Wa Mbu R VOLCANOES Karatu Arusha . Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary A D 1 Fly to Nairobi, Kenya NAT. PARK D A D Lake Eyasi A N A N G W U KENYA Lake R To Entebbe Kiva Nairobi Tarangire National Park 2-4 Nairobi Kigali Lake From Victoria Serengeti N.P. OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY TANZANIA From 5-7 Fly to Masai Mara National Serengeti Nanyuki N.P. KENYA Reserve Sweetwaters MOUNT G.R. Taita Hills KENYA To/From U.S. Arusha N.P. Internal flight n 8-9 Fly to Amboseli Mombasa a n KENYA Land route i TANZANIA a 060Miles d e To/from n c Nairobi Wasini Island I O 10-11 Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

What to Expect 12-14 Karatu

15-18 Serengeti National Park

19 Fly to Arusha • Return to U.S. Pacing: 6 locations in 18 days Physical Requirements: Travel over bumpy, dusty terrain during overland Post-trip extensions: New! 5 nights in transfers and game-viewing drives. There are several 8-10 hour days in Uganda: The Pearl of Africa Revealed OR safari vehicles. New! 6 nights in Southern Kenya: Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary & Mombasa’s Flight time: Travel time will be 10-23 hours and will most likely have one or Maritime Coast two connections

View all physical requirements at www.oattravel.com/ktz2022

Arrive Early, Stay Later Kenya & Tanzania: The O.A.T. Difference Prices below include accommodations, daily breakfast, and private airport transfer. Unbeatable Value: Travel at the lowest price and per diems in the industry. • Arrive early in Nairobi on your main trip People-to-People Experiences: Experience A Day in the Life of the residents or your Mount Kenya pre-trip extension of a Maasai village in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, where you’ll for $75 per person, per night participate in daily activities with members of the tribe, such as dancing, • Arrive early in Kigali on your Rwanda tending to livestock, and performing maintenance on huts. Plus, head to pre-trip extension for $100 per person, Tanzania’s Karatu district to visit the agricultural village of Mto Wa Mbu, per night where you’ll see how banana beer is produced. • Conclude your main trip with more time in Arusha for $75 per person, per night O.A.T. Exclusives: Meet with members of two neighboring Tanzanian • Spend more time in Entebbe after your tribes—the Datoga and Hadzabe—whose roots stretch back thousands of Uganda post-trip extension for $150 per years, and visit a local primary school in Kenya, which is supported in part person, per night by Grand Circle Foundation. • Spend more time in Mombasa after your Southern Kenya post-trip extension for $100 per person, per night

Information & Reservations 1-800-955-1925 www.oattravel.com/ktz2022

11 Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti

YOUR DETAILED ITINERARY

BEGIN YOUR ADVENTURE WITH AN OPTIONAL PRE-TRIP EXTENSION 4 nights in Rwanda: Gorilla Trekking & Rebirth of a Nation

Day 1 Fly to Kigali, Rwanda Day 4 Explore Kigali • Visit Genocide Memorial • Overland to Ruhengeri Day 2 Arrive Kigali, Rwanda Day 5 Mountain gorilla trek Day 3 Nyamata Church Memorial • Visit Reconciliation Village Day 6 Local beer factory visit • Meet a local family • Fly to Nairobi, Kenya

OR 6 nights in Mount Kenya National Park & Sweetwaters Game Reserve

Day 1 Depart U.S. Day 5 Transfer to Sweetwaters Game Reserve • Afternoon game-viewing drive Day 2 Arrive in Amsterdam and fly to Nairobi, Kenya Day 6 Morning game-viewing drive • Tour Goodall Chimpanzee Sanctuary • Night Day 3 Fly to Mount Kenya • Walk to a game-viewing drive local village Day 7 Morning game-viewing drive • Fly Day 4 Mount Kenya National Park to Nairobi nature walk

Day 1 Fly to Amsterdam, the Netherlands Day 2 Fly to Nairobi, Kenya

You depart today on your overnight flight from • Destination: Nairobi the U.S. to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. • Accommodations: Eka Hotel or similar Evening: You’ll touch down in Kenya’s capital city around 9:30pm. Your Trip Experience Leader will meet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel via minibus—a transfer of about 30 minutes, depending on traffic. Here

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-955-1925

12 we’ll be joined by travelers who took our • Tour Kiambethu Farm: Located on lush optional pre-trip extensions, New! Rwanda: green hills, tour the home of AB McDonell, Gorilla Trekking & Rebirth of a Nation or New! who pioneered tea cultivation in Kenya in Mount Kenya National Park & Sweetwaters the early 20th century. Walk through the Game Reserve. indigenous forest with a resident Kenyan guide and wander through pristine gardens Upon arrival, you will check in and receive while keeping an eye out for colobus monkeys your room assignment. Depending on where before sitting down in the restored house for we stay for the next three nights, our hotel lunch. Dine on a three-course meal made may be in close proximity to Nairobi National with fresh ingredients from the garden. And, Park. On-site amenities may include a depending on the season, you may also have swimming pool, spa, bar, and fitness center; the chance to interact with tea pickers to its restaurant serves local African cuisine, learn about their livelihood and how tea has including vegetarian options. Your room is become a major economic contributor here. likely to feature a TV, wireless Internet, and Typically, travelers spend around two to three private bath. hours here. The rest of the night is yours, with the freedom • How to get there: A 50- to 60-minute taxi to either explore the hotel grounds or rest after ride, about $30 USD one way. the long journey to Africa. • Hours: Tours begin at 11am, Tuesday-Sunday. Freedom To Explore: During your two days • Cost: About $34 USD. in Nairobi, you have the freedom to explore this capital city on your own during your free • Visit the Karen Blixen Museum to learn about time. Below are a few recommended options for the prolific author: Venture to the home of independent exploration: Danish author Karen Blixen, located just outside of Nairobi at the foot of the Ngong • Visit the Nairobi National Museum: Located Hills. Blixen is famous for her 1937 book Out of in an expansive modern structure, you’ll Africa which chronicles life at her estate. The glimpse a collection of artifacts including the bungalow-style house features both original Birds of East Africa exhibit boasting more decor and props from the 1985 film starring than 900 stuffed specimens and the Cradle of the legendary Meryl Strep and Klaus Maria Humankind collection, the most important Brandauer. Plan to spend approximately 1 display of early human fossils and skulls in hour here. the world. You may choose to enjoy a guided • How to get there: A 50- to 60-minute taxi tour of the museum or explore on your own, ride, about $30 USD one way. but no matter how you choose to experience • Hours: 8am-5pm, daily. it, you’ll gain deep insight into the history, • Cost: About $15 USD. wildlife, art, and culture of Nairobi. We recommend you spend around 1.5 hours here. • How to get there: A 40- to 50-minute taxi ride, about $25 USD one way. • Hours: 8:30am-5:30pm, daily. • Cost: About $12 USD.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-955-1925

13 Day 3 Visit the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant mothers, work together to produce handmade Orphanage & Kazuri Bead Factory beads, pottery, and jewelry that gets exported to more than 20 countries around the world. • Destination: Nairobi Kazuri, Swahili for “small and beautiful,” aptly • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner describes the precise, detailed work undertaken • Accommodations: Eka Hotel or similar by these skilled artisans, and our small group Breakfast: Served as a full English/Irish size will give us the opportunity to witness their breakfast at the hotel beginning at 7am. process firsthand. Perhaps you’ll try your own hand at this craft and make something. Morning: Around 9am, we’ll meet with our Trip Experience Leader for a welcome briefing We’ll return to our bus around 3:30pm for a at the hotel. During this briefing, we will 30-minute ride back to our hotel. Upon arrival, review our itinerary in more detail (including the rest of the afternoon is yours for relaxation, any changes that may need to occur). Our Trip or you’re free to embark on some independent Experience Leader will also discuss logistics, discoveries. Perhaps you’ll continue to explore safety and emergency procedures, and answer the neighborhood by foot, or even travel to the questions we may have. After about an hour, Nairobi city center aboard a matatu, one of the we’ll embark on a 20-minute walk around the colorfully decorated minibuses used by locals to hotel and surrounding area. This gives us a get around town. We’ll reconvene at the hotel chance to get acclimated, find an ATM, or seek around 6:30pm to make the 15-minute bus ride out a local market. to a local restaurant.

We’ll board our bus at about 10:30am to Dinner: Around 7pm at Nairobi’s open-air embark on the day’s discoveries. Our first Carnivore restaurant for a Welcome Dinner. stop, a 30-minute ride away, is the Daphne Kenya’s famous nyama choma (barbecued Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Since 1977, this meat) is served on an all-you-can-eat basis, organization has worked to rescue more than and carved right at your table. Dinner includes 150 distressed, orphaned elephants—many of a variety of meats, including ostrich, camel, whom face slim chances of survival in the wild. crocodile, and the more standard beef, chicken, Our small group size gives us the opportunity and pork. An appetizer, main course, and to discuss the work of the orphanage with dessert will be served with your choice of members of its team during our 1-hour visit. In bottled water, soft drink, glass of beer, or wine. addition to learning about their conservation Evening: Following dinner around 8:15pm, and rehabilitation efforts, we’ll hear about we’ll board our bus and drive 15 minutes back how they gradually introduce rehabilitated to the hotel. The remainder of the evening is elephants back into the wild. We’ll depart the on your own. orphanage around noon, and ride another 45 minutes to reach our lunch spot.

Lunch: Around 1pm at a local restaurant, featuring a selection of regional and Western dishes.

Afternoon: Shortly before 2pm, we’ll drive about 15 minutes to the Kazuri bead factory. More than 300 local women, most single

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-955-1925

14 Day 4 Kibera slums visit • Controversial we meet residents during our exploration, we’ll Topic: The politicization of the hear their candid perspectives and develop a Kibera Slums with Julia Kamau • Visit better understanding about life here. Giraffe Center Around 10:30am, we’ll visit the home of • Destination: Nairobi 38-year-old resident Julia Kamau, a ward • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner representative and political activist, with • Accommodations: Eka Hotel or similar whom we’ll discuss the Controversial Topic of political influence in Kibera. When Julia is Exclusive O.A.T. Activity: Today’s activities not available, we’ll meet with another Kibera include the Controversial Topic of the resident. For more than fifteen years, Kenya’s political movement in the Kibera Slums, one Orange Democratic Movement (ODM)—a of the largest urban slums in Africa. Led by center-left party—has fought to gain traction slum resident and activist Julia Kamau, we’ll against the conservative ruling party, and their examine the ties between the opposition party, persistence appears to be paying off. But many the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), feel this momentum is at the expense of those and Kibera, as well as learn about daily life who are making it all possible: the residents of for those who live in this poverty-stricken Kibera. Critics also take issue with the morality division of Nairobi. Read more about this of the party’s controversial methods. Our conversation below. conversation today will explore the political Activity Note: Today we’ll spend time in one influence over the slums and the growing of Africa’s largest slums—where you’ll be concerns surrounding it. exposed to scenes of extreme poverty that may ODM emerged as a major opposition party in be difficult for some travelers to witness. Come 2005 after Kenya’s constitution referendum, prepared with an open mind to all these new which deliberated the proposal of a new experiences. constitution. Among other amendments, the Breakfast: Served at the hotel from 6am-9am. constitution would grant more power to the president—a move that seemingly concerned Morning: Shortly after 9am, we’ll drive 30 the masses, including ODM supporters. The minutes to witness daily life in Kibera, one referendum involved a paper ballot, on which of the largest slums in Africa. Reports offer “yes” was represented by a banana and “no” drastically different takes on precisely how was signified by an orange. The proposal many people call the one square mile district was rejected with more than 58% of the home—estimates range around one million or vote. Shortly after, the “Orange Democratic more—but what is undisputable is the extreme Movement” was aptly named to symbolize poverty in which most of its residents live. this rebuke of the president and all his party Upon arrival, a local guide from Kibera will lead represents. our small group around the slum. Our group size gives us the opportunity to walk through Kibera is home to more than 40% of the this densely populated and compact maze population of Nairobi—the majority of whom of narrow foot paths, where tin-roofed mud avidly support ODM, making it a crucial party houses lack electricity and running water. As stronghold. Over the decades, ODM politicians have seized on this loyalty, regularly bribing supporters into inciting violence as a means

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15 of destabilizing the ruling party. Kibera at the (fittingly named) Giraffe Center for residents—particularly children—are enticed about 1.5 hours. Distinct to Kenya and Uganda, with money, food, clothing, and life-saving only about 2,000 of this endangered giraffe supplies in exchange for committing these subspecies lives in the wild today. The Giraffe illicit acts, fervently believing they are doing it Center’s mission is to protect and populate for the good of their family and country. Most the species, in an effort to save them from of these children come from families who earn distinction. It also provides visitors the unique less than $1 USD a day, if their parents are opportunity to view the giraffes up close. even employed, and many lack access to basic During our visit, we’ll have the chance to see services like medical care, education, and clean the Rothschilds’ bronze patches, creamy white water. With a mortality rate high above the legs, and towering height—sometimes up to 19 national average, it’s possible to understand feet, they are among the tallest in the giraffe how these dealings are viewed as mutually family. After our discoveries here, we’ll depart beneficial by young Kibera residents—for some, around 3:15pm and drive about 45 minutes back it’s even enough to keep them living in Kibera, to our hotel. although they might have the opportunity to After arriving around 4pm, we’ll have about 2.5 move elsewhere. hours of free time. You may choose to settle into Despite raising serious questions pertaining your room, take a dip in the pool, or ask your to the party’s methods, the majority of Kibera Trip Experience Leader for more insight into residents agree with Julia: the conservative Kibera’s long history. Perhaps you’ll venture to ruling party is far more of a threat, and a local mall lined with bars and shops. therefore, they continue to support ODM. We’ll Dinner: Around 6:30pm at the hotel, featuring hear from Julia for about 20 minutes on ODM traditional and Western dishes. and these controversial issues before opening up the conversation to a 40-minute Q&A. Evening: On your own. You’re free to remain This may be a difficult conversation for some on the hotel grounds, or explore more of the travelers, as it deals with severe poverty and city at night. political corruption. Approach the discourse with an open mind, and take this opportunity Day 5 Fly to Masai Mara National Reserve • to ask any questions you might have. Perhaps Afternoon game-viewing drive you’ll inquire about Julia’s activism work, or maybe you’d like to know if she believes ODM • Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve will one day overtake the ruling party. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Accommodations: Sentrim Masai Mara At about 11:30am, we’ll bid farewell to our Lodge or similar host and drive 30 minutes to our lunch spot for the day. Activity Note: You will have a very early wake up call this morning in order to catch your Lunch: Around 12:15pm at a local restaurant in flight to Masai Mara. Nairobi, featuring regional specialties. Breakfast: Served buffet-style at our lodge Afternoon: At about 1:15pm, we’ll board from 5am-6am, with a selection of hot dishes our bus and depart for an approximately as well as fresh fruit. 10-minute drive, arriving at about 1:30pm to behold the majesty of the Rothschild giraffe

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16 Morning: We depart via bus today around early in the morning (with a 6am wake-up call). 6am, on an approximately 30-minute drive We’ll pause for lunch along the way, and return to the airport. We’ll arrive at the airport and to our lodge at about 3pm. When dressing for depart around 8am for our flight on a small game-viewing drives, keep in mind that neutral aircraft to the Masai Mara. When we land at earth tones (browns, tans, greys, or greens) are about 9:30am, we’ll board closed safari vehicles usually best—blue or black clothing should be and drive about 2 hours to our lodge, enjoying avoided in certain areas as they attract tsetse game-viewing en route. Depending on exactly flies. And while temperatures vary greatly where we stay, our lodge is likely to feature a depending on the time of year, the air is usually reception area, restaurant, bar, and lounge. cool on early-morning drives, so you may wish Each tent may feature an en suite bath, hot to dress in layers to stay warm. shower, and a private balcony with views of the Breakfast: Served buffet-style at our lodge surrounding hills and wildlife. from 6am-7am, with a selection of hot and cold Lunch: At our lodge around noon, dishes as well as fresh fruit. featuring a mix of regionally-inspired and Morning: Shortly after 7am, we’ll break into Western options. smaller groups and board our safari vehicles, Afternoon: Following lunch, you will have departing on a full-day game-viewing about two hours of free time to settle into your excursion. The Mara is considered one of the rooms or explore the lodge’s surroundings. great natural wonders of Africa. Perhaps we’ll Then, at about 3pm, we’ll enjoy an afternoon see great herds of elephants foraging among game-viewing drive, in search of even more the clumps of trees that dot the grasslands, wildlife. We’ll return to our lodge around 6pm. or large predators such as lions and leopards. We’ll also keep our eyes peeled for crocodiles Dinner: Served at our lodge around 6:30pm, lingering on the riverbanks looking for unwary featuring a mix of regionally-inspired and prey, or wildebeest and zebra migrating Western options. through the plains. Evening: You are free to remain in the lodge’s Lunch: We’ll enjoy a picnic lunch, which bar area for a night cap, or retire to your room may feature a sandwich, fruit, dessert, and to relax before tomorrow’s day of discoveries. juice, around noon, where you’ll have time to relax and recap your discoveries with fellow Day 6 Game-viewing drives in Masai Mara travelers. National Reserve Afternoon: We’ll continue our exploration • Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve around 1:15pm as we resume our game-viewing • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner drive for about three more hours. We’ll return • Accommodations: Sentrim Masai Mara to our camp around 3pm for some time to relax Lodge or similar before dinner. Activity Note: Today we will experience a full Dinner: At our lodge around 6:30pm, day of game-viewing in Masai Mara National featuring a mix of regionally-inspired and Reserve over roads that may be bumpy or Western options. uneven. Drier weather may cause roads to be dusty, and you may wish to cover your face. Like many of our days here in Africa, it begins

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17 Evening: You are free to remain in the lodge’s Morning: If you elected not to join this bar area for a night cap, chat with fellow morning’s optional tour, you will follow a travelers about various highlights from the similar plan as yesterday, departing around day, or retire to your room to relax before 7:15am for a day of game-viewing. If you took tomorrow’s day of discoveries. the optional tour, we’ll meet up with the rest of the group for another game viewing drive. Day 7 Game-viewing drives in Masai Mara Or, we may depart on safari vehicles to drive National Reserve • Optional Sunrise Safari back to camp depending on the situation on & Hot Air Balloon Ride tour the ground. • Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve Lunch: At our lodge around noon, • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner featuring a mix of regionally-inspired and • Accommodations: Sentrim Masai Mara Western options. Lodge or similar Afternoon: Following lunch around 1pm, you Activity Note: If you’d like to take the optional will have about two hours of free time. Perhaps balloon bide, you must reserve it at least 45 you’ll compare notes about your morning days prior to departure. Prices are subject to discoveries with fellow travelers. Then, around change. We’ll rise around 5am and enjoy tea 3:45pm, we’ll head out on our safari vehicles and coffee at the camp before setting off in for our afternoon game-viewing drive. We’ll safari vehicles around 5:30am for a pre-dawn spend about two hours exploring the African game-viewing drive on the way to the bush this afternoon. All of the “Big Five” hot-air balloon. roam here, but there are especially notable populations of lions, leopards, and cheetah Early morning: If you’d like, you’re free to join year-round. During the annual migration, the our optional Sunrise Safari & Hot Air Balloon Ride wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson’s gazelles tour early this morning. We’ll rise around 5am number in the tens of thousands. We’ll return and enjoy tea and coffee at the camp before back to our lodge around 6pm. setting off in safari vehicles around 5:30am for a pre-dawn game-viewing drive on the way Dinner: At our lodge around 7pm, to the hot-air balloon. Then around 6:30am, featuring a mix of regionally-inspired and catch the sweeping vista of the morning light Western options. over Masai Mara. View the game reserve from Evening: You are free to remain in the a bird’s-eye perspective as you gently float for lodge’s bar area and discuss highlights an hour over the grassy plains. Around 8:30am, from your pre-trip extension, toast to the we’ll celebrate with a sparkling-wine breakfast, discoveries you’ve made, or retire to your including options like fruits, pastries, eggs, room to relax before beginning your main sausage, and bacon. adventure tomorrow. Breakfast: For travelers not taking the optional tour, a packed breakfast featuring items like boiled eggs, sausages, bacon, bread, fruits, and vegetables will be served en route to this morning’s game-viewing drive.

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18 Day 8 Fly to Amboseli • Game-viewing in Lunch: Enjoy a packed lunch en route to our Amboseli National Park lodge, at your convenience. • Destination: Amboseli National Park Afternoon: Upon arrival, we’ll be introduced • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner to our camp’s amenities, which may include • Accommodations: Sentrim Amboseli Tented panoramic views of our surroundings, with Camp or similar ideal access to game-viewing and convenient amenities, including a swimming pool, Activity Note: This morning will include bookshop, restaurant, and a bar and lounge. about a 5-hour drive in our safari vehicles Your tent may include a secluded veranda, fan, over occasionally bumpy and uneven coffee- and tea-making facilities, and a private roads, in addition to about three hours of bath with a hot shower and hair dryer. You may game-viewing drives. enjoy a a couple hours of free time to settle in Breakfast: Served buffet-style at our lodge and familiarize yourself with the lodge. from 6am-7am, with a selection of hot and cold Dinner: Served at our camp’s main restaurant dishes as well as fresh fruit. around 7pm. Dinner usually features a choice Morning: Departing shortly after 7am, we’ll of entrees (fish, meat, and vegetarian options), board our safari vehicles and drive about 1.5 along with regionally inspired side dishes that hours to the airport to catch about a 45-minute utilize fresh local ingredients. flight just before 9am to Nairobi. Once we Evening: All evenings at our tented camp are land, we’ll transfer about 5 hours via 4x4 free for you to relax in your room, linger in the vehicles to our lodge, arriving around 5pm. bar for a night cap, or sit by the fire with your Set on the border of Tanzania and in the fellow travelers. shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli is a bird-watcher’s paradise: It shelters more than A Day in the Life 400 bird species, including pelicans, flamingos, Day 9 of a Maasai village Controversial Topic: kingfishers, and ibis. We may see some of these • Female genital avian wonders while we take in the view of the mutilation with Chief Joseph Metapash sweeping savanna. & female educator Ana Zakayo • Grand Circle Foundation visit: Amboseli And while the region’s birdlife is abundant, Primary School • Afternoon game-viewing elephants are by far the kings of this park. in Amboseli National Park Said to be among the largest in the country, Amboseli’s elephants are fond of the swamps: • Destination: Amboseli National Park Here they share the cool waters with hippos • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner that often hide from view beneath the papyrus. • Accommodations: Sentrim Amboseli Tented Along our drive, our Trip Experience Leader Camp or similar and driver-guides will show us how to detect Exclusive O.A.T. Activities: Today’s activities the elusive wildlife in our midst, in addition to feature A Day in the Life of a Maasai village, pointing out other highlights of this vibrant providing an intimate glimpse into the ecosystem. Perhaps we’ll glimpse some of day-to-day lives of one of Kenya’s most Amboseli’s large wildebeest and Burchell’s iconic ethnic groups. During our visit, zebra populations as we drive. we’ll get to know the villagers, take part in insightful conversations, and participate

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19 in daily activities, like milking cows or Joseph Metapash, the 56-year-old tribal wearing traditional dress. We’ll also sit leader. The chief resides here with his wives, 13 down with village chief, Joseph Metapash, children, and 4 grandchildren. As the oldest of and tribeswoman, Ana Zakayo, to discuss his siblings, he inherited the throne from his the Controversial Topic of female genital father, a position which requires him to oversee mutilation, a common practice here in the everything that happens in the village—from Maasai village. Finally, we’ll visit a local mediating conflicts between tribespeople to primary school—supported in part by Grand determining where they will live and acting as Circle Foundation since 2010. With our the sole governing body of the community. He travelers’ help, Grand Circle Foundation has makes a living from selling livestock at auction donated more than $213,000 to Amboseli markets, and his wives also sell beadwork. Primary School to date. During our visit, we’ll In addition to meeting the chief, you’ll have get to know some of the teachers and students, ample opportunities to make connections as well as ask any questions we may have about with the warm and spirited Maasai people education in Kenya. Read more about these over casual conversation, throughout daily activities below. activities, or during a vibrant traditional dance Breakfast: Served buffet-style in the camp’s celebration. If you’d like, you may choose to main restaurant, beginning at 6am, with bring a small trinket from your hometown to Western and Kenyan options available. share with our hosts: A postcard, photo, or map is a wonderful way to convey the great distance Morning: Around 7am, we’ll drive 10 minutes you traveled to participate in this special day. in our safari vehicles to experience A Day in the Life of a Maasai village here in Amboseli At about 9:15am, we’ll sit down with Chief National Park. Thanks to our small group Metapash and one of the tribeswomen, Ana size, we’re able to not only witness Maasai Zakayo, to discuss the Controversial Topic village life, but also participate in it. Upon of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the arrival, we’ll be greeted by an enthusiastic Maasai community, a ritual practiced for community of Maasai villagers and treated to centuries. FGM involves injury to or partial or a display of color and detail. The Maasai are a total removal of external female genitalia for nomadic community known for their vibrant non-medical reasons. Considered a tradition, clothing and ornate, beaded body decoration. the procedure is commonly found throughout Attire says much about the person wearing it: sub-Saharan Africa, but is also prevalent in Color choices tend to vary by age and location, some Arab states and select Asian, Eastern and the accessories worn offer context into European, and Latin American countries. For a person’s personality and position within the Maasai, female circumcision signifies the village. the girl’s passage to adulthood and usually takes place prior to marriage, which is often During our 3-hour visit, we’ll learn more about sponsored by their prospective suitor. During how they tend their livestock, make natural our conversation, we’ll glean insight into the medicine, and create their ceremonial dress, as history of this contentious ritual—a history well as take part in these daily activities—from proudly defended by the chief—and we’ll also milking the cows or plastering a home to learn from Ana why many are calling for an end jumping into ceremonial rituals. We’ll also to it (when Ana is unavailable, we will meet get an introduction to the village with Chief with another FGM activist).

