Kenya Annular Eclipse 2010


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Program Itinerary

Itinerary Overview:

Day 1	Tue,	Jan 12, 2010	Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya
Day 2	Wed,	Jan 13	Nairobi
Day 3	Thu,	Jan 14	Mount Kenya National Park
Day 4	Fri,	Jan 15	Mount Kenya Annual Solar Eclipse
Day 5	Sat,	Jan 16	Samburu Game Reserve
Day 6	Sun,	Jan 17	Samburu Game Reserve
Day 7	Mon,	Jan 18	Lake Nakuru National Park
Day 8	Tue,	Jan 19	Lake Nakuru National Park
Day 9	Wed,	Jan 20	Masai Mara
Day 10	Thu,	Jan 21	Masai Mara
Day 11	Fri,	Jan 22	Masai Mara
Day 12	Sat,	Jan 23	Masai Mara - Nairobi - Onward

Day 1 Tue, January 12, 2010 No Meals
Arrive Nairobi, Kenya

Arriving on your own at Nairobi�s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (airport code: NBO) you will be met and transferred to the Nairobi Serena Hotel where we will spend the next two nights. One of Nairobi�s finest hotels, the Serena is set in tropical gardens with panoramic views over Nairobi�s
		Central Park and the glittering downtown skyline. The balance of your day and evening are free to relax or explore on your own. The journey to Kenya is a long one. If you wish to arrive in Nairobi early to rest and recover from your flights, TravelQuest can arrange rooms at the Serena Hotel at a per night cost of $310 USD for double occupancy and $250 for single occupancy.

Overnight: Nairobi Serena Hotel (2 nights)

Day 2 Wed, Jan. 13 B/L/D
Nairobi

After breakfast we will set out on a panoramic city tour of Nairobi that will feature the Parliament Building, the law courts, City Hall, McMillan Memorial Library, Municipal Market and a visit to the National Museum. This afternoon, visit the home of Karen Blixen (also known as Isak Dinesen, the famous author of �Out of Africa�) where we will enjoy tea in the garden followed by a visit to the Giraffe Centre. This evening join us for dinner at the Mandhari Restaurant.

Nairobi

Day 3 Thu, Jan 14 B/L/D
Mount Kenya National Park

After breakfast we�ll leave Nairobi with our English-speaking driver/guide for Mount Kenya National Park. The 2-hour drive in custom-made safari mini-buses will take us along the Great North Road through the famed Kenyan highlands and onwards to Serena Mountain Lodge - elevation 2,194 meters (7310 ft.). The lodge is surrounded by a dense rainforest that comes alive with the sounds of nature - elephant, buffalo, rhino and waterbuck are regularly sighted. As game gathers, you can watch them from the lodge�s common areas, from your room, or go through the short tunnel from the lodge to a viewing bunker to get up close to the animals that feed, drink and play at the watering hole.
After dinner at the lodge, join eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson to review weather prospects and plans for tomorrow�s annular eclipse.

Overnight: Serena Mountain Lodge (2 nights)

Day 4 Fri, Jan 15 B/L/D
Mount Kenya Annular Solar Eclipse

After breakfast, with picnic lunches in hand, we�ll depart for our specially selected centerline eclipse viewing area, where annularity will last approximately 8 minutes and 25 seconds (the longest annular eclipse this millennium). This afternoon we�ll return to the lodge to relax before our post-eclipse dinner.


Annular eclipse local contact times (+3 UT) - From Serena Mountain Lodge - 00^o 18 min. 59.9 sec. South and 37^o 09 min. 10.3 sec. East


	Eclipse begins:	07:06:40

	Annularity begins:	08:26:12 (Altitude 25.6 degrees toward the ESE)

	Annularity ends:	08:34:45

	Eclipse Ends:	10:16:37

	Duration of annularity:	8 minutes 33.4 seconds


	WEATHER PROSPECTS FOR KENYA ANNULAR ECLIPSE
	by eclipse meteorologist Jay Anderson

	Mountain regions of Kenya offer stirring scenery and some of the best weather along the track of the annular eclipse. Conveniently, January falls in the middle of one of the country�s two seasonal dry spells, promising generous amounts of sunshine and pleasant, dry weather. The very best sites have to be chosen carefully to take advantage of the blocking effects of the rugged terrain, but those choice inland valleys and leeside mountain slopes offer sunshine amounts that reach and even exceed 70% of the maximum possible. TravelQuest has selected one of the very best sites on Mount Kenya, where average cloud amounts drop below 40 percent and where precipitation averages only 20 to 40 mm for the month. After the heat and humidity of China in 2009, eclipse travellers will be reassured to know that temperatures in the highlands are pleasantly hot during the day, but comfortable and even a touch chilly at night.

