From October 15 to 26, 2014

Arusha | Lake Manyara

Day 2 – Safari 1 Arusha to Lake Manyara This morning you are heading off in a four wheel drive safari vehicle with picnic lunch boxes. Your Tanzanian driver/guide will take you across the Great Rift Valley.  This is one of the earth’s most dramatic natural features stretching from the Dead Sea in Jordan to Mozambique in the South.  This huge depression is up to 100km wide in places and hosts an enormous diversity of animal and plant life. Today’s route leads through the ancestral lands of the Maasai, probably the best known tribe in Africa, to the village of Mto wa Mbu and the entrance of the park.  During your game drives in Lake Manyara National Park you may be lucky enough to see the Park’s major attraction the tree‐climbing Lions ‐ though there’s obviously no guarantee of this! There are plenty of other things to see: Elephant, Hippo and plains game as well as a huge variety of bird life, both resident and migratory. You will have the whole day to discover the wildlife and select different locations allowing you to have great views of the lake itself and of the Rift valley surrounding it.  Dinner and overnight stay at campsite inside the park.

Ngorongoro Crater | Serengeti

Day 4 – Safari 3 Manyara to Ndutu area in Southern Serengeti region This morning, after an early breakfast, you’ll continue past Ngorongoro Crater to the Ndutu area which is part of the Serengeti eco-system but actually outside the southern boundaries of the park. This allows your driver/guide to take you off tracks and to come as close as possible to the animals without troubling them (within the park limits you have to stay on the marked tracks which can be frustrating). You will be able to enjoy the immense open plains but also very lovely marsh areas and forest where hundreds of bird species can be seen. You will have a picnic lunch and will have several hours to shoot in situ. You will arrive late afternoon at the location of your camp site, home of wildlife lovers for decades. Do not be surprised if wildlife comes to your tent door step, this is part of the charm of the place where you will share your adventure of the day around a camp fire. Dinner and overnight at a camp site

Day 6 – Safari 5 Ndutu Area You will have another entire days to explore Ndutu area, focusing on Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek. Again, as a group, you will be able to collectively decide if you want to come back to the camp for lunch or if you rather like to spend the entire day in situ and work from various locations. Dinner and overnight stay at a camp site.

Ngorongoro Crater

Day 8 – Safari 7 Ngorongoro Crater Today you embark on an unforgettable safari into the Crater. Ngorongoro is one of the most picturesque settings for observing wildlife. With around 30,000 resident animals, the game viewing is excellent all year round and the viewing opportunities are unrivalled! Encounters with animals are frequent in this Garden of Eden, and there is a wide variety to see. Lake Magadi, the soda lake on the floor of the Crater, is home to thousands of Flamingos.  This is also one of the best places to see the endangered Black Rhino. You will spend the entire day into the crater (with picnic lunch) before heading to Karatu for dinner and overnight stay at Happy Days Camping Grounds in Karatu.

Tarangire

Day 10 - Safari 9 Tarangire The entire day will be allocated to photographic sessions in the park at various locations to allow you to capture the beauties of the scenery and encounter as much wildlife as possible. You will have a picnic lunch on the banks of the Tarangire River. Dinner and overnight at the camp site.

Arusha | Tarangire

Day 12 Tarangire to Arusha Today, after breakfast, you will leave Tarangire National Park after an ultimate morning game drive and cross the open plains back to Arusha either on time to connect your flight back home or for an overnight stay at Karama Lodge in B&B (optional). If you stay for an overnight in Arusha, we can arrange for a short excursion on the slopes of Mount Meru or you can spend time discovering the art collection of the Cultural Heritage Center (optional but free). If you have a late flight, it will be possible to stay at Karama Lodge on a day room basis (fee optional).