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20 Ana, 42 years old, is intimately familiar with to feed them, so in many cases their only FGM because she was forced to undergo the option is to marry them off at a young age. procedure prior to marrying her husband, Furthermore, the Maasai are a patriarchal Thomas. Her trauma eventually led her to society, which means that unless all the men begin educating tribespeople about the harmful agree to abolish the tradition, it’s here to stay. effects, and today, she continues speaking Therefore, even if the girl does not want to be out against the practice. Ana and her husband circumcised, immense social pressure leaves have six children, two of whom are girls, and her with no choice. thanks to their mother’s efforts, they have not Today’s conversation will address a complex been subjected to this controversial tradition. and emotionally charged subject here in Africa. Progress is slow, but as we’ll learn, Ana believes The topic is layered with sensitive cultural closing the education gap is key. elements, which may lead to conversations It’s impossible to say precisely when FGM that some travelers find difficult. Approach became an integral part of Maasai culture; the conversation as a unique and respectful however, there is one myth that sheds light discourse. After hearing both sides of the issue on its origin. Folklore describes a young for about 20 minutes, the conversation will girl—Naipei—who had intercourse with the open up to a 40-minute Q&A session, giving enemy of her family. Her punishment for this us the opportunity to probe deeper into this crime was circumcision, a decision intended delicate issue. to erase her sexual urges. In the Maasai Around 10:15am, we’ll bid farewell to our hosts community, the men are polygamous, and and walk 10 minutes to the government-run they believe that in order for this custom to be village school, Amboseli Primary—supported successful, women should be devoid of sexual in part by Grand Circle Foundation since 2010 pleasure so that they won’t commit adultery. (depending on class schedules, some travelers Furthermore, a girl won’t be considered may visit another school that also receives a woman if she is not circumcised, which support from Grand Circle Foundation). prevents her from participating in community events, getting married, or even being socially Grand Circle Foundation accepted. Amboseli Primary School FGM is technically illegal in Kenya, but as 40% Total donated: $213,500 of tribes are polygamous, it is still carried out Partner since: 2010 regularly and discreetly. In fact, it’s estimated that approximately 900 girls between the With our travelers’ help, Grand Circle ages of 14-30 are circumcised every year. Foundation has donated more than $213,000 Even as more tribespeople recognize the to Amboseli Primary School to date, providing dangers—some of which include infection, increased security and various renovations to higher risk of STDs, anemia, psychological the property. When school is in session, we’ll damage, and even death—the Maasai are slow meet up with local children en route class—who to evolve on the issue for a variety of reasons. range in age from 5-14—and accompany them First, their nomadic lifestyle largely shields on their commute. them from outside influence. Also, many Upon our arrival around 10:30am, we’ll speak Maasai families cannot afford schooling for with the school’s head teacher, 57-year-old their daughters, and some can’t even manage Joyce Lemerei, to learn more about the unique

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21 challenges of life here—including elephants rare serval cat. Here in Amboseli, we’re also who have been known to stroll school grounds well-positioned to spot older “tuskers”: due to close proximity to Amboseli National Because the park’s elephants are almost Park. Thanks to Grand Circle Foundation, constantly tracked by researchers, they were however, the installation of a solar-powered able to escape the ravages of poaching when electric fence has kept the school community it was on the rise during the 1980s. And as much safer from these dangerous encounters. we ride, you may find yourself especially fascinated by the abundant birdlife, from the Then, around 11am, we’ll meet even more of the colorful little lilac-breasted roller and comical school’s more than 600 students and take part guinea fowl to graceful hawks and eagles. in daily activities, like singing and practicing English. Take this opportunity to interact with Upon our return to the camp around 6:30pm, the children and get to know them. You might you will have about 30 minutes to relax even wish to bring them a little trinket from before dinner. home or perhaps some school supplies, such as Dinner: Around 7pm in the camp’s main pencils, paper, or a backpack. restaurant, featuring hot and cold items. Next, we’ll gather in the school library to meet Evening: Your evening is free to linger by the with some of the other teachers—there are 8 in campfire and enjoy a nightcap or return to total. Take this time to ask any questions you your tent. may have about education in this part of Kenya. Perhaps you’ll ask about the affordability of schooling, or maybe you’re curious to Day 10 Overland to Tarangire National know more about the challenges faced by the Park, Tanzania via Arusha teachers. After our conversation, we’ll join the • Destination: Tarangire National children in playing games and sports on the Park, Tanzania playground. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Departing the school around 12:15pm, we’ll • Accommodations: Tarangire Simba Lodge make the 15-minute drive back to camp—with or similar enough time to relax before lunch. Activity Note: Today includes a total of about seven and a half hours of travel (with stops Lunch: Around 1pm in the camp’s main along the way) over roads that may be bumpy restaurant, featuring hot and cold items. or uneven. Afternoon: After lunch, you will have about Breakfast: Served buffet-style in the camp’s 2 hours of free time to enjoy our camp main restaurant, beginning at 6am, with amenities and reflect upon our village visit. Western and Kenyan options available. We’ll then regroup around 4pm for a 2.5-hour game-viewing drive within the park. As we Morning: Around 7:15am, we’ll depart for set out in our safari vehicles, look for the the Kenya-Tanzania border, enjoying a elusive gerenuk, a delicate antelope with game-viewing drive en route. We’ll drive a long, giraffe-like neck that enables it to by safari vehicles for about 2.5 hours to the reach the middle branches of acacia trees. Tanzania border, arriving around 9:45am. Once We may see families of giraffe, herds of we pass through the border, we will board a bus zebra and antelope—and, if we’re lucky, the and drive about two hours to reach the town

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22 of Arusha, a multicultural hub of activity at Day 11 Game-viewing in Tarangire the base of Mount Meru. We will arrive in time National Park for lunch. • Destination: Tarangire National Park Lunch: Around 12:30pm at the Arusha Coffee • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Lodge—not only one of Tanzania’s oldest • Accommodations: Tarangire Simba Lodge coffee plantations, today it is the largest in or similar the country. Activity Note: Today includes a full day of Afternoon: At about 2pm, we’ll reboard our game-viewing drives. It’s wise to dress in bus to travel overland toward Tarangire layers to be prepared for the chilly morning. National Park, about a 2.5-hour ride to the Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the lodge southwest. We’ll arrive at our lodge around beginning at 7am, with Western and local 4:30pm, at which time we’ll check in and get options available. our tent assignments. We’ll spend the next two nights here, and depending on the location Morning: We’ll break into smaller groups and of our lodge, we may be on the shores of Lake set off for our full-day of game-viewing in our Burunge. Lodge amenities may include a large safari vehicles a little after 8am. As we travel dining room, outdoor dining deck, bar, and toward the park, our Trip Experience Leader swimming pools; and your classic safari tent, and driver-guides will help set the stage for erected upon a wooden platform, may feature a what awaits us inside—a diverse landscape private deck and basic amenities, including en with a variety of wildlife. Of particular note is suite toilet facilities. the birdlife: Tarangire is home to the largest concentration of breeding bird species in Around 5pm, you’re welcome to join your Trip the world. Experience Leader for an optional guided walk around your surroundings, which will set the Our driver-guides and Trip Experience Leader stage for the discoveries that await us here. have extensive knowledge of the native animals Tarangire features nine distinct vegetation and their behavior, and they’ll point out to us zones—ranging from grassland to woodland, the wildlife on display as we drive. The flora is from deep gully vegetation to scattered rocky similarly dramatic here, as we take in sweeping hilltops. views of the baobab tree-dotted landscape. Known as the “Tree of Life,” these trees can Dinner: Around 7pm in the lodge dining room, provide shelter, food, and water to animals featuring Western and regional items. and humans. In fact, every part of the baobab Evening: On your own, with the freedom to tree is valuable from the bark and trunk to the revel in the sounds of an African night, or chat nutrient-packed fruits. The elongated trunk with your fellow travelers. and expansive branches have become a symbol of the African landscape—most notably from Disney’s The Lion King.

Lunch: A picnic boxed lunch, which may feature a sandwich, fruit, dessert, and juice, around noon in the park.

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23 Afternoon: Following lunch around 1pm, we Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the lodge continue our game-viewing into the afternoon, beginning at 6am, with Western and local and we’ll learn about how the commanding options available. Tarangire River serves as the hub for the Morning: We’ll depart our lodge around 8am thriving ecosystem we’re witnessing. The river for a transfer of about 3.5 hours by safari plays a key role in the annual African migration vehicle to the Karatu district—an area we’ll of wildebeest and zebra—and is a critical water be staying in for the next three nights. Along source during the continent’s dry season. In the way, we’ll stop around 10:30am at Mto addition to wildebeest and zebra, Tarangire Wa Mbu Village, a name which translates to hosts Cape buffalo, elephants, giraffe, dik dik, “Mosquito River” due to the permanent water lion, leopard and cheetah—and if we’re lucky, source located here. Situated in the Great Rift we’ll be able to observe them as we explore. Valley between Karatu and Makuyuni, Mto Wa We may also spot the park’s famous termite Mbu is home to around 18,000 people with mounds: Some continue to contain termites, a diversity of tribal backgrounds—in fact, it while others have been taken over by dwarf is believed that this village is one of the only mongooses. We’ll return to our lodge by 4pm, places in Tanzania where representatives and you’ll have about three hours to relax. from all 120 tribes live in harmony. During our Around 5pm, you may choose to set off on time here, we’ll discover the importance of about an hour-long nature walk. Your Trip agriculture to this village, which is known for Experience Leader will point out birds and producing crops like the famous red banana. plants indigenous to the region, and perhaps We’ll also walk to the local market to peruse for you’ll use your scat identification skills you various ingredients, which we will then bring learned earlier in your adventure to discover with us to the home of a local farmer around the habits of local wildlife. 11am. We’ll be welcomed into the farmer’s Dinner: Around 7pm in the lodge, featuring hot home, and meet with his family, which may be and cold items. mutigenerational. Depending on the family, they might work in agriculture, tourism, or Evening: You have the freedom to relax in your perhaps they will be small business owners. tent, or compare safari photographs with your fellow travelers. After our introductions, we’ll gather in the kitchen to observe or help our hosts cook a Day 12 Mto Wa Mbu Village • Village walk • meal using the fresh ingredients we purchased Home Visit • Transfer to Karatu at the market. We may be joined by neighbors or friends, who are also curious to get to know • Destination: Karatu our small group. This is a wonderful time to ask • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner any questions you may have about local culture • Accommodations: Tloma Lodge or similar or cuisine. You may also wish to share a little Activity Note: Today includes a total of about bit about yourself and what brought you to four and a half hours of travel by safari vehicle Tanzania. (with stops along the way) over roads that may Shortly before noon, we’ll have the opportunity be bumpy or uneven. to join our hosts at their dinner table and sample some of the traditional dishes we prepared, including makande (corn, beans,

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24 and various spices) and chapati (flaky, Evening: On your own, with the freedom to layered tortillas). Most of the ingredients we explore the common spaces, or perhaps take a consume—if not all—were grown locally, dip in the pool. making our meal all the more special.

Around noon, we’ll bid farewell to our hosts Day 13 Full-day game-viewing drive in and drive about 1 hour to our lodge in Karatu. Ngorongoro Crater Upon arrival around 1pm, we’ll check in and get • Destination: Karatu our room assignments. Depending on which • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner lodge we stay at, we may spend the next three • Accommodations: Tloma Lodge or similar nights situated in the Ngorongoro Highlands Activity Note: Today’s explorations require an adjacent to a small farming community, with early wake up call of 5:30am, and will include lodge amenities including an onsite restaurant, about eight hours of travel via safari vehicles, gardens, and wireless Internet. Your room often along bumpy and uneven roads. may feature a telephone, fans, and a private en suite bath. Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the lodge beginning at 6am, with Western and Tanzanian Lunch: Around 1pm at our lodge, featuring options available. traditional cuisine. Morning: A little after 7am, we’ll depart on a Afternoon: After, you’ll have about 3 hours to morning game-viewing drive in safari vehicles settle into your room or start exploring on your through the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO own. You may choose to start your explorations World Heritage Site. The crater was formed of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area: Set off on between two and three million years ago, when a nature walk through this massive site to find a volcano exploded and then collapsed into elephant caves, the cave-like formations that itself; today the crater spans about 100 square were created as a result of elephants digging miles. We’ll arrive at the crater around 8am to into the soil. begin our descent down into the center. Then around 5pm, our Trip Experience Leader The name of the crater—and the surrounding will lead us on about a 1.5 hour guided walk region—comes from the Maasai, who were through the village our lodge is situated in: inspired by the sound a cowbell makes, and Tloma. We’ll see locals going about their fossils suggest that animal species have been daily routines, including tending to livestock, on the land for at least three million years. The farming, and building clay bricks. We may even land has been occupied by various tribes of have the opportunity to join in with these locals hunters and gatherers in recent millennia: The during their daily activities, such as tasting Mbulu and Datoga were here until the Maasai local beer at a bar or helping a family feed their took over the land in the 19th century. No cows and prepare a meal. Returning to the lodge Europeans stepped foot in the crater until 1892, around 6pm, you’ll have about 30 minutes to but today it is a popular travel destination for relax before dinner. visitors from all over the world. Dinner: Around 6:30pm in the lodge’s As we drive through the crater, we’ll discover restaurant, featuring hot and cold items. the diverse flora and fauna that make up this vast expanse of highland plains, savanna, savanna woodlands, and forests. The crater is

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25 home to about 25,000 larger animals, among Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the lodge them Cape buffalo, rhinoceros, wildebeest, beginning at 6am, with Western and Tanzanian zebra, and an especially dense population of options available. lions. We’ll spend about five exploring before Morning: We’ll board our safari vehicles we stop for lunch. around 7:15am to embark on a rare opportunity Lunch: Around 1pm, featuring a boxed lunch, made possible by our small group size. This which may feature a sandwich, fruit, dessert, morning, we’ll travel for about two hours to and juice, at a picnic site. Lake Eyasi, where we’ll visit two lesser-known Tanzanian tribes. Afternoon: Around 2:15pm, we’ll begin our climb through the cloud forest and out of the First, we’ll meet the Hadzabe—considered crater floor and drive about 1.5 hours back by some experts to be the oldest continuing to our lodge, arriving around 3:45pm. Upon ethnicity in the world. When we meet tribe arrival, the rest of the afternoon is yours. You’re members around 8:45am, our small group will free to retire to your room or explore the lodge slip into the daily rhythm of the tribe. These grounds by foot. hunter-gatherers have changed very little in 10,000 years and use a clicking-based dialect. Dinner: Around 7pm at the lodge restaurant, While here, we’ll have the unique opportunity featuring hot and cold dishes. to explore the bush on foot with an expert local Evening: On your own, with the freedom to take guide seeking out bird species. in the tranquility of our surroundings on our At about 10:30am, we’ll board our safari final night here in Ngorongoro. vehicles and drive about 20-minutes to meet the Datoga, who also boast a lengthy Day 14 Hadzabe & Datoga village visits • history—it’s believed that the tribe migrated Controversial Topic: Child prostitution here from Cape Horn about 3,000 years ago. in Karatu with brothel owner Martha & Skilled farmers and craftsmen, the Datoga are activist Happiness known for the circular scarification patterns on their faces added for beautification purposes. • Destination: Karatu We’ll spend about an hour immersing ourselves • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner in their tribal culture—maybe even taking part • Accommodations: Tloma Lodge or similar in traditional song and dance. Exclusive O.A.T. Activity: Today’s activities We’ll depart Lake Eyasi around 11:45am, feature the Controversial Topic of child arriving back at our lodge around 1:15pm. prostitution in Karatu, as well as the high rate of HIV infection among sex workers. Led Lunch: Around 1:30pm at the lodge, featuring by brothel owner Martha and hotel manager hot and cold items. Happiness, this affecting conversation explores the social and economic conditions that force Afternoon: Following lunch, you will have many Tanzanian girls to abandon their studies about 2.5 hours of time on your own. You’re free and walk the streets. Read more about this to enjoy the time as you’d like—perhaps you’ll activity below. venture to a waterfall located along the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, or visit the Karatu Activity Note: Today begins especially early, market and mingle with locals. with a 5:30am wake up call.

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26 At about 5pm, we’ll gather back at the lodge Karatu, more than 90% carry the virus. Of those to discuss the Controversial Topic of child who do, most do not receive adequate medical prostitution in Karatu, a topic which also attention, and some are altogether unaware of touches upon the high rate of HIV infection their condition—making it all the more easy in the district. To facilitate, we’ll be joined by to spread. brothel owner, Martha, and hotel manager, Sadly, this epidemic only continues to Happiness, both of whom will provide context worsen: increased tourism leads to a higher as well as opposing perspectives on the subject. demand among hospitality workers for sex Martha is a 32-year-old mother, divorcee, and services—luring more and more children business owner. Though brothels are illegal in into the industry—while a lack of education Tanzania, she discreetly runs this operation in means condoms and other forms of protection the shadow of her guesthouse business. She’s are rarely used. As long as demand stays high also able to evade authorities because a number and people stand to profit off it, this vicious of her clients are government officials who cycle remains a serious threat to public health, privately wish to keep the brothel open. Martha especially the health of young girls. proudly employs about twelve girls full time, Today’s conversation will address a complex and she hopes to continue expanding. Although and highly controversial subject here in she acknowledges the negative impacts on Tanzania. The topic is layered with sensitive the girls, she feels she’s providing them a way cultural elements, which may lead to out of poverty, and therefore, is in favor of conversations that some travelers find difficult. prostitution. Approach the conversation as a unique and Our other speaker, Happiness, is 33 years old respectful discourse. After gleaning insights and married with one son. Originally from from our speakers for about 20 minutes, the Arusha, she relocated to Karatu to work as conversation will open up to a 40-minute Q&A a hotel manager. Outside of her profession, session, giving us the opportunity to probe she works tirelessly to find safe, alternative deeper into this delicate issue. Perhaps you’ll employment for young prostitutes, like those ask Martha why she got involved in the sex who work at Martha’s brothel. Happiness has industry in the first place, or maybe you’re had success placing many of these girls in curious to know how Happiness is able to secure positions of domestic work, such as cleaning work for the girls. and childcare. She also offers them ongoing At about 6pm, we’ll bid farewell to Martha counsel and advice. and Happiness and have about 30 minutes to In rural areas of Tanzania, approximately 35% freshen up before dinner at the lodge. of young girls quit school annually to move to Dinner: At about 6:30pm at the lodge, featuring Karatu and work as prostitutes. Abject poverty hot and cold dishes. is the main driver for this, as most of these girls come from families who either can’t afford Evening: On your own. You’re free to continue to continue sending them to school or even your explorations, or you may prefer to meet support them. Among the many physical and up with fellow travelers to discuss your favorite psychological dangers they face, contracting moments of the day. HIV is the most pressing threat. Nationally, nearly 30% of sex workers are infected, but in

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27 Day 15 Overland to Serengeti National trees after a hunt. Isolated rock groups, called Park • Full-day game-viewing drive kopjes, provide shelter to lion, leopard, and cheetah—and to the tiny rodent-like hyrax, the • Destination: Serengeti National Park closest relative of the elephant. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Accommodations: Mbugani Camp or similar We’ll arrive at our tented camp around 4pm, where we’ll spend the next four nights. Our Activity Note: Today, our transfer from Karatu tented camp in the Seronera region, within to the Serengeti will involve about a 5-hour the central Serengeti, is remote enough to ride by safari vehicle (with game-viewing along offer stunning views of a natural water source the way) over roads that may be bumpy or popular among animals, while offering uneven at times. convenient amenities that may include wireless Breakfast: Served buffet-style in the lodge Internet, laundry service, and a bar and lounge. beginning around 7am, with Western and local Your tent may feature large screened windows, options available. electricity, and a private bath.

Morning: Around 8:15am, we’ll set out for The rest of the afternoon is yours—with the Serengeti National Park, perhaps one of the freedom to explore the camp grounds, or settle most famous wildlife-viewing destinations in into the shade of your tent. Africa. We’ll travel by safari vehicles during our Dinner: Around 7pm at the camp, featuring hot full-day game-viewing drive within the infinite and cold dishes. expanse of the Serengeti Plain. Evening: On your own. You’re free to retire to Here, masses of wildlife roam the stunning your tent to rest—especially if you’re joining landscape. The Serengeti stretches over 5,700 tomorrow’s early-morning optional balloon miles of plains, riverine bush, and acacia safari—or enjoy a drink at the bar. woodland, with savanna grassland as the dominant environment. Our driver-guides will call our attention to the flora and fauna on Day 16 Optional Sunrise Safari & Hot Controversial display around us as we explore. We’ll drive for Air Balloon Ride tour • Topic: about 4 hours before we stop for lunch. The struggle of “buffer zone” communities with park guides Lunch: Around 12:15pm, featuring a boxed Koroso Mwita & Fred Shirima • lunch, which may feature a sandwich, fruit, Game-viewing drives dessert, and juice, within the park. • Destination: Serengeti National Park Afternoon: We’ll board our safari vehicles • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and resume our game-viewing drive around • Accommodations: Mbugani Camp or similar 1:30pm. Over the course of the next few days, each of our game-viewing drives will give us a Exclusive O.A.T. Activity: Today’s activities chance to spot a wide range of wildlife species feature the Controversial Topic of poaching in that call the Serengeti home. Lion, cheetah, Serengeti National Park and the impacts had on hyena, and jackal stalk herds of gazelle, zebra, surrounding “buffer zone” communities. Led wildebeest, and impala. Comical warthogs by park guides Koroso Mwita and Fred Shirima, bend down on their front knees to graze while we’ll discuss the many challenges of living elegant cheetah rest in the shade of acacia along the park perimeter, as well as examine

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28 the relationship between these communities we’ll meet with park guides Koroso Mwita and and the government. Read more about this Fred Shirima, both of whom bring a unique activity below. perspective to the conversation.

