Day 1 – 9 | Wilderness Explorer
Arusha National Park – Walking & Game drive
Tarangire National Park – Game drive
Lake Manyara National Park – Game drive
Serengeti National Park – Game drive
Ngorongoro Crater – Game drive
Lake Eyasi – Tribes & Cultural visit
Day 1: Arusha – Arusha National Park
Pick up from your hotel in Arusha around 8am and drive about 45 minutes to Arusha National park. The entrance gate leads you into shadowy montane forest inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and colourful turacos and trogons – the only place on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey is easily seen. In the midst of the forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep rocky cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog. You will have a chance to take a walk at the foothill of Meru Mountain accompanied with an armed ranger guide followed by game drive to the rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil beauty of the Momela Lakes, each one having a different hue of green or blue. There are shallows sometimes tinged pink with thousands of flamingos. The lakes support a rich selection of resident and migrant waterfowl, and also shaggy waterbucks that display their large lyre-shaped horns on the watery fringes. Giraffes glide across the grassy hills, between grazing zebra herds, whilst pairs of wide-eyed dik-dik dart into scrubby bush like overgrown hares on spindly legs. Later drive to Arusha for overnight.
Accommodation at Tulia Boutique Hotel
Day 2: Arusha – Tarangire National Park
After breakfast depart for Tarangire National Park with picnic lunch boxes for game drive. Tarangire is the fifth largest National park in Tanzania well known for its beautiful landscape and larger elephant population found nowhere on earth. Tarangire River and the majestic baobab trees dwarfing some animal species which comes underneath are among the highlights of this park. Tarangire – Lake Manyara ecosystem forms a cycle of annual migration of over 3000 elephant, wildebeest and zebras. Apart from elephant population you may expect to spot giraffe, buffalo, zebra, hippos, warthog & the three rare species of Lesser & Greater Kudu, Oryx and the Ash staling. Later drive to the lodge for overnight.
Accommodation at Tarangire Simba Lodge
Day 3: Tarangire - Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast at the lodge, you will be picked up and drive to Lake Manyara main gate. After completing all the payment formalities check in and begin your game drive to this wonderful park well known for its tree climbing lions and over 400 of bird species, primate-filled forests and grassy plains. A large area of the park is covered by the alkaline Lake Manyara, the seasonal breeding grounds for large colonies of flamingos and many more waterfowls. The park is also home to giraffes, hippos, wildebeests, impalas and groups of noisy monkeys and baboons. After an extensive game drive leave the park in late afternoon drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation at Karatu Simba Lodge
Day 4: Lake Manyara – Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, you will travel via the cooler highlands towards the southern Serengeti and at midday you will reach the plains of the Serengeti to Naabi hills gate for check in, (you can have your packed lunch here while checking in), and you are now in Serengeti. After lunch, game drive on your way to the central Serengeti possibly your driver guide will have already known where the big herds of wildebeest migration are located. Sunset game drives on your way to the lodge. This park is the largest in Tanzania and has a diversity of habitats and landscapes – short grass plains, savannah, thick bush, swamps and lakes. Bizarre rock formations called kopjes dot the grassy landscape where predators are often seen. The Serengeti is famous for the yearly migration when hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras trek to find fresh grass and water.
Accommodation at Kubu Kubu Lodge
Day 5: Full Day Serengeti
Leave the lodge in early morning with breakfast box for an early morning game drive in the Serengeti to where the big herds are located. The entire day is spent dedicated to game viewing in the Serengeti National Park; you might spot lots of nocturnal animal coming back after a long night of hunting or a group of lionesses planning a hunt or a hard of buffalo lazily grazing before getting hot. Break for breakfast in the bush and proceed with game drives until afternoon. Take your lunch break at Seronera visitor’s center and afterward a little rest before embarking on your afternoon game drive. Later evening drive back to your lodge before or after sunset.
Accommodation at Kubu Kubu Lodge
Day 6: Serengeti – Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Wake up early morning before breakfast; go for sunrise game drive in Serengeti National park. Later return to the camp around 9am for late breakfast, on your outward journey to the park gate, you will enjoy some more game viewing on the way before you leave the Serengeti Park. While check out at the same time embark on the plains bordering the Ngorongoro Conservation area and head to your lodge located on the edge of the crater for breathtaking views over the caldera.
Accommodation at Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater – Lake Eyasi
After early breakfast, leave the lodge and descend into the crater floor for about 6 hours of game drive. This massive collapsed volcano is home to over 25,000 mammals ranging from the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard. The area also supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, eland, warthog and giant hippos to some of the more than 500 bird species can be spotted in this area. Another big draw card to this picturesque place is its dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot them. After lunch you will leave the crater and drive to Lake Eyasi for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge
Day 8: Lake Eyasi Full Day
On this day you will go for early morning hunting with Hadzabe’ bushmen’ including tuition on survival skills; this is an indigenous tribe divided in three clans of Datoga, Tindiga & the Hadzabe living in hunting and gathering of fruits, tubes & eggs pretty much the same as people who lived in the Stone Age. Return to your lodge for lunch and a bit relaxation, later again will visit the Datoga tribe ‘The black smith’ they will take you around their homes and you will interact with them while asking as many questions as you can, and then you will visit the black smith. Later afternoon you will walk to the Lake shore for wonderfully sunset before driving back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge
Day 9: Lake Eyasi – Arusha
After leisurely breakfast, collect your picnic lunches and drive to Arusha with a stop at Maasai village (option). Arrive in early afternoon; drop off at your hotel in Arusha city.