Update:  will be meeting the Kenya Barista Champion  John Muli Makau and enjoying a few coffees with him.

Enquiries and bookings are to be done through the Susie Potter – email Susie@africasafarico.com.au or call (612) 9584 0520

ITINERARY PREPARED FOR Coffee Tour – June 2008

DAY 1 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

Please note: On arrival into Ethiopia you will be required to have a valid tourist entry visa at a cost of AUD$40 that you will have purchased prior to leaving Australia.

Today you will be met by a Real Africa Safari Representative at Bole Airport in Addis Ethiopia and transferred to your hotel for your overnight stay including dinner.

Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia always welcomes its guests with warmest smiling salvoes. Addis Ababa, which literally means “new flower'' is Ethiopia's largest metropolis and was founded some 118 years ago. This vibrant city, with wide tree-lined boulevard, fine architecture and glorious weather is ideal place to explore. The city stretches from 1800 to 3200 meters above sea level, with a population of nearly 3.5 - 4 million. Addis is the home of various nations and nationalities who are also traditionally known as humble, friendly and charming towards foreigners. Addis Ababa is an official diplomatic capital of Africa with more than 90 embassies and consular representatives, which makes it the fourth diplomatic center in the world.

DAY 2 Drive to Mizan Teferi

Following breakfast today you will be driven to Jimma where you will visit Goma Coffee Plantation. You will then continue on to Mizan Teferi for your overnight stay.

Ethiopia is Africa's third largest coffee producer after Uganda and Ivory Coast. Coffee export is the main source of foreign exchange. Also, a large segment of the population is involved in the coffee industry.

Due to the importance placed on the coffee industry, it has the advantage of receiving government support for research, infrastructure improvement, financial and manpower contributions, quality control systems and publicity.

The creation of the Coffee and Tea Authority proves this fact and one of its objectives is to support the production and trade of coffee as well as research efforts.

There are a few research centers such as the Jima National Coffee Center (JNCRC) which was created in 1967. This establishment focuses on improving the quality of coffee, disease resistance, nutrition improvement and the general improvement of the coffee industry.

An estimated 200,000 to 250,000 tons of coffee is produced in Ethiopia every year, with fluctuations due to the climate, prices and the seasonal nature of coffee plants. An unknown amount of coffee is bought and sold illegally, of which some goes to neighboring countries. The majority of coffee produced in Ethiopia is exported from the capital city of Addis Ababa. There are a number of ways in which coffee is produced in Ethiopia: Traditional coffee, which is utilized by small growers and yields about 400 ñ 500 kilograms per hectare.

Garden coffee is grown at farms, for the most part inter-cropped with other crops, fruits or vegetables. Large scale modern plantations, which can produce outputs of 1 to 1.5 tons per hectare. There are currently about 25,000 hectares of coffee plantations owned by the government. Presently, small farms produce 90 percent of Ethiopia's coffee, and government owned farms produce the remaining 10 percent. The new government has now stated that the private sector can invest in the coffee industry. This should encourage new investors to establish larger scale plantations with more advanced technology, thus improving the production and quality of coffee.

DAY 3 Mizan Teferi – Tepi – Bebeka – Jimma

This morning you will be driven 48kms to Bebeka to visit Bebeka Coffee Plantation which is the most interesting coffee plantation place in Ethiopia. After lunch you will be driven 40kms to Tepi to visit the Tepi Coffee Plantation before driving to Jimma for dinner and your overnight stay at the Central Shoa Hotel.

DAY 4 Jimma – Addis and depart

This morning you will drive from Jimma to Adidis Ababa and you will then connect to a flight to Nairobi.

This afternoon you will arrive into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, collect your luggage and clear immigration and customs formalities. (Airline flights are booked by your travel agent).

Please note: A visa is required for your visit to Kenya at a cost of US$50.00 per person to be paid in US$ cash. This can be obtained either prior to your visit or alternatively at the airport on arrival.

On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport you will be met by a Real African Safari Representative and transferred to the Holiday Inn Nairobi.

This historic hotel, formerly the Mayfair Court Hotel, enjoyed its first heyday in 1940's Colonial Kenya. Since joining the Holiday Inn group this charming landmark has been transformed into a comfortable, spacious, modern hotel whilst retaining its distinctive architecture and lush gardens.

