Ndutu Safari, Tanzania - THE GREAT MIGRATION & SO MUCH MORE 2023

Day notes

On arrival in Kilimanjaro after you have collected your luggage and passed customs etc, you will be met by Tony McKeith and our driver/guide who will be holding a name board as you exit the arrival terminal at Kilimanjaro International Airport.

Transfer to the city of Arusha, and to Mt Meru lodge, which will be the starting point for our safaris in northern Tanzania

The lodge is in the foothills of Mt Meru. This picturesque country estate combines old-world ambience, rustic African elegance, excellent farm cuisine, personal service and genuine warmth from your hosts. A perfect spot to get over your international flight.

We will have the afternoon to relax and we will enjoy diner together before heading to bed after a long day.

Day notes

Depart for Lake Manyara with picnic lunch. Apart from its abundant birdlife, Lake Manyara National Park is also famous for its tree-climbing lions.

If you wish you can experience a visit to Tanzania's first treetop walkway, a high activity for adventure seekers and nature lovers,  followed by a game drive.

Afternoon departs for Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You will pass the village of Mto wa Mbu en route, before climbing up the great rift valley, passing through the town of Karatu and reaching the Ngorongoro Conservation area.

The crater is 2000ft. Deep, and considered to be the 8th wonder of the world. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world with an abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater floor. 

As we reach the rim of the crater, you will witness some incredible views.

We will check in to the Serena Lodge and can spend the afternoon at leisure overlooking the Ngorongoro Crater from the viewing points in the lodge.

We have a full day planned. We will descend into the Ngorongoro with picnic lunch so that we can make the most of the day exploring all around the crater and before sunsets we return up the crater wall to and stay at Serena Ngorongoro.

Expect to see Hyena & Lion, but there is so much more to see. Look beyond the other visitors ( which are not so many at this time of year), and this is still one of the planets most incredible wildlife areas. The Ngorongoro is home to a spectacular concentration of wildlife, including the big five. We will explore the open plans, hidden swamps which are home to hippo, the dense forest which provides shade for many many animals under great yellow barked acacia, and near the soda lake. We will encounter a great variety of birdlife.

Expect Hyena & Lion, but there is so much more to see. Look beyond the other visitors, and this is still one of the planets most incredible wildlife areas.

Day notes

Today the safari changes entirely as we depart the Ngorongoro conservation area as we descend to the vast Serengeti plains, passing Masai boma's and witnessing the subtle, timeless mix of wildlife and herds of pastoralists cattle. We stop along the way at the entrance to the Serengeti National Park, and this is a chance to climb a rock kopje to get a simply stunning view of the Serengeti Plains and get a feel for the area you are entering.

Another couple of hours game drive stopping along the way until we reach our base for the next five nights Chaka camp, a seasonally mobile camp which follows the migration in the remote Ndutu area of the Serengeti. This is an authentic safari camp and you can expect a typically Tanzanian warm welcome for the team who will look after you in camp. You will be shown to your en suite tented accommodation which cant fail to impress with its tasteful African decor, big comfy bed.

Famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest's trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant's gazelle. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the plains.

On the day we arrive, we will have time for an afternoon game drive in the area not far from camp.

Days will follow a flexible plan usually with a Morning game drive, sometimes taking a bush breakfast. Lunch is usually served in camp , but again if we decide to explore further, we may take a picnic lunch along. Afternoons from camp are a chance to experience a walking safari or drive in search of sightings.

Evening drinks around the fire, before dinner with our hosts at Chaka. Expect a very relaxed and light-hearted feel to the whole safari and relaxed and enjoyable conversation along the way.