Honeymoon 2012 - Kenya and Zanzibar (planned itinerary)
A nearly month-long honeymoon plan across the Masai Mara, Ol Pejeta, Mount Kenya, Pongwe and Stone Town in Zanzibar, with family time in Nairobi and Mombasa.
This was originally posted in April 2012, as a pre-trip plan, and later mirrored to the navytan.com blog. Trip dates above are approximate (August through early September 2012).
We have got a nice long honeymoon planned after we get married in August, almost a month long! Knowing people on the ground, and having homes and family in Nairobi and Mombasa is a real blessing. This is what we have planned, which feels like a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
A small map of Kenya is below, showing all the major bits. Kenya is magnificently diverse, containing deserts, rainforest and snow-capped peaks. It excludes Zanzibar, which is further south on the Indian Ocean off Tanzania. The distances are quite large. You might recognise Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest peak) marked on the map and so is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, home to the world heritage site of the Ngorongoro Crater with one of the most dense concentrations of predators anywhere. Around Mount Kenya are places like the natural hot springs of Lake Bogoria (my brother once burned his foot there!) which is also filled with pink flamingoes. The land on the left side is very fertile and forms part of the Great Rift Valley. There are tea and rose plantations around Kericho. Hells’ Gate National Park, which is not marked but near Nairobi, was the inspiration for the setting of Lion King.
When I was young, we used to drive between Nairobi (home) and Mombasa (where my grandad lives). Summers were often in a cottage by the sea. We went via a meal at the Sikh temple in Makindu and stopped by Mackinnon Road. Historically, when the railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi was being built, a pair of man eating lions at Tsavo apparently devoured over a hundred people before being put down.
Map of Kenya showing the main honeymoon stops.
The Masai Mara, 3 nights
The Mara is world famous and needs no introduction. It is home to the tough and ancient Masai people. It is teeming with big game. One of their rites of passage was to hunt and kill a male lion. We are staying in a fine hotel called the Mara Serena, right near the path of the Wildebeest Migration from the Serengeti. I look forward to seeing the Big Five again with P: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. We might go on a walking safari with armed escort. The game drives are at dawn, when the predators hunt, and also at dusk.
Masai Mara plains.
Sweetwaters Tented Camp, 2 nights
This is a beautiful camp in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy around the Mt. Kenya region near Nanyuki.
Sweetwaters Tented Camp in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
Mount Kenya Safari Club, 2 nights
When I was very young, we went once to this place which left a lasting memory. It has changed hands a few times having been owned by many famous people. Now it is a Fairmont hotel. It is a beautiful, secluded hotel on the highlands around Mt. Kenya. The equator passes through it. The surroundings are lush, and the air is champagne-fresh.
Mount Kenya Safari Club.
Pongwe in Zanzibar, 3 nights
Pongwe is on a remote beach on the Indian Ocean side of Zanzibar island. We are in a lovely beach room, built in Swahili style. I remember quite a bit of Swahili which should be great for banter in Kenya. P however is new to it, so I guess we will swot the language on the flight down there via Doha.
I might do some scuba diving, a long while after first getting my PADI. In any case, we will be water babies most of the time!
Pongwe beach on the Indian Ocean side of Zanzibar.
Emerson Spice in the Stone Town of Zanzibar, 3 nights
This boutique hotel is run by a man called Emerson and is in the world heritage site of the Stone Town itself. It features an acclaimed restaurant. Our room is called Violetta.
Emerson Spice boutique hotel, Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Nairobi, Mombasa and the drive via Tsavo
We are hugely looking forward to an epic time! The balance of the month is floating around our places in Nairobi and Mombasa. We are driving with my parents from Nairobi to Mombasa, staying at Sarova Salt Lick Lodge near (but not in) Tsavo National Park for a night.
In Mombasa, I look forward to the pleasure of living with my grandfather, aunts and uncles in their very old house in town. Things feel so wonderful that we simply cannot contain our joy and anticipation!
Sarova Salt Lick Lodge near Tsavo National Park.
