Accomodation: Lodges
or Luxury Tented Camps
Transportation: Open Roof
Safari Cruisers
Duration: 12 nights - 13
Days
Departs: Alternate Days
Price:
Day
1:
Arrival Arusha, Tanzania.
Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International
airport, you will be met by our driver and
assisted through customs and immigration
formalities. Thereafter, drive to Arusha
the nerve center of East Africa, and getaway
to several national parks in the north of
the country.
Nestled between Mt Meru and Mt Kilimanjaro,
Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge is located within
a lush coffee plantation, 140 acres, with
natural streams flowing through the property,
from Mount Meru. The lush vegetation and
the magnificent views of the snow capped
Mt Kilimanjaro and the looming Mt Meru,
right in front of the lodge, is an absolutely
awesome sight. This lodge is ideally located
between Arusha town and Kilimanjaro International
Airport, 27 km either way.
Day 2: Arusha
National Park.
Today your driver will take you into Arusha
National Park. Lying between the peaks of
Kilimanjaro and Meru, Arusha National Park
is an outstandingly beautiful area. The
Park has a wide range of habitats, from
the string of crater lakes where many water
birds can be watched, through the highland
montane forest and on up to the imposing
summit of Mount Meru. Walk in the park with
an armed ranger.
The forests contain a wealth of birds and
other animals, like the beautiful bushbuck
easily glimpsed in the glades between the
ancient cedar trees, or the black and white
colobus monkeys climbing along their branches.
The interesting geology of the area is reflected
in the impressive view of the ash cone and
cliff face leading to the summit of Mount
Meru. You have the option of taking a picnic
lunch and half a full day game viewing in
the Park or you can decide to have half
day game drive and return to the lodge for
lunch, afternoon at leisure. Dinner and
overnight at Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge
Day 3:
Arusha – Tarangire National Park.
After breakfast, drive to Tarangire National
Park, the third largest national park in
Tanzania. This delightful park, covering
an area of 2,600 sq km was established in
1970, and it is the numerous baobab trees
that will initially catch your eye. The
Tarangire National Park derives its name
from the Tarangire River that rises in the
highlands of central Tanzania and winds
its way through the game sanctuary. The
river irresistibly lures the herds of plains
migrants from the parched surrounding area
to its shrunken – but permanent –
brackish waters during the dry season.
The animals come by thousands from as far
north as the shores of Lake Natron, dramatically
swelling the resident population with wildebeest,
zebra, eland, elephant, hartebeest, buffalo
and fringe-eared Oryx. Tarangire is said
to have the highest recorded number of breeding
bird species for any habitat in the world.
As the rainless days continue the Tarangire
pools are clotted with thirsty migrants,
and elephants begin to dig for underground
streams in the dry riverbed. Dinner and
overnight at Tarangire sopa lodge
Day 4:
Tarangire National Park.
After breakfast, you will explore Tarangire
National Park and the large herds of elephant
that reside there. Spend morning and afternoon
in the park. The Tarangire Sopa Lodge is
built as a "low profile" structure
and nestles into a wooded hill side valley
overlooking Tarangire Hill. This all suite
property truely reflects Sopa's policy of
providing "luxury in the bush".
Marble floors, fountains, waterfalls and
magnificent views through double storey
windows are the stunning features of the
main areas. The swimming pool is intriguing
with its island.
It's large rooms have two queen size beds
with en suite shower & toilet, a balcony
and a lounge with mini bar. The lodge offers
alfresco dining on its raised barbecue terrace.
Meals and overnight at Tarangire Sopa Lodge
Day 5:
Tarangire National Park - Lake Eyasi.
After breakfast Drive to Gibb’s Farm,
where you will have lunch. Gibb’s
Farm is small, privately owned and very
quaint farm in the midst of coffee plantations.
The old colonial farmhouse, built by German
settlers in the early 20th century, still
has the character of a well-looked-after
private house with roaring fires and friendly
service. Gibb’s is lovely oasis where
you are guests, not tourist, and the personal
cozy atmosphere conveys that.
After lunch drive towards Ngorongoro Crater.
You divert from your route, driving down
a track to the remote Lake Eyasi, one of
the Soda Lakes that bejewel the Rift Valley.
It is also the former lands of the elusive
Hadzabe tribe, who you hope to meet up with
and learn more about their fascinating culture.
