Karibu, Tanzania!

Karibu Mgeni (that’s Swahili for “Welcome!”); your safari begins! Here you will be met by your guide and transferred to the Mt. Meru Game Lodge for your overnight. The lodge was established in 1959 by Dr. Andreas Von Nagy with the goal of providing superior accommodation to discerning animal lovers visiting Tanzania. All rooms have verandas with comfortable chairs where guests may sit in the early morning, enjoying the peaceful surroundings, soaking up the unique atmosphere of the Lodge and watching the animal and bird-life. Mt. Meru Lodge is a wonderful place to start your Tanzanian safari adventure.

Your first African day dawns and your true adventure begins! After breakfast, depart for Tarangire National Park in your four-wheel-drive vehicle. Tarangire retains a real air of undiscovered Africa. Perhaps it is the vast number of baobab trees that first catch your eye as you enter the park. There are a fantastic number of colorful birds that swoop and strut along the rough paths throughout the year. Because the park extends through two game-controlled areas, wildlife moves freely throughout.

On arrival, look for wildlife as you drive toward the lodge, beautifully situated on a bluff overlooking the Tarangire River, arriving in time for lunch. With your cameras loaded and your binoculars at the ready this afternoon, you will head out for your afternoon game drive. The drivers know the best spottings from the morning, and this will determine which direction you will head. This is not an amusement park, so you never know where the animals may be or what they will be doing. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

You will have a full day of game-viewing and exploring Tarangire National Park in a 4WD safari vehicle. The park is spectacular in the dry season (July to October) when many of the migratory species come back to the permanent waters of Tarangire River. Huge herds of wildebeest, zebras, elephants, eland, and oryx gather to stay in Tarangire until the onset of the rains when they migrate again to good grazing areas. The calving season falls in the early months of the year, through January, February, and March, taking advantage of the abundant fresh grass during the rainy season, so you are quite likely to see this year’s youngsters in the herds.

The park is also noted for its prolific birdlife, the occasional sighting of cheetah, and the rare African Wild Dog. Return to the Lodge for brunch, relaxing at the camp during the hottest hours of the day, before setting out again in the afternoon. Or you may choose to relax at the lodge and enjoy its facilities.

Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Safari Lodge or similar.

This morning, you will head west to Lake Eyasi. This beautiful lake lies between the Eyasi Escarpment and the Kidero Mountains. The meadows along the shores of the lake and among the forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife including leopards, hippos, a variety of monkeys, various birds, greater and lesser flamingos, storks, and pelicans. This area is also home to the Hadzabe people who are believed to have lived here for nearly 10,000 years.

Dinner and overnight at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge (or similar).

Get ready for an exciting day! After breakfast, you will be introduced to your local guide, a member of one of the tribes, who will accompany you in the area. Take a to meet the Hadzabe tribe. The Hadzabe are of Cushitic background and are very similar to their Kalahari Bushmen relatives. They still use bow and arrow for hunting and still speak a click-based language. Due to their nomadic lifestyle, it is difficult to predict where you will find them, but your guide will know where to look.

The Hadzabe tend to shadow the movements of the wildlife, as they are hunters and rely upon the migrating herds for food. Spend the day learning about their lifestyles and traditions and possibly visiting the caves where they sleep when they aren’t hunting.

While traveling through this area, you may also see smaller game such as dik-dik and lesser kudu. Dinner and overnight again at the lodge.

Travel further to the west toward the Serengeti. On the way, you will stop at Olduvai Gorge to visit the site where Mary and Louis Leakey first discovered the remains of Zinjanthropus bosei, a distant ancestor of man believed to be 1.8 million years old. They also found Australopithecus, a species that became extinct about a million years ago, as well as fossilized footprints that date back 3.6 million years. Here you will be given a talk as you overlook the gorge and can spend some time in the museum.

From here, the predator-rich plains of the Serengeti reveal themselves as you go on a game drive through the park toward the central plains, arriving at your bush camp just before dusk. The Serengeti is a vast plain of approximately 5,750 square miles and is full of different features, predators, prey, and several species of birds. Your guide will choose your route based on his extensive knowledge of the park and local conditions. Your trip might include a drive along the banks of the Grumeti River in search of basking lions, tracking cheetahs through the Gol Kopjes, or hunting leopard (with a camera, of course) along the Seronera River.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Kati Kati Camp.

Enjoy two full days of game viewing in the most famous National Park in Africa. Explore the southern plains and western hills, where at this time of the year around two million wildebeest, zebra, and a vast assortment of other plains animals congregate to feast on the nutrient-rich grasses growing with the developing rains. You will probably agree that this is the most impressive and dramatic wildlife spectacle on earth. There is an optional balloon safari available, but it must be booked in advance.

Lunches will be picnics during your game drives. You’ll overnight two nights at Serengeti Kati Kati Camp.

You will be game-viewing as you leave the Serengeti. Today you will have the opportunity to visit a Masai Village and learn about their unique culture. Later, proceed to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a World Heritage Site and home to nearly 25,000 animals. Here you have a very good chance of spotting the big five: lion, elephant, endangered black rhino, buffalo, and leopard, plus countless other African mammal species. Tomorrow you will have a full day in the crater. Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Farm House.

After breakfast, descend into the crater for a full day of game viewing. Here you have the opportunity of spotting the Big 5. This caldera, formed by a collapsed volcano, hosts a unique cross-section of ecosystems, from Soda Lake to the savannah, and is home to almost every major species of African mammal. Your presence does not alarm the wildlife, allowing for close proximity game viewing. Enjoy picnic lunch in the crater and return to the lodge in the afternoon.

Today your adventure comes to an end. Depart in the morning after breakfast for Arusha. You may have time to visit a local craft market and shower before being transferred to the Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight home. Or extend your stay with a visit to beautiful Zanzibar Island.