Tour Leader: Bristol Foster

Imagine being able to go back to the Canadian prairies and the Pleistocene era of 15,000 years ago and seeing millions of bison, mastodons, sabre toothed tigers, camels, and giant armadillos - over 30 species of large mammal compared with the very few remaining there today. The modern equivalent is still existing in the world in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Here a million and a half wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of gazelles and zebra, antelopes, hippopotamus, 7 kinds of cats, 3 kinds of hyaena, jackals, wild dogs, aardvarks, warthogs, buffalo, giraffe, rhino, hyrax, the list goes on and on. Birds too occur in great abundance, particularly near water holes and lakes such as Lake Nakuru where over a million flamingos can be seen at a glance. All these creatures are displayed before East Africa's super-scenic backdrop: Kilimanjaro, wall of the Rift Valley, Ngorongoro Crater and the teaming grasslands of the Serengeti ecosystem. Here is your chance to participate in an exciting East African safari. We shall begin by meeting at a designated hotel in London on February 5 and then the next day head south to Arusha, a city in the north of Tanzania at the foot of Kilimanjaro. Arusha is our gateway to the Great Rift Valley, the Serengeti plains, Ngorngoro crater, Lake Manyara, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park. Then we drive to the world famous Serengeti where just at this time of year, the wildebeest are giving birth to hundreds of thousands of babies to the culinary delight of the predators and scavengers. We shall observe this dynamic dance of life for four days before travelling nearby to the Ngorongoro Crater, on the floor of which are most of the large mammal species in an idyllic setting. The backdrop of the caldera's rim makes for stunning photographs. We proceed on to Tarangire National Park rich in wildlife and giant baobab trees. Then to Amboseli Park in Kenya, at the foot of towering Kilimanjaro. This glacier clad mountain is the highest on the continent and feeds springs that attract a huge range of wildilife particularly elephants, baboons and water birds. We then move north to spectacular wildlife areas in the shadow of Mt Kenya. This area has kinds of wildlife not occurring to the south: reticulated giraffe, the most beautiful four legged mammal in the world, and a near runner up the Grevy's zebra. We stay in both tented camps and luxurious lodges including four days in Samburu National Park. On our way back to Nairobi we spend a night at The Arc where we see wildlife at night coming to a water hole, then on to Lake Nakuru where enormous numbers of flamingos, pelicans and waders gather. The rare white rhino is a feature of the park and normally we are able to observe them closely. Finally in Nairobi we have the options to visit the restored home of Karen Blixen of Out of Africa fame, the National Museum and, of course, shopping. The evening of February 28 we head back to London unless you have decided to take the extension.

The extension to our trip involves driving to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya for six nights. The Reserve is the northern extension of the Serengeti ecosystem and includes the usual suspects particularly hippo and crocodiles in the Maasai River. There are plenty of elephants and good views of all the big cats are almost guaranteed.

On our travels we shall also meet some of the most colorful peoples of East Africa: in particular the Maasai and Samburu. They are nomadic peoples who range the grasslands with their cattle and goats and will be great subjects of interest for our cameras. We shall be accompanied by expert native guides with eyes of an eagle and knowledge of an encyclopedia.

It is now very important to indicate whether you are interested in coming. A deposit of $750.00 US must be made by June 30, 2006 to insure we keep our reservations as we are intending to travel in the high season, the very best time of year to see this spectacular modern equivalent of the Pleistocene fauna. It is going to be a trip of a lifetime.

Bristol Foster

Our proposed itinerary:

Day 1: Wed. Feb. 07 - Arusha, Tanzania
On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, we are met by our local representatives and transferred to the Dik Dik hotel in Arusha for overnight.

