9-Day Tanzania Wildlife Safari through Serengeti and Ngorongoro

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Day 01

Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park

• After breakfast, we will pick you up from your hotel in Arusha at 8:30 a.m. and transfer you to Lake Manyara National Park.
• We will arrive in time for lunch at the lodge, and after lunch, we will head into 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 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 drawn by the algae in the lake.

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Day 02

Lake Manyara to Serengeti via Karatu and Ngorongoro

• After breakfast, we will head toward Serengeti National Park via the beautiful, high-lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
• Leaving the highlands behind, we will descend into the heart of wild Africa - Serengeti National Park - with its endless plains rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see.
• We will head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and attracts wildlife representative of most of the Serengeti's species.
• We will arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in Serengeti National Park.

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Day 03

Serengeti Balloon Option and Kopjes Circuit Game Drive

• 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. Float silently above the awakening bush while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa across rivers and over numerous small villages.
• After breakfast, we will enjoy a full-day game drive with lunch at the camp. We will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, an area that usually attracts a number of lions and some formidably large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered across the plains, and many of them are miniature ecosystems that provide 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 season, including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink. Overnight will be at the camp.

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Day 04

Full-Day Serengeti Game Drive on the Sogore River Circuit

• After breakfast, we will enjoy a full-day game drive with lunch at the camp.
• We'll drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River and is good for possible sightings of lion, Thomson's gazelle, topi, ostrich, and cheetah. The Visitor Centre is not far from the Serengeti Public Campsites and is well worth visiting after the morning game drive. This nicely designed centre offers 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, along with a picnic area and an information trail up and around a nearby kopje.

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Day 05

Southern Serengeti Game Drive and Picnic Lunch

• After breakfast, we will enjoy a full-day game drive with a picnic lunch. The trail loops into the plains south of the Serengeti, which is good for possible sightings of lion, black rhino, giraffe, Thomson's gazelle, topi, ostrich, and cheetah, and is well worth a visit.
• We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch in the south of the Serengeti in the shade of the acacia trees close to the kopjes.

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Day 06

Serengeti to Ngorongoro with Olduvai Gorge

• After breakfast at the camp, we will proceed to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
• We will stop at Olduvai Gorge, which boasts a history dating back to the dawn of time. Here, the anthropologists Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of the "Nutcracker Man" and "Handy Man," both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.
• We will arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and spend the afternoon at leisure.

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Day 07

Full-Day Ngorongoro Crater Safari

• After breakfast, we descend 600 m 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, Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, including herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephant. Another big drawcard of this picturesque national park is its huge population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard.
• Later, we will enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.

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Day 08

Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire National Park

• After breakfast, we will proceed to 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. The river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals during Tanzania's dry season. Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. This park is also home to three rare species of animals: the greater kudu, the fringed-eared oryx, and the ashy starling.
• After a picnic lunch, we will go for an afternoon game drive.

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Day 09

Tarangire to Arusha

• We will enjoy breakfast at the lodge and then transfer the 120 km back to Arusha, a drive of about 2 hours.
• Upon arriving in Arusha, we will have lunch and end our African safari adventure. You will be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.