Early morning: Early risers are welcome to Prior to working as a local guide in Serengeti join our optional Sunrise Safari & Hot Air National Park, 54-year-old Koroso was a Balloon Ride this morning. An early wakeup poacher for more than fifteen years. When call around 4:15am will be rewarded with park authorities asked him to join the fight in a pre-dawn game-viewing drive on safari conservation, he jumped at the opportunity, vehicles, beginning around 5am. The pre-dawn and more than two decades later, he still light offers a unique opportunity to discover works to help fellow poachers escape the illicit animals we may not see during our morning or industry just as he did. Our other speaker, evening game drives. We’ll drive for about an 39-year-old Fred, has worked as an assistant hour before we reach the balloon site. Around tourism warden for nine years now in the 6:30am, we’ll ascend into the morning sky park. Along with leading the charge against on a 45-minute hot-air balloon-ride, which poaching, his primary focus has been educating offers a new perspective of the Serengeti and buffer zone communities on how to coexist the creatures that call it home. Travelers who with animal populations. partake in this experience will rejoin the rest of The perimeter of Serengeti National Park is the group around 10am. home to approximately 2 million people, most Breakfast: For travelers on the optional tour, of whom face life-threatening destitution. The a full English breakfast will be served with fortunate few own livestock, and some even sparkling wine under the shade of an acacia farm small plots of land, but by and large, tree following your balloon ride. Travelers these communities live on fees generated from who elected not to join today’s optional tour the park, a tiny fraction of which is allocated may enjoy a buffet-style breakfast at the camp to them. This money generally comes from a beginning at 6am with Western and Tanzanian combination of entry costs, which total about options available. $98 million a year, and trophy hunting profits, which amount to roughly $200 million annually Morning: Those of us who didn’t partake in across sub-Saharan Africa. Of the revenue the early-morning optional tour will embark generated, the government is supposed to on a game-viewing drive around 7:30am. The issue about 7.2% to buffer zone communities, Serengeti’s varied landscape of savannas, while 33% goes toward conservation efforts. grassy plains, and riparian woodlands makes Unfortunately, it’s all too common that these it one of the world’s most hospitable places vulnerable communities don’t receive what for wildlife, which we will likely see in large they are owed, and if they do, the payment numbers today. is rarely on time, forcing many to choose We’ll then make a stop at the park visitor center between starvation or subsistence poaching around 10am, where we’ll rejoin optional tour for bush meat—a criminal offense. Buffer participants to discuss the Controversial Topic zone populations have also been known to of poaching in Serengeti National Park, as hide poachers from authorities in exchange for well as the specific problems faced by “buffer money or food. zone” communities—meaning those who live along the park perimeter. To facilitate,

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29 Since the early 19th century, both legal and Lunch: Around 1pm at the camp featuring illegal poaching have contributed to a dramatic Western and regionally inspired dishes. decline in numerous species. For example, Afternoon: Following lunch, we will have where hundreds of thousands of black rhinos about 1.5 hours of free time. Then, we return once roamed freely in Tanzania, now it is to the bush on our safari vehicles around estimated that only 5,000 remain—and this 3:30pm for an additional two and a half hours alarming trend is not the exception. Still, while of game-viewing. Our drive coincides with the government and park authorities say they aim animals’ daily routines—it’s in the early- to to curb illegal poaching, hundreds of thousands mid-afternoon that they resume their activity, of legal hunting permits are issued every so we’ll do the same. We’ll return to our camp year—of which the overwhelming majority around 6:30pm. are awarded to wealthy, foreign trophy hunters—leaving many to ponder the morality Dinner: Around 6:30pm at the camp, featuring and fairness surrounding these regulations. It hot and cold dishes. begs the question: why is it acceptable for an American to pay upwards of $30,000 to hunt Evening: On your own. Those who rose before a lion for its head, while it’s a crime for a local dawn today have the freedom to get some extra resident to kill a wildebeest for food? sleep this evening—or share favorite highlights with your fellow travelers. Sadly, subsistence poaching is only on the rise and so is the necessity for it. The population Day 17 Morning & afternoon of Tanzania is exponentially growing, and by game-viewing drives in Serengeti the mid-century, this boom will result in an National Park enormous and unsustainable loss of wildlife. Koroso and Fred will introduce the root cause of • Destination: Serengeti National Park these issues, as well as the long-term impacts, • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner for about 20 minutes. Their insight will shed • Accommodations: Mbugani Camp or similar light on the dangerous trajectory of Africa’s Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the camp wildlife management—a topic which may beginning at 7am, with Western and Tanzanian be emotional or difficult for some travelers. options available. Approach the discourse with an open mind, and take the opportunity to ask any question you Morning: Today we’ll begin our day of may have during a 40-minute Q&A. Perhaps game-viewing around 8:15am, as we set off for you’d like to know more about Koroso’s a 4.5-hour morning drive on safari vehicles. mission to educate poachers, or maybe you’ll As we explore, our driver guides are ready to inquire about Fred’s work with buffer zone reveal the great diversity of Serengeti wildlife: communities. Look for buffalo, hippopotamus, elephant, lion, giraffe, antelope, and Thompson’s and At around 11am, we’ll board our safari vehicles Grant’s gazelle. for another 2-hour game drive en route to camp, where we’ll then have lunch. Along the Lunch: A picnic lunch, which may feature a way, keep your camera at the ready to capture sandwich, fruit, dessert, and juice, will be any animals you might come across, such as served in the bush around 12:30pm. impala, African wild dogs, or antelope.

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30 Afternoon: Shortly following lunch around a great opportunity to seek out any animals 1:45pm, we board our safari vehicles and we may have missed, and to ask any lingering resume our game-viewing. In certain seasons, questions of our Trip Experience Leader you may be lucky enough to witness the or driver-guides. We’ll return to the lodge migration of the wildebeest herds—annually, around 6pm. more than a million wildebeest, zebra, and Dinner: Around 7pm at our camp, we’ll toast antelope travel from the Serengeti to the Masai to the memories we’ve made during our Mara, and then back again. We’ll return to the adventure. Tonight’s Farewell Dinner will camp around 3:30pm, and you’ll have about 3.5 feature local cuisine and includes an appetizer, hours of free time before dinner. main course, and dessert. Bottled water, soft Dinner: Around 7pm at the camp, featuring hot drinks, beer, or wine are included. and cold dishes. Evening: On your own—with the freedom to Evening: On your own. You’re free to enjoy the reflect on your favorite moments, or to gather camp as you’d like tonight. with your fellow travelers to revel in the vast expanse of the African skies one final time. Day 18 Serengeti National Park • Game-viewing Day 19 Fly to Arusha • Local workshop • Destination: Serengeti National Park visit • Fly to U.S. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch • Accommodations: Mbugani Camp or similar • Accommodations: Mount Meru Hotel or similar Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the camp around 7am, with Western and Tanzanian Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the camp options available. from 6:30am-7:30am, with Western and Tanzanian options available. Morning: At 8:15am, we’ll continue to explore the ecosystem of the Serengeti aboard our Morning: We’ll say goodbye to the Serengeti safari vehicles. Our schedule and approach around 7:45am, with about a 45-minute drive to our game-viewing drives is designed to to a small airstrip in Seronera. Upon arrival, maximize our understanding of this region and we’ll check in for our flight, and depart to its inhabitants: We’ll travel at a pace (and at Arusha around 9:30am. Our flight will last times) that allow us to truly focus on observing just over an hour. Upon our arrival, we make animal behavior and interaction. We’ll spend a 15-minute drive by bus to Shanga, a local about 4 hours exploring before we return to the enterprise that employs people with physical camp for lunch around 12:45pm. disabilities. In this workshop, our small group will meet with locals, learn the basics of sign Lunch: Around 1pm at our camp, featuring hot language, and see how these artisans come and cold dishes. together to create unique, artisanal gifts. After Afternoon: Following lunch around 2pm, our hour-long visit, we’ll drive 15 minutes to as the wildlife tends to rest during the our hotel, where we have day rooms available to early-afternoon hours, so shall we—you’ll us, arriving around 11:45am. be free to relax at the camp before our final Lunch: At 12:15pm in the hotel, featuring game-viewing drive in the Serengeti. This is local cuisine.

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31 Afternoon: We’ll check out of the hotel later in morning. Or, join fellow travelers on our New! the afternoon to travel overland to Kilimanjaro Uganda: The Pearl of Africa Revealed or New! International Airport, about a 1.5 hour drive. Southern Kenya: Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary & You’ll fly overnight to Amsterdam, and then Mombasa’s Maritime Coast post-trip extensions. transfer to your flight back to the U.S. tomorrow

END YOUR ADVENTURE WITH AN OPTIONAL POST-TRIP EXTENSION 5 nights in Uganda: The Pearl of Africa Revealed

Day 1 Fly to Entebbe, Uganda Day 4 Murchison Falls Delta boat cruise • Game-viewing drive Day 2 Explore Entebbe • Fly to Murchison Falls National Park Day 5 Overland to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary • Rhino trek on foot Day 3 Game-viewing drive • River cruise to Murchison Falls Day 6 Nature walk and canoe ride along Lugogo Wetlands • Transfer to Entebbe • Return to U.S.

OR 6 nights in Southern Kenya: Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary & Mombasa’s Maritime Coast

Day 1 Fly to Arusha • Local workshop visit Day 4 Dhow ride to Wasini Island • • Transfer to Taita Hills, Kenya Snorkeling excursion Day 2 Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary Day 5 Explore Mombasa game-viewing drives Day 6 Visit Mijikenda home • Dhow Day 3 Transfer to Mombasa • dinner cruise Controversial Topic: Women’s Day 7 Return to U.S. via Nairobi rights in Kenya

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32 OPTIONAL TOURS

During your trip you will be able to book optional tours directly with your Trip Experience Leader. He or she will ask you to confirm the payment for these tours by filling out a payment form. Optional tours can only be purchased with a credit or debit card. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards. We also accept Visa and MasterCard debit cards, but it must be a debit card that allows you to sign for purchases.

In order to correctly process these charges, there can be a delay of 2-3 months from the date of your return for the charges to be posted to your account. Therefore we ask that you use a card that will not expire in the 2-3 months following your return.

Please note: Optional tour prices are listed in U.S. dollar estimates determined at the time of publication and are subject to change. Optional tours may vary.

Sunrise Safari & Hot Air Balloon Ride Following breakfast, our excursion continues (Day 7 $540 per person) with a breathtaking hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. With a certified, professional pilot Rise before dawn in order to catch the sweeping at the controls, we’ll glide over the majestic vista of the morning light over Masai Mara. savannas at dawn, when the morning light View the game reserve from a bird’s eye bathes the plains in a golden hue. There’s perspective as you gently float for an hour over simply no better vantage point from which to the grassy plains. Celebrate touchdown with appreciate the sheer vastness of the Serengeti’s a sparkling wine-style picnic breakfast in the more than 5,700 square miles of plains, bush before returning to camp mid-morning. riverine bush, and acacia woodlands. Once Please note: This tour is only available on select we land, we’ll return to our camp to reunite departures and must be purchased at least 45 with any travelers who chose not to take this days prior to departure. Optional tour may be sold optional tour. on-site, if available. Prices are subject to change. This tour is pre-sold only. Due to limited space, it This tour is only available on select departures is strongly advised that you reserve this optional and must be purchased at least 45 days prior to tour at least 45 days prior to departure. It is departure. Optional tour may be sold on-site, if also dependent on wind conditions, and may be available. Prices are subject to change. canceled at the discretion of the balloon operators.

Sunrise Safari & Hot Air Balloon Ride (Day 16 $540 per person)

If you choose to take this optional tour, plan on waking up before dawn as we’ll begin with an early morning game-viewing drive. Then we’ll retreat under the shade of a nearby acacia tree where we’ll enjoy breakfast in the bush with a celebratory glass of sparkling wine.

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33 PRE-TRIP Rwanda: Gorilla Trekking & Rebirth of a Nation

INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE

» Airfare from Kigali to Nairobi » 6 small group activities » Accommodations for 2 nights in Kigali at » Services of a local O.A.T. Trip Hôtel des Mille Collines or similar and 2 Experience Leader nights in Ruhengeri at Mountain Gorilla » Gratuities for local guides, drivers, and View Lodge or similar luggage porters » 10 meals—4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners

PRE-TRIP EXTENSION ITINERARY

Journey to Rwanda to experience one of the world’s greatest wildlife encounters—the rare Mountain Gorilla. Trek through the mist-shrouded forest of Rwanda’s Ruhengeri region for an intimate encounter with these magnificent, gentle creatures. You’ll also discover the warmth of the Rwandan people and learn about the atrocities of Rwanda’s civil war at the Kigali Genocide Museum.

Day 1 Fly to Kigali, Rwanda from Kigali City Tower in the center of the city. Typical hotel amenities include a restaurant, You depart the U.S. today for your overnight bar, an outdoor swimming pool, and a flight to Kigali, Rwanda. fitness center; rooms are likely to feature air conditioning, satellite TV, wireless Internet, Day 2 Arrive Kigali, Rwanda and private bath with hair dryer. • Destination: Kigali Dinner: On your own after check in. Perhaps • Accommodations: Hôtel des Mille Collines you’ll enjoy a meal at one of the hotel’s three or similar on-site restaurants. Evening: Upon arrival in Kigali, Rwanda this evening, an O.A.T. representative will meet you Day 3 Nyamata Church Memorial • Visit at the airport and escort you to your hotel—a Reconciliation Village transfer of about 30 minutes. We will most • Destination: Kigali likely be staying at the Hôtel des Mille Collines, • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner the inspiration for the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda. • Accommodations: Hôtel des Mille Collines When you arrive at the hotel, you will check in or similar and receive your room assignment. Depending Activity Note: The visits to the Nyamata on what hotel we stay at, we’ll likely be located church and the Reconciliation Village may be in Kigali’s business district, just steps away disturbing to some travelers.

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34 Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel, Evening: You are free to explore on your own, beginning at 6am. use the hotel’s amenities, or relax in your room for our last night in Kigali. Morning: At about 8am, we’ll depart our hotel for the Nyamata church, arriving around 9am. Nearly 5,000 people were killed inside this Day 4 Explore Kigali • Visit Genocide house of worship in 1994 while seeking refuge. Memorial • Overland to Ruhengeri The church now serves as a haunting genocide • Destination: Ruhengeri memorial site, and it has been left much as it • Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner was immediately after the massacre. • Accommodations: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge or similar Around 10am, we’ll drive approximately 30 minutes to a Reconciliation Village, a Activity Note: The visit to the Kigali Genocide community where both perpetrators and Memorial includes many graphic images and victims of the 1994 genocide live side by may be disturbing to some travelers. side as a part of the healing process. Many Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel Rwandan widows here support themselves beginning at 8am, with a variety of fresh by forming basket-weaving cooperatives. breads, pastries, and hot and cold selections. Our small group size will allow for intimate and personal interactions with some of these Morning: Around 9am, we’ll depart our hotel brave individuals as we listen to their stories, for a morning of discoveries in the gleaming ask questions, and learn how they manage to Rwandan capital of Kigali. Nestled along co-exist in harmony despite their tortured picturesque hilltops and pulsing with African pasts. We’ll also have an opportunity to see how charm, Kigali is not only situated in Rwanda’s banana beer is made and witness a traditional geographical center, but was also at the center dance during our time in the village. of the horrific events of 1994, when close to a million ethnic Tutsis (and moderate Hutus) Lunch: Around noon at the were systematically murdered by their Hutu Reconciliation Village. neighbors over the course of 100 unspeakably Afternoon: We’ll depart the Reconciliation brutal days. President Paul Kagame is Village around 1pm for Mayange village. largely credited with Rwanda’s remarkable Mayange is part of the Millennium Villages, transformation from a genocidal battlefield an international project dedicated to lifting into a thriving, peaceful nation once more. communities out of poverty by providing To learn more about Rwanda’s tragic past, we’ll efficient technologies in farming, health, and begin our day at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, education. After learning about the strides which was conceived both as a tribute to that the villagers living here are making in the victims of the Rwandan genocide and to self-sufficiency. We’ll depart the Millennium ensure that this history is never repeated. Villages around 2:30pm and return to our Built over a mass burial ground for a quarter hotel in Kigali. You’ll have the balance of the million victims, this moving memorial features afternoon at leisure. various exhibit halls that trace the events of the Dinner: At a local restaurant around 6pm. 100-day genocide, reveal the colonial history of Rwanda and factors leading up to the slaughter,

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35 and highlight other instances of 20th-century the possibility that they may become agitated genocides around the world that speak to and retreat back into the bush in less than our mankind’s capacity for cruelty. allotted time. Any travelers showing signs of obvious illness may be refused entrance by park Lunch: On your own around noon at a local authorities. restaurant. Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the lodge, Afternoon: Around 1pm, we’ll set off for beginning at 6am. Ruhengeri (also known as Musanze), gateway to Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Morning: At about 7:30am, we take a drive Volcans) and home of the golden monkeys of about 15 minutes to the Kinigi Trekking and mountain gorillas. We may make brief Station in Parc Nacional des Volcans, situated stops along the way, and we’ll take a short in Rwanda’s border region with Uganda and break to admire the breathtaking views of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). Virungas, five massive volcanoes looming in Skilled trackers will have gone on ahead to the distance. At about 4pm, we’ll arrive at our locate one of the ten habituated populations of lodge. Depending on which hotel we stay at, mountain gorilla families we can visit. There we’ll likely be minutes from the main gate at least five more families residing high on the of Volcanoes National Park. Lodge amenities slopes of Virunga, but can only be visited by may include a restaurant and bar. Rooms researchers. After splitting up into two smaller should include a fireplace and private bath groups of eight (or fewer) travelers, each group with shower. You’ll have time to settle in will then set off on a trek of varying levels of before dinner. difficulty that typically involves two to four hours at elevations ranging from 7,000 to Dinner: Around 7pm, in the restaurant of 9,000 feet. Our first glimpse of a gorilla may be our lodge. a baby up a tree, or a female quietly munching Evening: You are free to explore the lodge’s on leaves—or perhaps a massive silverback facilities, which may include a relaxing bar, or pounding his chest. Every encounter with these take in the scenic views of the nearby volcanic gentle, endangered primates is different, but mountain peaks in the evening light. if we are fortunate, ours will be a memorable experience and we will have enjoyed what many Day 5 Mountain gorilla trek consider the most sought-after adventure in the world. Depending on the length of our trek, • Destination: Ruhengeri groups will return to our lodge by about 1pm. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Lunch: Around 1:30pm at our lodge. • Accommodations: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge or similar Afternoon: The remainder of the afternoon Activity Note: Today’s mountain gorilla trek is free to reflect on our mountain gorilla typically involves two to four hours of walking encounter. Or, you may wish to explore the through thick brush over steep, rugged terrain local community of Ruhengeri. A small town, at elevations ranging from 7,000 to 9,000 there are usually lively markets to explore, feet—and can include exposure to stinging along with a hill that you may wish to climb nettles and fire ants. As overexposure to near the southwest part of the town that offers humans is harmful to mountain gorillas, breathtaking views of the volcanoes. You contact is limited to one hour—and there is can also use this time to pursue independent

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36 discoveries, perhaps visiting a flower farm or women’s cooperative, though most guests prefer to relax after the very adventurous trek.

Dinner: Around 6:30pm, in the restaurant of our lodge.

Evening: You are free to relax from the day’s activities at the bar, or retire early to rest up for tomorrow.

Day 6 Local beer factory visit • Meet a local family • Fly to Nairobi, Kenya • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel beginning at 8am, with American options available.

Morning: We’ll depart our hotel around 9am and drive for one hour to a local beer factory to see how it’s produced here in this region. We’ll also have the chance to visit with a local family, during which our small group size allows us to chat about daily life in Rwanda. This is a special opportunity to discuss the family’s firsthand experiences of the 1994 genocide.

Lunch: Around 12:30pm at our hotel.

Afternoon: Around 2pm, we’ll check out of our hotel and drive for three hours to the airport in Kigali.

Dinner: On your own at the airport starting at around 5pm.

Evening: Around 7:30pm, we’ll fly to Nairobi to join our New! Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti adventure.

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37 PRE-TRIP Mount Kenya National Park & Sweetwaters Game Reserve

INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE

» Internal flights from Nairobi to Mount » 13 meals—5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, Kenya and back and 4 dinners » Accommodations: 2 nights in Nairobi » 7 small group activities, including up to 4 at the Eka Hotel or similar, 2 nights in game-viewing drives Mount Kenya National Park at Serena » Services of a local O.A.T. Trip Experience Mountain Lodge or similar, and 2 nights in Leader and driver-guides Sweetwaters Game Reserve at Sweetwaters » Gratuities for local guides, drivers, and Serena Tented Camp or similar luggage porters » All transfers

PRE-TRIP EXTENSION ITINERARY

Begin your adventure at the gateway of Mount Kenya’s diverse wilderness. Walk through the lush, verdant green canopies to spot some of Africa’s more unique species. Then travel to the sprawling plains of Ol Pejeta Conservancy to discover the legendary wildlife on exclusive game-viewing drives—perhaps even spotting the famed “Big Five.” Our unique lodgings will offer up-close, one-of-kind viewings of the African wilderness without the crowds.

Day 1 Depart U.S. the Nairobi hotel. Depending on where we stay, hotel amenities will most likely include You depart today on your overnight flight from a restaurant, bar, and coffee shop. Room the U.S. to Amsterdam. amenities will likely feature wireless Internet, safe, flat screen TV, mini-bar, and private Day 2 Arrive in Amsterdam and fly to bath. After checking in, we’ll enjoy a welcome Nairobi, Kenya drink and you will have some free time to get • Destination: Nairobi acquainted with our new hotel. • Accommodations: Eka Hotel or similar Dinner: On your own—dine at the hotel Morning: After an early morning arrival into restaurant or ask your Trip Experience Leader Amsterdam, you will board your flight to about suggested local fare. Nairobi, Kenya. Evening: Free for your own discoveries. Your Evening: You will be greeted at the airport Trip Experience Leader will be happy to share by an O.A.T. representative and then make their recommendations. the 30-minute transfer from the airport to

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38 Day 3 Fly to Mount Kenya • Walk to a Day 4 Mount Kenya National Park local village nature walk • Destination: Mount Kenya National Park • Destination: Mount Kenya National Park • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Accommodations: Serena Mountain Lodge • Accommodations: Serena Mountain Lodge or similar or similar

Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel Breakfast: Served at 8am featuring regional starting at 6:30am with regional and American and American options. options available. Morning: Around 9am, we will depart the lodge Morning: Around 7:30am, we’ll depart for the for a 2-hour guided nature walk through the local airport to check-in for our 1-hour flight Mount Kenya forest. We may spot a variety of to Nanyuki. We’ll arrive into Nanyuki—the bird species, varying members of the antelope gateway to Mount Kenya’s wilderness—around family, and some unique animals like the black 11am and shortly thereafter, we will make a and white colobus monkey, sykes monkey, 1-hour transfer to our lodging. The lodge will olive baboon, genet cat, and many more. All feel like a traditional Kikuyu (Bantu-speaking the while, our local guide will walk us through indigenous people located near Mount Kenya) the story of Kenya’s independence. As the walk home with hand-woven wall hangings, draws to a close, enjoy the curative properties soft lighting, and cozy furnishings. Each of a traditional Dawa treat—meaning medicine cabin-inspired room may include wireless in Swahili—to keep yourself warm. Internet, a private balcony, a private bath, and Lunch: Around 1:30pm, lunch will be served hot shower. at the lodge featuring international and Lunch: Served at the lodge around 12:30pm local dishes. featuring a wide range of international choices. Afternoon: You are free to spend some time Afternoon: After lunch, you may choose on your own this afternoon. Perhaps you’ll to return to your room to rest up before we take the opportunity to retire to your room journey off the beaten path for a walk to a local or sit on the terrace and take in the sight of village around 4pm. Our small group will allow wildlife roaming the waterhole. Around 4pm, us authentic, intimate glimpses into the local there will be another chance to discover your customs. At 6pm, we will return to the lodge surroundings during an elective nature walk for dinner. around the lodge. Upon return, maybe you’ll choose to enjoy a “sundowner,” or evening Dinner: Around 7pm, dinner will be served cocktail, as the sun sets over the Mount Kenya featuring traditional Kenyan food sourced from rainforest. the communities that surround the mountain. Dinner: At the lodge featuring traditional Evening: You’re free to relax and get settled Kenyan cuisine and international options into your cabin or share your insights with around 7pm. other travelers in the common area. Evening: On your own—you are free to return to your room or relax with fellow travelers and share your African discoveries.