Situated in a popular shopping and residential suburb close to the city centre, the Holiday Inn Nairobi is only 20km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and offers a full range of services and facilities. Guests can look forward to experiencing the traditional warmth and hospitality for which the Holiday Inn is renowned.

All 171 guest rooms have colour TV, radio, telephone, tea/coffee making facilities and private bathroom. Guests can enjoy in-room movies and 18hr room service. The friendly and informal Oasis Restaurant is next to the pooldeck, serving delicious breakfasts and buffet dinner to suit all appetites.

The hotel is host to Kenya's only Spur steak ranch, offering delicious speciality steaks, burgers, pizzas and a wide range of exciting salas dishes for lunch, dinner and in-between. Spur also provides room service snacks and mouth- watering poolside lunches.

Whether on business or leisure there is plenty to do at the hotel and in the surrounding area. The hotel has a choice of shops selling Kenyan artifacts and clothing, a hairdresser, and a fully equipped Fitness Centre.

DAY 5 Mountain Lodge

This morning you will have breakfast at the hotel and then depart for Central Kenya via Windsor Coffee Plantation.

You will be taken to a tour of the Windsor Coffee

Plantation in kiambu adjacent to the Windsor Golf Hotel. You will tour the farm and see how coffee is planted from the seed bed. You wikll have a chance to discuss with the management what it takes to grow coffee. You will see the fumigation process in action, both manual and mechanical. As well as the picking process of coffee from the farms and then tour the Local coffee factory and see the cleaning, the grading and the packing processes.

After lunch you will arrive at the Serena Mountain Lodge where you will have the rest of the afternoon at leisure to watch game from the comfort of your room or from the lodge lobby. You will be overnight at the Serena Mountain Lodge including dinner.

Located at 2,194m on the slopes of Mount Kenya, Serena Mountain Lodge is surrounded by a dense rainforest that comes alive at dusk with a myriad of sounds that make the African bush so special and exhilarating.

Just two and a half hours by car from Nairobi, this stunning area is towered over by the rocky peaks of Mount Kenya and prides itself in having one of the most consistently high records of big game “visits” and sightings. Elephant, buffalo, rhino and waterbuck are regular sights on the evening and day game drives.

The Lodge is laid out specifically for animal watching - all of the rooms have large windows and balconies on the side of the hotel facing the forest. A large artificial watering hole in the clearing on this side of the hotel attracts forest animals, and lights are kept on all night so the attracted animals can be easily viewed, a welcome change from seeing animals only from your safari vehicle. A spacious verandah also overlooks the waterhole where there is never a dull moment.

Serena Mountain Lodge is ideally situated as a base for guests who want to climb Mount Kenya.

DAY 6 Lake Nakuru

This morning after breakfast you will proceed to Lake Nakuru National Park

(the famous flamingo sanctuary). Arriving in time for lunch at the Lake Nakuru Lodge . You will have an afternoon game drive around the lake shores followed by dinner and overnight stay at the Lake Nakuru Lodge.

This morning after your early breakfast, you will depart at 0730 am from Lodge Name and your Driver/Guide will transfer you by road to Lake Nakuru National Park where you will overnight at Lake Nakuru Lodge including all meals and schedule game activities.

Please note: The road from Nairobi to Lake Nakuru lodge is in a very bad state and can take up to three / four hours to drive, weather conditions can also make this drive slower – clients are to be aware of these conditions.

Lake Nakuru Lodge offers the sort of relaxation you have never experienced before and the surroundings are a sight too good to miss. For the visitor, this is Kenya at its very best and the memories will linger for a life time.

Situated in the south-east ecological niche of the Lake Nakuru National Park is the Lake Nakuru Lodge, an oasis of comfort and excellent service, with commanding views of the lesser flamingo dotted with the Greater flamingo, for which Lake Nakuru is justly famous. It is another world for the visitor, one where a person easily forgets the hustle and bustle of the city. The Lodge blends well with its surroundings and the animals often browse peacefully close to the Lodge and environs, much to the fascination of the visitors.

Currently, the fenced Lake Nakuru National Park covers around 90 square miles.

