Wine Cellar and award-winning wildlife photographers Daryl and Sharna Balfour have joined forces to offer Africa’s most exclusive luxury wine safari. The Wine Cellar ‘Wines of the World’ Wildebeest Migration Safari will run from 17-23 August, 2014 in the Masai Mara – Kenya’s flagship game reserve.
Regarded as the ‘World Cup of Wildlife’, two million wildebeest and zebra sweep across the plains of the Serengeti into the Masai Mara each year, attracting an entourage of leopards, lions and cheetahs. Against the backdrop of this natural wonder, Roland Peens of Wine Cellar will guide 12 safari guests through the world’s leading wine-producing regions each evening. Wine Cellar will present the most revered wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône, Champagne, Italy, Spain and South Africa – from Petrus, Yquem, Chapoutier, Cristal, and Sassicaia to Pingus and Vin de Constance.
View a taste of the line-up here.
Daryl and Sharna Balfour are renowned wildlife photographers and have published more than a dozen best-selling books. Their ‘Wildphotos’ safaris offer spacious accommodation in a traditional walk-in tented camp, reminiscent of the mobile camps of the colonial era. The camp is situated in one of the finest game-viewing areas in the Masai Mara and the safari has been timed to provide the best chance of viewing river crossings, when thousands of wildebeest and zebra traverse the crocodile-inhabited Mara River.
Tasting and dinner format
Each evening will begin with a Grand-Marque Champagne as we discuss the history of a particular region or country, its style of wines and the characters expected. Five benchmark wines, which are often regarded as the pinnacle of each region, will then be tasted in a casual, yet informative format. A fine dinner with the tasting wines will follow as we chat further about any wine-related topics or perhaps the amazing wildlife that we spotted on the day. This special tasting will appeal to novices and wine aficionados alike.
Accommodation
The camp features spacious safari tents with a choice of large queen-sized beds or comfy twins, each with private en-suite ablution facilities featuring a fully enclosed dressing room with washbasin and clothing rack, traditional safari showers in a fully enclosed attached cubicle, and a flush toilet for each tent, with solar-powered electric lighting inside the tents. Meals will be taken in a large, airy mess tent at spectacular candle-lit tables set with fine china and glassware.
Guides and transport
The Balfours place a premium on the wildlife experience and their guides are among the best in the industry, not only at finding and locating the game, but in their knowledge of the country, its people and its wildlife. The guides are all thoroughly versed at ensuring you will have the best position and angle to optimise your photography and will offer advice and assistance whenever required…including pouring your wines at the end of each day.
Transport will be in comfortable, customised East-Africa-style Toyota 4×4 safari vehicles equipped with cooler bags with cold drinks and water, with a maximum of four guests to a vehicle (as opposed to the East African norm of six, eight, or even ten). Each person will have their own open window as well as a large open roof hatch overhead. Ample large, sturdy beanbags are provided for the use of photographers in all vehicles, and all will have the opportunities and instruction to capture award-winning images!
Daily schedule
The daily schedule, which is adjusted and fine-tuned according to the movements of the wildlife and game-viewing plans, involves a pre-dawn wake-up call followed by tea, coffee and a light breakfast in the Mess. Each vehicle is equipped with a tea and coffee basket along with freshly baked cookies, cinnamon buns and egg and bacon jaffles (closed toasted sandwiches) for a mid-morning stop out in the wilds. Guests will return to the camp around midday for a slap-up brunch, after which most safari-goers will enjoy a well-earned shower and siesta.
Afternoon tea is served around 4 – 4.30pm followed by the evening drive. Sundowners may occasionally be enjoyed in the field, after which guests will return to camp for pre-dinner drinks and wine tasting at the fireside followed by an elegant three-course candle-lit dinner accompanied by some of Wine Cellar’s finest wines.
Dates and travel arrangements
The safari begins in Nairobi on August 17th with a 2pm charter to the Mara and ends back there about midday on the 23rd. You should make your own flight or other arrangements to be in Nairobi on the day or day before your safari begins. SAA and Kenya Airways offer daily flights to Nairobi from Johannesburg. Delta Airlines may be introducing direct flights from New York to Nairobi sometime in the future, while BA, Kenya Airways, Swiss, Air France and KLM also offer direct flights from the UK and Europe. Emirates connect with many destinations via Dubai while Air India flies direct to Nairobi from India. Daryl and Sharna Balfour use a private charter flight in a 12-seater Cessna Caravan C208 direct from the domestic Wilson Airport to the Masai Mara at 14h00 on the day your safari begins, and returning to Wilson Airport at the end of your safari, arriving about 12h00 well in time for outgoing international connections.
Many international flights to Nairobi arrive in the early morning, allowing guests to transfer from the international JKIA airport to Wilson Airport on the same day. For those flights arriving the evening before, the Balfours can offer suggestions of places to stay in the city, either in hotels or private guest houses or B&Bs. Should you require hotel accommodation and transfers in Nairobi either before or after your safari, they will be happy to arrange these on your behalf. The Fairview Hotel is highly recommended, as is Emakoko Lodge on the edge of the Nairobi National Park.
Bookings
The cost of the six-night safari is US$ 9,695 per person sharing and includes park fees, full-board accommodation, drinks, services of the camp staff (including complimentary daily laundry), private charter flights to and from the Maaai Mara ex-Nairobi and the assistance and guidance of wildlife photographers and photo-journalists Daryl and Sharna Balfour. The price excludes visas and airfares to Nairobi, allowing you to make your own personal flight arrangements from whatever your destination, utilise frequent flyer air miles, or extend your stay before or after your safari. A single supplement may be payable for single tent occupancy, depending upon the number of single applicants. Please note that due to currency fluctuations and other possible park fee increases, government taxes and fuel price surcharges beyond our control, the tour price remains subject to change.
A 40% per person, non-refundable deposit is payable to confirm a booking. Full payment is required 100 days prior to commencement of the safari. Guests are urged to take out travel insurance so that they are covered in case of cancellation. Once the final payment has been received, it is difficult to find replacements at short notice, in which event no refunds are possible. (Payment needs to be made by EFT to a UK bank account.) Book now
About Daryl and Sharna Balfour
Daryl and Sharna Balfour have been among Africa’s leading wildlife photographers and authors for the past 27 years. They have published more than a dozen best-selling coffee-table books including: Simply Safari; African Elephants – A Celebration of Majesty; Chobe – Africa’s Untamed Wilderness; This is Botswana; ETOSHA; and Rhino – The Story of the Rhinoceros. Their work is represented worldwide by several leading image libraries, and they have been published in magazines such as National Geographic, Newsweek, Audubon, BBC Wildlife, Africa Geographic, GEO, Stern! and numerous others. In 2001 they were invited lecturers at the prestigious North American Nature Photographers Association annual summit in Las Vegas.
For further information on Wine Cellar and the wines that will be served, please contact Roland Peens (Roland@winecellar.co.za). For bookings or travel and safari information, contact Daryl Balfour (wildphotos@mweb.co.za).
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