The National Parks

EAST AFRICA’s WILDLIFE AND BIRD DIVERSITY Kenya and Tanzania Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, Mount Kenya, Rift Valley Lakes Baringo and Naivasha , Samburu northern desert, Coastal Forests and Estuaries, Coral Reefs January 24 to February 11, 2015 Indian Ocean Coastal Extension with Forests and Coral Reefs: February 10-15

Led by Mark Smith and Regional Naturalists

East Africa is home to the most remarkable large mammal fauna on earth; it is a view into the Pleistocene. This diverse wildlife is set against a magnificent backdrop - volcanic mountains Kenya and Kilimanjaro, vast lakes nestled in the Rift, savannahs of umbrella acacias, sculpted granite monoliths, and Indian Ocean coral reefs, estuaries and beaches. Our tour incorporates the best of both countries and a variety of natural history topics. We pass through the homelands of over a dozen distinctive tribes. Birdwatchers will see nearly 500 showy species. Our accommodations include fully equipped, often splendidly located, hotels and lodges, and two nights in established tented camps, with large standing-room tents and attached bathrooms with flush toilets and showers. We will travel in one or two vans with excellent local driver-guides. Mark Smith has led over twenty tours to East Africa. Highlights in Kenya include a stay at Mountain Lodge, high on the forested slopes of Mount Kenya; boating to see hippos and myriad waterbirds at Lakes Baringo and Naivasha, and Samburu National Park with its arid-land specialties like oryx, gerenuk antelope, Grevy’s zebra, Somali ostrich, and many raptors. In Tanzania we visit Tarangire National Park, its many elephants wandering amongst gnarled, ancient Baobab trees, creating a fairyland environment. Ngorongoro Crater hosts the greatest density of large animals on earth; zebras and wildebeests are constantly interacting with prides of lions within this 10-mile diameter volcanic caldera. And of course, the Serengeti, grandest of the parks we visit, where we spend four days. Over a million ungulates make an annual migration around the park following the rains. Our lodge is built into a natural kopje (granite outcrop) that wildlife still inhabits. And finally, on the surprising and idyllic Coastal Extension we fly from Nairobi to Malindi on the Kenya Coast. For five days we swim and snorkel Indian Ocean coral reefs, visit Giriama and Swahili tribes people, and explore coastal estuaries and Sokoke Forest Reserve, where wildlife and birds are entirely different than in the highlands.

LEADERSHIP Mark Smith has led numerous private, Audubon and Nature Conservancy international tours. Mark has a broad knowledge of natural history, with special emphasis in animal behavior, ornithology and ecology. He is co-author of the book, Oregon Birds. Since his studies at Oregon State University he has worked as a researcher and educator for a variety of organizations including the National Marine Fisheries Service, The National Science Foundation, the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy and the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry. During the last 20 years he has spent over two years traveling, doing research, and leading more than 20 groups in East Africa. We will have one or two experienced African driver/guides with us at all times. These guides know birds and wildlife, and will share insights into their culture and country.

LODGING, ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTATIONS Physical activities on this trip are not difficult but there are a few longer drives with fantastic scenery. Some roads are rough for short, slow distances, but in recent years many have been paved or are kept graded. Activities vary from the viewing of wildlife from vans to short nature walks over flat terrain. Accommodations are in lodges, hotels, and one deluxe tented lodge for two nights, where large, standing-room canvas tents have attached concrete bathroom with flush toilet and hot shower. This Tarangire Tented Lodge is famous for its hospitality, innovations, food, and stunning location. Participants often can choose to relax at lodgings while the group is on short field trips. For half of this tour we will be at over 5000' elevation, and mornings and evenings you will want a sweater or coat, and daytime temperatures are usually in the 70s, with the coast warmer but breezy. PREPARATION Reading and bird lists, articles, maps and travel information will be sent to participants well before departure. TRIP COST AND RESERVATIONS Ground Fare (Jan. 24 to Feb. 11) $6550 This includes double occupancy accommodations in hotels, and one tented camp, transport in one or two 7-passenger vans, large four-wheel drives, entrance fees and all meals. Not included are airport taxes, excess baggage charges, bar beverages, laundry, tips to drivers, phone calls and other personal items.

