the insider’ s af rica

�
15 days Departs Saturday, returns Saturday

        emingway was talking —in the quote

to the right —about the Maasai, but
   it’s an African thing, this strong talent
for turning strangers into friends.
Anyone who’s safaried knows it’s delightfully
true. And the encountering of it is indeed [ The Maasai] had that
one of the pleasanter things that will ever attitude that makes brothers,
happen to you. that . . . instant and complete
The intimate, beautiful, and soothingly acceptance that you must be
Masai wherever it is you came
luxurious camps of the Insider’s Africa safari
from . . . very few pleasanter
were designed to provide a deep African things ever happen to you
experience, but very much also to provide than the encountering of it.
the kind of hospitality and open-hearted ­ —Ernest Hemingway,
Green Hills of Africa
connection that Hemingway wrote
of. They’re an African revelation,
these human encounters in the
midst of a wonderland of flora,
dramatic and fascinating fauna,
and soul-gladdening landscapes.

85
 days 4 & 5 Chyulu Hills
We fly south to Campi ya Kanzi, one of our favour­
ite lodges in all of Africa. Created by Luca and
Antonella Belpietro and their Maasai partners,
ya Kanzi is nestled in peace-
ful isolation at the base of
the Chyulu Hills, the very * We remember a Christmas
Eve dinner at ya Kanzi.
Green Hills of Africa that so Antonella and crew
prepared a candlelit
captivated Hemingway. Ya
Afro-Italian feast.
Kanzi’s ­superbly designed Kilimanjaro gleamed
tents look to the south at in the moonlight. And
frequently snow-dusted after dinner a group of
Maasai came to visit.
Kilimanjaro, just across the
The warriors seemed as
border in Tanzania. Game tall and as beautiful
drives here are especially as the Christmas tree.
intimate, and walking in the
mystic cloud forest above camp, looking through
day 1 En route
vines and mossy branches at the great mountain,
days 2 & 3 Nairobi is a rare and indelible experience.*
Our base of operations during our stay in
Kenya’s hard-charging capital is the new,
suburban, surpassingly genteel (its views
of the Ngong Hills are superb)—and very
bashash (friendly, cheerful)—Hemingways
Nairobi, which has created a major stir
for its welcoming
grandness. Nearby
* Not to nitpick, but,
strictly speaking, is the home, now a
we should call East museum, of Out of
Africa’s lingua franca Africa author Isak
Kiswahili; Africans do
Dinesen (or Karen
amongst themselves.
Swahili are the people Blixen, if you prefer,
who originally spoke as most Africans
the language, and do). We’ll visit the
saying Swahili instead
of Kiswahili is like
Daphne Sheldrick
asking someone if Wildlife Sanctuary
they speak England. and be charmed to
the core by its or-
phaned elephants and the intelligence and
love with which they’re cared for by the
Sheldrick Trust. And we’ll have lunch at
Lavington, home of Felix and Jane Pinto,
Micato’s founders, incarnations of ukarimu
(welcoming kindness, in Swahili).*

86 EAST AFRICA CLASSIC SAFARIS INSIDER’S AFRICA

 Ol Malo

days 6–8 Laikipia Plateau days 9 & 10 The Maasai Mara

We fly north from the Chulyu Hills to the grand Sir Richard Branson is admired for many things,
and gorgeous Lakipia Plateau for three memorable perhaps especially for bringing a sprightly and
nights at Ol Malo, an eloquently designed lodge innovative attitude — and a human touch —to all
nestled on a rocky escarpment with entrancing his endeavors. His new Mahali Mzuri camp in the
views from our cottages’ private verandahs of wondrous gamelands of the Maasai Mara reflects
lordly Mount Kenya, the densely green northern Sir Richard’s lively but respectful imagination
Plateau, the remote Northern Frontier District, (Mahali Mzuri was built in close collaboration
and on to infinity (the lodge’s pool was designed with the Maasai who own the land on which it’s
for cooling, frolicking, and contemplation of this so charmingly set). In Forbes, Ann Abel praised
inspiring infinitude). Ol Malo is the kind of place “fantastically stylish” Mahali Mzuri and wrote:
you can’t wait to tell your friends at home about, “I can’t quite bring myself to call its 12 rooms
and its creators and hosts, Colin and Rocky ‘tents,’ but Mahali Mazuri knocked my socks off.”
Francombe, are the kind of people “you would (Twenty-eight pages to the west of here we say
want for friends forever,” as one visitor wrote. that Mahali’s tents “resemble the tents of our youth
Guided walks, horse- and camelbacking, like a Gulfstream 650 resembles a Piper Cub.”
river tubing, and mountain biking are readily And, of course, all this high style and comfort
available at Ol Malo, and game viewing is serves a purpose: those superbly decorated, very
especially rewarding: all the all-stars are private, uniquely conceived tents look out over a
commonly seen, along with some rarer worthies classical landscape dotted with acacia, frequented
like the beisa oryx, Günthers dik dik, and by moseying beasts of a marvelous variety: a very
the stately greater kudu from which Ol Malo essential African landscape seen from an imagina-
takes its name. tive but traditionally welcoming tented camp.