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39 Day 5 Transfer to Sweetwaters Game Day 6 Morning game-viewing drive • Tour Reserve • Afternoon game-viewing drive Goodall Chimpanzee Sanctuary • Night • Destination: Sweetwaters Game Reserve game-viewing drive • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Destination: Sweetwaters Game Reserve • Accommodations: Sweetwaters Serena • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Tented Camp or similar • Accommodations: Sweetwaters Serena Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the Tented Camp or similar lodge at 8am. Breakfast: Breakfast will be served at the camp at 6:30am with local and international choices. Morning: Around 9am, we will depart for our new lodging and arrive around 11am. This Morning: We’ll depart the lodge around tented camp will be amidst the breathtaking 7:30am on a morning game-viewing drive. This beauty of Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy—a game viewing will allow you to see different rhino sanctuary. Lodge amenities include species that were not stirring during our restaurant, bar, and swimming pool. Each afternoon drive. We will return to the lodge thatched tent features electricity and an en around 12:30pm. suite bathroom. Lunch: Enjoy international dishes from the Lunch: Around noon, we’ll enjoy international lodge around 12:30pm. cuisine at the lodge. Afternoon: You will have some free time Afternoon: After lunch, enjoy some downtime following lunch to rest up or enjoy a drink in before we head out on our first game-viewing the camp lounge. Then, around 4pm, we will drive around 3pm. During our drive, we may receive an exclusive opportunity to learn more spot elephants, zebras, antelopes, buffalo, about the day-to-day life of chimpanzees and many other species. Your game drives will at the Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Sanctuary. be led by driver guides with an expertise in Learn the intimate beginnings of the sanctuary spotting the best locations to see wildlife. We and discover the daring risks Jane Goodall will return to the lodge around 6pm. took to get close to the little-known world of chimpanzees. Jane, a solo traveler, ventured Dinner: The lodge will have a variety of from England to Tanzania in the 1960s to international dishes served at 7pm. immerse herself in the lives of these species. We Evening: This evening will be on your own will listen, learn, and get an intimate glimpse to provide a chance for you to relax or talk into the lives of these primates. We will then with your fellow travelers about your African return to the camp around 5:30pm. experience so far. Dinner: Featuring local and international dishes at the camp around 6pm.

Evening: Around 7pm, we will depart the lodge for a unique night game-viewing drive. An expert guide will lead you on an after-hours exploration of the wilderness where you may spot some elusive animals scurrying through the bush.

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40 Day 7 Morning game-viewing drive • Fly to Nairobi • Destination: Nairobi • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch • Accommodations: Eka Hotel or similar

Early Morning: We will depart around 6am for a morning game-viewing drive. We will have coffee, tea, and light snacks before we set out to discover more species. We will return to the camp around 9am.

Breakfast: Served at the lodge around 9:30am with local and international dishes.

Morning: Around 10:30am, we will head to the airport to catch a 40-minute flight back to Nairobi.

Lunch: On your own around 1:30pm at the hotel.

Afternoon: We’ll check into the hotel in Nairobi around 1pm. Depending on where we stay, the hotel will likely feature a restaurant, bar, and fitness center. Room amenities typically include air-conditioning, satellite TV, minibar, wireless Internet access, and private bath.

The rest of the afternoon is at leisure. Perhaps you’ll use this time to visit Nairobi’s Karen Blixen Museum, the famed Danish author of 1937’s Out of Africa. Inside the museum, you’ll witness much of Blixen’s original period furniture and get a glimpse into the lives of early 20th-century Kenyan settlers.

Dinner: On your own—you may choose to eat at the hotel restaurant or ask your Trip Experience Leader for a suggested local spot.

Evening: You have the freedom to explore on your own this evening. In the morning, you will meet with the rest of your fellow travelers who are joining you on your Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti adventure.

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41 POST-TRIP Uganda: The Pearl of Africa Revealed

INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE

» Airfare to Entebbe and an internal flight » 11 small group activities from Entebbe to Murchison Falls » Services of an English-speaking O.A.T. » Accommodations: 1 night in Entebbe at Extension guide, as well as step-on The Boma Hotel or similar, 3 nights in local guides Murchison Falls at Paraa Safari Lodge or » Gratuities for your Extension Guide, local similar, and 1 night at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary guides, drivers, and luggage porters at Amuka Safari Lodge or similar » All transfers » 14 meals—5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 4 dinners

POST-TRIP EXTENSION ITINERARY

Once known as the “Pearl of the British Empire in East Africa,” Uganda is now widely considered one of the most beautiful countries on the continent. Join us and tour the dynamic Ugandan city of Entebbe, take a bush walk among endangered white rhinos, go on a bird-viewing canoe safari, and witness the splendor of Murchison Falls, where the Nile River explodes through a narrow gorge to create the most powerful rush of water in the world.

Day 1 Fly to Entebbe, Uganda Morning: Around 9am, we’ll board our bus for a city tour of Entebbe, lasting about two • Destination: Entebbe, Uganda hours and led by a local guide. During our • Included Meals: Lunch, Dinner explorations, we’ll stop at a local market, where • Accommodations: The Boma Hotel or similar we’ll enjoy the opportunity to brush shoulders Today, we’ll fly to Entebbe, Uganda. with locals, and witness traditional produce and crafts for sale. Around 11am, we’ll board our Day 2 Explore Entebbe • Fly to Murchison bus and depart on a drive of about one hour to a Falls National Park local restaurant. • Destination: Murchison Falls Lunch: Around 12pm at a local restaurant, • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner featuring an array of regional and • Accommodations: Paraa Safari Lodge Western-style dishes. or similar Afternoon: Around 12:30pm, we’ll arrive and Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel check in at the Entebbe airport, where we’ll beginning at 6am, with hot and cold selections board our flight to Murchison Falls. After available. landing around an hour later, we’ll board our

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42 motorcoach and begin the transfer to our lodge, Morning: Around 7am, we’ll depart for a a total drive of about a half hour. We’ll arrive game-viewing drive, keeping our eyes out at the gates of Murchison National Park at for herds of elephant, buffalo, large cats, about 3pm. Shortly afterward, we’ll enjoy our critically-endangered Rothschild’s giraffe, and first view of the dramatic vistas at the top of prolific birdlife. After, we return to our lodge at Murchison Falls, where some 11,000 cubic feet about 11:30am and enjoy some time to relax. of water per second explode through a narrow Lunch: Around noon at our safari lodge, gorge, creating the most powerful rush of water featuring local dishes. in the world. Afternoon: Around 2pm, we’ll set off for the Murchison is home to a wide variety of wildlife marina, about a 10-minute drive away, where species, including more than 76 mammal and we’ll embark on a scenic boat cruise to the base 450 bird species. There are everything from of Murchison Falls, watching out for crocodiles buffalo, antelope, lion, and giraffe to hyena, and hippos in the Nile and wildlife along its bushbuck, and warthog here, all widely spread banks along the way. out over the savannah grasslands, grazing or hunting for prey. We’ll see what our first We return to our hotel around 5pm and you’ll game-viewing drive reveals before crossing have time to relax in your room, explore the the Nile by ferry and arriving at our lodge at hotel grounds, or sit by the pool. about 6pm. Dinner: Around 7pm at our safari lodge, Depending on where we stay, our featuring regional cuisine. accommodations may feature on-site amenities including a restaurant, bar, fitness center, and Evening: Our final night in Murchison Falls swimming pool. Typical rooms may include a is free for you to relax or begin packing balcony and private bath. for tomorrow’s journey to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Dinner: Around 6:30pm at our lodge, featuring a selection of regional cuisine. Day 4 Murchison Falls Delta boat cruise • Evening: On your own—you’re free to enjoy Game-viewing drive the facilities of our lodge, have a drink at the • Destination: Murchison Falls bar, or cool off after a long day at the outdoor • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner swimming pool and take in the scenic views • Accommodations: Paraa Safari Lodge of the Nile. or similar

Day 3 Game-viewing drive • River cruise to Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel Murchison Falls around 6am, featuring hot and cold options. • Destination: Murchison Falls Morning: Around 7am, we’ll take a 10-minute • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner bus ride to the marina for another boat cruise to the falls. This time, we explore the Murchison • Accommodations: Paraa Safari Lodge Falls Delta, known for its rare wetland bird or similar species. By about 10:30am, we’ll return to the Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel around 6am, featuring hot and cold options.

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43 marina and board our motorcoach, enjoying experience. Extinct for two decades due to a game-viewing drive en route to our camp, poaching during the wars of the 1970s, rhinos where we’ll arrive around noon. have been reintroduced into this protected area of Uganda, and we’ll have the rare opportunity Lunch: Shortly after noon at our safari lodge, to observe these magnificent creatures in the featuring local dishes. wild during our afternoon bush walk with the Afternoon: You’ll have approximately three assistance of a local guide. We’ll return to our hours to relax or explore on your own following lodge by about 6pm. lunch. Then, at about 4pm, we’ll set off on Dinner: Around 7pm at our safari lodge, another game-viewing drive. We return to featuring regional cuisine. our hotel around 6pm and you’ll have a bit of time to relax in your room, or explore the Evening: You are free to retire to your room, lodge grounds. relax at the swimming pool, or gather at the bar for a cocktail to go over the discoveries Dinner: Around 6:30pm at our safari lodge, of the day. featuring regional cuisine.

Evening: Our final night in Murchison Falls Day 6 Nature walk and canoe ride along is free for you to relax or begin packing Lugogo Wetlands • Transfer to Entebbe • for tomorrow’s journey to the Ziwa Rhino Return to U.S. Sanctuary. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5 Overland to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary • Activity note: We’ll rise very early this morning Rhino trek on foot at about 5:30am to get ready before we set off on a nature walk. • Destination: Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Breakfast: Tea, coffee, and biscuits will be • Accommodations: Amuka Safari Lodge served around 6am. or similar Morning: Around 6:30am, we’ll set off on a Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel nature walk along the Lugogo Wetlands, one around 7:30am, featuring hot and cold options. of Africa’s richest birding destinations. We’ll keep our eyes especially peeled for Uganda’s Morning: Around 8:30am, we’ll depart most sought-after sighting—the rare and Murchison Falls, once again crossing the Nile prehistoric-looking shoebill stork. Then by ferry for our overland journey of about 3 around 8am, we’ll continue our birding and hours to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. We’ll break wildlife discoveries aboard a canoe in these lush up our journey with a stop at the top of the Nile wetlands. After returning to our safari lodge waterfalls so we can enjoy a tour of the area around 10am, we’ll have approximately one before our arrival Ziwa. hour to relax and freshen up.

Lunch: Around 1pm, at our safari lodge within Brunch: Brunch-style selections are served the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. buffet-style around 11am at the lodge.

Afternoon: After time to settle in to our rooms Afternoon: At about 12:30pm, we’ll depart the and explore the facilities of our safari lodge, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for an overland journey we’ll regroup at about 4pm for our rhino trek to Entebbe. We’ll arrive in Entebbe at about

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44 4pm and enjoy the services of a hotel located a short distance from the airport. You’ll have some free time to pack or relax before dinner.

Dinner: Around 6:30pm at our hotel, featuring local cuisine.

Evening: After, we’ll transfer to the airport, arriving shortly before 8pm, when we’ll check in and board our flights home to the U.S.

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45 POST-TRIP Southern Kenya: Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary & Mombasa’s Maritime Coast

INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE

» Airfare to Arusha » 11 small group activities » Accommodations: 2 nights in Taita Hills » Services of an English-speaking O.A.T. Trip at Salt Lick Lodge or similar and 4 nights Experience Leader, as well as local guides in Mombasa at Leopard Beach Resort » Gratuities for your Trip Experience Leader, or similar local guides, drivers, and luggage porters » 15 meals—6 breakfasts, 4 lunches, » All transfers and 5 dinners

POST-TRIP EXTENSION ITINERARY

Traverse the wild interior and tropical southern coast of Kenya, experiencing game drives in Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and embarking on a traditional dhow ride. Discover golden savannahs, iconic predators, pristine coral reefs, and a diversity of cultural heritage on this 6-night adventure.

Day 1 Fly to Arusha • Local workshop visit Afternoon: Following lunch, we’ll set off on an • Transfer to Taita Hills, Kenya 2.5 hour transfer to the Holili border into Kenya to reach our destination of Taita Hills, where • Destination: Taita Hills we’ll check in to our lodge. • Included Meals: Dinner • Accommodations: Salt Lick Lodge or similar Dinner: At the lodge.

Morning: Transfer to the airport and fly Evening: Free to explore on your own. to Arusha, Tanzania. Upon arrival, drive to Shanga, a local enterprise that employs people Day 2 Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary with physical disabilities and conducts various game-viewing drives workshops for the public. In our workshop this morning, our small group will meet with locals, • Destination: Taita Hills learn the basics of sign language, and see how • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner these artisans come together to create unique, • Accommodations: Salt Lick Lodge or similar handmade gifts. Breakfast: At the lodge. Lunch: At Kibo Palace Hotel. Morning: Covering an area of about 40 square miles, Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary offers a versatile mix of landscapes, premier birdwatching opportunities, and a good chance

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46 of spotting large mammals like elephants and blue city” in Kenya, it is the country’s oldest lions, thanks to the park’s healthy ecosystem. and second-largest city—one that is home From riverine forest to savanna wood and to a melting pot of cultures. It is perhaps best billowing grassland, we’ll embark on a morning known for its idyllic location on the Indian game drive that will take us through a variety Ocean, including its white sands and verdant of environs, where we might spot everything surroundings. from braying zebras to leaping impala and Lunch: At the hotel. hundreds of resident and migrant bird species. Keep your camera at the ready to capture Afternoon: After some free time to explore, these wild encounters, and be sure to ask your we’ll meet with a local expert to discuss the expert safari guide any questions you might Controversial Topic of women’s rights in have about local flora and fauna. You’ll also the coastal region of Kenya. We’ll learn about want to keep your eye out for the magnificent progress that has been made as well the topography before you, offering views of the resistance to such advancement. Take this time Kilimanjaro, Pare, and Uluguru mountains, as to ask any questions you might have about well as clusters of Taita Hills. the issue.

Lunch: At the lodge. Dinner: At the hotel.

Afternoon: We’ll venture out on another game Evening: Free to explore on your own. drive this afternoon. Depending on the season, we may have a better chance of viewing some Day 4 Dhow ride to Wasini Island • animals later in the day. Keep a look out for Snorkeling excursion a diverse array of animals including giraffe, buffalo, eland, oryx, cheetah, and leopard. • Destination: Mombasa • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Dinner: At the lodge. • Accommodations: Leopard Beach Resort Evening: Free to make your own discoveries. or similar Breakfast: At the hotel. Day 3 Transfer to Mombasa • dhow Controversial Topic: Women’s Morning: We’ll board a traditional this morning, a lateen-rigged, masted ship rights in Kenya commonly used in the Indian Ocean, and set sail • Destination: Mombasa for Wasini Island. Likened to the larger islands • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner of Zanzibar and Lamu, Wasini is a beachgoer • Accommodations: Leopard Beach Resort paradise, ideal for those looking to kick back or similar under a mango tree or swim its turquoise waters. Upon arrival, you’ll have the option Activity Note: Our drive to Mombasa is about to embark on a guided snorkeling excursion, 4.5 hours. offering the chance to get acquainted with the Breakfast: At the lodge. diverse marine ecosystem here. Alternatively, you may wish to stroll the white-sand beaches Morning: We’ll depart this morning for or relax with a good book in hand. Mombasa, Kenya, where we’ll check in to our hotel. Often referred to as the “white and Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-955-1925

47 Afternoon: We’ll return to the hotel by boat Morning: Depart this morning for a visit to this afternoon, where you’ll have free time the home of a Mijikenda family. The Mijikenda to explore. are an ethnic group that live along the coast of Kenya. They are known for their spiritual Dinner: At the lodge. connection to the forests, referring to them as Evening: On your own. kaya or places of prayer. They are also famous for crafting wooden kigango funerary statues, Day 5 Explore Mombasa a symbol of the abstract human form. During our visit at the village, we’ll get to know our • Destination: Mombasa hosts, witness their daily routine, and have the • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch opportunity to ask any questions we might have • Accommodations: Leopard Beach Resort about their customs, beliefs, and traditions. or similar Lunch: On your own. Breakfast: At the hotel. Afternoon: Enjoy free time to explore in Morning: Today we’ll head out for a guided Mombasa until our dinner cruise this evening. walking tour of Mombasa’s UNESCO-listed old town. This area of the city is home to Dinner: We’ll board a traditional dhow and local, Arab, Asian, Portuguese, and British embark on a leisurely cruise along the port, descendants, making for a unique cultural accompanied by a dawa cocktail (vodka, lime, and architectural mix. One of the highlights honey, and sugar) and fresh seafood dinner. we’ll see here is the Portuguese Fort Jesus, Evening: Free to make your own discoveries. a 16th-century fort symbolizing the first successful attempt by a Western power to overtake the Indian Ocean trade. Designated Day 7 Return to U.S. via Nairobi a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, Fort • Included Meals: Breakfast Jesus is considered one of the best preserved Breakfast: At the hotel. examples of Portuguese military fortification. Morning: Depart for the airport, where Lunch: At a local restaurant. you’ll fly to Nairobi and then on to your final Afternoon: We’ll return to the hotel this destination in the U.S. afternoon and you’ll have free time to explore.

Dinner: On your own.

Evening: Free for your own discoveries.

Day 6 Visit Mijikenda home • Dhow dinner cruise • Destination: Mombasa • Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner • Accommodations: Leopard Beach Resort or similar

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-955-1925

48 Kenya & Tanzania Safari: OUR SMALL GROUP ADVENTURE COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY To ensure the safety of all of our travelers, we are requiring that all travelers Masai Mara to the Serengeti joining us on one of our Small Group Adventures must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to departure of their adventure— and provide proof of their vaccination on-site. 2022 Dates & Prices For more details, please visit www.oattravel.com/covid-update.

J A N U A R Y ; AUG 24-31; MAR 22, 27; MAY 10; JULY; SEPTEMBER- DEPART FROM NOVEMBER FEBRUARY MAR 4, 13 DECEMBER MAY 21 JUNE AUG 1-22 OCTOBER

New York $ 7295 $7395 $7095 $7695 $7995 $8495 $8595 $8195

Newark $ 7395 $ 7495 $ 7195 $ 7795 $ 8095 $ 8595 $ 8695 $ 8295

Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, $ 7495 $ 7595 $ 7295 $ 7895 $ 8195 $ 8695 $ 8795 $ 8395 Washington, DC

Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, $ 7595 $ 7695 $ 7395 $ 7995 $ 8295 $ 8795 $ 8895 $ 8495 Denver, Miami, Orlando

Atlanta, Phoenix, Portland, $ 7695 $ 7795 $ 7495 $ 8095 $ 8395 $ 8895 $ 8995 $ 8595 San Diego, Seattle, Tampa

Detroit, Minneapolis $ 7795 $ 7895 $ 7595 $ 8195 $ 8495 $ 8995 $ 9095 $ 8695

Additional departure cities are available. Upgrade to Business Class may be available for the international portion of your flight. Call for details.

JUNE; AUG 24-31; J A N U A R Y ; SEPTEMBER- J U L Y ; N O V E M B E R F E B R U A R Y M A R C H M A Y OCTOBER AUG 1-22 DECEMBER Without international airfare $5795 $5895 $5595 $5995 $6495 $6595 $5695

KTZ2022

RISK-FREE BOOKING POLICY: RESERVE WITH CONFIDENCE— NEW! STOPOVERS NOW THROUGH 12/31/21 All O.A.T. Stopovers include 3 nights in a centrally- We will waive any change fees if you transfer to another departure date for any located hotel, daily breakfasts, and roundtrip reason—up until 24 hours prior to departure. See details at www.oattravel.com/ private airport transfers. riskfree-booking. Cairo: $845 per person A visa is required for entry into Kenya and Tanzania, for Rwanda and Kenya on the pre- Amsterdam, Paris or Nairobi: $945 per person trip extensions, and for Uganda on the post-trip extension. You will receive application Other O.A.T. Stopovers are available. If a city you information after you reserve. are interested in is not offered, we can arrange Prices are per person. Airfare prices include government taxes, fees, and airline fuel your airfare for that, too. surcharges. All prices and availability are effective as of the date of this publication, and Call your Regional Adventure Counselor for full are subject to change without notice. Standard Terms & Conditions apply, please visit our details at 1-800-955-1925. website: www.oattravel.com/tc. Every effort has been made to produce this information accurately. We reserve the right to correct errors.

For specific departure dates, current availability, and detailed pricing, visit www.oattravel.com/ktz2022pricing

SAVE UP TO 10% WITH FREE SINGLE SUPPLEMENTS SHARE YOUR LOVE OF TRAVEL OUR GOOD BUY PLAN We offer FREE Single Supplements on all New travelers you refer will instantly save The earlier you reserve your departure of our adventures and pre- and post-trip $100, and you’ll earn increasing rewards— and pay in full, the more you’ll save—up extensions. up to a FREE trip! to 10%—plus, you’ll lock in your price. Each departure has limited solo space For details, visit www.oattravel.com/va For details, visit www.oattravel.com/gbd available—call today to reserve.

Publication Date 5/25/21

Information & Reservations 1-800-955-1925 www.oattravel.com/ktz2022

49 TRAVEL DOCUMENTS & ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Your Passport • Must be in good condition

• Must be valid for at least 6 months after your scheduled return to the U.S.

• Must have the required number of blank pages (details below)

• The blank pages must be labeled “Visas” at the top. Pages labeled “Amendments and Endorsements” are not acceptable

Need to Renew Your Passport? Contact the National Passport Information Center (NPIC) at 1-877-487-2778, or visit their website at www.travel.state.gov for information on obtaining a new passport or renewing your existing passport. You may also contact our recommended visa service company, PVS International, at 1-800-556-9990 for help with your passport

Recommended Blank Pages Please confirm that your passport has enough blank pages for this adventure.

• Main trip only: If you are taking the main trip only, you will need 4 blank passport pages.

• Pre-trip extension to Mount Kenya National Park: No additional pages needed.

• Pre-trip extension in Rwanda: You will need 2 additional pages.

• Post-trip extension in Uganda: You will need an additional page.

• Post-trip extension in Mombasa, Kenya: You will need 2 additional pages.

• Both a pre- and a post-trip extension: You will 6 pages total if your pre-trip extension is in Kenya or 8 pages total if it is in Rwanda.

• Stopover in Amsterdam, Nairobi, or Johannesburg: You will need to add 2 additional pages to the applicable total listed above.

• Stopover in Paris, Cairo, or Dubai: You will need to add an additional page to the applicable total listed above.

Please note: You might not use all of these pages on your adventure (when you return, some may still be blank) but local officials will want to see that you have them. While your Trip Experience Leaders will request that one page be stamped multiple times, this cannot be guaranteed and is at the discretion of the local official. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you have plenty of blank pages.

50 Visas Required We’ll be sending you a detailed Visa Packet with instructions, application forms, and fees about 100 days prior to your departure. In the meantime, we’re providing the information below as a guideline on what to expect. This info is for U.S. citizens only. All visas and fees are subject to change.

• Kenya: Visa required. It is important that you get this visa in advance.

• Tanzania: Visa required. Both the U.S. Department of State and the Tanzanian embassy highly recommended that you obtain your visa in advance, which will be issued as an e-visa. For this itinerary, Tanzania also requires proof that you’ve received the yellow fever vaccine. Please see “Yellow Fever—Documentation Required” for details.

• Rwanda (pre-trip extension only): Visa required. Although this visa may be obtained upon your arrival, we recommend you obtain it in advance.