Air Fare $1800 (approx. from West Coast) $1400 (approx. from East Coast) $ 280 (Coast Extension: for two internal flights) Coast Extension Ground Fare (Feb. 10-15) $1185 (Snorkeling and Marine Park fees are extra, but minimal.)

Group Limit: 13 Small Group Supplement This will be charged if the group size is 6 or fewer, and will be adjusted according to the number of travelers. Single Supplement The single supplement is $1075, and $240 for the coast extension.

A deposit of $1000 made out to Mark Smith Nature Tours and sent to: Mark Smith PO Box 3831 Portland, OR 97208-3831 will ensure you a place on this tour. Include your address and phone, and the name and dates of the trip. You will be sent a packet of information to help you prepare for the trip. The final payment is due 60 days before departure. Mark’s phone is 360-566-0458. Mark’s email is [email protected].

AIR TRAVEL Currently flights from the US through Amsterdam with Northwest Airlines, and KLM from Amsterdam to Tanzania provide the best connections. Our travel agent in Portland is Pam Davis of Willamette International Travel. Participants are encouraged to make flight arrangements through Pam, and travel insurance is also available. Pam will work with you to use your favorite airlines to get to Europe. Pam Davis of Willamette Int’l Travel Email: [email protected] 1314 NW Irving St. #101 Phone: 503-224-0180 or 1-800-821-0401 Portland, OR 97209-2721

CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS For cancellations made more than 60 days prior to departure payments are fully refunded less $100. Cancellations made fewer than 60 days before the departure date forfeit 65% of the tour cost. We recommend that participants consider trip cancellation insurance, which can be bought through our agent, Willamette International Travel (above). ITINERARY Day 1 & 2 Jan. 24 & 25 U.S. to Moshi, Tanzania Relatively few flights fly into Kilimanjaro Airport in Moshi, Northern Tanzania. Northwest Airlines, partnered with KLM, however, has an excellent schedule and prices. Northwest departs Seattle 1:25 PM (NW also flies from other US cities) arriving in Amsterdam at 8:30 AM, and KLM continues at 10:15 AM to arrive in Tanzania at Kilimanjaro Airport at 8:50 PM. From the airport near Moshi we drive an hour west to Arusha (pop. 200,000), where we settle into our hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Day 3 Jan. 26 Arusha to Tarangire National Park We sleep in, and after breakfast drive southwest across agricultural plains and through the arid Rift Valley to Tarangire Park, arriving at midday and entering the park then continuing to our spectacular lodge, located on a bluff overlooking savannah and river. After checking in and lunch we relax at our deluxe tents with lights and attached hot water bathrooms. Wildebeeste, zebra, great herds of elephants and myriad birds are attracted to Tarangire’s water and rolling grasslands studded with massive, contorted baobabs. Tarangire is one of Africa’s most beautiful landscapes. Leopards and lions are here too, and special birds include bare-faced go-away birds, grey kestrel, and ashy starling.

Day 4 Jan. 27 Tarangire NP Morning and evening wildlife drives in Tarangire NP.

Day 5 Jan. 28 Tarangire NP, Arusha, Nairobi After a final safari in Tarangire NP, we climb steeply to the 8000 ft. rim of Ngorongoro Crater NP. Two thousand feet below lies the savannah floor of the 12-mile wide volcanic caldera. The Crater supports the densest population of ungulates on earth, as well as lions, cheetahs and rhinos. Thousands of wildebeeste, antelope and zebras forage the perennially green highland grasses. We spend this cool night at a lodge on the crater rim.