Dinner & overnight at Kisima Ngeda/or
any other tented camp of same standard
Day 6:
Lake Eyasi.
Today you start off early with your bushman
guide to meet a group of resident Hadzabe
people. The Hadzabe are hunter-gatherers,
also known as bushmen, who speak a click-based
language and move their encampments with
the seasonal movements of the wildlife.
Your guide is a member of the group and
teaches you more about how they hunt, track
wildlife, make fire and even take honey
from bee’s nests before introducing
you to his people and explaining a little
more about the customs and the way of life.
Among the unique learning experiences is
the chance to interact with one of the last
groups of hunter/gatherers on Earth –
the Hadzabe tribe. This group is studied
to understand foraging strategies that might
have been employed by hominid ancestors
about 2.5 million years ago; the Hadzabe's
diet contains wild plants and animals caught
through hunting. By spending time among
this group, you will be able to see first-hand
how humans originally adapted to the environment.
Return to your camp for lunch. Afternoon
at leisure or have a walk on the lake shore.
Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp is an intimate
tented lodge set on the shores of Lake Eyasi,
with sweeping views towards the rift. Across
this huge, seasonal, soda lake that stretches
away in front of camp, the Alipi escarpment
wall rises two thousand feet up into the
Endulen area of the Ngorongoro Conservation
providing a stunning view. Kisima Ngeda
lies amidst a beautiful natural palm and
acacia forest with a colossal rock as a
backdrop, in a 200 acre plantation site,
with a natural spring nearby which feeds
into the lake.
There are just seven tents at Kisima Ngeda,
each built under a thatched structure, ingeniously
made almost entirely of palm (thatch and
poles) and built with scrupulous attention
to the use of ecologically sound materials.
The stems of the leaves provide a unique
and very attractive building material and
the leaves themselves are ideal for thatching.
Only dead or fallen palm trees have been
used to support the structures. Each tent
is very comfortably furnished, and has an
ensuite bathroom with hot and cold running
water. The excellent service at Kisima Ngeda
Camp, combined with a simple elegance, makes
this camp very appealing.
Views from the tents of the lake and its
bird life, including flamingos and Egyptian
geese, are superb. The camp’s owners
have been farming in the area for many years,
and much of the food served there is produced
on the farm, including fish and meat. Kisima
Ngeda has a natural groundwater spring which
is used for the fish farm. It also supplies
a beautiful swimming oasis and there are
two huts equipped with beach-beds and lounging
chairs, ideal for sunbathing. There is an
open dining room and bar, and a platform
hidden in the reeds by the spring; ideal
for a romantic dinner under the stars or
for bird watching. Dinner & Overnight
at Kisima Ngeda Tented Lodge/or any other
camp of same standard
Day 7:
Lake Eyasi - Serengeti National Park.
With a picnic lunch,depart for Serengeti
via stopping en route at Olduvai Gorge,
the site of Dr. & Mrs. LSB Leakey’s
discovery of Zinjanthropus bosei. Here,
you will enjoy a short talk from one of
the Deputies of Antiquities, who will explain
to you what has been done and what continues
to happen. The Gorge was discovered accidentally
by a German butterfly collector, Professor
Kattwinkle, in 1911, but it was not until
1959 that Dr. Mary Leakey unearthed the
Zinj skull believed to be 1.8 million years
old.
After Olduvai continue driving north game
viewing en route to your lodge situated
Serengeti Sopa is located in the Nyarboro
Hills in the south west of the Serengeti
National Park, and is the only tourism development
in this section of the Park. The vicinity
of the lodge boasts a fair amount of game
due to the year-round water and the acacia
woodland. This offers a pleasant stay as
you spot game at your doorstep. Dinner &
Overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge
Day 8:
Serengeti National Park – Ndutu.
After breakfast enjoy the magnificent views
across the Serengeti plains and explore
the area in your vehicle while driving south,
arrive in time for lunch at Ndutu lodge.
A short rest in your rooms until 3pm when
you will be collected by your guide and
do afternoon game viewing until evening.
