Overview
After breakfast the tour departs. First stop is Arusha Town for any last minute purchases before we head off on safari. Afterwards we head to Tarangire. Tarangire National Park offers breathtaking views and a large variety of habitats. Acacia woodlands, water forests, baobab strewn cliffs, algae-streaked hot springs, swamps and the lake itself.
Day 1: Tarangire National Park
Early morning drive from Moshi to Tarangire National Park, taking approximately 4 hours. Once at the gate you will register and we will begin our mid-morning game drive. Tarangire National Park contains a range of different habitats from grasslands and woods, to low hills, scrub and swampland in the south. Tarangire is south east of Lake Manyara and is well-known as the home of elephants, where it is not unusual to hear of hundreds of sightings a day. It is also home to the mystical baobab trees, the elephants’ favorite food.
Other wildlife include; waterbucks, impalas, wildebeest, zebra and buffalo. Most of the predators which can be spotted are lions and hyenas. You will also spot the stunning birds of East Africa, from the Fire Finch to the African Fish Eagle. The Tarangire River cuts through the park and connects to Lake Burunge in the west; it is the key to life in the dry season when most of the migration congregates here. We will stop at one of the many view points in the park for a picnic lunch, and then enjoy an afternoon game drive.
Overnight and dinner at Lodge/normal basic camping
Day 2: Tarangire National Park - Serengeti National Park
After breakfast at the lodge/campsite we will drive through Ngorongoro Conservation area towards the Serengeti plains, taking approximately 4/5 hours, as we transit through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the opportunity for game viewing is endless. The Serengeti is one of Tanzania’s oldest and largest national parks, covering an area of 14,763-square-kilometeres. The park is a world heritage site, with the earth’s largest concentration of plains game - mainly wildebeest and zebra. Which are in abundance, especially during the annual migration? The population of plains game also includes buffalo, giraffe and warthog, as well as a wide range of antelopes including, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, dikdik, bushbuck, eland and impala. Apart from Ngorongoro, the Serengeti is one of the best places to see predators in action. Predators include large clans of hyenas, lion prides, cheetahs and the hardest to spot, leopards. We will have a picnic lunch in the park before an afternoon game drive and heading to the Lodge/campsite.
Overnight and dinner at Lodge/normal basic camping
Day 3: Serengeti National Park - Full day game drive
After an early breakfast, we will begin a full day’s game viewing in the north of Serengeti. This is the best time to get a great viewing of the animals, as they wake and head out into the day. Apart from the wildlife mentioned above, you may be lucky to see other scavengers, including jackals and vultures. There’s also some 520 bird species to be spotted, including storks and ostriches and many more. We will enjoy a picnic lunch and enjoy a full afternoon and early evening game drive.
Overnight and dinner at Lodge/normal basic camping
Day 4: Serengeti National Park - Ngorongoro Crater
Tea and coffee will be served in the early morning before a sunrise game-drive. We will go back to the campsite for brunch before we leave the park- where plenty of wildlife can still be spotted when we head back through Ngorongoro Conservation Area towards the craters rim. You will have plenty of opportunity for further game viewing en-route.
Overnight and dinner at Lodge/normal basic camping
Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater - Moshi/Arusha
We will have breakfast at the campsite before descending into the 600-meter deep Crater. The Crater has a 19-kilometre diameter, making it one of the world’s largest unbroken and un-flooded caldera. The park covers approximately of 300-square-kilometres, where the landscape ranges from lush rain forest on the rim, to the bush savannas’ and the acacia woodland. Ngorongoro is home to the highly endangered black rhino and the largest herds of wildebeest, zebra and buffalo. Predators also live in the Crater; here there is plenty of opportunity to spot a hunt. Most of the predators found in the Crater include lions, hyenas, cheetahs, jackals and serval cats. We will enjoy a picnic lunch before leaving the Crater – where plenty of wildlife can still be spotted. We will begin our drive back to Moshi in the late afternoon.