Day 5 - 6 Sat-Sun, Jan 16 & 17 B/L/D daily
Samburu Game Reserve

After breakfast we�ll drive about 3.5 hours to Samburu Game Reserve, arriving in time for lunch. En route we will make a special stop for photos to commemorate our crossing of the equator! Our rustic lodge is ideally located within the reserve and is close enough for visits to the neighboring parks of

Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserve. The long, low, shingled buildings of the lodge blend seamlessly into the soft green of the acacia woodlands lining the banks of Uaso Nyiro River. Each day at the Samburu Serena Safari Lodge, we will enjoy morning and afternoon game viewing.
Samburu National Reserve lies on the fringes of the vast and arid desert once known as the Northern Frontier District, whose heat-scorched scrublands extend all the way to the jade-green waters of Lake Turkana and beyond. This 104 sq km reserve has dramatic landscapes featuring rocky battlements, craggy scarps, dry river beds and fallen boulders rising out of the thorn scrub against a backdrop of hills. The great red table mountain known as Lololokwi. Samburu provides one of the few sanctuaries in Kenya for the endangered Grevy�s zebra, the rare beisa oryx, the blue-shanked Somali ostrich, crocodile and lion. Large herds of elephant roam the hills during the day before returning to bathe in the river in the evening.

Overnight: Samburu Serena Safari Lodge (2 nights)

Day 7 - 8 Mon-Tue, Jan 18 & 19 B/L/D daily
Lake Nakuru National Park

After breakfast we�ll embark on a 6-hour journey to the famous Lake Nakuru National Park and the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, which overlooks the great expanse of the Rift Valley of Kenya. During our stay we�ll take game drives into Lake Nakuru National Park, the perfect place to experience one of the world's largest ornithological spectacles � huge flocks of pink flamingo and over 450 other bird species - as well as a rich concentration of wildlife that includes black and white Colobus monkeys and the �Big Five� (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and black rhino). Nowhere else will you get a photo of a rhino backed by a mirage of

soft pink flamingos sifting food from a shimmering soda lake. It is a spectacle to behold!

Overnight: Sarova Lion Hill Lodge (2 nights)

Day 9 - 10 & 11 Web-Thu-Fri, Jan 20, 21 & 22 B/L/D daily
Masai Mara

After breakfast we�ll begin out the 3-hour journey back to Nairobi, with game drive en route, arriving in time for lunch. Later, we�ll fly to Mara Serena airstrip and enjoy another game drive on the way to the lodge.
Set within the Masai Mara Game Reserve, the Mara Serena Safari Lodge is set high on a hill with endless vistas of the surrounding savanna and its wildlife. Styled to mirror the circular motif of a traditional Masai �Manyatta,� the lodge has been designed to blend international sophistication with raw African beauty. Each secluded room has its own

private veranda with views of the surrounding landscape and the waterhole where wildlife come to drink.

Overnight: Mara Serena Safari Lodge (3 nights)

Day 12 Sat, Jan 23 B/L
Masai Mara - Nairobi - Onward

Our early morning wake up and game drive will be followed by breakfast at the hippo pool. We�ll transfer to the airstrip for our flight back to Nairobi where we�ll be transferred to Nairobi Serena Hotel for day room accommodations and lunch. Later in the evening you will be transferred to the airport to connect to your international flight back home or extension to Zanzibar, Tanzania.


	It is each traveler's responsibility to take all appropriate medical advice prior to booking as to whether or not they are fit enough to undertake this trip. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact TravelQuest.


	Copyright 2009 TravelQuest International. All rights reserved. Revised: November 10, 2009. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or trademark holders.