Arrive Arusha. Touch down at JRO (or ARK) and meet your driver for a swift transfer to Katambuga House. Settle into the gardens, refresh, and meet your guide for a relaxed evening briefing—final questions on cameras, layers and luggage for the light-aircraft sectors—then early to bed.
Arusha to Tarangire, Oliver’s Camp. After breakfast, it’s a short hop to Arusha Airport for the late-morning light aircraft to Kuro Airstrip (about 20–35 minutes in the air). Your Oliver’s guide meets you on the strip for a game-drive transfer of roughly an hour through baobab country, often passing elephant herds and giraffe before you reach Oliver’s Camp in time for lunch. After a rest, head out for an easy afternoon drive and sundowners over the Tarangire River.
Tarangire safari day. A full day to explore Tarangire’s valleys and woodlands. At dawn, follow the riverine corridors for elephants, waterbuck and big cats. Return for lunch and siesta, then back out mid-afternoon; conditions permitting, you may opt for a guided walk or night drive to catch nocturnal life—porcupine, civet, and the Tarangire starscape.
Tarangire to Ngorongoro Highlands (The Highlands). Depart Oliver’s after an early coffee for the 50–60 minute game-drive back to Kuro and board the short flight to Manyara Airstrip (sometimes via ARK). From Manyara it’s a scenic ~3-hour ascent through forests and Maasai country to The Highlands, tucked on the slopes of Olmoti. Arrive mid-afternoon, breathe the cool air, and take a gentle leg-stretch around camp before fireside drinks.
Crater day from The Highlands. Leave pre-dawn for the descent road and enter the Ngorongoro Crater as the mist lifts. Spend the day on the floor watching lion prides, hyena clans and, with luck, the resident rhino; picnic at a hippo pool, then ascend to the rim and return to camp by late afternoon for hot drinks and a hearty dinner.
Olmoti & Empakaai options. Today is for the highlands: a morning Olmoti hike to the waterfall and caldera views, or a longer excursion to Empakaai for flamingos shimmering on the soda lake below the rim. Back at camp, warm up by the fire and prepare for tomorrow’s move onto the plains.
Highlands → Southern Serengeti (Ubuntu Migration Camp)
To maximize time with the herds and cut down overland hours, you’ll transfer by road to Lake Manyara Airstrip (~2.5–3 hrs), fly to Ndutu Airstrip (~25 min), then continue by camp vehicle to Ubuntu (≈30–60 min, game-viewing en route). You’ll arrive in time for lunch; after a short rest, roll out for your first calving-season afternoon drive among the wildebeest and attendant predators. (Note: soft bags, ~15 kg total per person, are standard on bush flights.)
Calving season at Ubuntu. Three unhurried days based at Ubuntu Migration Camp in the southern Serengeti (Ndutu/Kusini zone in Feb). Mornings start at first light to track the vast wildebeest herds and newborn calves; predators concentrate here now, so behavior—stalking, leadership, defensive rings—is the focus. With a picnic packed, you can stay out through early afternoon, returning for a siesta before a golden-hour loop for cheetah and lion activity. If available and weather allows, one morning can be a balloon flight over the plains, landing to a champagne breakfast and rejoining your vehicle for a long, lazy drive back to camp.
Fly back to Arusha and depart. After a final short game drive to the airstrip (Ndutu or, if open and closer to camp, Kusini/“Serengeti South”), board the ~1-hour flight to Arusha. A day room can be arranged if your international flight leaves late; otherwise, connect onward with a head full of plains and new life.
Airstrip note (Serengeti South): In February, Ubuntu typically operates near Ndutu/Kusini; the preferred strip is Kusini/Serengeti South when open (about ~15–90 minutes from camp depending on exact location). If Kusini is closed, Ndutu Airstrip is used (usually ~60–90 minutes).