Day 6, 7 & 8 Jan. 29, 30 & 31 Ngorongoro and Serengeti NP This morning we descend into the Crater via a rugged one-way road. Watch for Lions, huge bull Elephants and Rhinos. The Crater has one of the few secure Black Rhino populations in East Africa. A soda lake in the Crater supports thousands of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes as well as waterfowl and shorebirds. At mid-day we drive up to the cool rim and continue down the western slope of the Ngorongoro Highlands and across the Serengeti Plains to Lake Ndutu Lodge, located at the edge of Serengeti National Park where we spend two nights. A small, personal lodge, Ndutu is the closest accommodation to The Migration, on the plains in every direction. The Serengeti ecosystem protects the world’s largest population of ungulates; over one million wildebeeste and nearly half a million zebra annually follow the rains from plains to savannah to woodland. It is a view into the Pleistocene. We’ll find Lions and Hyenas, and probably leopards and cheetahs. Antelope include topi, hartebeest, dikdik, eland, steinbok, and Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelles. Birds of the plains include many raptors, larks, lapwings, bustards and sand grouse. We spend one night at the splendid Seronera Lodge, built over and into a Kopje (ancient granite outcrops) where Hyraxes and Baboons still reside. Two nights we are at famed Ndutu Lodge, beside a flamingo lake and in the heart of the plains where two million wildebeeste, zebra, and gazelles are raising young and avoiding predators. Fabulous!

Day 9 Feb. 1 Serengeti to Olduvai Gorge, to Lake Manyara Escarpment This morning a final safari across the Plains to reach Olduvai Gorge at the base of the Ngorongoro Highlands. Olduvai is the most famous site in anthropology. An African excavator who aids the international researchers with their Olduvai digs will provide an informal lecture, and there is an excellent museum. Afterwards we continue east over the highlands to the Lake Manyara Hotel, perched at the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment overlooking Lake Manyara.

Day 10 Feb. 2 Lake Manyara to Arusha to Nairobi After an early birdwalk on the delightful hotel grounds which overlook Lake Manyara a thousand feet below, we depart and drive down to a lush groundwater forest, fed by springs that burst from the Rift escarpment, the waters originating in the moist Ngorongoro Highlands. Here we have a short walk then we continue northeast to Arusha with a break in a fine hotel and shopping opportunities, then proceed north to the border crossing into Kenya, arriving in Nairobi this evening for dinner.

Day 11 Feb. 3 Nairobi to Mount Kenya, Mountain Lodge We depart Nairobi and make our way north through the agricultural Kenyan highlands, homeland of the largest tribe, the Kikuyu, their mud and thatch homes scattered among fields of corn, vegetables, coffee and pineapples. We arrive for lunch at Mountain Lodge, situated beside a pond and natural salt lick high on Mt. Kenya, Africa’s second highest mountain at 17,000 ft. The mountain forests of East Africa are endangered, most having been logged and cultivated with tea, coffee and temperate vegetables. Rare and shy forest animals can be seen here coming to the lighted clearing through the night. Rhino, Elephant, Giant Forest Hog, Leopard, Duiker and Suni Antelopes, and Bushbuck are but a few. Dozens of birds are limited to these heights and are easily seen from the lodge’s viewing balconies and short forest trails. Robins, raptors, doves and starlings are well represented.

Day 12 Feb. 4 Mountain Lodge to Samburu NP The forest around the lodge will be alive with birds this morning. Guenon and Colobus Monkeys are often seen. After a sumptuous breakfast we continue with stops to Naro Moru Lodge for lunch and a short walk in the beautiful gardens and rich woodland. We continue north to Samburu National Park. En route we pass through the frontier town of Isiolo, where traditionally-clad Samburu, Somali, Turkana, Rendille and Boran tribes gather to trade. We spend two nights at Samburu Park, overlooking the river where animals gather.

Day 13 Feb. 5 Samburu NP During morning and evening safaris we’ll search out the arid-land specialties of Samburu. Unique mammals of the region include the Reticulated Giraffe, Beisa Oryx (an antelope), Grevy’s Zebra and the long-necked Gerenuk Antelope. Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Nile crocodile are here too. A river runs through the park and is the focal point of the ecosystem. The birdlife is astounding, with many species found only here within our itinerary. Raptors, hornbills, bustards and kingfishers are especially well-represented, but also several warblers, weavers and finches.