It has unusual but beautiful vegetation. The forest vegetation is covered with Euphorbia, tall cactus like trees and acacia woodland. The forest region is a host to over 400 migratory bird species from around the world.

Other wildlife in the Lake Nakuru National Park includes: The famous Black and White rhinos. The Black rhinos have been slowly multiplying over the years, and are well protected. Lake Nakuru National Park also boasts an increase in White rhinos. There are plenty of waterbucks, impalas, dik-diks, grants gazelles, lions and leopards. In 1977, the Rothschild giraffe was introduced to the park. The park also has large sized python snakes that inhabit the dense woodlands, and can often be seen crossing the roads or dangling from trees.

DAY 7 Masai Mara

Today we travel on to Masai Mara Game Reserve with a lunch stop en route. You will then proceed on to the Mara Serena Lodge with an afternoon game drive and dinner and overnight accommodation at the Mara Serena Lodge.

An interpretation of a traditional Masai “manyatta” village of domed huts, Mara Serena Safari Lodge is set on the saddle of a hill where it overlooks the 1,800km² of rolling plains, woodlands and rivers that make up the Masai Mara Triangle - one of the world’s richest wildlife sanctuaries. No other lodge has such a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape or the game and birdlife that inhabit it.

It is on this very terrain stretching endlessly before the Lodge where the annual migrations take place, where millions of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle traverse the landscape to feed on the rich new grass and give birth to their young.

The guest rooms of Mara Serena are styled and arranged to blend into the natural landscape. Every room is an individual “hut” - spread out to give each one uninterrupted views of the plains, the meandering riverine forest and the silhouetted hills beyond.

The main dining room is spectacularly decorated in three large domes and three small ones resembling enlarged Masai manyattas. Sumptuous international menus, buffets and barbecues are served to guests alongside authentic African dishes. The full-service lounge and bar located in the main building serves fresh fruit juices, soft drinks, tea and coffee, cocktails, wines, spirits and liqueurs.

Please note: MARA Serena Safari Lodge in Nairobi, Kenya now offers night drives between 19h00 and 22h30 daily.

Night drives are optional and will be at your OWN expense.

The drives in open game drive vehicles will mainly focus on nocturnal animals, allowing guests to see animals not normally seen during the day. It will also be possible for guests to see porcupines, bush babies, bush buck, hippos, mongooses, civets and a number of nocturnal birds.

All the night drives will be accompanied by a guide and spotter. Guides will teach guests more about the African night skies and point out night sounds in the forest

DAY 8 Masai Mara

Today you will have scheduled morning and afternoon game drives with time to relax, read a book or take a swim in the lodge’s pool. You will overnight again at the Masai Mara Serena Lodge including all meals.

Masai Mara National Reserve is the northern extension of Tanzania’s famous Serengeti Plains and is usually called “the Mara”. Reachable by road or air from Nairobi, the Mara is Kenya’s premier place for seeing wildlife. Two sizable rivers, the Mara and Talek, wind through the landscape, flanked by gallery forests and seasonal marshes.

The reserve is most extraordinary between July and October, when well over one million migrant herbivores (especially wildebeests and zebras) settle in for dry-season grazing. Besides migrants, the Mara hosts resident populations of elephants, hippos, topis, hartebeests, buffalos, giraffes, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, impalas, Kirk’s dik-diks, and a few black rhinos. Predators are plentiful, notably cheetahs, leopards, and unusually large prides of lions.

Birding is excellent around the lodges and from vehicles; 450 species have been recorded, including 54 raptors. The gallery forests host primates and a number of birds usually found farther west. The pastoral Masai (Maasai) people lead a semi-nomadic life just outside the reserve.

DAY 9 Serengeti

This morning you will have breakfast and then drive to the Kenya/Tanzania Border at Isebania.

Please note: A visa is required for your visit to Tanzania at a cost of US$50.00 per person to be paid in US$ cash. This can be obtained either prior to your visit or alternatively at the airport or border on arrival.

You will change vehicles and meet your Tanzanian guide at the border after clearing customs and immigration formalities. Your new guide will then drive you to the Serengeti Sopa Lodge where you will have dinner and overnight.