• Uganda (post-trip extension only): Visa required. This visa can only be obtained in advance; you cannot obtain it upon arrival.

• Egypt (optional stopover only): Visa required. U.S. citizens will require a visa to enter Egypt; detailed instructions and information will be included in your Visa Packet, as noted above.

• United Arab Emirates (optional stopover only): Visa required. Currently, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) allows U.S. citizens to get a tourist visa free of charge on arrival in Dubai.

• The Netherlands, France, and South Africa (optional stopovers only): No visa needed. A visa is not required for U.S. citizens for stays of up to 90 days.

Traveling Without a U.S. Passport? If you are not a U.S. citizen, or if your passport is from any country other than the U.S., it is your responsibility to check with your local consulate, embassy, or a visa services company about visa requirements. We recommend the services of PVS International, a national visa service located in Washington D.C.; they can be reached at 1-800-556-9990 or www.pvsinternational.org.

Traveling With a Minor? Some governments may require certain documentation for minors to enter and depart the country or to obtain a visa (if applicable). For further detail on the required documentation, please contact your local embassy or consulate.

Emergency Photocopies of Key Documents We recommend you carry color photocopies of key documents including the photo page of your passport plus any applicable visas, air itinerary, credit cards (front and back), and an alternative form of ID. Add emergency phone numbers like your credit card company and the number for your travel protection plan. Store copies separate from the originals.

51 If you plan to email this information to yourself, please keep in mind that email is not always secure; consider using password protection or encryption. Also email is not always available worldwide. As an alternative, you could load these documents onto a flash drive instead, which can do double-duty as a place to backup photos during your trip.

Overseas Taxes & Fees This tour may have taxes and fees that cannot be included in your airline ticket price because you are required to pay them in person onsite. All taxes are subject to change without notice and can be paid in cash (either U.S. or local currency). If applicable, you will receive a list of these fees with your Final Documents.

52 RIGORS, VACCINES & GENERAL HEALTH

Is This Adventure Right for You? Please review the information below prior to departing on this adventure. We reserve the right for our Trip Experience Leaders to modify participation, or in some circumstances send travelers home, if their condition would adversely affect the health, safety, or enjoyment of themselves or of other travelers.

PACING • 6 locations in 18 days

• International flights to Amsterdam en route to Nairobi depart late in the day for an overnight flight, and 3 internal flights

• Airport transfers in Nairobi take approximately 1 hour

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS • Not appropriate for travelers using wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility aids

• You must be able to walk 1-2 miles unassisted and participate in 2-4 hours of physical activities each day

• Traveling in a safari vehicle over roads in poor condition can cause problems for travelers with back and leg pain

• Travelers in need of a CPAP machine may only bring one that runs on rechargeable batteries

• We reserve the right for Trip Experience Leaders to restrict participation, or in some circumstances send travelers home, if their limitations impact the group’s experience

CLIMATE • Daytime temperatures range from 50-100°F

• The hottest months are October-February, and May brings heavy rains, with the short rains coming in November

TERRAIN & TRANSPORTATION • Travel over bumpy, dusty terrain during overland transfers and game-viewing drives, and camp in tents built on uneven terrain

• Travel by 18-passenger coach and 4x4 closed Land Cruisers in Kenya and Tanzania

• 3 internal flights (1-2 hours long), several 8-10 hour days in safari vehicles

• 15-passenger aircraft with small seats

53 ACCOMMODATIONS & FACILITIES • We spend 17 nights in comfortable but basic lodges and tented camps

• Our lodges use generator electricity and lantern lighting at night, and do not have air- conditioning. There could be a 1- to 5-minute walk from our tents to the main lodge

• All accommodations feature private bathrooms

Steps to Take Before Your Trip Before you leave on this adventure, we recommend the following:

• Check with the CDC for their recommendations for the countries you’ll be visiting. You can contact them online at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel or by phone at 1-800-232-4636.

• Have a medical checkup with your doctor at least 6 weeks before your trip.

• Pick up any necessary medications, both prescription and over-the-counter.

• Have a dental and/or eye checkup. (Recommended, but less urgent)

Vaccines Required

COVID-19 Overseas Adventure Travel requires that all travelers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are able provide proof of their vaccination upon arrival at their destination. A full vaccination is defined as having been inoculated at least 14 days prior to departure by an approved vaccine. This requirement is not contingent on the countries the tour visits, but a strict company policy due to the nature of the pandemic.

Yellow Fever All travelers will need to bring EITHER proof of a yellow fever vaccination OR an official vaccination waiver in order to meet Tanzania’s entry requirements.

While the CDC offers a wide range of vaccination and medication suggestions, there is one in particular that we’d like to draw your attention to—the yellow fever vaccine. For some countries, the yellow fever vaccination is a legal entry requirement, like a passport. For other countries, it is a health recommendation to protect you from getting sick. On this adventure, this vaccination is a legal entry requirement for Tanzania (as well as Uganda on the post-trip extension)—but fortunately, authorities will accept a doctor’s waiver in place of getting the actual shot.

The requirement applies to us because we’ll be entering Tanzania from Kenya, which is considered an endemic country. This means you might be asked for documentation on the vaccine when you cross the border from Kenya to Tanzania. Therefore EITHER proof of a yellow fever vaccination OR an official vaccination waiver is a requirement for this trip.

54 You should discuss the vaccine with your doctor to see if he or she recommends it and if your health allows for it. (He or she can offer a suggestion tailored to your personal medical history.) If you and your doctor decide the vaccination is right for you, then he or she will issue you a Yellow Fever Card, also called an International Certificate of Vaccination. This is your proof of vaccination; you should bring it with you on the trip.

If you and your doctor decide the vaccination isn’t right for you, then have your doctor issue an official vaccination waiver. An official waiver is a letter that meets these requirements:

• It must be on business letterhead paper.

• It must be signed by a doctor.

• It must be stamped using the same stamp that the doctor uses on a Yellow Fever Card.

• It must give the medical reason why you cannot get the vaccine, say how high the risk is, and cite an authority. (For example: Mr. Smith cannot receive the yellow fever vaccine due to a high risk of side effects as outlined in the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines for people over the age of 65.)

Whether you receive a Yellow Fever Card or an official vaccination waiver, keep it on your person (in your backpack or purse) so it is easy to find when you arrive or when you cross the border. You may not be asked to show anything at all when you cross the border—it all depends on the local official. But if you are asked, you must be able to produce your Yellow Fever Card OR your waiver.

Medication Suggestions • An antibiotic medication for gastrointestinal illness

• Prescription pain medication in the unlikely event of an injury in a remote location

• Motion sickness medicine, if you are susceptible (the roads are very bumpy).

• Anti-malaria medication. Check with the CDC and your doctor first because these medications can have strong side effects.

• Optional: Allergy and/or asthma medication. The roads can be very dusty which can trigger allergies or breathing complaints that may require prescription medications.

Traveling with Medications • Pack medications in your carry-on bag to avoid loss and to have them handy.

• Keep medicines in their original, labeled containers for a quicker security screen at the airport and a better experience if you get stopped by customs while overseas.

• Bring copies of your prescriptions, written using the generic drug name rather than a brand name to be prepared for any unforeseen loss of your medications.

55 We recommend checking with the State Department for medication restrictions by country: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel- Country-Information-Pages.html. (Pick the country and then follow the links to “Local Laws & Special Circumstances”; if you don’t see any medications specifically mentioned, then you can presume major U.S. brands should be OK).

Staying Healthy on Your Trip Jet Lag Tips

• Start your trip well-rested.

• Begin a gradual transition to your new time zone before you leave or switch to your destination time zone when you get on the plane.

• Attempt to sleep and eat according to the new schedule.

• Avoid heavy eating and drinking caffeine or alcoholic beverages right before–and during– your flight.

• Drink plenty of water and/or fruit juice while flying

• Stretch your legs, neck, and back periodically while seated on the plane.

• After arrival, avoid the temptation to nap.

• Don’t push yourself to see a lot on your first day.

• Try to stay awake your first day until after dinner.

Allergies

If you have any serious allergies or dietary restrictions, we advise you to notify us at least 30 days prior to your departure. Please call our Traveler Support team at 1-800-221-0814, and we will communicate them to our regional office. Every effort will be made to accommodate you.

Water • Tap water is not safe to drink. We recommend you use only bottled, filtered, or boiled water for drinking and brushing your teeth throughout this trip.

• During your adventure, you will receive one complementary bottle of water each day at your lodgings, and during safari days, you’ll also receive a second complementary bottle of water in your safari vehicle. Additional bottled water is available for sale in the lodges. Prices vary, but generally fall in the $3-4 range for a one-liter bottle. Carry a bottle in your daypack at all times.

• Before you buy a bottle, inspect it to make sure the cap is sealed properly. Carry a handkerchief to dry the tops of bottled drinks before and after opening.

• Please note that the boiled water can have a faintly smoky taste.

56 • At most lodges it is safe to use ice in your drinks, but check with your Trip Experience Leader first.

Food • The food served at our lodges is safe, including salads and fruits.

• Exercise caution when eating at small local restaurants or buying food from street vendors. Eat only food that is well done and is still hot.

• Since the tap water is not safe to drink, you should be mindful about eating salads or fruits outside of our lodges—they may have been washed in tap water. (Fruit that you peel yourself should be OK.)

• Your Trip Experience Leader will advise you if he/she feels that something is unsafe for you to eat.

TIP: During this adventure you might be offered food that is strange and new to you. If you are offered food that you do not feel comfortable with, no one will feel offended if you politely decline; this is OK even during a home visit.

Electricity Supply A constant electricity supply cannot be guaranteed during overnight stays. Travelers who rely on a CPAP machine must bring one that runs on rechargeable batteries.

57 MONEY MATTERS: LOCAL CURRENCY & TIPPING GUIDELINES

Top Three Tips • Bring enough cash to cover your needs for 80% of the trip and only expect to be able to use plastic (credit, debit, or ATM card) 20% of the time. When budgeting, keep in mind that your biggest expenses will be tips, meals, and souvenirs. As a guideline, an average meal in this region costs between $15 and $20 per person including a tip.

• A mix of small bills ($1s-$20s), in good condition, and printed after 2006. You’ll be able to pay in U.S. dollars in most places on this trip.

• Traveler’s checks are not recommended. They can be difficult to exchange and the commission fee for cashing them is quite high. It’s more practical to view them as a last resort in the event of a special situation.

Local Currency For current exchange rates, please refer to an online converter tool like www.xe.com/ currencyconverter, your bank, or the financial section of your newspaper.

Kenya The official currency of Kenya is the Kenyan shilling (KSh), which is divided into 100 cents. One shilling is written Shs.1/-. Banknote and coin denominations are as follows:

• Banknotes: 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 shillings (written Shs.1000/-)

• Coins: 50 cents and 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 shillings

In Kenya, U.S. dollars are accepted for payment in most situations. Newer bills (2006 or newer) in very good condition are strongly preferred. However, when paying in dollars, the exchange rate is not in your favor. You’ll get a better rate by exchanging dollars for shillings and then paying in shillings.

Tanzania The basic unit of currency in Tanzania is the Tanzanian Shilling (TSh), which is divided into 100 senti.

• Banknotes: 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 shillings

• Coins: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 senti and 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 shillings

In Tanzania, U.S. dollars are accepted for payment in most situations. Bills in very good condition are strongly preferred (2006 or newer). Our regional office suggests that a mix of denominations ($1, 5, 10, and 20s) is best/most convenient for paying with dollars. For exchanging, you’ll get a better rate on large bills ($50s and $100s).

58 Rwanda The basic unit of currency in Rwanda is the Rwandan Franc (RFr), which is divided into 100 centimes.

• Banknotes: 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 francs

• Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 francs

In Rwanda, U.S. dollars are accepted for payment in most situations. Newer bills (2006 or newer) in very good condition are strongly preferred.

Uganda The basic unit of currency in Uganda is the Ugandan Shilling (UGX).

• Banknotes: 10, 20, 50, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 shillings

• Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 shillings

In Uganda, U.S. dollars are accepted for payment in most situations. Bills must be issued after 2006 and be in good condition.

How to Exchange Money On this adventure, you won’t need to exchange money because you can pay in U.S. dollars. But you will want a mix of small bills ($1, 5, 10, and 20s), in good condition, printed after 2006. Large bills ($50s and $100s) will be hard to break, and bills in bad condition (dirty, worn, or torn) or printed before 2006 might be rejected, even by banks.

During the trip, if you choose to get local currency, the easiest way is to use a local ATM (your bank at home will convert and charge you in U.S. dollars). You can also exchange cash at some hotels and money exchange offices. To exchange cash, you’ll usually need your passport and bills in good condition (not worn, torn, or dirty). Never exchange money on the street. All exchange methods involve fees, which may be built into the conversion rate; ask beforehand.

TIP: Large bills ($50s and 100s) will receive a better exchange rate, but when paying with U.S. dollars, a mix of some $1, 5, 10, and 20s would be better. It makes tipping and bargaining easier when you have exact change.

ATMs When using the ATM, keep in mind that it may only accept cards from local banks, and may not allow cash advances on credit cards; you might need to try more than one ATM or more than one card.

Many banks charge a fee of $1-$10 each time you use a foreign ATM. Others may charge you a percentage of the amount you withdraw. We recommend that you check with your bank before you depart.

59 Lastly, don’t forget to memorize the actual digits of your card’s PIN number (many keypads at foreign ATMs do not include letters on their keys—they only display numbers.)

Kenya: International ATM networks are typically available in the larger cities like Nairobi, however when you are on safari in the bush, you will not have access to ATMs. Local ATMs may only accept cards from local banks and usually will not allow cash advances on credit cards; therefore it is best to bring a cash reserve large enough to pay for most expenses.

Tanzania: In larger cities, ATMs are typically available for major international networks. However, outside of large cities, ATMs may only accept cards from local banks and generally do not allow cash advances on credit cards. It is best to bring a cash reserve large enough to pay for most expenses.

Rwanda: ATMs can be found in large cities like Kigali, but not all cards will work at all ATMs and most may only accept cards issued by local banks. We suggest that you bring a cash reserve to cover your expenses.

Uganda: ATMs are common in large cities, such as Kampala, but many be more difficult to find in rural areas. Keep in mind that ATMs are not always reliable so we recommend that you keep a cash reserve on hand.

Credit & Debit Cards Even if you don’t plan on using a credit card during your trip, we still suggest that you bring one or two as a backup, especially if you are planning a large purchase (artwork, jewelry). We also suggest that you bring more than one brand of card (i.e. Visa, MasterCard, American Express) if possible, because not every shop will take every card. For example, although the Discover card is accepted in some countries outside the U.S., it is not widely adopted, so other brands will work at a much larger range of stores, restaurants, etc.

Kenya: Credit cards are becoming more common in Kenya, but are not as widely accepted as they are in the U.S. Many camps, lodges, and shops will be cash only. Businesses that do accept cards tend to use a slow approval process that may involve calling your credit card company to get authorization.

Tanzania: Although credit cards are becoming more common, they are not as widely accepted in Tanzania as they are in the U.S. Many camps, lodges, and shops will be cash only and businesses that do accept credit cards may use a slow approval process that sometimes involve calling your credit card company to get authorization.

Rwanda: Although credit use is becoming more common, it is not accepted as frequently as in the U.S., or merchants may only accept certain brands of credit card. We recommend that you bring a cash reserve to cover your expenses.

Uganda: Credit cards may be accepted at some large hotels, but are not commonly used outside of Kampala.

60 Notify Card Providers of Upcoming Travel Many credit card companies and banks have fraud alert departments that will freeze your card if they see suspicious charges—such as charges or withdrawals from another country. To avoid an accidental security block, it is a good idea to notify your credit card company and/or bank you will be using your cards abroad. You can do this by calling their customer service number a week or two before your departure. Some banks or credit card companies will also let you do this online.

You should also double-check what phone number you could call if you have a problem with a card while you are abroad. Don’t assume you can use the 1-800 number printed on the back of your card—most 1 800 numbers don’t work outside of the U.S.!

Tipping Guidelines Of course, whether you tip, and how much, is always at your own discretion. But for those of you who have asked for tipping suggestions, we offer these guidelines.

• O.A.T. Trip Experience Leader: It is customary to express a personal “thank you” to your Trip Experience Leader at the end of your trip. As a guideline, many travelers give $7-$10 USD (or equivalent in local currency) per person for each day their Trip Experience Leader is with them. Please note that these tips can only be in cash. If you are taking any of the optional extensions, your Trip Experience Leader during the extension(s) may not be the same as the one on your main trip.

• Please note that the Kenya: Mount Kenya National Park, Sweetwaters and Uganda: Murchison Falls, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary extensions are run by local Extension Guides who specialize in their respective game reserves instead of your Trip Experience Leader. Their tip is included.

• Housekeeping staff at city hotels: $1-2 per room, per night. This only applies to the hotels in Nairobi (main trip and pre-trip extension). Tipping for housekeepers at tented camps and safari lodges is included as they are part of the camp/lodge staff.

• Waiters: When dining on your own, you would tip up to 5% of the bill in Tanzania and from 5%-10% in Kenya or Uganda—but only if a service charge isn’t already on the bill. Tipping is only customary at higher-end restaurants in

• Rwanda, where the standard amount is 10%.

• Taxis: Tipping isn’t necessary, but if you want to give something you can round up the bill and let the driver keep the change.

• Your Trip Price Includes: Gratuities are included for local guides, drivers, lodge and camp staff, driver-guides, gorilla trek porters and luggage porters on your main trip, extensions, and all optional tours.

Please note: Tips are quoted in U.S. dollars for budgeting purposes; tips can be converted and paid in local currency (this is usually preferred) or in U.S. dollars. Please do not use personal or traveler’s checks for tips.

61 AIR, OPTIONAL TOURS & STAYING IN TOUCH

Land Only Travelers & Personalized Air Quick Definitions

• Land Only: You will be booking your own international flights. Airport transfers are not included.

• Air-Inclusive: You booked international air with us. Airport transfers are included as long as you didn’t customize your trip’s dates (see next bullet).

• Personalized Air: You booked international air with us, and have customized it in some way. If you have customized your trip’s dates to arrive early, stay longer, or stop on your own in a connecting city, airport transfers will NOT be included. You must also arrange your own accommodations for any additional nights. For your convenience, a preliminary list of your included hotels is available on your My Account at www.oattravel.com/myaccount under “My Reservations”.

Airport Transfers Can Be Purchased For eligible flights, airport transfers may be purchased separately as an optional add-on, subject to availability. To be eligible, your flight(s) must meet the following requirements:

• You must fly into or fly home from the same airport as O.A.T. travelers who purchased included airfare.

• Your flight(s) must arrive/depart on the same day that the group arrives or departs.

Airport transfers can be purchased up to 45 days prior to your departure; they are not available for purchase onsite. To learn more, or purchase airport transfers, please call our Traveler Support team at 1-800-221-0814.

If you don’t meet the requirements above, you’ll need to make your own transfer arrangements. We suggest the Rome to Rio website as a handy resource: www.rome2rio.com.

When booking your international flights, please pay close attention to when the group will be flying home. For example on the main trip the tour ends on Day 19 because we use an overnight flight back to the United States.

Optional Tours Optional tours are additional add-on tours that allow you to personalize your adventure by tailoring it to your tastes and needs. And if you decide not to join an optional tour? Then you’ll have free time to relax or explore on your own—it’s about options, not obligations.

What You Need to Know • All optional tours are subject to change and availability.

62 • Optional tours that are reserved with your Trip Experience Leader can be paid for using credit/debit cards only. We accept MasterCard, Visa, and Discover credit cards; we can also take MasterCard or Visa debit cards as long as the card allows you to sign for purchases. (You won’t be able to enter a PIN.)

• To ensure that you are charged in U.S. dollars, your payment will be processed by our U.S. headquarters in Boston. This process can take up to three months, so we ask that you only use a card that will still be valid three months after your trip is over. The charge may appear on your credit card statement as being from Boston, MA or may be labeled as “OPT Boston”.

• Your Trip Experience Leader will give you details on the optional tours while you’re on the trip. But if you’d like to look over descriptions of them earlier, you can do so at any time by referring to your Day-to-Day Itinerary (available online by signing into My Account at www.oattravel.com/myaccount).

Optional Tours: Reserve Before You Go We strongly recommend that you reserve the following optional tours in advance. Unless otherwise noted, the deadline to do so is 45 days prior to your departure. Occasionally, space will be available for booking onsite, but this not guaranteed. Optional tours with O.A.T. can only be purchased with a credit card (Visa or MasterCard) or a debit card with credit card functionality. Because our headquarters are in Boston, charges may appear to be from Boston or might be labeled as “OPT Boston” (depending on your credit card company).

Serengeti Sunrise Safari & Hot Air Balloon Ride

If you choose to take this optional tour, plan on waking up before dawn as we’ll begin with an early morning game-viewing drive. Then we’ll retreat under the shade of a nearby acacia tree where we’ll enjoy breakfast in the bush with a celebratory glass of sparkling wine. Following breakfast, our excursion continues with a breathtaking hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. With a certified, professional pilot at the controls, we’ll glide over the majestic savannas at dawn, when the morning light bathes the plains in a golden hue. There’s simply no better vantage point from which to appreciate the sheer vastness of the Serengeti’s more than 5,700 square miles of plains, riverine bush, and acacia woodlands. Once we land, we’ll return to our camp to reunite with any travelers who chose not to take this optional tour.

This optional tour is offered during the main trip. The cost is $570 per person.

Please note: This tour is pre-sold only. Due to limited space, it is strongly advised that you reserve this optional tour at least 45 days prior to departure. It is also dependent on wind conditions.

63 Masai Mara Sunrise Safari & Hot Air Balloon Ride

Rise before dawn in order to catch the sweeping vista of the morning light over Masai Mara. View the game reserve from a bird’s eye perspective as you gently float for an hour over the grassy plains. Celebrate touchdown with a picnic breakfast in the bush with sparkling wine before returning to camp mid-morning. Please note: This optional tour must be purchased at least 45 days prior to departure. Prices are subject to change.

This optional tour is offered during the main trip. The cost is $535 per person.

Communicating with Home from Abroad One of the advantages of a safari is the chance to “unplug” and unwind—but the trade-off is that you won’t have the same access to the Internet, email, or phone service that you would back at home.

Cell phone or Internet service will be available in some places, but not all. Even basic telephone and email service is not always available in the bush, where you will be spending much of your time. You won’t be completely out of touch—our bush camps and safari lodges do have satellite radio service. However, the satellite radio service is usually for emergencies only. Outside of the bush, you’ll be able to send emails and make phone calls in large cities like Nairobi.

Cell Phones If you want to use your cell phone on the trip, check with your phone provider to see if your phone and service will work outside of the U.S. It may turn out to be cheaper to rent an international phone or buy a SIM card onsite. If you want to use a local SIM, just make certain your phone is “unlocked”, meaning it can accept a local SIM card. If your cell is “unlocked” then you will be able to purchase a local SIM for it and then buy minutes with “Pay as You Go” cards, so that you have a local contact number for your friends and family.

Please understand that throughout Africa, good cell phone service is only available in large towns or cities.

Calling Apps Another option is to use a smartphone app like Skype or FaceTime. These services are usually less expensive than making a traditional call, but you’ll need a Wi-Fi connection and the calls may count towards your phone plan’s data allowance. Many smartphones—and some tablets or laptops—come with one of these apps pre-installed or you can download them for free from the appropriate apps store.

64 Calling Cards & 1-800 Numbers When calling the U.S. from a foreign country, a prepaid calling card can be useful because it circumvents unexpected charges from the hotel. Calling cards purchased locally are typically the best (less expensive, more likely to work with the local phones, etc.). One reminder: Do not call U.S. 1-800 numbers outside the continental United States. This can result in costly long distance fees, since 1-800 numbers do not work outside the country.

Internet Internet access on this adventure will be mostly limited to cities and towns. In many cases, it will not be WiFi, but rather public computers in the hotel lobby or business center. The hotels and lodges that do offer WiFi will usually charge for the service. There is usually no Internet service at all in tented camps.

