Serengeti Speciality Safari

On the first day of your Tanzania safari, we pick you up from your Arusha hotel and drive to the scenic Lake Manyara National Park on the floor of the Great Rift Valley for an afternoon game drive. At 330-sq-km, this is one of Tanzania’s smallest parks and about 200-sq-km is covered by its Rift Valley soda lake. The dense woodlands and steep mountainsides make it very scenic, especially from the viewpoints on top of the escarpment looking down on the lake. The varied ecosystem consists of ground water forests, acacia woodland and open grassland along the lakeshore. These habitats sustain a wealth of wildlife, including large herds of elephant and buffalo, giraffe and impala, while troops of olive baboon and Sykes monkey frolic in the trees and you might be lucky and spot the famous tree-climbing lions that the park is famous for. The lake also attracts more than 400 species of birds, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks. On your first night on safari, dinner will be taken on an open deck overlooking the African bush.

• Overnight in Lake Manyara National Park
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water is provided. All other drinks are extra.

After breakfast, we depart Lake Manyara and head across the hilly plateaus of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where the red-robed Maasai live in traditional villages of thatched huts and their cattle graze amongst the savannah game like zebra and gazelle. Along the way, there is time to enjoy a packed lunch, and the route heads northwest via the Naabi Hill Gate and into the Serengeti National Park. Meaning ‘endless plains’ in the Maasai language, the Serengeti covers a vast 14,763-sq-km and is one of Africa’s largest and most celebrated wilderness areas. You will spend the next two nights at a comfortable safari lodge or tented camp, which is located in the south-central region of the park known as the Seronera Valley. It’s a very scenic area with acacia-studded open plains lined with low hills and abundant wildlife including large numbers of big cats.

• Overnight in Serengeti National Park
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water is provided. All other drinks are extra.

Today you can choose to embark on a full day game drive with a picnic packed lunch, or early morning and late afternoon game drives combined with lunch and some relaxation at your safari lodge/camp. If you are there during the annual wildebeest migration, remember the Serengeti is very large and the length of game drives will depend on the movement and position of the migrating animals, but your expert Tanzanian guide knows very well how to locate the herds. At any time of year, there is no shortage of things to see, and the Serengeti is home to all the major safari animals such as lion, leopard, elephant, cheetah, buffalo and wild dog, and plenty of grazing herbivores including giraffe, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, waterbuck, hartebeest, eland, topi and zebra. You’ll also see hippos wallowing in the pools and large crocodiles sunning themselves on the riverbanks. A memorable, out-of-the-ordinary experience is to start the day with an optional hot air balloon safari, US$599 per person, and it’s wonderful to float over the plains and rivers of the Serengeti in the first light of dawn and watch the wildlife below.

• Overnight in Serengeti National Park
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water is provided. All other drinks are extra.

This morning we wake up very early at 6am for another Serengeti game drive and perhaps see the small predators like jackal, hyena and bat-eared fox out and about as dawn breaks. At around 9am we return to your camp/lodge for breakfast and then drive out of the Serengeti and back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This highland region of plains, woodlands and forests protects the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest caldera and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is 19.2-km in diameter, 610-metres deep and covers an area of 304-sq-km and was formed when a volcano erupted and collapsed on itself approximately two and a half million years ago. The well-fertilised volcanic soils create rich grazing for the animals and it is often referred to as ‘the Garden of Eden’. On the way, and for an extra fee, you can stop at the museum at Olduvai Gorge to learn about the archaeological excavations that escalated the studies of early man. From the crater rim, you may catch a glimpse of a magnificent sunset before heading to our camp/lodge.

• Overnight in Ngorongoro Conservation Area
• Accommodation at your camp or lodge
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Drinking water is provided. All other drinks are extra.

First thing this morning we drive down to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater and your expert guide will show you every corner of the dramatic landscape to see some of the 20,000 or so large mammals that live there. This breath-taking oasis provides a haven for both predator and prey to live among the grasslands, swamps, fresh springs and savannah woodlands. All the Big Five are present—rhino, lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant—as well as most of the plains game, while you are likely to see flamingos, geese, storks, vultures and more at Lake Magadi on the crater floor. After taking a break from the vehicle for lunch at the Ngoitoktok Springs picnic site, our final leisurely drive is back to Arusha and your hotel or the airport for your onward flight.

• No accommodation included
• Breakfast and lunch included, but not dinner
• Drinking water is provided. All other drinks are extra.