kenya & tanzania
balloons over the mara, then zanzibar
Fourteen nights from Nairobi's park to the western Maasai Mara and nine nights on Zanzibar's south-east coast.
- Private Safari
- From $9,900 pp
- 2 guests
- 14 nights
trip highlights
- Katavi's dry season, from June to October, draws hippos, crocodiles and buffalo to the dwindling pools and river in front of Chada Camp.
- Game drives at Katavi run in open 4x4 vehicles across a park with only a handful of permanent camps, so sightings are often shared with no one.
- At Mahale, habituated wild chimpanzees are tracked on foot directly from camp, with no vehicle between you and the forest.
- Afternoons at Mahale belong to Lake Tanganyika, the second-deepest lake on earth, with swimming, snorkelling among cichlids and kayaking off the beach.
Scroll for the full itinerary
Remote Parks and Lakeshore Forest
This eight-night route runs through the quiet west of Tanzania, beginning with a single night in Arusha, the staging town beneath Mount Meru where northern journeys start. From there it turns to Katavi, one of the least-visited parks of its size, where the dry season concentrates hippos, buffalo and elephants on a shrinking plain. It closes in the Mahale Mountains, a lakeshore rainforest on Lake Tanganyika where wild chimpanzees are tracked on foot.
You travel by light aircraft between the parks, with game drives in open 4×4 vehicles on the Chada Plain and trekking on steep forested slopes at Mahale. The camps are small and simple in the way remote places require, strong on guiding and set among the country rather than behind glass. Each is the right base for what its region offers, from open grassland to white-sand beach.
Daily Itinerary Breakdown
Arusha and the Coffee Slopes of Meru
The first night settles you on the western edge of Arusha, at 1,400 metres on the southern slopes of Mount Meru, before the flights west begin. This is the region's logistical hinge rather than its main event, a calm place to rest after the long haul in. You can walk the estate and taste the roast at an unhurried pace. Legendary Lodge stands on the century-old Selian Coffee Estate, its twelve cottages scattered through tropical gardens and rows of coffee, with the airport fifteen minutes away and the arrival handled without fuss.
- Accommodation at Legendary Lodge
Katavi's Plains and the Dry-Season Concentration
Four nights are given to Katavi, reached by light aircraft from Arusha and a short transfer or game drive from Ikuu airstrip. Days turn on morning, afternoon and full-day drives in open 4x4 vehicles across the Chada Plain. As the dry season tightens from June to October, the Katuma River and scattered pools shrink and the wildlife gathers around what water remains, with hundreds of hippos crowding the pools, crocodiles on the banks and buffalo in their thousands. Chada Camp holds just six canvas tents under tamarind and acacia on the edge of the plain, where elephants come for the fruits and lions turn up often.
- Accommodation at Chada Camp
Tracking Chimpanzees at Mahale
The final three nights sit on a white-sand beach on Lake Tanganyika, inside Mahale Mountains National Park, reached by light aircraft and then a dhow along the lake. Mornings begin with a trek into the hills, guides and rangers reading the signs until the habituated chimpanzees of the M-group are found, tracked on foot with no vehicle involved. A trek might be a gentle walk or several steep hours. Afternoons turn to the water, with swimming, snorkelling among more than 250 species of cichlid, kayaking or a sunset dhow. Greystoke Mahale is an eight-banda lodge built from old dhow timbers, forest climbing steeply behind it.
- Accommodation at Greystoke Mahale
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
looking for inspiration?
tanzania & uganda
gorillas, the migration and the reef
Uganda's gorillas, the northern Serengeti crossings and eight nights diving Pemba, across 17 nights and five stays.
- Private Safari
- From $19,200 pp
- 2 guests
- 17 nights
tanzania & kenya
serengeti to laikipia in three weeks
Twenty-one nights from Mount Meru's forest across the Serengeti and Mara to the Laikipia Highlands of northern Kenya.
- Private Safari
- From $28,290 pp
- 2 guests
- 21 nights
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
remote, exclusive
& personal
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.