Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arusha to Lake Manyara

   • Pick up from Arusha and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park.

   • We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge, and after lunch, we head to 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 at Bougainvillea Safari Lodge.

2. Day 2: Lake Manyara to Serengeti Plains

   • 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. Next, 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 at Serengeti Acacia Camps.

3. Day 3: Serengeti Plains

   • After breakfast, we will go for a game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, and which is good for sightings of Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah. 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 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 and usually attracts 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 at Serengeti Acacia Camps.

4. Day 4: Serengeti Plains to Ngorongoro Crater

   • After breakfast at the lodge, we depart for the Ngorongoro Conservation area. We will stop at Olduvai Gorge, boasting a history dating back to the dawn of time. It was here that the anthropologists Drs. Loisand Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of ‘Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.

   • Have lunch at the lodge, and after lunch, we will descend over 600 meters into the crater to view wildlife for a half day’s 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 is its dense population of predators, including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot.

   • Finally, 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.

   Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Rhino Lodge.

5. Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire National Park

   • 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 go for a game drive in the afternoon.

   Dinner and overnight at Sangaiwe Tented Lodge.

6. Day 6: Tarangire National Park to Arusha

   • Enjoy an early morning game drive in the Tarangire National Park, followed by breakfast at the lodge.

   • Then, transfer back to Arusha, and upon arrival, we will have lunch.