Date
March 19-30, 2017
About This Tour
Tanzania is the Ultimate Safari Destination, with the largest concentration of wildlife anywhere on the continent and the world’s best game viewing. Here you will find everything you hope to see on Safari, including wildebeest, elephant, buffalo, hippo, zebra, leopard, cheetah, lion, giraffe, impala, monkey, baboon, rhino, jackal, gazelle, ostrich, flamingo, heron, kingfisher, egret, stork, and many more. It is one of the few places left in Africa that can still be called “unspoiled.”
We enjoy a classic wildlife Safari in style, staying in beautiful lodges erected in the most striking settings to be found on earth. We even have one deluxe tented camp that is private for our group, and set up in the southern Serengeti to witness the massing of the wildebeest at a time when they are calving and giving birth to their young! You’ll feel like you are starring in “Out of Africa!” Our private camp limits us to 10 rooms only, so don’t wait to claim one!
This safari includes the unique eco-system of Ngorongoro Crater, the vast savannahs of the Serengeti, and the flamingo-lined shores of Lake Manyara. Along the way, see where the roots of modern man were unearthed by the Leakeys and visit a Maasai village. An unforgettable adventure awaits you! Grab your khakis, your camera and binoculars, and let’s go on a photo safari. You also have the opportunity to extend your adventure on the fabulous island paradise of Zanzibar!
Tour Highlights
- Arusha
- Lake Manyara
- Mto Wa Mbu tribal village
- Gibb’s Farm
- Ngorongoro Crater *
- Maasai Tribes
- Olduvai Gorge
- Serengeti National Park *
- Massing of the Wildebeest in the Southern Serengeti * UNESCO World Heritage Sites
ITINERARY
ABOUT OUR GUIDE
Robert Marks Moshi is a native Tanzanian with the distinction of being adopted at a very early age and raised by a Scottish missionary doctor. Robert’s love for conservation and wildlife started early and he earned his master’s degree by focusing on the study of elephants and their behavior. His mentor is Cynthia Moss and he spent time studying in her Amboseli headquarters, as well as the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi. Now a naturalist guide back in his beloved native land, Robert lives in bustling Arusha when he is not showing guests around Tanzania, but he is most at home in the wild where his keen eye can spot a lion or a cheetah in the distance and his passion for his fellow people is evident as he shares insights and lore. Robert has a generous heart and a gentle smile and is excited to share the glories of Tanzania with you. (Dinner included)
LEAVE HOME BOUND FOR TANZANIA
Arrange your international flight to leave your home city sometime today, arriving in Arusha, Tanzania tomorrow. (Use the airport code JRO when searching for your flights. Those participating in the Zanzibar extension will book their return flight from ZNZ / Zanzibar International.) Flights originating in the U.S. will connect through another major hub used by your selected airline. You will arrive in Tanzania late tomorrow evening. If you would prefer to arrive one day early to rest, please indicate this option on your reservation form. (Meals Aloft)
ARRIVE IN TANZANIA
You will step from the plane into the fragrant African night, at the beginning of a long-awaited adventure. Our representative greets you at the airport and transfers you to the beautiful Lake Duluti Serena Hotel. Located on a coffee plantation on the shores of Lake Duluti, this is the perfect place to relax before embarking on your safari experience. Designed as an authentic African village, guests are housed in cottages thatched with banana fronds, surrounded by tropical shade trees and bougainvillea. The lodge boasts magnificent views of the mighty snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro on one side and Lake Duluti and the rugged peaks of Mount Meru on the other. (Meals Aloft)
LAKE MANYARA / MTO WA MBU VILLAGE
After breakfast, participate in an orientation briefing to get acquainted with each other and our guide, and then board our safari vehicles and drive to Lake Manyara. Here we visit Mto Wa Mbu village to learn the true value of ecotourism. Beginning in 1995, the concept of “cultural tourism” came to Tanzania. In this system, local people earn extra income by organizing tours of their own communities with the proceeds funneled back into each community for specific development projects. Mto Wa Mbu is one of the participating villages, located on the shores of Lake Manyara, and home to over 90 tribes with many different local accents and diverse lifestyles. It is visited by very few tourists. Following a lunch of traditional Tanzanian dishes served under banana trees, explore the area with your village guides, strolling through local homes, farmlands where banana, millet, cassava and corn are grown, resident bars, a kindergarten and a church. We can bring books, magazines, as well as school supplies such as pens, paper, crayons, soccer balls, etc., which we can present to the children during our visit to the local school. Check into our hotel in the afternoon and enjoy a nature walk around the hotel. (All meals)
LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
Today spend a full day exploring Lake Manyara National Park, an ornithological paradise with over 350 species of birds including Verreaux’s Eagle, vultures, storks, swifts, and swallows. With spectacular cliffs along the shore, the lake often has a pinkish hue due to the flamingos shimmering in the distance. Springs in the park’s northern end support a dense groundwater forest of magnificent giant fig and mahogany trees, which shelter blue and vervet monkeys and an abundance of baboons, bushbuck, waterbuck, and elephants. The hippo pool, where visitors may get out of their vehicles, is located on a freshwater stream that enters the lake at its northern tip. South of the groundwater forest, acacia woodland, the recognizable baobab tree, and open grassland are frequented by buffalo, wildebeest, impalas, giraffes, zebras, and the elusive tree-climbing lions, the signature species of this park. (All Meals)