Receiving Calls from Home To ensure you are available during your trip to friends and relatives at home, you will receive two copies of your hotel list, including phone numbers, with your Final Documents. One copy is for you to bring, and one is to leave behind with friends or relatives in case they need to contact you during the trip.

It is worth noting that most of the time the phone number for a bush camp or bush lodge is for a central office in a nearby city; they take a message and then relay it to you in the bush by the satellite radio service. Please explain to your friends and family that there might be a delay in reaching you when you are on safari, and it’s best if they only try to reach you in case of an emergency.

How to Call Overseas When calling overseas from the U.S., dial 011 for international exchange, then the country code (indicated by a plus sign: +), and then the number. Note that foreign phone numbers may not have the same number of digits as U.S. numbers; even within a country the number of digits can vary depending on the city and if the phone is a land line or cell phone.

Kenya: +254 Rwanda: +250

Tanzania: +255 Uganda: +256

65 PACKING: WHAT TO BRING & LUGGAGE LIMITS

Luggage Limits

MAIN TRIP LIMITS

Pieces per person One checked bag and one carry-on per person.

Weight restrictions Combined weight of checked and carry-on luggage: Up to 33 lbs total.

Size Restrictions Standard airline size: Checked luggage should not exceed 62 linear inches (length+width+depth) and carry-on should not exceed 45 linear inches.

Luggage Type Must use a duffel bag as your checked luggage.

TRIP EXTENSION(S) LIMITS

Same as the main trip.

REMARKS/SUGGESTIONS

EXCESS BAGGAGE CANNOT BE TAKEN.

Type of luggage: Use of a duffel bag is a requirement on this adventure. We ask that you use the complimentary O.A.T. safari bag that we will be sending you.

Packing light: Laundry service is offered at most of our lodges, except in Tarangire and the Serengeti, where water is at a premium. Prices are reasonable; although dryers are rare, so clothing will take longer to dry during the rainy seasons. Previous travelers have had a lot of success with packing fewer clothes and having laundry done. This is especially useful if you are bringing extra camera equipment. Underwear will not be included in this service, so please plan accordingly.

Don’t Forget: • These luggage limits may change. If the airline(s) notify us of any changes, we will include an update in your Final Documents booklet.

• It’s a good idea to reconfirm baggage restrictions and fees directly with the airline a week or so prior to departure. For your convenience, we maintain a list of the toll-free numbers for the most common airlines on our website in the FAQ section.

• Baggage fees are not included in your trip price; they are payable directly to the airlines.

66 • The luggage limits above are based on your regional flights, which may be less than your international flights. Even if your international airline offers a larger weight limit, you will need to pack according to the lower restrictions.

Your Luggage: Duffel Bag Required On safaris, the room allowed for checked luggage is limited one piece per person.

• Use of a duffel bag is a requirement on this adventure.

• We ask that you use the complimentary O.A.T. duffel bag that we will be sending you because it has been approved for this safari by our regional office in Africa. Suitcases of any kind, hard-sided luggage, or luggage with an internal frame are not allowed. If you bring something other than a cloth duffel bag without an internal frame, your luggage may not fit on the small planes or in the safari vehicles we use on this adventure. We’d like you to have your luggage with you on the whole adventure—so a duffel bag is key.

• The O.A.T. duffel bag has wheels and measures 28” x 13” x 11”

• Previous travelers have recommended adding an identifier to your duffel bag, such as a scarf or colored tape, to set it apart from the others.

Important Note: Plastic bags are no longer allowed in Kenya and Tanzania. They will be confiscated if found, and may incur fines or even jail time. Consider bringing an empty nylon bag folded into your main suitcase instead for laundry or dirty shoes. For more details, see the packing list section of this Handbook.

TIP: When traveling with a companion we recommend “cross-packing,” i.e., pack 2 outfits of your clothing in your companion’s luggage and vice-versa, in case one bag is delayed.

Carry-on Bag: You are allowed one carry-on bag per person. We suggest a tote or small backpack that can be used as both a carry-on bag for your flight and to carry your daily necessities—water bottle, camera, etc—during game drives.

Luggage Handling on Arrival: Airport porters are not allowed in the customs hall area. When you land, you must take your luggage off the baggage carousel and then clear customs. When you exit the airport building, your driver will load your luggage into the coach.

Locks: For flights that originate in the U.S., you can either use a TSA-approved lock or leave your luggage unlocked. Outside of the U.S. we strongly recommend locking your luggage as a theft- prevention measure. TIP: Most camps or lodges do not have personal safes in the tents/rooms. Instead, valuables, passports, and money can be secured in lockable canvas bags that are put into a locked central safe. Camps and lodges provide the bags and the locks for this purpose.

67 Clothing Suggestions: Functional Tips As you will experience a wide range of temperatures and weather conditions, we suggest several layers of clothing. If you like to hand-wash your clothes, look for fabrics that will dry out overnight. You can buy clothing designed especially for travel, with features like wrinkle- resistant fabric or built-in sun protection.

• Layers for game drives: Many game drives are in the early morning or late evening. Even at the height of summer, these times of day are cooler than the afternoon. Therefore we suggest bringing a piece that you can wear over your clothing for cooler mornings and remove as the day heats up (windbreaker, jacket, sweater, sweatshirt, etc.). And just a reminder: south of the equator, the seasons are reversed. Travelers on summer departures will want to bring more than one layer—it is winter in East Africa.

• Footwear: You’ll be on your feet a lot during the trip, and walking over some rough and slippery surfaces. We recommend you wear sturdy walking shoes or similar supportive sports shoes that offer good traction. We also recommend you bring a pair of rubberized sandals (i.e., Tevas) for showering, wearing around the lodge, and general warm weather use.

• Gorilla trekking in Rwanda: Be prepared for rain throughout the year as you trek through the rain forest. We recommend that you bring a good rain jacket or poncho, as well as quick-drying clothing and waterproof hiking boots. Gaiters and gardening gloves are also recommended to protect against stinging nettles.

Fashion Dos and Don’ts • Do wear muted earth or nature colors on game drives—beige, tans, browns, greens, etc.—because they don’t show dirt easily, coordinate well, don’t distract animals, and don’t attract tsetse flies like black and blue.

• If possible, don’t wear white or very brightly colored clothing on game drives. These colors are fine at the lodge or in town, but traditionally they been used to keep animals away (which is why many tribes wear red). Even color-blind animals can spot dark and light shades, and white is a danger signal for some species.

• Do wear clothes that are functional and casual. There’s no need for formal or dressy clothing. In local communities, and to some extent in the lodges, your dress should be modest and conservative.

Suggested Packing Lists We have included suggestions from Trip Experience Leaders and former travelers to help you pack. These lists are only jumping-off points—they offer recommendations based on experience, but not requirements. You may also want to consult the “Climate” chapter of this handbook.

And don’t forget a reusable water bottle—you’ll need it to take advantage of any refills we offer as we are working to eliminate single-use plastic bottles on all of our trips.

68 Year-Round Clothing Checklist ‰Shirts: A mixture of short and long-sleeved shirts to layer ‰Trousers and/or jeans: Comfortable and loose fitting is best. ‰Shorts: Cut long for modesty. Even during hotter months, you’ll want at least one pair of long pants for early morning game drives.

‰Shoes and socks: Comfortable walking/ running shoes or low-cut hiking shoes, with arch support. Light hiking boots will suffice; there is no heavy hiking during the trip, but hiking boots should offer better support and traction than shoes. We also recommend you bring a pair of rubberized sandals (i.e., Tevas) for showering, wearing around the lodge, and general warm weather use. Bring plenty of socks, you may find yourself wishing to change a couple times a day.

‰Light rain jacket/windbreaker with hood ‰Wide-brim sun hat or visor for sun protection ‰Underwear: Most camps and lodges will not include “smalls” (underwear) in their laundry service. This is partly for cultural reasons and partly because many properties still do laundry by hand. It is usually OK for you wash them yourself in your room. For women travelers we suggest close-fitting brassieres, such as sports bras—the roads are very bumpy.

‰Sleepwear ‰Optional: Swimsuit and cover-up

Seasonal Clothing Recommendations For spring and summer (September-March): ‰Walking shorts ‰A jacket or sweater. Even in summer it can be cool during early morning game drives.

For the rainy season (November-March):

Your laundry will take more than a day to be returned dry because most lodges don’t have dryers. ‰Light rain jacket/windbreaker with hood ‰Hood/lens cap/waterproof bag for camera

69 For fall and winter (May-August):

It’s colder than you think in winter, especially during early morning game drives or at night in a tented camp. Warm clothing is essential, so add these items your packing list. ‰Long-sleeved shirts in a warm, heavy fabric for cool nights, i.e., flannel or knit ‰A warm, insulated jacket in addition to a wool or fleece sweater. If you own a light or medium-weight insulated field jacket or parka, you can use that.

‰Warm hat, gloves, and a scarf (especially useful on the game-drive vehicles) ‰Warm sleepwear ‰Long underwear. It keeps you warm but doesn’t take up a lot of space or weigh much.

Essential Items ‰Daily essentials: toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hairbrush or comb, shaving items, deodorant, etc. Lodges provide shampoo and soap but most lodges do not provide washcloths.

‰Spare eyeglasses/contact lenses; sunglasses ‰Sunscreen: SPF 15 or stronger ‰Insect repellent-the lodges may provide insect repellent but you may want to bring your own. We suggest using a kind with DEET between 30-35% strength.

‰Flashlight or headlamp: Consider a small but powerful LED version or a version with an alternative power source (wind-up, solar powered).

‰Lightweight binoculars: To avoid disturbing the animals’ natural activities, we stop the vehicle at a respectful distance. By having your own binoculars, you’ll be able to enjoy the experience more. Models such as 8 x 21 or 6 x 16 provide suitable magnification and illumination. 10x models are usable, but are usually heavy, expensive, and require a very steady hand.

‰Pocket-size tissues ‰Moist towelettes (baby wipes) and/or anti-bacterial “water-free” hand cleanser ‰Electrical transformer & plug adapters. We do not recommend electric shavers or hair dryers, as electricity is limited at many of our lodges.

‰Camera gear with extra batteries or battery charger

70 ‰For the Rwanda extension: Gardening gloves and gaiters to protect from stinging nettles and muddy conditions while trekking.

Medicines & First Aid Gear ‰Your own prescription medicines ‰Travel first aid kit: Band-Aids, headache and pain relief, laxatives and anti-diarrhea tablets, something for upset stomach. Maybe a cold remedy, moleskin foot pads, or antibiotic cream.

‰An antibiotic medication for gastrointestinal illness ‰Optional: A strong prescription pain medication for rare emergency purposes ‰Optional: Motion sickness medicine if you are susceptible (the roads are very bumpy). ‰Optional: Anti-malarial medication—discuss with your doctor first ‰Optional: Medication for allergies or asthma if you are susceptible (the roads are dusty)

Optional Gear ‰Eye drops: The dry air and dusty roads can cause itchy eyes. ‰Surgical masks, to cover your mouth during game drives on dusty terrain ‰Inflatable seat cushion for bumpy roads ‰Travel alarm or travel watch with alarm ‰Hanging toiletry bag (with hook to hang on doorknob and pockets to organize items) ‰Basic sewing kit ‰Hand-wash laundry soap ‰Reading materials ‰Travel journal/note pad and pens ‰Field guide: A small, lightweight guide so you are not encumbered during game drives. ‰Phrase book ‰Small gift for Home-Hosted visit

71 ‰Folding walking staff, sold in most camping stores ‰Fly swatters

Do Not Bring Single-Use Plastic Bags Single-use plastic bags are banned in Kenya and Tanzania. (The only exception are Ziploc-style bags which are allowed for toiletries and liquids as per the TSA.) If you like to bring a plastic shopping bag for shoes or laundry, we recommend a lightweight nylon bag, packing cube, or reusable cloth tote instead. The ban is only loosely enforced, but violations could result in fines or even imprisonment, so please double-check your luggage before you depart.

Electricity Abroad When traveling overseas, the voltage is usually different and the plugs might not be the same shape.

Voltage Electricity in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda is 220-240 volts. In the U.S. it is 110 volts. Most of the things a traveler will want to plug in—battery chargers, MP3 players, tablets or computers—can run off both 110 and 220-240. But you should check the item or the owner’s guide first to confirm this before you plug it in. If you have something that needs 110 volts—like a shaver or a hairdryer—you can bring a transformer to change the current. (But transformers tend to burn out, so it might be better to leave whatever it is at home.)

Plugs The shape of plugs will vary from country to country, and sometimes even within a country depending on when that building was built. To plug something from the U.S. into a local socket you’ll need an adapter that fits between the plug and the socket. Because there are many different types of plugs in this region, it may be easier to purchase an all-in-one, universal adapter/ converter combo. Versatile and lightweight, these can usually be found at your local electronics goods or hardware stores. Sometimes you can buy them at large retailers too, like Target or Walmart. If you forget to bring an adapter, you might also find them for sale at the airport when you arrive at your destination.

Different plug shapes are named by letters of the alphabet. Standard U.S. plugs are Type A and Type B. Here is the list of plugs for the countries on this trip:

Kenya: G

Tanzania: D or G

72 Rwanda: C

Uganda: G

Type D Type G Type C

Availability In the remote lodges, the generator that supplies electricity may operate during limited hours. It is possible to recharge camera batteries, but only while the generator is running. Therefore, bringing two batteries—one to use while the other is recharging—is recommended. Electric current is usually adequate to run an electric razor, but not a hairdryer. The lighting at the lodges may not be as bright as you are used to; a small LED flashlight can be useful. Although you may not have any trouble with electricity on this trip, prepare for the worst case scenario and bring things that can be battery operated. Always use new batteries and bring spares.

A constant electricity supply cannot be guaranteed during overnight stays. Travelers who rely on a CPAP machine must bring one that runs on rechargeable batteries.

73 CLIMATE & AVERAGE TEMPERATURES

Tanzania: The varied terrain of Tanzania is what causes the biggest differences in climate—from the almost tropical coastal area, to the comfortable central plateau, to the chilly hills and mountains near the Kenyan border. Since our main itinerary takes us to northern and eastern Tanzania, plan on days that are warm or hot (up to the 70s and the 80s) and nights that are chilly or cold (as low as the 50s or 40s).

Like many countries near the equator, the seasons in Tanzania are best described by rainfall and humidity instead of temperature. The first wet or rainy season in the north runs from March to May. The second wet or rainy season is generally November and December. Although the rest of the year could be called dry season, January and February are especially dry (if you measure by number of days it rains). Humidity is strongest in the mornings during the wet seasons, but because our adventure is in the less humid north, the yearly average for the areas we visit is only about 60% relative humidity—roughly the same as Philadelphia.

Rwanda: Due to its higher elevation and proximity to the equator, Rwanda enjoys a consistent, temperate climate throughout the year. The dry season typically occurs from mid-May to mid- September with heavier rain from October to mid-March. Rainfall is heavier in mountainous areas to the west and northwest where downpours are common.

Uganda: Uganda enjoys a tropical climate with steady temperatures throughout the year due to its location near the equator. Temperatures typically range from the mid-50s to mid-80s, except in the mountains which are much cooler. Rain can occur throughout the year, especially from March-May and September-November. January-February and June-August are considered the “dry season.”

Kenya: The climate in Kenya varies with the terrain—the coast is tropical, the interior temperate, and the north is arid. The Masai Mara Reserve, which is in the southwest, is at a moderate- to-high elevation (4,900-7,100 feet above sea level). This makes the climate wetter and more temperate than other parts of the country, with temperatures usually falling in the range of 85-65 degrees. The rainy seasons are April-May and November; the dry season is from July to October.

NOTE: If you are taking one of our optional stopovers before or after your OAT adventure, please be aware the climate and temperatures might be different from what you experienced during your tour. To prepare for weather differences and pack appropriate clothing, we recommend the following world weather sites:

• www.intellicast.com

• www.weather.com

• www.wunderground.com

74 Climate Averages & Online Forecast The following charts reflect the average climate as opposed to exact weather conditions. This means they serve only as general indicators of what can reasonably be expected. An extreme heat wave or cold snap could fall outside these ranges. As your departure approaches, we encourage you to go online to www.oattravel.com/myaccount for your 10-day forecast.

Average Daily High/Low Temperatures (°F), Humidity & Monthly Rainfall

MONTH NAIROBI, KENYA MASAI MARA, KENYA

Temp. High-Low % Relative Monthly Rainfall Temp. High-Low % Relative Average # of Days Humidity (am-pm) (inches) Humidity (avg) with Rainfall JAN 77 to 58 93 to 41 1.8 84 to 59 -- 21 FEB 80 to 58 89 to 35 1.7 88 to 59 -- 17 MAR 80 to 60 92 to 38 2.9 90 to 59 -- 17 APR 76 to 61 96 to 52 6.3 85 to 59 -- 23 MAY 74 to 59 96 to 56 4.7 80 to 58 -- 25 JUN 73 to 56 94 to 53 1.2 77 to 59 -- 30 JUL 71 to 54 93 to 52 0.5 80 to 57 -- 25 AUG 72 to 54 92 to 49 0.5 84 to 59 -- 17 SEP 76 to 55 92 to 41 1.0 85 to 59 -- 18 OCT 78 to 58 93 to 40 1.7 85 to 61 -- 15 NOV 75 to 60 96 to 51 4.7 83 to 61 -- 23 DEC 75 to 59 96 to 49 3.0 78 to 60 -- 31

75 MONTH AMBOSELI, KENYA KARATU, TANZANIA

Temp. High-Low % Relative Monthly Rainfall Temp. High-Low % Relative Monthly Rainfall Humidity (avg) (inches) Humidity (am-pm) (inches) JAN 85 to 63 63 1.7 62 to 52 -- 2.1 FEB 89 to 64 58 1.2 59 to 52 -- 1.9 MAR 88 to 65 61 3.4 61 to 53 -- 4.0 APR 85 to 65 65 4.8 64 to 56 -- 6.4 MAY 83 to 62 66 1.1 61 to 55 -- 3.1 JUN 81 to 58 61 0.1 55 to 50 -- 0.5 JUL 80 to 56 59 0.1 58 to 51 -- 0.2 AUG 81 to 57 58 0.1 60 to 50 -- 0.1 SEP 85 to 58 53 0.1 65 to 50 -- 0.1 OCT 86 to 62 53 1.1 68 to 52 -- 0.6 NOV 84 to 64 64 6.8 67 to 54 -- 3.5 DEC 82 to 64 70 4.7 64 to 54 -- 3.3

MONTH SERENGETI PARK, TANZANIA KIGALI, RWANDA

Temp. High-Low % Relative Monthly Rainfall Temp. High-Low % Relative Average # of Days Humidity (am-pm) (inches) Humidity (am-pm) with Rainfall JAN 81 to 59 -- 3.6 75 to 66 92 to 59 6 FEB 81 to 59 -- 3.8 74 to 66 95 to 58 5 MAR 81 to 61 -- 5.2 74 to 66 94 to 62 8 APR 79 to 61 -- 5.0 73 to 66 96 to 66 10 MAY 77 to 57 -- 2.4 74 to 66 93 to 62 7 JUN 77 to 55 -- 1.1 74 to 66 85 to 51 2 JUL 75 to 55 -- 0.5 76 to 66 77 to 44 1 AUG 77 to 57 -- 1.0 77 to 67 76 to 43 4 SEP 81 to 59 -- 1.1 77 to 66 87 to 52 6 OCT 82 to 59 -- 1.5 75 to 66 91 to 58 8 NOV 81 to 59 -- 3.5 73 to 66 95 to 64 9 DEC 82 to 61 -- 4.1 74 to 65 95 to 61 8

76 MONTH RUHENGERI, RWANDA KAMPALA, UGANDA

Temp. High-Low % Relative Monthly Rainfall Temp. High-Low % Relative Monthly Rainfall Humidity (am-pm) (inches) Humidity (am-pm) (inches) JAN 76 to 51 -- 2.8 75 to 66 -- 2.3 FEB 77 to 52 -- 3.7 79 to 66 -- 2.4 MAR 76 to 53 -- 5.6 77 to 66 -- 4.8 APR 75 to 55 -- 6.8 75 to 66 -- 7.1 MAY 74 to 55 -- 6.0 75 to 66 -- 5.2 JUN 74 to 53 -- 1.5 73 to 66 -- 2.6 JUL 75 to 51 -- 0.6 73 to 64 -- 2.1 AUG 76 to 53 -- 1.9 75 to 64 -- 3.5 SEP 76 to 52 -- 4.9 75 to 64 -- 4.0 OCT 76 to 52 -- 6.4 75 to 64 -- 4.7 NOV 75 to 52 -- 5.8 75 to 64 -- 5.5 DEC 76 to 51 -- 3.3 75 to 64 -- 3.7

77 ABOUT YOUR DESTINATIONS: CULTURE, ETIQUETTE & MORE

O.A.T. Trip Experience Leaders: A World of Difference During your adventure you’ll be accompanied by one of our local, expert Trip Experience Leaders. All are fluent in English and possess the skills, certification, and experience necessary to ensure an enriching adventure. As locals of the regions you’ll explore with them, our Trip Experience Leaders provide the kind of firsthand knowledge and insight that make local history, culture, and wildlife come alive. Coupled with their unbridled enthusiasm, caring personalities, and ability to bring diverse groups of travelers together, our Trip Experience Leaders ensure that your experience with O.A.T. is one you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Kenyan Culture Kenya has incredible ethnic diversity, with as many as 42 different tribal groups, plus a large minority of people of non-African descent (mainly Indian, Arabic, and European). Many of the tribes fall into three broad groups based on their language—Bantu, Nilotic, or Cushitic—with the largest group being the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu tribe (about 22% of the population). Other major ethnic groups include the Luhya (14%), Luo (13%), Kalenjin (12%), Kamba (11%), Kisii (6%) and Meru (6%). While each of these tribes has their own traditions, the country as a whole embraces the idea of harambee, a Bantu word meaning “pull together” or “mutual assistance”.

This concept of harambee has become more and more important in a modern, post-colonial Kenya as personal identities become more complex and begin to overlap. Under British rule the tribes were largely kept apart, in distinct geographical areas, and some tribes were given special treatment by the British, which led to resentment and intertribal tensions. But in today’s Kenya that reliance on tribal identity has softened, especially among the younger generations. A modern Kenyan living in a city like Nairobi will know their tribe’s traditions, but will also define themselves by their religion, politics, social class, etc.

Even in the countryside—where traditional ways of life are more prevalent—many of the country’s core values are shared by all tribal groups, such as hospitality. As you travel through the country this will be quickly evident in the warm welcome you’ll receive as a visitor. For example, it is very common for staff in smaller stores to personally greet you, ask about your family, or shake hands. (Although please note that handshaking is often between people of the same gender as some groups/religions frown on men touching women who are not part of their family. Also always shake with the right hand as the left is considered unhygienic.)

Respect for one’s elders is also extremely important. Younger people are expected to treat elders with deference, allow them first choice of food or seat, and may affectionately address them as “auntie” or “uncle” even if they are not related by blood.

The country also values education, and as higher education is considered a real achievement, you may find that people volunteer information about their educational background. This is part of the more formal side of Kenyan society, which can be a bit status-conscious and hierarchical in nature, with wealth being measured not just in money but also land or livestock.

78 Tanzanian Culture Like Kenya, Tanzania has a wide number of tribal groups—over 120—although most can be categorized as part of the Bantu-speaking peoples. But unlike its neighbor, Tanzania does not have a majority tribe like the Kikuyu in Kenya. The largest ethnic group in Tanzania is the Sukuma, but they are only 16% of the population, followed by the Nyamwezi and the Chagga. This lack of a clear dominant group means that Tanzania did not have the level of intertribal friction that Kenya did, a fact that is often attributed to the early adoption of Swahili as a shared language in 1961.

That said, the real language of Tanzania might be music, as the country has produced many famous singers, including Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, born on Zanzibar island in 1946. Many different musical styles are represented from gospel to hip-hip to reggae to bongo flava (a type of local pop music that uses traditional influences).