Day 14 Feb. 6 Samburu to Naro Moru We safari our way out of Samburu, visiting new areas of the park, then continue south with a pack lunch to the western shoulder of Mt. Kenya at Naro Moru Lodge, beside a quiet river in a dry forest of Podocarpus conifers. This lodge is the staging site for many climbers ascending 17,000 foot Mount Kenya, which we’ll likely view if not shrouded in cloud. Even at midday the grounds are rich with birds, especially iridescent sunbirds, as well as hornbills, turacos, parrots, trogons and cinnamon-chested beeaters.

Day 15 Feb. 7 Naro Moru to Rift Valley and Lake Baringo After an early morning birdwalk along the river, we depart with pack lunches on a spectacular route west, traversing the Abedare Range, and dropping into the 20 to 40-mile wide Rift Valley, then continuing north to famed Lake Baringo at 3,000 feet, our hotel a flowered lakeshore oasis in an arid landscape.

Day 16 Feb. 8 Lake Baringo Before breakfast we walk along the nearby escarpment. On the cliff and in the scrubby forest beneath are found plant and animal species difficult to find elsewhere, many at the southern end of their northern range, including Jackson’s and hemprich’s hornbills, Verreaux’s eagle, cliff chat and bristle-crowned starling. Following breakfast we boat along the shoreline, where we can approach hippos, goliath herons and dozens of other waterbirds Baringo is famous for. This evening we’ll scan the lakeshore and walk the yellow fever tree woodlands surrounding the hotel.

Day 17 Feb. 9 Lake Baringo to Lake Naivasha We depart in midmorning for freshwater Lake Naivasha, where we overnight. Naivasha lies at 7000 ft., and the area is seething with waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors and hippos. This evening we’ll make woodland and lakeshore walks and enjoy the beautiful grounds of the hotel.

Day 18 Feb. 10 Lake Naivasha to Nairobi to the coast (or Europe) A relaxed morning of woodland and lakeshore walks before we continue two hours to Nairobi, where we have a break at our previous hotel, and travelers continuing on the coastal extension can leave bags in storage. Those going to the Indian Ocean fly at 2:00 PM. Travelers not on the extension will have a dayroom and could visit the nearby National Museum, or shop in Nairobi. The KLM flight to Amsterdam leaves about 11 PM, arriving at about 6 AM.

Day 19 Feb. 11 Amsterdam to the U.S. Our KLM flight arrives in Amsterdam at about 6:00 AM. Connections to the East and West coast are in late morning. The Northwest flight to Seattle departs at about 11:00 AM and arrives at about 12:00 Noon. Welcome home. THE COASTAL EXTENSION

Day 1 (18) Feb. 10 Nairobi to Malindi on the Indian Ocean At 2:00 PM. we fly from Nairobi to Malindi, where we are met by our drivers and taken to our beautiful hotel on the beach overlooking the Marine Park where we will snorkel. This afternoon and the next three days we will have a variety of relaxing options.

Day 2–5 (19-22) Feb. 11, 12, 13 & 14 Coastal Highlights These days we will visit the market in the old town of Malindi and walk through a Giriama village to the home of friend, Rodgers Karabu. At least one early morning we will have a bird and nature walk in relict Sokoke Forest to search for rare lowland birds and the golden-backed elephant shrew with talented local guides. Nearby is Mida Creek, one of the largest mangrove- lined estuaries on the East African coast and home to thousands of interesting waterbirds, many wintering from Europe. There is also the ruined 14th century Arab city of Gedi, set amidst the encroaching forest. And each day we can swim and snorkel. In the afternoon of the last day we fly to Nairobi at about 1:00 PM and connect with our KLM flight for Amsterdam at 11:00 PM, arriving at about 6:00 AM.

Day 6 (23) Feb. 15 Amsterdam to the US We arrive in Amsterdam at about 6:00 AM this morning and connect with flights arriving in the US this same day, the Northwest flight to Seattle arriving at about 12:00 noon.