GIBB’S FARM / NGORONGORO CRATER
Today we venture off to Gibb’s Farm for lunch. Gibb’s Farm is an oasis of green, calm and beauty, in a landscape that can often be parched, dry and dusty. This privately owned farm is famous for its delicious cuisine featuring savory pies and salads. Also visit a traditional home of the Iraqw, the local tribe that has inhabited the Ngorongoro highlands area for over 200 years. The home is built entirely using traditional materials and methods of construction, just as it would have been 200 years ago. We can lend a hand at grinding maize the traditional way using grinding stones and see a demonstration of Iraqw skirt making. While here we will also have the opportunity to visit a present day Tanzania farm and observe a bio gas plant used for producing gas for cooking and lighting. Continue to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, your home for the next two nights. (All Meals)
NGORONGORO CRATER
Today we descend in land cruisers onto the floor of the crater, a World Heritage site, which is an extinct volcano and the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The crater (1,800 feet deep and 102 square miles) is a microcosm of East African scenery with abundant colorful bird species and wildlife including more than 25,000 larger animals, mostly zebra and wildebeest. This is also the best place in Tanzania to see magnificent black-maned lions and an outstanding chance to see black rhinos that are protected here around the clock. We might also see leopard, cheetah, hyena, jackal, elephant, warthog, buffalo, impala, buffalo, hartebeest, eland and many other antelopes. Return to the rim of the crater six hours later and drive back to our lodge for a relaxing evening. (All Meals)
OLDUVAI GORGE / SERENGETI
Head to a Maasai Village this morning to see how this nomadic tribe has existed through the millennia in harmony with nature. Afterwards, take a breathtaking drive to the legendary Olduvai Gorge, passing savannah grassland and volcanic hills, where red-robed Maasai graze their cattle, before it drops steeply down into the gorge itself. Olduvai is where, in 1959, anthropologists Mary and Louis Leakey found fossil evidence of the 1.7-million-year-old “pre-historic man.” After visiting the museum and enjoying a presentation about the geological features of the gorge and the work of the Leakeys, we continue our drive to Serengeti National Park (3,646,500 acres), the jewel in the crown of Tanzania’s protected areas with over 3 million large mammals roaming its plains. We enjoy accommodations in a luxury mobile tented camp located in the southern sector, near Lobo, and strategically placed to be in the best location for viewing and following the herds of the great migration. (All Meals)
SOUTHERN SERENGETI
The Serengeti has come to symbolize paradise to all, including the local Maasai, who have grazed their cattle on the vast grassy plains for generations. To the Maasai, it is Siringitu – “the place where the land moves on forever.” More than a million wildebeest, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of zebras and other herbivores, descend upon the short-grass plains of the southeastern Serengeti during the rainy season starting around December. By March the rain ends, the grass has been reduced to stubble, and the animals begin their long march to dry-season grazing grounds near the permanent waters of the Serengeti’s northern woodlands. We take game drives today to see the abundant wildlife. (All Meals)
CENTRAL SERENGETI
Continue your visit of Serengeti National Park today as you travel to your next accommodation in the central Serengeti, enjoying wildlife viewing along the way. The Serengeti is incredible to visit any time of the year. In the Seronera Valley towering yellow fever trees and palm thickets line the Seronera River and its hippo pools. This is a superb area for seeing predators such as lion, leopard and cheetah, and their prey – giraffe, topi, Bohor reedbuck, Defassa waterbuck, buffalo and impala. The kopjes (prehistoric rock outcroppings) host hyraxes, dwarf mongooses, and red-headed agamas, while patience might reward you with a sleepy black-maned male lion or leopard. (All Meals)
CENTRAL SERENGETI
We will have another full day to explore the Serengeti’s amazing surroundings and abundant scenes of animal life. The open grassland is home to large groups of Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, spotted hyena, jackal, and such birds as the Double-banded Courser, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Red-capped Lark, Fischer’s Sparrow-lark, and Capped Wheatear. Our twice-daily wildlife drives allow for ample sightings, and you also have the option one morning of taking a hot-air balloon flight for an exhilarating safari experience, hovering over the savannah as the sun rises and the animals are most active. The cost is $550, and space is very limited. You must reserve in advance, and can do so by indicating this option on your reservation form. (All Meals)
RETURN TO ARUSHA / DEPARTURE
This morning provides your final opportunity to photograph an awesome sunrise before flying back to Arusha. Those who are participating in our Zanzibar Extension (provide link here) will say farewell and continue their journey to the island. Those who are concluding their African adventure today will have some time for shopping at the African Heritage boutique before relaxing and preparing for departure at a dayroom at the Lake Duluti Lodge. Tonight we return to the airport to check in for your flight back home, bidding a fond farewell to your driver/guides. (Breakfast)
ARRIVE HOME
After connecting through your airline’s designated hubs, you should return to your home sometime today. (Meals Aloft)
MARCH 28 – APRIL 3, 2017
It would be a shame to come all this way and not spend a few days on a paradise island in the Indian Ocean. Click the link to view the details of our four-night tour extension to Zanzibar. (All Meals)