Tanzania Safari Sojourn - 2021

On arrival into Kilimanjaro International Airport and after clearing Customs & Immigration you will be met and transferred to The African Tulip where you will stay for one night. Enjoy the rest of your evening at leisure. 

This morning after breakfast you will meet with your  private senior guide (and private 4x4 Lancruiser)  who will then brief you on your upcoming trip. You then depart  to Tarangire National Park arriving at your camp, Tarangire Ndovu Camp where you will stay for 2 nights. Arrive in time for lunch. After lunch you will then continue on an afternoon game drive arriving back in camp in the early evening.

Tarangire Ndovu Tented Lodge is located in the heart of Tarangire, Tanzania’s wild land and landscapes. Tarangire is famed for its massive elephant herds, true sense of wilderness and a gentle backdrop of baobabs. It is the lesser visited but more intriguing park on the northern circuit.

At Tarangire Ndovu Tented Lodge, we have 10 standard tented suites PLUS 2 x 2 bedroom inter-connected tented family suites that are open throughout the year. During these dry months, the massive elephants herds travel through the corridor between Manyara and Tarangire and spend their time in and around the park. This is because of their ability to uncover permanent sources of fresh water. We endeavour to retain the uniqueness and intimacy of the camp, while being directed by the location, wildlife and other factors of responsible tourism. The main thatched area is open plan from bar to lounge to dining area - and offset with a stunning rim flow pool in front of the property overlooking the wild expanses ahead, all the way to the Great Rift Valley wall.

Enjoy a morning game drive. Later today you will have a night game drive.  

Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania, and is located  near Lake Manyara. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses the park, and it is that river that is the primary source of fresh water for wild animals in the Tarangire Ecosystem during the annual dry season. The Tarangire Ecosystem is defined by the long-distance migration of wildebeest and zebras. During the dry season thousands of animals concentrate in Tarangire National Park from the surrounding wet-season dispersal and calving areas.It covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 square miles.)

The landscape is composed of granitic ridges, river valley, and swamps. The beautiful landscape is comprised of a variety of vegetation, specifically a mix of Acacia woodland, Commiphora-Combretum woodland, seasonally flooded grassland, and Baobab trees.The park is perhaps most famous for its high density of elephants and baobab trees. Visitors to the park in the June to December dry season can expect to see large herds of thousands of zebra, wildebeest and cape buffalo.

Other common resident animals include waterbuck, giraffe, dik dik, impala, eland, Grant's gazelle, vervet monkey, banded mongoose, and olive baboon. Predators in Tarangire include African lion, leopard, cheetah, caracal, honey badger, and African wild dog.Home to more than 550 bird species, the park is a haven for bird enthusiasts.The park is also famous for the termite mounds that dot the landscape. Those that have been abandoned are often home to dwarf mongoose.

This morning depart to Ngorongoro stopping enroute at Lake Manyara National Park where you will take a morning game drive looking for the famous tree climbing lions, hippo's, and flamingo's.

Located on the way to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, Lake Manyara National Park is worth a stop in its own right. Its ground water forests, bush plains, baobab strewn cliffs, and algae-streaked hot springs offer incredible ecological variety in a small area, rich in wildlife and incredible numbers of birds.

The alkaline soda of Lake Manyara is home to an incredible array of bird life that thrives on its brackish waters. Pink flamingo stoop and graze by the thousands colorful specks against the grey minerals of the lake shore. Yellow-billed storks swoop and corkscrew on thermal winds rising up from the escarpment, and herons flap their wings against the sun-drenched sky. Even reluctant bird-watchers will find something to watch and marvel at within the national park.

Lake Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions are another reason to pay a visit to this park. The only kind of their species in the world, they make the ancient mahogany and elegant acacias their home during the rainy season, and are a well-known but rather rare feature of the northern park. In addition to the lions, the national park is also home to the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world - a fact that accounts for interesting game viewing of large families of the primates.