Ndutu Safari Lodge is situated in the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area in the southern Serengeti
eco-system. The Lodge nestles unobtrusively
under a canopy of giant acacias overlooking
a soda lake, Lake Ndutu. The lodge offers
a superb base in which to explore the range
of habitats that lie within easy reach,
this include swamps, woodlands, soda lakes
and the world famous Serengeti short grass
plains. Ndutu Safari Lodge has been a favorite
with professional wildlife photographers
and film-makers for the past four decades,
because it’s simply one of the places
to watch wildlife. Dinner & Overnight
at Ndutu Lodge.
Day 9:
Ndutu Area.
After breakfast full day game viewing in
Ndutu Area. The Ndutu area in southern Serengeti
is the best place to be for the annual wildebeest
migration. For up to seven months of the
year the huge herds remain in and around
this area – so it is an excellent
base from which to camp. A striking characteristic
of this area is the stunning acacia woodland,
which is immediately surrounded by the short
grass plains. Within this wooded area is
Lake Ndutu – one of the Rift Valley’s
soda lakes. At the height of the wildebeest
migration, and when heavy rains have fallen,
often lines of wildebeest can be seen crossing
the lake. Accompanying the wildebeest are
large numbers of zebra and Thomson gazelles.
There is a lot of resident game in the
Ndutu area. Elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard,
buck, hyena, bat eared fox, African wildcat
etc., are here all year round. The woodland
provides a wonderful habitat for lots of
different bird species. Meals & Overnight
at Ndutu Lodge.
Day 10:
Ndutu - Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
After breakfast, you will drive to Ngorongoro
Conservation Area arriving in time for lunch
at your lodge located on the crater rim.
After lunch visit an authentic maasai boma
in Ngorongoro area. The maasai have very
much maintained their traditional ways as
cattle herders.They believe that all cattle
in the world belong to them, even though
some may have temporarily found themselves
in the possession of others. Thus, the Masai
are always justified in raiding their non-Masaai
neighbors in order to "return"
the cattle to the rightful owners.
The Maaasai have very elaborate "coming
of age" traditions. Boys are circumcised
in their early teens in a ceremony attended
by the entire village. The boy who flinches
during this procedure brands himself as
a coward and disgraces his family. Once
circumcised, the young man becomes a member
of the warrior class – a moran –
and must live apart from the village with
the other warriors. Eventually, at some
point in his late teens or early twenties,
a moran is chosen to become a junior elder,
earns the right to marry and returns to
live in the village.
For centuries the Masai have hunted the
lions on both as a test of manhood and to
protect their cattle. The lions have learned
to recognize the red robes (and spears,
no doubt) and instinctively keep their distance.
Dinner & Overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa
Lodge
Day 11:
Ngongoro Conservation Area.
After breakfast, descend into the crater
for a full day of game viewing. A picnic
lunch will be taken on the crater floor.
The crater supports up to 25,000 large mammals.
Grazers dominate: zebra, wildebeest –
accounting for almost half the animals –
gazelle, buffalo, eland, hartebeest and
wart hog. Giraffe, for example, stay away
because there is insufficient food at tree
level; topi because they compete directly
with wildebeest. An odd feature of the crater
elephants is that they are almost exclusively
bulls. Breeding herds – comprising
large numbers of females and young with
a few attendant older males – are
probably unable to find sufficient quality
food in the crater. Ngorongoro has carnivores
in quantity, drawn by the large herds of
prey animals. It has the most dense population
of large predators, mainly lion –
about 100 – and more than 400 spotted
hyena, living in eight clans of up to eighty
individuals. Both lions and hyenas will
scavenge from each other, depending on weight
of numbers and of course, hunger. Dinner
& Overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
Day 12:
Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Today you walk to Empakai Crater, the views
along the trail downwards to the crater
soda lake of Empakaai are spectacular at
every point. You are guided by an armed
ranger. You might see buffaloes or bushbucks,
blue monkeys and many birds. It is a joy
to walk around the lake shore experiencing
the serenity and quiet beauty of this wild
spot. Surrounding the lake you will reach
springs, where you often see lots of wildlife.
In the lake there are many flamingos. Dinner
& Overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Day 13:
Ngorongoro – Arusha.
After breakfast return to Arusha, on arrival
you will have time to go on shopping before
driving to KIA lodge where you will have
lunch. After lunch a day room will be provided
to freshen-up till late evening when you
will be transferred to Kilimanjaro International
airport where you will board your home bound
flight.
