Day 1 Moshi – Lake Manyara
Non game-viewing travel time: 3½
hours
Distance: 220 km
Pick up from Moshi and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park. We arrive in
time for lunch time after lunch we head into the Lake Manyara National Park for
an afternoon game drive. This national park is one of Tanzania’s most
dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda
lake (covering two-thirds of the park), located at the foot of the Great Rift
Valley’s western escarpment. The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety
of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, Lake
Manyara’s unique tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos
attracted by the algae in the lake.
Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option
requested.
Day 2 Lake Manyara National Park – Serengeti
Plains
Non game-viewing travel time: 6
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’s species. We arrive in
time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National
Park. Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type
of accommodation option requested.
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. 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! Dinner and overnight in
the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option
requested.
Day 4 Serengeti Plains – Ngorongoro Crater
Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours
Distance: 145 km
After breakfast at the lodge do we depart to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We
will stopover at Olduvai Gorge, boasting with a history dating back to the dawn
of time. It was here, that the anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey
discovered the skulls of the’Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both very
significant links in the chain of human evolution.
We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge/camp and spend the afternoon at
leisure.
Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option
requested on the crater rim, no accommodation available inside the crater.
Day 5 Ngorongoro Crater
After breakfast we descend 600m into
this magnificent crater for a full-day game drive. The Ngorongoro Crater is one
of the most densely crowded African wildlife areas in the world and is home to
an estimated 30,000 animals including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black
rhino. 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 is its huge population of
predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive
leopard. We will enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.
Dinner and overnight as per the
standard and type of accommodation option requested on outside the crater.
Day 6 Ngorongoro Crater – Tarangire National Park
Non game-viewing travel time: 3½
hours
Distance: 155 km
After breakfast we depart for the Tarangire National Park. 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
Tanzania’s 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. After a picnic lunch we do an afternoon
game drive.
Dinner and overnight in the Tarangire National Park area, as per the standard
and type of accommodation option requested.
Day 7 Tarangire National Park – Arusha
Non game-viewing travel time: 2
hours
Distance: 120 km
We enjoy an early morning game drive in the Tarangire National Park, followed
by breakfast at your accommodation area. In the afternoon we will then transfer
back to Moshi. You will be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.
Departure dates
The departure dates for all our safaris and tours are totally flexible
according to your own personal needs. Please contact us for further and more
detailed info.