Afterwards you will continue to ascend up the Ngorongoro Highlands stopping off for lunch at  Gibbs Farm for lunch (probably the best food in Tanzania.) 

You will then continue up to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge where you will stay for two nights. Arrive in time for dinner and overnight. 

Early this morning descend into the Ngorongoro Crater, where a highlight awaits you this morning as you depart to explore what is commonly referred to as the World’s largest wildlife zoo. After breakfast, you descend with a picnic lunch through the early morning mists and 2,000 feet into the crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the World’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes and springs, to open grassland and some sandy dunes. It’s an awesome wildlife experience. A picnic lunch is served overlooking a small lake populated with hippos. You return to the lodge in the late afternoon.

The jewel in Ngorongoro's crown is a deep, volcanic crater, the largest un flooded and unbroken caldera in the world. About 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder.

The Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s most famous sites and is said to have the highest density of wildlife in Africa.  Sometimes described as an ‘eighth wonder of the world’, the Crater has achieved world renown, attracting an ever-increasing number of visitors each year.  You are unlikely to escape other vehicles here, but you are guaranteed great wildlife viewing in a genuinely mind-blowing environment.  There is nowhere else in Africa quite like Ngorongoro!

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera.  Forming a spectacular bowl of about 265 square kilometers, with sides up to 600 meters deep; it is home to approximately 30,000 animals at any one time.  The Crater rim is over 2,200 meters high and experiences its own climate.  From this high vantage point it is possible to make out the tiny shapes of animals making their way around the crater floor far below.  Swathes of cloud hang around the rocky rim most days of the year and it’s one of the few places in Tanzania where it can get chilly at night. 

The crater floor consists of a number of different habitats that include grassland, swamps, forests and Lake Makat (Maasai for ‘salt’) - a central soda lake filled by the Munge River.  All these various environments attract wildlife to drink, wallow, graze, hide or climb.  Although animals are free to move in and out of this contained environment, the rich volcanic soil, lush forests and spring source lakes on the crater floor (combined with fairly steep crater sides) tend to incline both grazers and predators to remain throughout the year.

Early this morning depart to the southern Serengeti game driving along the way. En route, you stop at Olduvai Gorge, the site of the many important archaeological discoveries made by the Leakey family.  Arrive at Naona Moru Camp where you will stay for three nights looking for the Great Migration. Enjoy lunch followed by an afternoon game drive searching for resident prides of lion, hunting cheetah, and leopard for which the central Seronera Valley is famous. 

As December arrives the wildebeest have either begun their journey south or they are already located in the central Serengeti migrating to fresh new grazing and water. The columns of animals all begin trekking southwards through the center of the Serengeti or just slightly east of Seronera flowing down in a mass of columns. The mass of animals is a mixture of wildebeest, Zebra, and slightly interspersed with Thomson’s gazelle as they are all followed by very attendant predators.

Enjoy two full days of game viewing activities in the Southern  Serengeti. 

The Great Migration has a fascinating story and based on historical patterns they typically stick to the same locations and routes which are weather dependent for the most part. In Tanzania the "short" rains occur in the first 2 weeks of November which then draws the large herds of wildebeest and Zebra down onto the short grass plains of the Southern Serengeti around the beginning of December. The specific locations of herds are generally to the south and east of the central Serengeti, down south in Ndutu, and northern Ngorongoro Conservation area. Due to the rain, very fresh and highly nutritious grass pull the vast herds down to feed on the grass resulting in hundreds of thousands of animals dispersed across southern plains. The herds are resident throughout the months of December/January/February and most of March, with all the pregnant mother's to be giving birth during a short two week period in February (weather dependent.) Their migration then begins to the north around April.

Enjoy your last day on safari in Tanzania.

Later this morning you will be transferred to the airstrip for your scheduled charter flight to Arusha. On arrival you will be met and transferred to the Arusha Coffee Lodge for lunch (excludes drinks). Later this afternoon you will then transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward flight.