3 Days Tarangire National
park, Serengeti National park, Arusha
Days 1: Arusha
Around late afternoon you will be arrive at Arusha.
We pick you with our car to the hotel Dinner and overnight Touch budget
Day 2: Arusha to Tarangire
National Park to Mto wa Mbu
After
a tasty breakfast we will depart from Arusha and travel to the Tarangire
National Park, a land of cloudless skies and baked earth in the dry season and
lush in the rainy season – but whatever the season you can be sure of sighting
dozens of the 550 species of birdlife that constantly strut, flitter and swoop
here. These include the world’s largest bird, the ostrich, and shrieking
colonies of dazzling yellow-collared lovebirds. Shy dwarf mongoose make their
homes in the colossal termite mounds that bring a surreal architecture to a
busy landscape also decorated with the ancient baobab tree. On your game drive
you’re sure to see family groups of the majestic elephant, and don’t forget to
look closely at the trees: you might see a leopard stretched on a stout branch,
lazily flicking its tail. Look more closely and you could see a python, resting
between meals. After a busy day you’ll be driven to the Mto wa Mbu to Fanaka
campsite, which has a range of good facilities, and cooked a
delicious dinner under a sky awash with stars.
Day 3: Mto wa Mbu to
Serengeti
As the stars fade in the glow of
dawn you’ll wake to a pink and apricot sunrise and be served an appetizing
breakfast as a cheerful start to your adventure to the Serengeti National Park.
We will drive near – but not into (yet) – the verdant Ngorongoro Crater. Our
real Ngorongoro Crater adventure is later on but first it’s time to enjoy the
Serengeti. The Serengeti ecosystem is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of
Africa, and you can see why: the endless golden savannah is decorated with
bursts of colour of flowers of all descriptions attracting the buzzing of
bustling insects and the calls of a thousand different birds. You’ll spot
ear-twitching gazelle and perhaps be lucky enough to witness the famed annual
migration of the brindled wildebeest. Watch out also for the toughest animal
you’ll ever likely to meet: no, not a rhino, but the fearless honey badger.
We’ll enjoy a lunch stop on a kopje and then make our way further into the
Serengeti for some more wildlife watching. You’ll rest your tired eyes and muscles
in a comfortable Nyani campsite,
listening to the sounds of the night.
Day 4: Fullgame Serengeti
to Arusha
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. We do an after breakfast 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’s centre not far from the
Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites is well worth a visit after the
morning’s game drive. This nicely designed centre, offers some interesting
wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps
of the area. The centre 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 centre 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 a
number of lion 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! Back to arusha.