Another big part of Tanzanian culture is religion, with almost 90% of the country identifying as Christian or Muslim. Of the two Christianity is more prevalent, especially on the mainland, while Islam is more prevalent in Zanzibar, a heritage from the Arab traders who settled on the island. The Christian churches are evenly split between Roman Catholic and Protestant; the mosques are largely Sunni. Both groups generally live in harmony and even allow for some overlap with traditional African religion. (For example, one might be a Christian who also participates in ceremonial dances.)

Even more important is ujamaa, or “family”. This is a core concept in Tanzanian society that includes extended family or traditional clan structure. The idea is for the family group to provide aid and support for its members, and for the nation to do likewise. Although the word was initially associated with the socialist party, it has transcended that beginning and come to mean a sense of cooperation between different groups.

Ujamaa also suggests the supreme importance of the family group in Tanzania, which often takes a very traditional form with men being considered the head of the household, and women gaining status through their children. Polygamy is legal and somewhat practiced (more commonly in rural or Muslim communities) and women face many barriers in the workplace, but there have also been recent wins such as an increase in the number of women in Parliament and a ban on child marriage.

Language Although the official languages in Kenya and Tanzania are Swahili and English, both are multilingual countries. In Kenya there are 62 languages spoken throughout which mainly consist of tribal African languages as well as a minority of Arabic and Hindi speakers. The African languages come from three different language families—Bantu languages (spoken in the center and southeast), Nilotic languages (in the west), and Cushitic languages (in the northeast).

79 In Tanzania, Swahili is widely cited as a uniting language and thus takes precedence over the 126 or so native dialects—so much so that some tribal languages are starting to die out. In comparison, English is viewed as more of a second language, and is used more in business, legal, or higher education settings.

But in both countries, one thing is the same—a heartfelt attempt at any Swahili, even just a simple jambo (hello) will be greatly appreciated.

Keep an Open Mind • This is not a typical tour, and the itinerary you follow is subject to change. This is East Africa—weather, the political situation, migration of game, fuel availability, road conditions, and flight schedule changes may all impact your trip.

• In some cases, they may change the sequence of places visited, or we may not follow the trip itinerary exactly as published.

• Poverty is prevalent, so be prepared to witness a lower standard of living during our visits to local villages and schools.

Accommodations • Our hotels and lodges are comfortable, but not luxurious.

• There can be occasional problems with electricity, hot water, and air conditioning (where it exists in the cities; there is not air conditioning in the safari camps).

• The roads within and between the parks can be dusty and very bumpy.

• Near the towns, some roads may be littered with trash.

• Water is scarce in the parks. We ask that you conserve water when washing, and shower only once each day.

• Some tented camps and lodges may be located outside the border to the national parks and game reserves. This allows us to offer a diverse range of activities, such as nature walks, in addition to entering the parks for game drives.

Meals Each morning, we have a full breakfast including eggs, cereal, toast or bread with jam and butter, fresh or tinned fruit. Most lunches in the lodges are served buffet-style, and typically include meats, stews, vegetables, rice, potatoes, and dessert. Lodge dinners are usually served at table, and include soup and breads, a main entree such as chicken, meat, or fish, with a vegetable side dish, followed by dessert and cheese board.

Most of our meals are from the familiar Western cuisines, but we’ll mix this up with characteristic African fare: You can try ugali, a maize meal dish, nyama na mtuzi, a meat stew, or sukuma wiki, fried green collards. Beverages such as tea and coffee are served at all meals.

80 Safari Vehicles In Kenya we’ll travel in seven-passenger minivans with pop-up roof for game viewing. In Tanzania, we’ll travel in seven-passenger stretch Land Rovers with pop-up or flip-top roof hatches for game viewing. In both vehicles, six seats are in the back, with a window at each seat; and one seat is in front, with a view through the front windshield. The Trip Experience Leader will ensure that seats are rotated. Agility and balance are required to board and disembark these vehicles, and we will change vehicles at border crossings per government regulations.

Reminder: The roads in Tanzania and Kenya can be very bumpy, and there will be times when you are “off-roading” over rugged terrain for game-viewing drives. Some days we’ll spend nearly all day (8-10 hours) in the vehicle, however, there will be breaks along the way.

Safety & Security As you travel, exercise the same caution and awareness that you would in a large American city. Don’t be overly nervous or suspicious, but keep your eyes open. Carry a one-day supply of cash in your pocket. Carry most of your money, and your passport, in a travel pouch or money belt under your shirt. Replenish your pocket supply when you are in a safe and quiet place, or in our vehicle. Do not leave valuable items unattended in your room. Almost every lodge offers use of a hotel safe at the front desk.

Pickpockets Pickpockets may create a sudden distraction. In any sort of puzzling street situation, try to keep one hand on your money belt. If an encounter with a local turns out to be long and complicated and involves money or your valuables, be very careful. Con artists sometimes target travelers.

Be careful when taking photos from the vehicle in towns or city centers. It is not unheard of for thieves to reach inside the open window while you are distracted and grab cameras or purses. If you’re taking photos out of an open window in a crowded area, have someone else in the group watch over your valuables.

Kenyan Cuisine Kenya’s food is as varied as its many tribes. However, there are a few regional differences based on geography. For example, the coastline tends to have the spiciest dishes and use more coconut. This, combined with an Arabic influence, means that coastal cuisine is highly regarded throughout the country. Typical dishes include pilau (rice, meat, and veggies cooked in beef broth with ginger and aromatic spices), biryani (a mixed rice dish), chapatti (unleavened flat bread), and madafu (coconut water). Kuku wa kupaka is another flavorful coastal dish that is especially popular. It consists of chicken pieces cooked in a hearty, spicy sauce made with coconut milk, tomato paste, and flavorings such as cumin, turmeric, and lime juice.

As you move into the interior, the food gets less spicy and more reliant on potatoes, maize, and grains like millet and sorghum. The central region is particular is known for its meat and potatoes meals such as the ubiquitous—and greatly loved—nyama choma (BBQ beef short ribs or

81 goat with a spice rub of turmeric, curry power, black pepper, and salt) served on ugali (cornmeal). Also popular is nyama stew, which can be prepared with goat, chicken, or beef cooked in oil, onions, curry powder, tomatoes, coriander, and garlic with fresh vegetables.

And then as you continue to the west, the staple ingredients change again to include more chicken and fresh fish from Lake Victoria. One of the highlights of the western region is ingoho, a poultry dish by the Luhya people that is served only to important visitors, such as prospective in-laws. A whole chicken is roasted to a nice brown color and then braised with onions, spices, and tomatoes. Also well-known in this region is cornmeal cake and fried fish.

Tanzanian Cuisine Tanzanian cuisine is unique and widely varied. Along the coast, you’ll find a decided Indian influence with spices and a wide use of coconut milk. Dishes to try are sambusa (samosa; large fried dumplings filled with spiced potatoes or meat), pilau (wild rice), kebabs, or samaki (fish cooked in coconut milk). If you have a sweet tooth be on the lookout for kashata, a sort of peanut brittle in coconut milk with cardamom.

As you move away from the coast, you will find a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, including ndizi (plantains), bamia (okra), mchicha (spinach), njegere (peas), maharage (beans), and kisamvu (cassava leaves). These are often be served as part of a platter with a grilled meat: kuku choma (chicken), nyama choma (beef), or kiti moto (pork). The more adventurous may want to try kisusio soup, made from boiled bones, scraps of meat, and blood.

Aside from meals, Tanzania also has some tasty and varied snacks, great with a hot beverage like chai tea or kahawa (coffee). Look for bread-like rolls called mandazi, vitumbua rice cakes, or flatbreads known as chapati. More unusual offerings include firigisi (grilled gizzards), tende (dates), daga (a tiny fried fish), or even grilled grasshoppers (senene)! There also various beers produced in Tanzania—Kilimanjaro, Safari, and Serengeti are the best-known brands.

Rwandan Cuisine The cuisine of Rwanda is simple, and primarily based on traditional subsistence agriculture. Staples of the Rwandan diet include plantains, beans, sweet potatoes, corn, and cassava. Many Rwandans do not eat meat more than a few times a month. Fish is popular, especially giant tilapia. Known as “big fish,” one tilapia can easily feed three or four. Another popular fish is called sambaza, tiny fish that are caught at sunset using tightly woven nets and fried in a thick batter.

One of the most popular dishes in Rwanda is called isombe. It features an unusual combination of ingredients that begin with boiled and pounded cassava leaves. Vegetables like onions, leeks, eggplants, tomatoes, or bell peppers can be added to the mix, followed by a spoonful of peanut butter and a drizzle of oil is added to hold it all together.

Bananas have been a staple of the Rwanda diet for centuries and are cooked in endlessly creative ways. One popular banana in Rwanda is the matoke, a green and unripe variety that has the consistency of a potato when cooked and is frequently added to soups, stews, wraps, and more.

82 Another ubiquitous Rwandan ingredient is ugali, a white, porridge-like food made from maize and either water or milk. Like white rice, ugali isn’t too flavorful or exciting on its own, but is prepared in countless creative ways and is a regular feature of most Rwandan meals.

Beverages in Rwanda include ikiviguto, a form of fermented milk that can be served with varying levels of thickness and sourness. It’s somewhere between a yogurt smoothie and a thick glass of milk with a tang. And there is urwagwa, or banana beer, which is home-brewed using traditional skills passed down from father to son. Urwagwa is made by crushing bananas or plantains and letting them ferment underground with roasted sorghum flour added as the yeast component.

For snacks, Rwandans enjoy avocados, roasted peanuts, popcorn, and fresh fruits like pineapple, mangoes, bananas, papayas, and more.

Ugandan Cuisine Uganda’s various tribal groups certainly have their own culinary traditions, but many of their favorite dishes rely on similar ingredients such as matoke (plantains), corn meal, cassava, beans, and peanuts. Then there is the influence of Uganda’s Indian, Arabic, and Asian immigrant cultures, which have added their own flavor profiles to popular favorites.

One of the most beloved national dishes is luwombo (or oluwombo). Legend says that it was created in the 19th century by the personal chef of King Kabaka Mwanga of the Buganda Kingdom. It’s a stew of chicken, beef, mushrooms, or fish steamed in banana leaves. Luwombo may be served with another Ugandan favorite, posho or ugali. Similar to polenta, this filling cornmeal porridge is eaten any time of day, as a main course or a side dish. It often accompanies chaloko, a traditional entrée made with pinto beans, green peppers, tomatoes, and red or purple onions.

Another popular side is chapati, an Indian-influenced, wheat flatbread that is ideal for wrapping around vegetables or sopping up the ubiquitous ground nut (peanut) condiment called g-nut sauce. Made from sweet and creamy red peanuts, it is perfect with roasted fish, sweet potatoes, and matoke (plantain).

Some Ugandan treats have clever names that may (or may not) hint at what’s so tasty. If you’re hungry on the go, visit a street vendor for some TV chicken—so named because the rotisserie oven that it’s roasted in resembles a television. Rolex is not an expensive watch. It’s very cheap and it is what it sounds like: rolled eggs. They are scrambled into an omelette with onions, tomatoes, and cabbage, then rolled up with a chapati. Then there’s the Ugandan egg roll, which is nothing like its Chinese namesake, but is quite literally a hard-boiled egg rolled up in a ball of mashed potatoes, and fried. Feeling adventurous? Hit up a pub and order some nsenene, or fried grasshoppers. They are perfect with cold beer.

Most Ugandans get their sweet fix from fruit, but you can also try mandazi, which are like donuts (minus the hole) sweetened with coconut milk; or sim-sim cookies, a brittle made with sesame seeds and honey.

83 Language Barrier You can have some great “conversations” with local people who do not speak English, even if you don’t speak a word of the local language. Indeed, this non-verbal communication can be a highly rewarding part of travel. To break the ice, bring along some family photographs, or a few postcards of your hometown. If you want to meet kids, bring a puppet or other interactive toy. Your Trip Experience Leader can help get the ball rolling.

Your attire is a key part of your non-verbal presentation. Your clothing should show a respect for local tradition. In small towns or near villages, you should dress in a relatively modest style—avoid revealing or tight-fitting outfits. The application of this guideline varies. You will see people in cities and large towns dressed in a modern style. And, of course, many foreign tourists are not sensitive to this at all. But you should dress modestly if you want to earn the respect of the local people.

Taking Photographs The etiquette of photographing most people in the countries on your itinerary is about the same as it would be on in your hometown. Some tribal members have particular concerns about photography. They know that professional photographers have profited from selling their images, and they will often ask for money in exchange for you taking their picture. Try to set a clear understanding when photographing tribal people, even from a distance.

In general, you need permission to take a close-up, as you would at home, but not for a crowd scene. Be especially polite if you want to photograph an older person. If you want to shoot a great portrait, show interest in your subject and try to have a bit of interaction first. Then use sign language to inquire if a picture is OK. Your Trip Experience Leader can help.

Responsible Safari Travel We do our best to have a minimum negative impact on local cultures and the natural environment in every country we operate trips. Here’s how you can assist in this effort.

Respecting Wildlife • Observe the animals silently and with a minimum of disturbance to their natural activities. Loud talking on a game drive can frighten the animals away.

• Never attempt to attract an animal’s attention. Don’t imitate animal sounds, clap your hands, pound on the vehicle, or throw objects. Failure to obey this rule could result in your removal from a National Park by one of the Park Rangers on patrol.

• Please respect your driver-guides’ judgment about your proximity to wildlife. Don’t insist that he or she take the vehicle closer so you can get a better photograph. A vehicle driven too close can hinder a hunt or cause animals to abandon a hard-earned meal.

• Litter tossed on the ground can choke or poison animals and birds.

84 • Never attempt to feed or approach any wild animal on foot. This is especially important near lodges or in campsites where animals may have become accustomed to human visitors. Failure to adhere to this could cause you to be bitten and need immediate rabies shots, which are unpleasant and costly.

• Smoking is not allowed on game drives. The dry African bush ignites very easily, and a flash fire can harm hundreds of animals.

Conserving the Natural Environment • Minimize the disposable items you bring on the trip and dispose of your trash properly.

• Ask whether plastic drinking water bottles can be recycled. Most days, it’s better to keep your empty bottles with you until you reach your hotel.

• Stay on established trails to avoid damaging plants.

• Don’t pick any vegetation, or remove any item of biological interest.

Shopping: What to Buy, Customs, Shipping & More There may be scheduled visits to local shops during your adventure. There is no requirement to make a purchase during these stops, and any purchase made is a direct transaction with the shop in question, subject to the vendor’s terms of purchase. O.A.T. is not responsible for purchases you make on your trip or for the shipment of your purchases.

Returns If you discover an issue with an item, you should contact the vendor directly and expect that any resolution will take longer than it would in the U.S. We recommend that you keep a copy of all your receipts, invoices, or contracts, along with the shop’s contact information. Keep in mind, local practice may vary from U.S. standards, so don’t assume that you have a certain number of days after the purchase to speak up or that you are guaranteed a refund.

Crafts & Souvenirs

Kenya Traditional souvenirs include woodcarvings, gems and gemstone jewelry, batik artwork, traditional African woven cloths, hand-woven carpets and mats, leather goods, Maasai beadwork, carved soapstone, fine basketry, and excellent coffee and tea.

Tanzania The authentic woodcarvings called mokonde are made only in Tanzania, and are prized by collectors worldwide. Usually made of ebony, traditional mokonde art depicts spirit gods, ancestors, and half-human, half-animal figures. Today mokonde has been adapted to include figures of wildlife. You can find smaller figures for less than $20. Depending on size, style, and quality, larger pieces cost from $50 to $500.

85 Bargaining Some shops have fixed prices. In the open-air markets prices are usually flexible and negotiating is normal. The only rule is that if you make an offer, you should be prepared to buy at that price. Bring a mix of small bills so that you can pay in exact change. For bargaining in East Africa, our Trip Experience Leaders suggest that you ask how much the item is, and start your bidding at a quarter of that price, working your way up to half the asking price. This is a good rule of thumb for getting the “right” price.

Rwanda Look for kitenge (traditonal colorful cloths), embroidered bags, bead jewelry, handcrafted candles, Amahoro baskets, gourmet coffee, pili pili oil, and artisan jams.

Uganda In Uganda, look for gold, silver, and beaded jewelry, wood carvings, handmade bags, woven rugs, curtains, hats, traditional baskets, and spices.

U.S. Customs Regulations & Shipping Charges For all things related to U.S. Customs, the ultimate authority is the U.S. Bureau of Customs & Border Protection. Their website, www.cbp.gov has the answers to the most frequently asked questions. Or you can call them at 1-877-227-5511.

The top three points to know are:

• At time of writing, your personal duty-free allowance is $800 for items brought with you. Items totaling more than $800 are subject to duty fees.

• Items shipped home are always subject to duty when received in the U.S. Even when the shop has offered to include shipping and duties in the price, this typically means shipping to the nearest customs facility and payment of the export duties—not door-to-door shipping or payment of the import duties. All additional duties or shipping charges would be your responsibility. Unless an item is small enough to send by parcel service (like FedEx), chances are you will need to arrange shipping or pick-up once the item is in the U.S. and will need to pay customs duties.

• It is illegal to import products made from endangered animal species. U.S. Customs & Border Protection will seize these items, as well as most furs, coral, tortoise shell, reptile skins, feathers, plants, and items made from animal skins.

When buying gemstones—such as Tanzanite set in jewelry—make sure to ask if it comes with a certificate before purchasing, as often transactions that have been completed cannot be reversed due to the TRA (Tanzania Revenue Authority) receipting system.

86 DEMOGRAPHICS & HISTORY

Kenya

Facts, Figures & National Holidays • Area: 224,080 square miles

• Capital: Nairobi

• Languages: English and Kiswahili are the official languages; numerous indigenous languages are also spoken.

• Ethnic groups: Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

• Location: Kenya straddles the equator on the eastern coast of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.

• Geography: Kenya has an impressively varied landscape. Lake Victoria is on the southwestern border of the country, with Tanzania to the south. The other features of Kenya range from a flat, bush-covered plain in the northeast to beautiful Indian Ocean beaches, scenic highlands, lakes, the Great Rift Valley, and the towering Mount Kenya.

• Population: 45,925,301 (estimate)

• Religions: Christian 82.5%, Muslim 11.1%, Traditionalists 1.6%, other 1.7%, none 2.4%, unspecified 0.7%

• Time zone: Kenya is on East Africa Time, eight hours ahead of U.S. EST. When it is 6am in Washington D.C., it is 2pm in Nairobi.

87 National Holidays: Kenya

In addition to the holidays listed below, Kenya 05/01 Labour Day/May Day celebrates a number of national holidays that 06/01 Madaraka Day follow a lunar calendar, such as Easter and Eid al-Fitr. To find out if you will be traveling 10/20 Mashujaa Day during these holidays, please visit www. timeanddate.com/holidays. 12/12 Jamhuri Day

01/01 New Year’s Day 12/25 Christmas Day

12/26 Boxing Day

Kenya: A Brief History Some of the earliest humans made their home in the land now known as Kenya. And since those primordial times, people from all over Africa have migrated here—such as the aristocratic Hima tribe, who moved in prior to A.D. 1000, and established large kingdoms and introduced cattle herding. They were followed by the Bantu-speaking peoples, including the Kikuyu tribe, which remains the largest ethnic group in Kenya today.

This wave of internal migration was followed by outside traders. First the Persians and Arabs, who sailed south from the Middle East as early as the 1st century B.C.E. (during the Roman era). They became a dominant trade presence in the coastal region, giving rise to the development of the Swahili language, which blends Arabic with Bantu—one of the earliest examples of a shared language created for international trade. In time the coastal area was divided up into wealthy city-states known as the Swahili States. While these states had an Arabic influence—notably in the introduction of Islam in 8th century—most scholars believe they retained a Bantu cultural core, giving them a sophisticated cosmopolitan culture that was only enhanced by trade with Asia across the Indian Ocean. Mombasa, one of Kenya’s major cities today, originated as one of these city-states.

The first Europeans to have an impact on East Africa were the Portuguese, who arrived by sea in the 15th century with an eye on controlling the Indian Ocean sea routes. They were succeeded by the Omani Arabs in the 1730s, who unified the coastal states but also began amplifying the slave trade, selling prisoners from the interior of Kenya and other nations throughout the Middle East and to plantations in the Caribbean. They in turn were ousted by the British, who by the latter half of the 19th century had become the dominant power, drawing the borders of the newly defined nation of Kenya. The British ended the slave trade but claimed all land outside of so-called “tribal areas” as crown land available for white settlement.

British colonial rule created a stratified social system in Kenya. At the top where the European settlers, brought in to begin large-scale farming so that crops like coffee could be exported. Then a large group of immigrants from India, who came to work on the railroad, open businesses, or as soldiers in World War I. As India had been under British rule for some time, the Indian community was viewed more favorably by the British than the African tribespeople, who were at the bottom of the social ladder. There was also a complex hierarchy among the tribes, depending on which group the British government felt would support them.

88 This system led to tensions and disparities not only between the Africans and the British, but also between the tribes. The Kikuyus in particular took a lead role in creating political groups that advocated for African suffrage, fairer taxation, and the return of native lands in the 1920s. Many of these movements were put on pause during World War II, when Kenyan soldiers bravely fought for the Allies, and then resumed afterwards. A turning point came in 1952 with the start of the Mau Mau Uprising, a four-year rebellion that put the country on the path to independence in 1963.

It also solidified the political importance of the Kikuyu tribe as they were the primary supporters of the Mau Mau movement. Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of independent Kenya, was a Kikuyu. Though he had been involved in the Mau Mau rebellion, he established moderate, pro- Western policies and was acknowledged as Mzee, “the wise old one,” by his own people and many world leaders upon his death in 1978.

Kenyatta’s successor, Daniel arap Moi, continued to follow similar social and economic policies from 1978 to 2002. But Moi’s years as president were not without controversy, especially his personal fortune (rumored to be vast and corrupt), authoritarian methods, and his reliance on ethnic favoritism to stay in power. Under his government, tribal tensions began to bubble over, resulting in mass evictions of the Kikuyu and oppressive measures against other groups, such as the Luo. These tensions, plus periodic attacks by the radical al-Shabab group, have largely dominated recent Kenyan politics in the past decade, but so too have happier news stories, like the discovery of oil and the recent birth of a record number of elephant calves.

Tanzania

Facts, Figures & National Holidays • Area: 365,755 square miles

• Capital: Dodoma

• Languages: Swahili is the official language; English and tribal languages are also spoken.

• Ethnicity: Mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African

• Location: Tanzania is bordered by Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia

• Geography: Mainland Tanzania’s landscape is flat and low along the coast. In the interior, a plateau at an average altitude of about 4,000 feet makes up most of the country, and isolated mountain groups rise in the northeast and southwest.

• Population: 51,045,882 (estimate)

• Religions: Mainland - Christian 61.4%, Muslim 35.2%, folk religion 1.8%, other 0.2%, unaffliliated 1.4%; Zanzibar—majority Muslim

89 • Time Zone: Tanzania is on Eastern Africa Time, eight hours ahead of U.S. EST. When it is 6am in Washington D.C., it is 2pm in Dar es Salaam.

National Holidays: Tanzania

In addition to the holidays listed below, 05/01 Worker’s Day Tanzania celebrates a number of national 06/07 Saba Saba holidays that follow a lunar calendar, such as Easter and Eid el Fitri. To find out if you will 08/08 Peasants’ Day be traveling during these holidays, please visit www.timeanddate.com/holidays. 10/14 Nyerere Day

01/01 New Year’s Day 12/09 Republic Day

01/12 Zanzibar Revolution Day 12/25 Christmas Day

04/26 Union Day 12/26 Boxing Day

Tanzania: A Brief History Tanzania is home to the Olduvai Gorge, the site where some of the earliest human remains on earth have been discovered. For hundreds of thousands of years, hunter-gatherer societies inhabited the area, though details about them are lost in the mists of time. More recently, the interior of the country has been occupied by pastoral and agricultural societies.

