DAY 0: Arrival in Tanzania
You will be picked up at the Kilimanjaro International Airport and transferred to your hotel in Moshi/Arusha town, you will meet our guide who will brief you on your upcoming safari.
DAY 1: Arrival in Tanzania
Non-game-viewing travel time: 3 hours. Distance: 210 km.
After breakfast, you will be met by our guide/driver, deliver a short briefing then head into the Tarangire National Park for a game drive. The park runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. Its natural vegetation mainly consists of Acacia woodland and giant African Baobab trees, with huge swamp areas in the south. Both the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals, during the dry season. The Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. This African national park is also home to three rare species of animals the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings. We eat lunch at the picnic after which we continue with the game until late evening, then drive to the accommodation overnight. Dinner and overnight at an accommodation booked on the package.
DAY 2: Tarangire - Serengeti National Park
Non-game-viewing travel time: 4 hours. Distance: 205 km.
After breakfast, we head towards the Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa the Serengeti National Park with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti species. We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti national park. Dinner and overnight at an accommodation booked on the package.
DAY 3: Serengeti Plains
Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement). Floating silently above the awakening bush, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages. After hot balloon, we continue with a game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, and which is good for possible Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich, and cheetah sightings. The Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites is well worth a visit after the morning's game drive. This nicely designed center offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. The center also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby Kopje. We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the center in the shade of the giant acacia trees. In the afternoon we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract many lions and some formidably large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink! Dinner and overnight at an accommodation booked on the package.
DAY 4: Serengeti Plains - Ngorongoro Crater
Non-game-viewing travel time: 4 hours. Distance: 145 km.
After breakfast, we continue with the game drive until lunchtime. After lunch, we head to Ngorongoro for overnight. On the way, we can experience the Maasai traditional life and experience a few of these cultural people's lives in the Ngorongoro conservations. Dinner and overnight accommodation booked on the package.
DAY 5: Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha / Moshi
Non-game-viewing travel time: 4 hours. Distance: 210 km.
After early breakfast, we will descend over 600 meters into the crater to view wildlife for a half-day safari tour. Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park, its dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos, and other water birds can usually be seen here. After lunch, we will start ascending from the crater and return to Moshi.
