8-Day Tanzania Wildlife Safari with Western Corridor Migration

• On this day, you leave Arusha town, the base town for safaris in northern Tanzania, and drive along the Arusha - Dodoma highway on a scenic journey towards Tarangire National Park.
• You will pass by a supermarket, if you wish, for some last-minute shopping of any personal effects that you may need, then continue through the scenic Masai Steppe and arrive at Tarangire in about 2 hours. Your driver will take care of the paperwork at the park gate, after which you will embark on your first game drive. Tarangire National Park has the highest density of elephants and large baobab trees dotting the grassland in northern Tanzania, and these animals can be viewed all year round, with herds often reaching an impressive number of 300 animals.
• The Tarangire River has water all year round, and during the dry season, between July and October, many animals from the surrounding areas come to the river to drink.
• Visit the park during the dry season.
• You will witness an unforgettable natural wonder as you observe wonderful creatures such as lions, giraffes, buffaloes, wildebeests, and zebras, as well as various types of antelopes and gazelles. With a little luck, you may also spot a python. During the dry season, this area is also a haven for bird watchers, with over 550 different species, including the Masai Ostrich, the world's largest bird.
• Around lunchtime, you will stop at a suitable picnic place before the afternoon is dedicated to more wildlife watching. Before sunset, you will be taken to your camp or lodge in Manyara (Mto wa Mbu) for an overnight stay.

• Explore wild, uncharted territory at Lake Eyasi, located in the immediate southwest of Ngorongoro Crater in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. One of the several beautiful lakes in the East African Rift Valley, this mildly alkaline lake stretches for about 50 km to the southwest, with the vast plains of the Serengeti to its north. Enjoy walks along the shores of the lake and spend time exploring the area dotted with ancient baobab trees.
• Go on a hunting expedition with a Hadzabe family - Africa's last remaining hunter-gatherers - to see their astonishing ability to track and hunt small game.
• Early in the morning, we depart for the village for a local hunting experience with the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes. This is not a mere performance. The bushmen rely on these techniques to survive, and you will need to be very attentive and, at times, quiet.
• At the same time, they demonstrate their use of locally made poisons in incapacitating the creatures on which they depend for survival. We then return to your accommodation for a late breakfast.
• After breakfast, you will be introduced to the extraordinary people of an indigenous tribe known as the Hadzabe, hunter-gatherer bushmen. This tribe inhabits the shores of Lake Eyasi, as does the Nilotic-speaking Datoga tribe.
• You will visit these tribes, including their homesteads, and learn about their way of life, animal tracking, medicinal plants, and much more.
• Some wildlife and a wide range of bird species can be viewed during walks around the lake, which will be arranged. In the late afternoon, we drive back to Manyara or Karatu for an overnight stay.

NOTE THAT:

• From Manyara (Mto wa Mbu), we depart early after breakfast and head across the floor of the Great Rift Valley, up the escarpment, and traverse the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in what becomes a pleasant and enjoyable scenic drive as you take in the beautiful scenery and breathtaking vistas on your way to Serengeti National Park.
• Serengeti National Park welcomes you with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see.
• We will proceed to the Lobo area, located just north of the Seronera area in central Serengeti National Park. The wildebeest migration normally passes through the Lobo area every year around July and August en route to Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve, and again in late October and November en route to the southern Serengeti National Park.
• You can break up the drive with one or both of the activities below:
• Olduvai Gorge Museum: Sometimes known as the Cradle of Mankind, the Olduvai Gorge Museum commemorates some of the oldest evidence of human habitation ever found. Here, you will see some of the oldest fossil evidence in the world of human habitation, learn more about the human journey, and take in the stunning views of this stark gorge country.
• Maasai boma visit: You will visit one of the famous Maasai bomas, where you will have the opportunity to witness, and even participate in, traditional Maasai dance, tour an authentic Maasai village, and do a little souvenir shopping at the local market.
• Both of the above activities are excluded from your tour and require an additional cost. Arrive in the Serengeti in the late afternoon for an evening game drive, then check in at a camp or lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
• Lunch is taken at one of the picnic sites, most likely at Naabi Hill Gate, where you will also get the chance to stretch your legs while your guide sorts out the registration and relevant paperwork. Dinner and overnight at Serengeti. All meals included.

• After breakfast, we head towards the western reaches of Serengeti National Park, also known as the Western Corridor. We will enjoy a game drive en route from the Seronera area to the Western Corridor.
• We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge, and after lunch we will enjoy an afternoon game drive in the area. The wildebeest migration can normally be found in the Western Corridor in late April, May, June, or early July, depending on rainfall patterns. Dinner and overnight will be in the Western Corridor area, according to the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

• After breakfast, enjoy a full-day game drive in the Western Corridor. The critical feature of this area is the Grumeti and Mbalageti rivers, running almost parallel to each other, each supporting a band of evergreen forest. These rivers sustain a permanent game population of zebra, wildebeest, predators, and birdlife.
• It is also possible to find large pods of hippos and giant crocodiles in the Grumeti River. Wildebeests typically gather around waterholes by mid-morning in such densities that they look like ants swarming around a nest.
• After the game drive, we drive back to central Serengeti for dinner and overnight in the Western Corridor area, according to the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

• You will proceed with morning and afternoon game drives in the Serengeti, with a lunch break at the lodge in the mid-afternoon. Serengeti means "endless plains" in the Masai language, and the park is home to carnivores such as leopards, lions, hyenas, and cheetahs. You can witness the annual migration of wildebeest and zebra between the Kenyan Mara and the Serengeti, and spot over 500 bird species.
• In May or early June, massive herds of wildebeest, gazelle, and zebra migrate northwards, followed by predators.
• After lunch, you will continue with a game drive and proceed to the Serengeti gate to check out before heading to Ngorongoro Crater for dinner and an overnight stay at a camp or lodge.

• After breakfast, descend into the crater with a lunch box and enjoy a game drive for over 7 hours. Millions of years ago, a volcano the size of Mount Kilimanjaro rose from the highlands of northern Tanzania. Its eruption formed the largest unflooded caldera in the world, the Ngorongoro Crater. Now inactive and filled with wildlife, the crater is a remarkable setting where you can enjoy game drives in search of the Big Five.
• The natural protection of the crater's 600 m (1,968 ft) high walls helps many species to thrive. Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most densely populated African wildlife areas in the world. It is home to an estimated 30,000 animals and is the best place in Tanzania to see critically endangered black rhinos. A year-round water supply and abundant fodder support the park, and the crater shelters a vast variety of animals, including herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants.
• Another major draw of this picturesque national park is its huge population of predators, including lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard on the crater floor. After a picnic lunch, you will continue with a game drive. After the game drive, we drive back to Manyara for an overnight stay.

• Today we drive to Lake Manyara National Park for a full day of game drives. This is one of Tanzania's smaller parks, offering a rewarding and diverse safari experience.
• Lake Manyara National Park is an unspoiled paradise of groundwater forest fed by underground springs and teeming with wildlife such as elephants, hippos, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, and some of the most prominent baboon troops in Africa.
• The lakeshore at Manyara teems with birdlife, and while you are looking for the birds, you might spot one of the elusive tree-climbing lions. People flock from all over the world to see these iconic predators lounging in the trees. There are many other large mammals here as well, and the striking cliffs on the Rift escarpment form a dramatic backdrop.
• After the game drive, we drive back to Arusha or Moshi for an overnight stay.