The cattle-herding Maasai are notable among these. They are believed to have migrated from the southern Nile during the 15th to 17th century, and they continue live in mainland Tanzania to this day. In the past, this tribe’s reputation as fierce warriors may have prevented some intertribal clashes as neither the slave trade nor tribal warfare had much impact in their territory. Interestingly, while the Maasai may have captured the public imagination, they are not a majority tribe in Tanzania, which boasts a stunning diversity of over 100 tribal groups.

In contrast, the coastal region has a different migration story. Over one thousand years ago, sea-borne traders established a strong Arab presence on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast, which includes the island of Zanzibar. A vast trade network sprang up, with Zanzibar as a key trading port between Africa, the Middle East, and India. (Sadly, this included a thriving slave trade.) The island’s wealth and strategic location drew the attention of the Portuguese, who ruled it for about 200 years starting in 1502. But by the 1700s they were outed by the Sultans of Oman, who reestablished trade with the Arabic world and made Stone Town their capital in 1840.

Rivalry among European colonial powers brought historic change to the area in the late 19th century. Livingston and Stanley were among the first Englishmen to arrive in the interior, where Stanley’s famous “Dr. Livingston, I presume” was uttered in 1871 by Lake Tanganyika. The British then made Zanzibar their protectorate in 1890 and abolished the slave trade. But on the mainland Britain yielded to Germany when the two countries signed an agreement giving Tanzania (then known as Tanganyika) to the Germans, while Britain got Kenya and Uganda. This agreement

90 ended in World War I, when Germany and Britain fought intense land and naval battles in Tanganyika. Following Germany’s defeat in Europe, Britain was put in charge of the League of Nations mandate for Tanganyika.

In the 20th century, the movement to end colonialism in Tanganyika took shape among farmers’ unions and cooperatives. Julius Nyerere led the political party that grew out of this movement and became the country’s first president when it made a peaceful transition to independence in 1961. The island of Zanzibar gained independence in 1963, in a transition that involved a bloody revolution during which the bulk of the Arab population was expelled. In 1964, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, and Pemba (another offshore island) joined to become the United Republic of Tanzania.

Tanzania’s leaders stood at the forefront of African liberation movements during the 1970s and the early 1980s. They allowed Mozambique nationalists to use Tanzanian territory for training and attack bases as they fought for independence from the Portuguese. In 1979, Tanzanian troops helped overthrow the regime of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. President Nyerere also played a key role in the negotiations for ending white rule in Zimbabwe. Although it maintained good relations with the West, Tanzania followed a strongly socialist path in the decades immediately following independence.

Part of the reason Tanzania was able to take such a leading role was the relative lack of tension between tribal groups and the use of the shared language (Swahili) which was adopted early on in 1961. That is not to say that there isn’t any friction—the past two decades have seen have been some strong political divisions, especially between Zanzibar and the mainland—but these internal squabbles are relatively mild compared to other African nations. In recent years the relative stability has helped Tanzania emerge as one of the anchors for the East African region, accepting refugees from the conflicts in Rwanda, hosting peace talks for Burundi, and forming an East African trade alliance with neighboring states like Kenya.

Rwanda

Facts, Figures & National Holidays • Area: 10,169 square miles

• Capital: Kigali

• Languages: Kinyarwanda only 93.2%, Kinyarwanda and other language(s) 6.2%, French and other language(s) 0.1%, English and other language(s) 0.1%, Swahili 0.02%, other 0.03%, unspecified 0.3%

• Ethnicity: Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 15%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%

• Location: Rwanda is bordered by Tanzania on the East and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the West

• Geography: almost all of Rwanda’s land is under cultivation. Most of the country consists of mountains and hilly terrain, which means that except for the highest slopes of its volcanoes, almost all of its agriculture is terraced, much like in the Philippines or Nepal.

91 • Population: 12,661,733 (estimate)

• Religions: Roman Catholic 49.5%, Protestant 39.4%, other Christian 4.5%, Muslim 1.8%, animist 0.1%, other 0.6%, none 3.6%, unspecified 0.5%

• Time Zone: Rwanda is on Central Africa Time, seven hours ahead of U.S. EST. When it is 6am in Washington D.C., it is 1pm in Rwanda.

National Holidays: Rwanda

In addition to the holidays listed below, 04/07 Tutsi Genocide Memorial Day Rwanda celebrates a number of national 05/01 May Day holidays that follow a lunar calendar, such as Easter and Eid al-Fitr. To find out if you will 07/01 Independence Day be traveling during these holidays, please visit www.timeanddate.com/holidays. 07/04 Liberation Day

01/01 New Year’s Day 08/15 Assumption Day

02/01 National Heroes’ Day 12/25 Christmas Day

12/26 Boxing Day

Rwanda: A Brief History The first known inhabitants of Rwanda were the Twa Pygmies, a people thought to be related to hunter-gatherers. From about 100 AD onwards, the Twa were gradually displaced by the Hutu, a tribal group that probably migrated here from the Congo Basin. The Hutu were well established by the 15th century, when they were conquered by the Tutsi, whose kings, or mwamis, established a form of feudal caste system where the Hutus were forced into slavery.

German explorers arrived in the area in the 1880s, and in 1890 until 1916 Rwanda (then called Ruanda) and Burundi (then called Urundi) were incorporated into German East Africa. After World War I the area was mandated to Belgium by the League of Nations and became known as the Territory of Ruanda-Urundi. The Belgians continued ruling through the Tutsi chiefs, whose power over the Hutu minority increased until 1959, when a Tutsi clan seized power and murdered Hutu leaders. After a massive Hutu uprising ensued with some 100,000 Tutsis killed, Belgium finally granted Rwanda independence in 1962.

The Hutu majority came to power after independence, resulting in resentment by the Tutsis who formed guerilla groups (the Rwandan Patriotic Front, or RPF), mounting raids on Hutu communities starting in 1990. This, of course, led to reprisals and counter-reprisals. Finally, in April of 1994, after a mysterious plane crash at Kigali airport killed both the Rwandan and Burundi presidents, a full-fledged genocide ensued, with roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus exterminated in a three-month period. The Tutsi rebels finally defeated the Hutu regime in July, but then some 2 million Hutus, fearing retribution, fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries.

92 Having endured one of worst genocides in recorded history, Rwanda’s recovery has been nothing short of remarkable. Since 1994, this small nation has made extraordinary economic progress, with a growth rate the second fastest in the continent. And in one more sign of progress— Rwanda’s parliament includes the largest number of female members in the entire world.

Uganda

Facts, Figures & National Holidays • Area: 93,065 square miles

• Capital: Kampala

• Languages: English (official language), Ganda or Luganda, other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, and Arabic

• Ethnicity: Baganda 16.5%, Banyankole 9.6%, Basoga 8.8%, Bakiga 7.1%, Iteso 7%, Langi 6.3%, Bagisu 4.9%, Acholi 4.4%, Lugbara 3.3%, other 32.1%

• Location: Uganda is bordered by Kenya on the East, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the West, South Sudan on the North, and Rwanda and Tanzania on the South.

• Geography: Uganda consists of a plateau with mountains along the border. It is surrounded by three lakes: Lake Albert, Lake Edward, and Lake Victoria.

• Population: 39,570,125 (estimate)

• Religions: Protestant 45.1%, Roman Catholic 39.3%, Muslim 13.7%, other 1.6%, none 0.2%

• Time Zone: Uganda is on Central Africa Time, seven hours ahead of U.S. EST. When it is 6am in Washington D.C., it is 1pm in Uganda.

93 National Holidays: Uganda

In addition to the holidays listed below, 03/08 International Women’s Day Uganda celebrates a number of national 05/01 May Day holidays that follow a lunar calendar, such as Easter and Eid al-Fitr. To find out if you will 06/03 Martyr’s Day be traveling during these holidays, please visit www.timeanddate.com/holidays. 06/09 National Heroes Day

01/01 New Year’s Day 10/09 Independence Day

01/26 Liberation Day 12/25 Christmas Day

02/16 Remembrance of Archbishop 12/26 Boxing Day Janani Luwum

Uganda: A Brief History Agricultural Bantu settlers are believed to be some of the first inhabitants of Uganda, dating back to 1,000 B.C. In the 17th and 18th centuries, several kingdoms were formed, including Bunyoro, Buganda, Busoga, Ankole, and Toro. By the 19th century, English Protestant and French Catholic missionaries arrived, whose influence can still be seen in modern-day Uganda. In 1894, the kingdom of Buganda became a British Protectorate and the British Colonial Office took control of the country in 1905.

In 1921, a legislature and executive council were formed to bring power back to the local people and by 1955, Ugandans made up more than half of the legislature. Britain granted independence to Uganda in 1962, and the first elections were held on March 1, 1961. Benedicto Kiwanuka of the Democratic Party became the first chief minister. Uganda became a republic the following year, maintaining its Commonwealth membership.

In succeeding years, supporters of a centralized state vied with those in favor of a loose federation and a strong role for tribally-based local kingdoms. Political maneuvering climaxed in February 1966, when Milton Obote, the Prime Minister, suspended the constitution and assumed all government powers, removing the positions of president and vice president. In September 1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic, gave the president even greater powers, and abolished the traditional kingdoms.

After a military coup on January 25, 1971, Obote was deposed from power and the dictator Idi Amin seized control of the country. Amin ruled Uganda with the military for the next eight years and carried out mass killings within the country to maintain his rule. An estimated 300,000 Ugandans lost their lives at the hands of his regime, many of them in the north, which he associated with Obote’s loyalists. Aside from his brutalities, he forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Indian minority from Uganda, which left the country’s economy in ruins.

A border altercation involving Ugandan exiles who had a camp close to the Ugandan border of Mutukula resulted in an attack by the Uganda army into Tanzania. In October 1978, the Tanzanian armed forces repulsed an incursion by Amin’s troops into Tanzanian territory. The Tanzanian

94 army, backed by Ugandan exiles, waged a war of liberation against Amin’s troops and the Libyan soldiers sent to help him. On April 11, 1979, Kampala was captured and Amin fled with his remaining forces to Libya.

Amin’s reign ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979, in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda. This led to the return of Obote, who was deposed again in 1985 by General Tito Okello. Okello ruled for six months until he was deposed. This occurred after the so-called “bush war” by the National Resistance Army (NRA) operating under the leadership of Yoweri Museveni, and various rebel groups, including the Federal Democratic Movement of Andrew Kayiira, and another belonging to John Nkwaanga. During the Bush War the army carried out mass killings of non-combatants.

Negotiations between the Okello government and the NRA were conducted in Nairobi in the fall of 1985, with Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi seeking a cease-fire and a coalition government in Uganda. Although agreeing in late 1985 to a cease-fire, the NRA continued fighting, and seized Kampala and the country in late January 1986, forcing Okello’s forces to flee north into Sudan. Museveni’s forces organized a government with Museveni as president.

Since assuming power, the government dominated by the political grouping created by Museveni and his followers, the National Resistance Movement (NRM or the “Movement”), has largely put an end to the human rights abuses of earlier governments, initiated substantial political liberalization and general press freedom, and instituted broad economic reforms after consultation with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and donor governments.

Between 1998 and 2003, the Ugandan army was involved in the Second Congo War in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda continues to support rebel groups, such as the Movement for the Liberation of Congo and some factions of the Rally for Congolese Democracy.

In August 2005, Parliament voted to change the constitution to lift presidential term limits, allowing Museveni to run for a third term if he wished to do so. Mesuveni remains the current President of Uganda.

95 RESOURCES

Suggested Reading

Eastern Africa: Kenya & Tanzania Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story by Daphne Sheldrick (2012, Memoir) The lively and engaging biography of a much-admired expert on African elephants—and the first person to raise one in captivity from birth. The book recounts her experiences helping her husband to create and run one of Kenya’s national parks and her role in raising orphaned elephants to release back into the wild.

West with the Night by Beryl Markham (1942, Memoir) A childhood in Kenya and a career as a bush pilot during the 1930s—what more could a girl want? The author’s stylish prose evokes her free and adventure-loving spirit. Reissued in 2015.

Serengeti: A Scientist in Paradise by Anthony Sinclair (2012, Ecology/Memoir) Professor Sinclair first came to study zoology in the Serengeti in the 1960s, and he still works there today. This book combines his scientific knowledge, history of the national park, and lively anecdotes about life as a field researcher.

Running with the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn (2012, Sport) An amateur runner from Britain, Finn uproots his family for a chance to train in Kenya, where many of the best professional runners come from. While some reviewers felt this book was more for the running enthusiast, others praised its mix of sports and travel writing.

Crazy River: Exploration and Folly in East Africa by Richard Grant (2011, Travel Narrative) Author Grant risks his life to travel the relatively unexplored Malagarasi River from Tanzania into Burundi, which he then follows up with a jaunt into Rwanda. At times adventurous, scary, and crazy.

It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower by Michela Wrong (2009, History/ Politics) Journalist-turned-author Michela Wrong uses the dramatic true story of anti-corruption officer John Githongo as a way to shed light on tribal politics and corruption in Kenya.

Unbowed by Wangari Maathai (2004, Memoir) There are many words to describe the extortionary life of Wangari Maathai—activist, environmentalist, mother of three, and 2004 Noble Peace Prize winner—but this is her powerful and uplifting story in her own words.

Through a Window, My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall (1990, Natural History). The title says it all—30 years’ worth of fieldwork, observations, and conservation activism. Other titles are available by the same author, who is recognized worldwide as the authority on chimpanzees.

96 The Gunny Sack by Moyez G. Vassanji (1989, Fiction) A sweeping novel that focuses on Asian experiences in East Africa. Generations of Asians from Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, and Uganda offer views and perspectives on the past and the future. Considered a classic, it has had several reprintings including a 2005 edition.

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (1937, Biography/Memoir) The classic tale of a young woman who gives up her life in Denmark to run a coffee plantation in Kenya around the time of WWI. Her lyrical descriptions and love for the land and people have made this book an international favorite.

Rwanda A Thousand Hills to Heaven: Love, Hope, and a Restaurant in Rwanda by Josh Ruxin (2013, Memoir) The inspiring true story of an expat American family that open a restaurant in Kigali, Rwanda both as a creative endeavor and as a way to help the local community.

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (2010, Fiction) A sweet and satisfying novel about a big- hearted baker in Kigali who doles out wisdom to the customers who come into her kitchen to order cakes but end up sharing stories about their lives.

The Antelope’s Strategy: Living in Rwanda After the Genocide by Jean Hatzfield (2011, Non-Fiction) Hatzfield returns to Rwanda to learn about the relationship between the Hutus and Tutsis following the genocide.

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire (2003, Memoir) The story of a Canadian general who was deployed to Rwanda as part of a UN peace-keeping mission during the genocide.

Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey (1983, Memoir) The story of Dian Fossey’s thirteen years living with gorillas in an African rainforest. Look for the 2000 edition, which was reissued for the 15th anniversary of Fossey’s passing.

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch (1998, Non-Fiction) A must-read collection of stories about the infamous genocide in Rwanda.

A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda’s Genocide by Linda Melvern (3rd Ed., 2019, Non-Fiction) A British investigative journalist looks at the failures of the UN Security Council as events unfolded during the Rwandan genocide. Stories of the unrecognized heroism of individual peacekeepers and NGO workers who stayed on during the genocide are included, but it’s mostly a searing indictment of governments and individuals who chose not to act during one of history’s darkest periods.

97 Uganda Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (2014, Fiction) What happens when your family is cursed? This epic novel follows several generations of the same family, all descendants of Kintu Kata, a Ugandan man who unleashes a curse on his family in 1750. The author won the 2014 Commonwealth Prize for this debut novel and as since written other well-received books like 2020’s A Girl is a Body of Water, about a 12-year-old’s trying to find out who her mother is.

Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139 and the Raid on Entebbe Airport, the Most Audacious Hostage Rescue Mission in History by Saul David (2017, Non-Fiction) Days after Idi Amin Dada is declared President, an Air France flight is hijacked and diverted to Entebbe Airport on the shore of Lake Victoria in Uganda for six days where Israeli Special Forces must stage a rescue mission to free the hostages.

The Teeth May Smile but the Heart Does Not Forget: Murder and Memory in Uganda by Andrew Rice (2010, Journalism/Narrative) Journalist Andrew Rice spent four years in Uganda researching this gripping story of a man’s quest for the truth about the murder of his father during the brutal reign of dictator Idi Amin.

Abyssinian Chronicles: A Novel by Moses Isegawa (1998, Fiction) The story of a young man living in Uganda following the end of President Idi Amin’s regime.

Suggested Film & Video

Kenya Eye in The Sky (2015, Drama/War) A tense and thought-provoking war drama in which British commander Katherine Powell (played by Helen Mirren) faces the most difficult choice of her career. While running a drone mission against terrorists in Kenya, a young girl enters the kill zone, forcing a moral dilemma.

The First Grader (2010, Biopic/Drama) An 84-year old Kenyan villager is determined to learn how to read and write no matter the odds. An uplifting movie based on a true story.

The Constant Gardener (2005, Thriller) A British diplomat, Justin Quale, and his wife Tessa relocate to Kenya. But when Tessa is murdered and British embassy tries to meddle in Justin’s investigation, it becomes apparent that Tessa’s death is just the tip of the iceberg.

Nowhere in Africa (2001, Drama) A Jewish couple flee Germany for Kenya at the start of WWII and try to build a new life in a strange land. In German, with subtitles.

Out of Africa (1985, Drama/Romance) A young Danish woman falls for Kenya, her new coffee plantation, and a restless big-game hunter in 1910s. Based on the book by the same name and starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in one of her early roles.

Tanzania Jane (2017, Documentary) An inspiring documentary about the life of Jane Goodall, the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, and her work at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.

98 Throw Down Your Heart (2008, Music) Did you know the banjo originated in Africa? Well-known banjo player Bela Fleck traces the instrument’s roots through Tanzania, Uganda, Gambia, and Mali, jamming with fellow musicians along the way. If you are more interested in the music than the film, some of the songs have been released as an album called Throw Down Your Heart: Africa Sessions (2020).

Rwanda Hotel Rwanda (2004, Drama) Powerful true-life story of a hotel manager who housed Tutsi refugees during the Rwanda genocide of 1994.

Kinyarwanda (2012, Drama) Powerful film about the Rwandan genocide told through a series of deeply personal intertwining stories of everyday people that together form one grand narrative.

Munyurangabo (2009, Drama) Life in post-genocide Rwanda seen through the lives of two adolescent boys who journey from Kigali to a family farm in the countryside. An intimate and beautiful little film shot on location in just two weeks using local actors—and also the first film in the Kinyarwanda language. English subtitles.

Sometimes in April (2005, Drama) A Hutu soldier struggles to come to terms with the aftermath of the genocide as his brother awaits trial for his involvement.

Beyond the Gates (2005, Drama) Also called Stray Dogs, this film depicts the insanity of the genocide based on the experiences of a BBC producer.

Gorillas in the Mist (1988, Biopic) Based on the life of anthropologist Dian Fossey and her breakthrough work with gorillas in Rwanda.

PBS Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda (2005, Documentary) With Frontline’s usual high standards of excellence, this documentary released on the 10th anniversary of Rwandan genocide features interviews with key government officials and diplomats and eyewitness accounts while providing clear insights into the failures that enabled the slaughter to occur unchallenged by the global community

Uganda Queen of Katwe (2016, Drama) The inspiring story of a Ugandan girl living in a slum who learns to play chess and goes on to become a Woman Candidate Master at the World Chess Olympiad.

Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010, Action/Comedy) This low-budget action film is one of about 40 that have been produced in “Wakaliwood,” a slum of Kampala. Made for about $200, it was masterminded by director Nabwana Isaac Geoffrey Godfrey, who has gained a cult following as the “Tarantino of Uganda.” Even if you don’t like the gleeful mayhem, you can’t help but be impressed by the resourcefulness of the production.

Last King of Scotland (2006, Historical Drama) Forest Whitaker won Best Actor at the 2006 Academy Awards for his role as Ugandan President, Idi Amin, in this film which follows the story of the Ugandan President’s personal physician and confidant.

99 Useful Websites

Overseas Adventure Travel World Weather www.oattravel.com www.intellicast.com www.weather.com Overseas Adventure Travel Store www.wunderground.com www.oatshop.com Basic Travel Phrases (80 languages) Overseas Adventure Travel Frequently www.travlang.com/languages Asked Questions www.oattravel.com/faq Packing Tips www.travelite.org International Health Information/CDC (Centers for Disease Control) U.S. Customs & Border Protection http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel www.cbp.gov/travel

Electricity & Plugs Transportation Security www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/ Administration (TSA) plugs-and-sockets www.tsa.gov

Foreign Exchange Rates National Passport Information Center www.xe.com/currencyconverter www.travel.state.gov www.oanda.com/converter/classic Holidays Worldwide ATM Locators www.timeanddate.com/holidays www.mastercard.com/atm www.visa.com/atmlocator

100 VACCINATIONS NOW REQUIRED FOR ALL TRAVELERS, SHIP CREW, TRIP EXPERIENCE LEADERS, AND COACH DRIVERS Plus, updated Health & Safety Protocols for our Land Tours

The health and safety of our travelers is always our #1 priority, and we understand travelers are concerned about exploring the world in light of the unprecedented crisis we are currently facing. To ensure your safety and give you peace of mind, we have worked with our regional team and listened to government guidance and feedback from our travelers to create these health and safety protocols for our trips. As we continue to make changes, we will keep our website updated with the latest information.

VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS • All travelers, ship crew, and Trip Experience AND UPDATED HEALTH & SAFETY Leaders will have their temperature checked PROTOCOLS FOR SMALL SHIP every time they return to the ship using a non- ADVENTURES contact infrared temperature scanner. • All travelers must be fully vaccinated against • All meals are served by the dining staff— COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to departure buffets are no longer available. and provide proof of vaccination upon VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS AND boarding the ship. If you are unable to UPDATED HEALTH & SAFETY PROTOCOLS provide proof of vaccination upon arrival at FOR SMALL GROUP ADVENTURES ON LAND your destination, you will have to return • All travelers must be fully vaccinated against home at your own expense. COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to departure. If To meet this requirement, please bring your you are unable to provide proof of vaccination original COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card upon arrival at your destination, you will with you on your trip. The white card must have to return home at your own expense. display your name, type of vaccine, and the To meet this requirement, please bring your date(s) the vaccine was administered. We also original COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card with suggest taking a picture of this card to keep for you on your trip. The white card must display your records as a backup. your name, type of vaccine, and the date(s) • All local Trip Experience Leaders, the vaccine was administered. We also suggest fully ship staff, and crew will be taking a picture of this card to keep for your vaccinated against COVID-19. records as a backup. fully • All coach drivers will be • All local Trip Experience Leaders will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. vaccinated against COVID-19. • All public areas will be sanitized nightly and • All coach drivers will be fully vaccinated all ships are equipped with High Efficiency against COVID-19. Particulate Air (HEPA) filters.

Help us ensure travelers’ safety and health while on our trips. Please follow best health and hygiene practices to prevent the spread of illness—wash your hands regularly and cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing. Together, we can create a safer travel experience for everyone.

Learn more at www.oattravel.com/covid-update

101 Notes

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KENYA A

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Victoria A

Murchison Falls N.P. Murchison Falls G

Entebbe

Arusha

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. R . D TANZANIA POST-TRIP EXTENSIONS From Serengeti N.P. N.P. Mount Amboseli Nairobi Kilimanjaro Arusha

KENYA

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To A Nairobi National Reserve

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Kigali A Nanyuki

UGANDA W Ruhengeri

Mtn. Gorilla View Lodge Gorilla Mtn. R Nairobi To/from G.R. KENYA OL PEJETA Lake PRE-TRIP EXTENSIONS Sweetwaters NAT. PARK NAT. CONSERVANCY Lake D.R.C. VOLCANOES Kiva Victoria

107 YOUR TRIP EXPERIENCE LEADER

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For your Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti adventure, your Trip Experience Leaders have earned an overall “Excellence” rating of 87% in post-trip surveys completed by our travelers.

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