Migration Safari

Welcome in Africa! Welcome in Tanzania! 

Today you arrive at Kilimanjaro International airport.

As soon as you exit the airport, you will see our driver waiting for you with your name on a sign board.

From the airport it is a good half an hour drive to your first accommodation: African View Lodge. 

Your Safari starts today! Your private driver with private safari vehicle is waiting for you in the early morning! The driver is well educated and has a lot of knowledge about the country, animals and nature and even more, he is very passionate about it. He will show you the beauty of his country the coming days! He will discuss with you the day to day program.

The safari vehicle has 6 or 8 window seats, including the driver’s one. If you are inside the parks the rooftop will go up so you can see the animals close by. Inside the vehicle you can charge your phone or batteries.

In the safari vehicle there is enough clean drinking water for the whole safari. We kindly ask you to bring your own water bottles to refill, so we try to minimize the use of plastic. 

It is only a 15 minutes’ drive to Arusha National Park.

Arusha National Park covers Mount Meru, a prominent volcano with an elevation of 4566 m, in the Arusha Region of north eastern Tanzania. The park is small but varied with spectacular landscapes in three distinct areas.

With a ranger you will do a walking safari for 2 to 3 hours (or less depending on the weather) and then continue for a game drive in the park. At a nice spot we will stop for a pick nick lunch.

In the afternoon you will leave Arusha National Park on the other side and drive to Africa Amini Maasai Lodge for dinner and overnight. 

Maasai Lodge is a very special destination. The lodge is located in the middle of Maasai land. You will sleep in a Maasai hut. From the room,you will have a stunning view of Kilimanjaro.

There is a nice swimming pool and even a sauna. All the staff at the lodge are Maasai and every single one of them is willing to share their traditions with their quests.

The lodge is founded by 2 doctors from Austria, a mother and her daughter. After a visit to Tanzania they started a free hospital for the Maasai. For all treatments they respect the traditional medical values of the Maasai, and use nature as much as possible. The lodge was build to fund the hospital and the school they build afterwards.

A nature walk with the Maasai, donkey driving for the smaller kids and spear throwing are complimentary activities at the lodge. Optional activities are making jewelry with the Maasai ladies, visit a Maasai boma or visiting the projects and many more is possible at a surplus to be organized at the lodge itself.

Above all, the lodge and its surroundings is a great place to relax.

Today you leave Maasai Lodge driving to Lake Natron.

During dry season you are driving via Longido to Lake Natron. It will take about 3 to 4 hours on a beautiful route.

It is a stunning drive. You will experience real authentic Africa .You pass small settlements  along a rocky road, you pass dry river banks created out of  massive lava rocks.  Get prepared, it can by dusty.

Lake Natron Camp is located on the southern end of Lake Natron in the Great Rift Valley, near Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania’s only active volcano.

Lake Natron Camp  operates as a very low impact  camp. There are no permanent structures, no cement bricks or wooden platforms. Water is manually pumped directly from the spring for bathing and run through a desalination filter for drinking. Solar power is used extensively to reduce or omit carbon emissions.

As soon you arrive in the camp you can  refresh in there natural pool.

Today you have a full day of exploring Lake Natron or just relaxing and enjoying the breathtaking views.

Some suggestions from our GreenHippo team, what you can do (activities are included): 

Flamingo Walk: The beguiling  lesser flamingo feed on algae found in the soda lake across Eastern Africa, but choose to breed almost exclusively at Lake Natron. You can do an early morning or sunset walk to the lake flats.

Hominid footprints: Walk to hominid footprints within the concession area. Nwe research has conformed these track-ways to be 120.000 years old, makking them the oldest Homo sapiens track-ways yet discoverd.

Walk to Ngare Sero Water Falls: Walking with a guide, half day up to Ngare Sero gorge to several waterfalls. The scenery is a unique blend of arid volcanic rocks and lush tropical palms. 

Sun downer: Enjoy a sun downer 10 minutes drive to the top of a nearby hill. Overlooking Lake Natron. The majestic Lengai and Gelai mountanis and watch the sun go down behind the escarpment of the great Rift Valley

To day is a long beautiful day from  Lake Natron to Bologonja North Serengeti.

With extra ordinary views. Especially when you drive the 17 corners, you feel like you are on the moon, after some time you  see green plains where the Maasai let there cattle graze  and  you pass settlements where they live. It is a  mixed landscape.

You will enter the iconic Serengeti via Klein's gate.  It is about 1 hour stunning drive to the camp.