Day 2 to 5: Thu. to Sun. Feb. 8 to 11 - Serengeti National Park
4 nights at Ndutu Safari Lodge

DAY 6 & 7 - Mon. to Tue. Feb. 12 & 13 - Ngorongoro Crater
2 nights at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

DAY 8 & 9 - Wed. to Thu. feb. 14 & 15 - Tarangire
2 nights at Tarangire Safari Lodge

DAY 10 & 11 - Fri. to Sat. Feb. 16 & 17 - Cross to Kenya
2 nights Amboseli Serena Lodge

DAY 12 - Sun. Feb. 18 - Naroibi
2 nights at Serena Mountain Lodge

DAY 13 & 14 - Mon & Tue. Feb. 19 & 20 - Sweetwaters
2 nights at Sweetwaters Tented Camp

DAY 15 to 19 - Wed. to Sat. Feb. 21 to 24 - Samburu
4 nights at Samburu Serena Lodge

DAY 20 - Sun. Feb. 25 - The Ark
1 night at The Ark

DAY 21 – Mon Feb 26 -
1 night at Lion Hill Nakuru

DAY 22 - Tue. Feb. 27 - Nairobi
1 night at Norfolk Nairobi

Maasai Mara Extension….Wed Feb 28 to Tue March 6, 07

DAY 1 to 4 - Wed. February 28 to Friday March 02
Drive to Maasai Mara for 3 overnights at Mara Intrepids Camp

DAY 5 to 7 - Sat. March 3 to Mon. March 5
Drive to Trans Mara, 3 overnights at Mara serena Lodge

DAY 8 - Tue. March 6
Drive to Nairobi for overnight at the Norfolk Hotel

Tour does not includE

RESERVATION FORM
Bookings cannot be processed unless accompanied by a completed, signed and dated Tour Reservation Form (2 pages).
For your convenience we also have a Credit Card authorization form. Payments by cheque are also accepted.

Main Tour
USD 8,449 per person, based on double and a minimum number of 12 passengers.
USD 3,989 Single Supplement.

Extension to Maasai Mara
USD 3,545 per person based on twin accommodation and a minimum number of 12 participants.
USD 1,550 Single Supplement

Deposit
A non refundable deposit of $750.00 us (refundable only if number of bookings is less than 12 participants and the tour is cancelled) Payment by Master Card and Visa are accepted.
Cheque payments should be made to Bestway Tours & Safaris.
PS: A rebate of $250.00 US will be credited towards your balance payment if the total cost of trip is paid by cheque only.
Bestway Tours & Safaris reserve the right to cancel tour if the required number of participants is not booked. In that case all payments made will be refunded.

Balance
The balance payment is due no later than November 17, 2006. The balance payment is also non refundable. We strongly suggest purchasing travel insurance at time of booking in order to protect your investment in case of a medical emergency or death in the family.

Cancellation Policy:
Both the deposit and the balance amounts are non refundable. Bestway Tours & Safaris reserves the right to cancel the tour if the number of participants is below that required for the tour to operate. In that case a full refund minus an administration fee of USD 200 per person, will be refunded.

INSURANCE
Medical and Cancellation Insurance is strongly recommended in order to protect your investment. Cancellation Insurance must be requested at time of booking

PASSPORTS
You are required to carry a valid passport with an expiry date of six (6) months past reentry into your home country.

VACCINATIONS
Please contact the travel clinic in your area for advice. British Columbia residents may consult Travel Medicine & Vaccination Centres. Telephone 604-681-5656 in Vancouver or toll free 1-888-288-8682.

International Airfare
GROUP RATES AND AVAILABILITY CAN ONLY BE GUARANTEED AT TIME OF BOOKING AND FULL PAYMENT.
FEB 04 AC 854
DEPART VANCOUVER 1750
ARRIVE HEATHROW 1125 FEB 05
OVERNIGHT LONDON
FEB 06 KQ 101
DEPART HEATHROW 1900
ARRIVE NAIROBI 0630 FEB 07
FEB 07 KQ 6274
DEPART NAIROBI 0800
ARRIVE KILIMANJARO 0850
FEB 28 KQ 102
DEPART NAIROBI 2340
ARRIVE HEATHROW 0545
FEB 29 AC 855
DEPART HEATHROW 1330
ARRIVE VANCOUVER 1425

Group airfare requires minimum of 10 people travelling together and can only be guaranteed at time of booking and full payment.
Current rate is 2,245 cad. Taxes extra
Rate includes overnight accommodation in London

PS: We will do our best to ensure the best available airfare rates. Tour participants should be aware that some factors such as increases in taxes, fuel surcharges and competition factors are beyond our control.