Arrive Kilimanjaro airport. Transfer to Arusha and then to your lodge where you will meet other trip participants and begin your adventure. Welcome to Africa!
For those arriving on late evening flights, we can arrange for an extra pre-safari hotel (additional cost).
Arusha is the safari capital of Tanzania - nestled below Mt. Meru, close to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Manyara, Tarangire and Ngorongoro National Parks and from there it’s a short trip to the Serengeti. Just to the north, on the slopes of Mt. Meru is the Arusha National Park. Built by the Germans as a center of colonial administration because of the temperate climate.
Transfer from Kilimanjaro to hotel in Arusha
Depart with your naturalist guide for Tarangire, the park is Tanzania's third largest national park and sanctuary for an unusually large elephant population. Majestic baobab trees are an interesting feature of the park, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. Animals concentrate along the Tarangire River, which provides the only permanent water supply in the area. There is a great diversity of wildlife including lion, leopard, cheetah, and up to six thousand elephant. A bush walk and a cultural visit with the semi-nomadic tribes are also included.
Guided Bush Walk
A guided game walk is the best way to experience the bush at close quarters, its smells, it diversity and the emotions it stirs within us. Although good game viewing is often more difficult on foot sightings can be incredibly rewarding and the little things, the birds, the insects, the ecology and exercise is what walking in the bush is all about.
A guided game walk
Full day exploring the National Park. In the afternoon walk to the Manyara Lake shores.
Early morning walk at Tarangire before departing for Karatu on the outer slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater. Cross the floor of the Great Rift Valley close to Lake Manyara. Then, mingle with villagers at local markets such as Mto Wa Mbu or Karatu. Shopping and bargaining for bolts of cloth, crafts, and local produce immerse you in a daily ritual of African life. Afternoon visit to a school then drive up the escarpment to Lake Eyasi to arrive at your camp and relax in the evening.
Mto wa Mbu Village
Mto wa Mbu village lies within the east African Valley, some 120km from Arusha City, Mto wa Mbu inhabits more than 18,000 thousands in which there are 120 tribes. Maasai being the originak inhabitants of the area. Mto wa Mbu flourishes in the presence of three great rivers namely, Kirurumu river, Mahamoud River And Magadini river.
The word Mto wa Mbu literally means "Mosquito River"
Mto wa Mbu village is among the most active Villages in northern Tanzania, and it is the best stop over for tourist touring to the Serengeti National Park, Ngorngoro Crater, Lake Manyara National Park and Tarangire National Park. Mto wa Mbu borders Lake Manyara National Park to east-south side and the Lake itself.
Lake Eyasi
Lake Eyasi basin is remote; a dry area of desolate beauty, which offers a great natural experience. Across the shallow lake and the dry salt beds the dramatic Alipi escarpment wall rises 650 meters up into the Endulen area of the Ngorongoro conservation area.
To the north of the Alkaline lake, springs surrounded by ground water forest and woodland abound, supporting a new influx of Tanzanian farmers growing onions and beans, while the hill ridges surrounding the Lake valley to the east and north support a wild and scenic area dominated by ancient Baobabs, Gnarled Commiphoras and huge rock kopjes.
The area is the home to a group of traditional tribes, offering an intriguing chance to glimpse their lifestyles, The pastoralist Datoga people in their traditional mud huts, their women decorated with beautifying facial scarification and the young and fierce warriors who stand guard over their herds easily visited as are the traditional Hadzabe, a nomadic tribe that hangs on tenaciously to their hunting and gathering life style. Apart with cultural activities the area offers superb hiking, bird watching and scenic beauty.
Afternoon visit to a school
Early morning walking and hunting-gathering with Bushmen (Wa hadzabe) hunters or spend time participating in the morning routine of the settlement. Your local guide will interpret for you and discuss hunting techniques still used by the tribes. This dry and rugged landscape is inhabited by Bushmen who live in nomadic groups hunting with bows and arrows and gathering roots, tubers and wild fruits. Be prepared for an extraordinary cross-cultural experience as you join these nomadic Bushmen in their daily life.
In the afternoon you can also visit the Datoga, a tribe of semi-nomadic pastoralists who migrated into this area looking for good grazing land many decades ago. They have so far resisted neighboring tribes' cultural infiltrations. The women, still wearing locally fat treated goatskin gowns, cut patterns on their faces and bodies to look prettier. Learning about their history is truly fascinating.
Walking and hunting-gathering with Bushmen
The Serengeti together with Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Park form Africa’s most famous wildlife park. The image of acacia trees on an endless grass plain epitomizes Africa for many, and then add a Masai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need go no further. The annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti and the Masai Mara is the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. But that is not where the game viewing ends; large prides of lions, elephants and giraffes in grasslands, gazelles and eland to mention but a few. Aside from traditional vehicle safaris, hot air ballooning over the Serengeti plains has become almost essential and you can even do a horseback safari.
Optional Excursion: Serengeti Balloon Safari
2019/2020 Cost US $599/person
Between 04:15 and 05:30am, Serengeti Balloon Safaris (www.balloonsafaris.com) will collect you from your central Serengeti lodge or camp, and transfer you by LandRover to our launch site near Maasai Kopjes. Here you will meet your pilot, receive a briefing and watch the inflation of your balloon. At dawn you take off, rising as the sun rises and float in whichever direction the winds of the morning take us. Your pilot can precisely control the altitude of your balloon: sometimes flying at treetop height, sometimes lower, offering a unique perspective and great photographic opportunities of the wildlife below. Actual flight time is about one hour depending on local conditions. Upon landing you celebrate in the traditional manner with champagne (well, an excellent sparkling wine), before sitting down to a full English breakfast prepared and served in the bush in Out of Africa style with bone china, linen table cloths, King's silver etc. After breakfast you receive your Serengeti Balloon certificate and we drive you back to rendezvous with your guide (around 9:30-10am) ready to continue your day's activities.
DETAILS: Balloons carry 12-16 people each and there are currently 3 balloons servicing the park. Children under 7yrs not allowed. Any person weighing 265lbs or more may have to purchase 2 spaces. Passengers should be reasonably fit to climb in/out of basket and be free of concerning health conditions (e.g. pregnant, bad back/neck, heart issues etc.). Cost includes roundtrip transfers to balloon launch site, flight, champagne, full English bush breakfast. If weather or conditions prohibit your flight, a full refund will be made. Pre-booking the balloon safari is strongly recommended due to passenger limitations. The price is the same if booked locally. The price may vary depending on camp location. Inquire at time of booking.
Hot Air Balloon ride
Days spend exploring Serengeti National Park. Time tables will be arrange according to the game drives and where the patterns of the wildlife are.
Days spend exploring Serengeti National Park. Time tables will be arrange according to the game drives and where the patterns of the wildlife are.
Days spend exploring Serengeti National Park. Time tables will be arrange according to the game drives and where the patterns of the wildlife are.
Enjoy one last game drive in the Serengeti before departing back to Arusha by road. Lunch reroute. Arrive Arusha in the afternoon (approximately 5 PM) for your onward arrangements. End of the services.
Optional return by flight to Arusha, from $300 per person.
- Lunch
- Additional meals, beverages, transfers