The name Serengeti is derived from the Maasai word Siringiti: endless plains. When entering the Serengeti it becomes clear quite soon that this is a very fitting name. As far as the eye reaches you find the plains, only interrupted by an occasional tree, kopje (rock formation) or wildlife. During the Great Migration these planes are literally covered in animals, wildebeests and zebras, in search of grazing and water and participating in one of the largest annual movements of mammals on earth.

However, Serengeti National Park has more to offer than the Great Migration, large herds of buffels, numerous different kinds of antelopes like the topi, hartebeest, dikdik, thomson and grant gazelles and it is the best chance of spotting a lion, or more accurately: lions. The open plains form an ideal hunting ground for the fastest mammal on earth: the cheetah.

At the end of the day you arrive in Bologonja  a  small camp with 12 large guest tents, a lounge and a dining tent. Each guest tent has an en-suite bathroom with shower and flush toilets.  The lounge is the place to meet other travelers and share your day’s safari stories while enjoying a complimentary cup of Tanzanian coffee or  tea. Bush TV (local name for camp fire) is lit when the weather permits.

Today your driver will  try to show you one  of the most special events on this planet.

Today we drive to direction Kogatende, Mara River,  it is about a 1 hour drive to see the Mara River, where the  Great Migration is crossing in the months of August and September. Depending on weather conditions you will see it there!  Of course you need some luck on your side!

The wildebeest and zebras must survive the Nile crocodiles and fast flowing water before facing the lions waiting on the other side. This time of the year game viewing is sensational, impressive and dramatic. 

You have two days of game drives to look forward to, tracking the wildebeest herds as they move through their various chapters of the migration  the much anticipated river-crossing season when the herds brave the snapping jaws of crocodiles as they cross the Serengeti’s rivers.

You will be staying in a tented camp which is located in the Northern Serengeti during the months of July, August and September. The so called migration camps migrate a couple of times a year, to be close to the Great Migration. 

Today and tomorrow you will stay in  Kati Kati mobile camp, located close to the Mara River. The camp has been designed to have the least impact on the environment. All the infrastructure is mobile and the philosophy is to leave nothing behind.

After a long intense day you will enjoy the stunning views and perhaps you will see wild life around the camp.

Today you drive to the Central part of the Serengeti. Game drive on the route. 

In the afternoon you will arrive  in the central part of the Serengeti called Seronera. Your next overnight accommodation is Mbugani Camp. Because of the nearby presence of water there is game around the whole year. From the camp you will have a beautiful view over  the Serengeti Plains.

.

Today you have to rise early! Your driver will take you to one of the most special places on this planet: The Ngorongoro Crater. The Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world, and before you descent in the crater you have a beautiful view from the crater rim.

The crater is a non-active volcano, to reach the crater floor you have to make quite a descent. In the Ngorongoro crater the diversity in animals and flora is immense. All the animals of the “Big Five” (elephant, black rhino, buffel, leopard and the lion) can be found in the crater. Today it is your chance to see the rare black rhino. In Lake Magadi, the alkaline lake in the crater, flamingos look for their food while hippos cool down in the sweet water pools after their grazing outing at night. In the Lerai Forest elephant with giant tusks pull leaves and branches from the trees while on the plains wildebeests, zebras and antelopes are grazing. Lions often look for the shade, sometimes even the shade of a car. The high numbers of animals and the imposing landscape with the crater walls make a day in the crater and overwhelming experience!

At the end of the afternoon you proceed to Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge bordering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

This lodge is owned by a Dutch doctors couple. After their retirement Joris and Marise leased two hills. One the one hill they started an orphanage, on the other hill the lodge. The lodge is financing the orphanage. By staying at the lodge all quests contribute the children’s home automatically.

If you would like, you can go to the nearby Children’s Home before dinner. The Children’s Home is financed with the proceedings from the lodge. You can play a game of soccer with the children or help them with their homework. A nice added value to your holiday!

Rhotia Valley has a nice swimming pool with sun beds. They have their own vegetable garden. It can be chilly at night time as the lodge is located on high altitude. With hot water bottles in the beds and charcoal burning in the restaurant it is a great place to enjoy!

Depending on your flight today the driver will bring you to  Kilimanjaro airport for your flight home. 

Your holiday has come to an end as you say goodbye to your driver. An unforgettable journey with long lasting memories that you share together.

In Kiswahili we say Kwa Heri (goodbye) and Karibuni Tena (welcome again).

If you are not ready to go home, you can continue your holiday on the tropical island of Zanzibar. We are happy to assist you.