Day 1: Arusha/Lake Manyara National Park (130km – 1½hours)
Leave Arusha and drive on tarmac road 130km to Lake Manyara National Park covering 330km². It is on the base of the Great Rift Valley. We embark in afternoon game drives.
The park is home to lions, hippos, elephants, zebras, buffalos, giraffes, baboons, blue and vervet monkeys, warthog and many more… About 350 species of birds have been recorded. This small park contains also five distinct vegetation zones. Thus supporting a large variety of birds and animals. The Lake Manyara National park is also famous for its large flocks of flamingos.
Dinner and overnight in a campsite/ lodge.
Day 2: Lake Manyara National Park – Full day
We take a walk at Kirurumu near Lake Manyara led by a local Maasai guide. We also have an option for a culture and town walking tour in Mto Wa Mbu nearby. The treks are organised either morning or late afternoon to avoid the scorching sun. Mid-day can be spent at leisure in the camp.
Dinner and overnight in a campsite/ lodge.
Day 3: Lake Manyara national park/ Ngorongoro Crater Rim
After breakfast, we explore the outer Ngorongoro crater.
Dine and overnight at a campsite/ lodge.
Day 4: Endoro River Nature Trail
This is a 5km round trip. Starting and finishing near Gibbs Farm, situated just to the north of the small town of Karatu. The walk takes you gently uphill into the Northern Highland Forest Reserve. You’ll see the elephant caves (created by elephants digging up and eating dirt to take advantage of the vitamins and minerals in the soil), and a 150m waterfall.
From the top of the trail, you’ll get beautiful views of the agricultural country around Karatu. The forest is home to elephants, buffalo, leopards, waterbuck, bushbuck and vervet monkeys, plus a variety of birds. This is montane forest, not tropical, and is a vital source of water for the wildlife, as well as the farming communities to the south. The trip should take about 2 hours to the elephant caves and back.
All walks must be accompanied by an armed ranger from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority. Although the risk of coming into contact with a dangerous, large animal is minimal, it is by order {or law} that you are accompanied by a ranger, just in case! In order to ensure the availability of a ranger, it is preferable to book walks in advance. A Maasai elder born and bred in the Ngorongoro can accompany you and your group on the walk and provide a cultural perspective of the area.
It may occasionally happen that adverse weather conditions (low clouds and rain) make it impossible to do the walk. We also recommend T-shirts, good walking shoes or boots, and a sunhat. A waterproof jacket – just in case of a shower of rain. During these walks, small numbers of animals will be seen but the main attraction of the walk is the natural beauty of the scenery, not the game viewing. Even a short walk of only an hour or two through this area can be very rewarding, and there are also many opportunities for longer hikes. Dine and overnight in camp.
Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater Floor/ Tarangire National Park. (170km – 3 hours)
Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. Ngorongoro has an area of 260 kilometres and a depth of 610 metres. The crater provides a protected habitat for thousands of mammals and birds. The entire day is spent on the crater floor viewing game – lion, hyena, wildebeest, zebra, black rhinoceros, and many species of small antelopes. The Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area is located between the Serengeti and Lake Manyara. The Crater is a spectacular setting in which to experience your African safari.
Some scientists maintain that before it erupted, Ngorongoro Crater- the largest intact caldera in the world would have been higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. Covering a mere 260 square kilometres (100 square miles), the 600 metres (1969 foot)-deep Crater is home to a permanent population of more than 30,000 animals.
It is one of the few places in Africa where you stand a very good chance of seeing the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant) in the course of a game- drive. The local Maasai have permission to graze their cattle on the Crater floor, and it is not unusual to see Maasai cattle and buffalo grazing together with a lion handful of meters away. There are around 1,000 lions in the Crater, approximately 20 black rhinos, and the spectacular Lerai Forest is one of the best places in Africa to spot a leopard.
Wake up early morning for breakfast then at 0730hours drive to Ngorongoro Crater where you will descend into the Crater floor (19.2km in diameter, 610m deep) for game drives. All the Big five Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and Elephant live in this wonderful caldera, others are Zebra, Hippo, Wildebeest, Hyena and more…Birds include flamingos on the Soda lake, Geese, Storks, Vultures and more…
Break for lunch at Ngoitoktok spring Picnic sites it will be an unforgettable experience. After lunch proceeds with game viewing while ascending the Crater to head for the Tarangire national park.
Day 6: Tarangire National Park/ Arusha. (140km – 2 hours)
Morning game drive followed by lunch at the campsite then proceeds to arrive in the evening in Arusha to mark the end of our exploration in Africa {Tanzania}.
The fierce sun sucks the moisture from the landscape, baking the earth a dusty red, the withered grass as brittle as straw. The Tarangire River has shrivelled to a shadow of its wet season self. But it is choked with wildlife. Thirsty nomads have wandered hundreds of parched kilometres knowing that here, always, there is water. Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams.
Meanwhile migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It’s the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem – a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.
Day 7: Bidding farewell.
Today we need to transfer you to JRO {Kilimanjaro airport} for your home-bound flight. Since most flights depart in the evening, you can spend your time relaxing at your hotel or have any of these day’s activities that are within reach including Arusha national park, snake park, museum, and agricultural farm trips among others.
Options are of course many and varied and in many cases, we can be flexible about the itinerary for accommodation facilities and the extension of the safari destinations.