Looking out over the seemingly endless Serengeti plains, the Serengeti Sopa Lodge is a tranquil oasis set in over 14,000km² (5,000 sq miles) of National Park. The Serengeti plains are host to a dramatic annual migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and numerous other species of animals indigenous to the area.

Opened in 1992, the Lodge can accommodate 170 guests in 79 suites, each enjoying wall-to-wall carpeting, a private lounge with a mini bar, a bedroom with two queen size beds and ample room for a third, an en suite bathroom with shaver sockets and a hair dryer, and a private verandah which offers stunning views over the plains.

The Lodge has direct-dial satellite telephone facilities as well as satellite television and wildlife-video-film options. A number of Lodge electrical generating systems provide 240volts, 50 cycles 24 hours a day.

The water supply comes from nearby springs but guests are advised not to drink from the taps. Instead, complimentary bottled mineral water is provided in the mini bars while further stocks are available for sale in the main bar.

The double size pool offers a refreshing interlude between game drives as well as wonderful views over the rolling plains of the Serengeti.

DAY 10 Serengeti

Today you will participate in morning and afternoon game drives with time to relax, read a book or swim. You will then overnight at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge including all meals.

As part of their famous clockwise migration, more than 1,000,000 wildebeest, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of other herbivores, descend upon the short-grass plains of the south-eastern Serengeti at the start of the rainy season around December. After calving in January and February, they scatter over the southern and central plains. By May the rain ends, the grass has been reduced to stubble, and the animals begin their long march to dry-season grazing grounds near the permanent waters of the Serengeti’s northern woodlands and Kenya’s Masai Mara. Reaching these destinations by July or so, they remain until October, when they head back to the south-eastern Serengeti.

The seasonally saline Ndutu Lake, in south-eastern Serengeti, sits in arid thorny acacia country with a lodge nearby. The area’s inhabitants include Kirk dik-diks, giraffes, elephants, lions, pygmy falcons, grey-breasted spur fowls, Fischer’s lovebirds and Rufus-tailed weavers.

DAY 11 Ngongoro

This morning you will have an early breakfast and depart for the Ngongoro Conservation Area with a box lunch and a short stop at Oldupai Gorge. You will then proceed to the crater rim and descend down to the crater floor for your half day Ngongoro Crater Tour.

Today you descend down the crater floor by your 4 x 4 vehicles for your half day wildlife viewing including a picnic lunch.

Please note: The Ngorongoro Conservation Authority has introduced a rule that restricts game viewing inside the crater to only half a day. This rule is effective and is meant to reduce the degradation of the environment in the crater by reducing the number of vehicles at every given time.

Ngorongoro Crater, is the world's largest intact caldera. Before the cataclysmic collapse of its cone 2 million years ago, this volcanic mountain may have been taller than Kilimanjaro.

Great effort has gone into saving the black rhino here, and several dozen are resident. Buffaloes, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, and hartebeests graze the grassland, while elephants roam the wooded areas, and hippos gather in marshes and ponds. Lions, spotted hyenas, and golden and black-backed jackals are easy to find, and servals and cheetahs have been sighted on rare occasions. Resident ostriches, crowned cranes, and kori bustards are joined seasonally by migrant flocks of white and Abdim's storks. Harbouring 20,000 large animals, it is a virtual Noah’s Ark (without giraffes)!

After your tour of the crater floor you will then ascend to the crater rim and proceed to the Ngongoro Farm House in time for dinner and your overnight stay.

Ngorongoro Farm House is an exclusive lodge facing the Oldeani Volcano, in Ololdukan, located on a 500 acre coffee farm located 4 kilometers from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area's Lolduare gate.

Ngorongoro Farm House provides an original experience reminiscent of the atmosphere of yesteryear. There are three separate and intimate camps of 9 comfortable bungalows. Each unit is attractively built on the style of an old colonial farm and rustically decorated with local materials. A swimming pool with superb views of Oldeani volcano and a craft shop complement Guest areas.

Guests can enjoy an excellent home made cuisine using the dairy and fresh vegetables produce by the farm all year around. There is an organic vegetable and flower garden that covers some acres. The huge main building, covered with elegant thatched roof, contains the reception, bar, dining area, library and lounge with a fireplace where guests can enjoy the views and rest during the cool evenings in the highlands.

