Upon arrival at Tanzanian’s Kilimanjaro International Airport, a vehicle waits to transfer you to Arusha. The city lies in a green, fertile environment against Mount Meru. It is a vast city with all its contradictions.
After a blissful night at your lodge, drive to Tarangire. The park almost guarantees excellent bird and elephant watching—the night in secluded locations far from the lodge for an authentic taste of Africa.
You will soon fall into the enticing rhythm of safari: dawn and dusk game drives punctuated by African breakfasts or sundowners. Walking safaris offer a completely different perspective of the landscape. Once you leave the 4x4 behind and set out on foot with a trained, armed guide, you will discover insects, birds, flowers, tracks, trail, and all sorts of small details usually missed in favor of the bigger game.
After breakfast, a drive to the place the Maasai call Siringit, where the land moves on forever.’ Tanzania’s first game reserve, the Serengeti National Park, is one of the last remaining natural migration corridors and one of the oldest ecosystems on earth. Its climate, vegetation, and fauna have remained mostly unchanged over the past million years. The instinct that drives the annual Great Migration of more than a million wildebeest, gazelle, and zebra is so powerful that neither drought nor crocodile-infested rivers can halt it.
The drive to your Serengeti Kamwene Tented Camp whets your appetite for more. After settling into your suite, you waste no time taking your place on the afternoon game drive. There is so much to see here that the drive lasts until sundowner time, when your ranger selects a scenic spot to stop and delve into the generous picnic hamper. After sunset, the game drive continues with a deftly operated spotlight, seeking out the nocturnal creatures that emerge after dusk. You return to camp in time to freshen up and join your fellow explorers to dine under the stars. The emphasis at this camp is on a comfortable, close-to-nature experience. In addition to daily game drives, we highly recommend an early morning hot-air balloon ride.
Enjoy an early breakfast and a half-day of wildlife game viewing; then we depart for Ngorongoro Conservation Area with a game drive en route.
After breakfast, you descend into the crater and enjoy a game drive in the crater.
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world’s most densely populated African wildlife areas. It is home to an estimated 30,000 animals, including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos.
The crater, supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, supports a wide variety of animals, including herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park is its huge population of predators, including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard. We will enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.
After breakfast at Marera Valley Lodge, you drive to Lake Manyara, one of the Rift Valley’s most famous lakes and home to impressive concentrations of birds and large mammals. There is time for the morning drive in Lake Manyara National Park. The weather is always great here. Your lodge suite is large enough to hold a double bed and luggage racks; each has a private bathroom attached. This day is spent in the national park, beginning with a morning walk along the lakeshore, followed by a treetop canopy walk, your opportunity to look for seldom-seen wildlife in the tops of forest trees, especially monkeys, tree squirrels, and birds. You then arrive at Mto wa Mbu traditional village for a walking or biking tour before driving back to Arusha or Airport for your next destination.
End of 6 Days Tanzania Safari