Up close and personal encounters with the animals and people of Kenya are just a few of the highlights of a Micato
tour. . . . Part of the allure of travelling with Micato is that the company, through its One for One program, pays one child’s
school fees, all the way through high school, for each client who books a trip. —Michael Shapiro, The Oberoi Group Magazine

INSIDER’S AFRICA EAST AFRICA CLASSIC SAFARIS 87

 days 11–13 The Serengeti
We fly to Tanzania and the Serengeti via Nairobi the Serengeti–Maasai Mara from our tents’ veran-
and Arusha, ending with a final three safari nights das, and a game drive — prairie-schoonering on
at the wonderful Dunia Camp, in the southwest the golden plain, stopping to picnic under a
corner of the Seronera Valley, the heart of the kopje’s acacia trees — is a serial revelation: ele-
Serengeti (hence, in the center of the world’s phants moseying along contentedly; zebras resting
hands-down greatest assemblage of wildlife). their heads on each other, giving them a collective
Another of the brilliantly hospitable small camps 360-degree view of the lion-stalked plain; wilde-
on our Insider’s Africa journey, Dunia and its eight beest forever and famously looking like a collec-
tents are set on the lower slopes of Nyareboro Hill, tion of cast-off parts; rhinos; crocs and gigantic
looking out at the oceanic Serengeti. Close by are hippos; elegantly sauntering giraffes; and perhaps
the classic Moru Kopjes, on which lions laze and 50 or more other large mammal species, including
plot their next foray. leopards, which we often see in the lush forest on
It’s often possible to watch the cyclic migration the banks of the nearby Seronera River, a preda-
that more or less constantly churns its way around tor’s and a predator watcher’s paradise.

Personalize Your Safari

Insider’s Africa doesn’t include a visit to the Micato-AmericaShare Harambee Centre,
which would be a friendly and very fun thing to do on a half-day extension.
More Options and Extensions appear on pages 10 8 –111 and 14 8 –149.

88 EAST AFRICA CLASSIC SAFARIS INSIDER’S AFRICA

I am hard pressed to think of any reason why one
would not use Micato. Their vehicles are absolutely
the finest and their guides are considered the best in
the business, even by other operators. It is a ­company
that does not use third parties, but has its own
­organization to answer every wish, provide special
opportunities, and resolve any emergency.
—Priscilla Alexander
President and Founder, Protravel

day 14 Nairobi
We fly back to the Kenyan capital and Heming-
ways, where we’ll have a room to relax and
regroup before our late evening flights home-
ward. Perhaps we’ll simply sit by the pool and
scroll through our ­impressions of an extrava-
gantly scenic and deeply friendly African safari.

day 15 Head home

We connect in Europe for homebound flights,
perhaps a little sad — maybe already a little
homesick for Africa. Tariff 2015
Land arrangements, per person
November Balance of Year
Double Occupancy $16,995 $17,995
Single Supplement 2,500 2,500
Internal Flights on Safari 3,250 3,250

(Nairobi / Campi ya Kanzi / Laikipia / Maasai Mara /

Serengeti / Nairobi) Connections may apply.
For assistance booking international flights, we will be happy
to refer you to our preferred air ticket purveyor.
Private-Use Vehicle: Prefer a safari vehicle to yourself?
The supplement is from $6,900 per vehicle.

2015 Dates
To and from Home | Every date is a guaranteed departure
Jan. 03 – Jan. 17 Mar. 14 – Apr. 04 Aug. 15 – Aug. 29 Nov. 21 – Dec. 05
Jan. 17 – Jan. 31 June 06 – Jun. 20 Sept. 05 – Sept. 19 Dec. 05 – Dec. 19
Jan. 24 – Feb. 07 June 20 – July 04 Sept. 19 – Oct. 03 Dec. 19 – Jan. 02
Feb. 07 – Feb. 21 July 04 – July 18 Oct. 03 – Oct. 17 Dec. 26 – Jan. 09
Feb. 21 – Mar. 07 July 18 – Aug. 01 Oct. 17 – Oct. 31
Mar. 07 – Mar. 21 Aug. 01 – Aug. 15 Nov. 07 – Nov. 21

2016 Dates
To and from Home | New rates and dates may apply
Jan. 02 – Jan. 16 Mar. 12 – Mar. 26 Aug. 20 – Sept. 03 Nov. 19 – Dec. 03
Jan. 16 – Jan. 30 June 04 – June 18 Sept. 03 – Sept. 17 Dec. 03 – Dec. 17
Jan. 23 – Feb. 06 June 18 – July 02 Sept. 17 – Oct. 01 Dec. 17 – Dec. 31
Feb. 06 – Feb. 20 July 02 – July 16 Oct. 01 – Oct. 15 Dec. 24 – Jan. 07
Feb. 20 – Mar. 05 July 16 – July 30 Oct. 22 – Nov. 05 Dec. 31 – Jan. 14
Mar. 05 – Mar. 19 July 30 – Aug. 13 Nov. 05 – Nov. 19

INSIDER’S AFRICA EAST AFRICA CLASSIC SAFARIS 89