DAY 12 Kisima Ngenda

This morning after breakfast you will be given a guided walking tour of the coffee plantation followed by lunch at the Ngongoro Farm House. After lunch you will then proceed on to Lake Eyasi arriving at Kisima Ngenda Tented Camp in time for dinner and your overnight stay.

Kisima Ngenda is owned by the Christian and Nani Schmeling who have owned this 200 acres land for many years. The camp is located in front of a rock outcrop facing the Lake Eyasi. The 6 self contained tents are built entirely out of local materials like palm leaves (most of them from the farm), giving it a rather rustic appearance.

From each of the tents you have a beautiful view of the lake and its many birdlife such as flamingos, Egyptian geese and the Great East African Rift Valley escarpment.

Kisima Ngenda has a natural groundwater spring which produces about 4 million liters of water a day. The spring water is used for their fish farm as well as provides a beautiful oasis for swimmng shaded by palm trees. A three course dinner meal food is mostly prepared from farm products.

Lake Eyasi is not about game viewing, there's some great bird life along the lakeshore - pelicans and sometimes flamingos and plenty of waders - but this is really just a spectacular place to spend some time and break the pace of your safari, if you enjoy dramatic views and walking.

There are some good walks to and from Ngorongoro Highlands for which we use this camp as a beginning or end point.

This area is where the Wahadzabe hunter-gatherers live.

Having grown up in the area, Chris knows many of the tribe well and it's fascinating to spend some time with them seeing the way they live.

DAY 13 Arusha

This morning after breakfast you will depart Kisima Ngenda Tented Camp with picnic lunch boxes and head for your half day tour visiting the local tribes including Datoga and Hadzabe bushmen.

You will then have an afternoon drive back to Arusha where you will have dinner and an overnight stay at Arusha Coffee Lodge.

Arusha Coffee Lodge is located on the outskirts of the charming city of Arusha and is about 60 minutes by car from Kilimanjaro International Airport. It is situated on the Burka Coffee Estate, a working coffee plantation spanning some 2,100 acres. The Lodge is conveniently located about five minutes away from the Arusha airstrip, which is the main hub for all the intra-Tanzania flights to and from the famous game parks. It is also relatively close in proximity to several good shopping areas.

The Lodge consists of 23 luxury chalets which are creatively decorated. Each chalet is spaced throughout the lush coffee grove to ensure privacy and solitude. The chalets are built on raised wooden platforms, and have log fireplaces, private lounges and large balconies overlooking Mount Meru, and the plantation.

The chalets are equipped with a mini bar, mosquito net, overhead fan, and room service is available. The beds are very comfortable and furnishings are top quality with lots of interesting coffee themed artifacts. The bathrooms are grand with nice fixtures including bath and shower.

The Lodge has a swimming pool, and relaxation spa. Optional activities include plantation tours, horse riding, mountain biking, and nature walks on the estate. The Lodge also has a wonderful bar and lounge area which offers a great atmosphere.

Arusha Coffee Lodge is home to the reputable Redds African Grill House. The food here is excellent and the menu diverse. Most of the ingredients are supplied by local farms. There is a variety of mainstream choices as well as local and African dishes. The bar area can get quite lively at night and is a great place for a few after dinner drinks.

With coffee roasters, and a fermentation plant on the estate, guests have the opportunity to observe the roasting process, taste coffee blends, and purchase fresh roasted beans.

DAY 14 Return to Nairobi and depart

After breakfast this morning you will depart for a Burka Coffee Tour followed by lunch at the Arusha Coffee Lodge. After lunch you will be transferred to Namanga border for your drop off.

Please note: Your visa should be valid upon re-entry into Kenya. Should there be any changes please have US$50.00 per person to be paid in US$ cash.

You will then be collected on the Kenyan side of the border and driven to Nairobi where your tour ends.

End of Arrangements

We hope you enjoyed your holiday with us

And look forward to welcoming you on Safari again.

As airline schedules are subject to change, it is important to reconfirm

International flights at least 72 hours prior to departure and domestic flight

At least 48 hours prior to departure. Check in times vary from airline to airline

But a broad guideline would be 90 minutes before your International flight and 45 minutes before your domestic flight.

Arrangements specified in your itinerary are correct at the time of issue

However, alterations may occur due to factors beyond our control.