9 Days Northern Parks Safari – Luxury

After arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be welcomed by our tour guide, will be holding a poster with your name who will transfer you to Arusha (45-60 minutes). You will drive to a private spot to enjoy your well-prepared private dinner before you go for an overnight at Gran Melia Hotel-HB   The Arusha Town is known as the safari capital of the world but it is often overlooked in favor of its more glamorous, better known neighbors – Serengeti, Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. But Arusha has a wealth of experiences to offer from safaris in Arusha National Park, to breathtaking hiking on Mount Meru, Cultural tours, Tanzanite and more.

Our two-hour (130km) journey takes us westwards from Arusha. Along the route, your eyes will be opened to all the colours and character of Tanzania: perhaps some Maasai herdsmen driving their flocks of goats to new pastures. You’ll get to know your driver-guide, amazed at his depth of knowledge as he effortlessly answers all your questions. Day’s Highlight Your game drive in wonderful Lake Manyara, with the Rift Valley escarpment and the lake itself as the wonderful, natural backdrops. Safari (Game Drive) in Lake Manyara National Park After our lunch, we jump in our vehicle to cover the highlights of this park. Set against the rugged Rift Valley escarpment, and characterized by its shimmering lake, Manyara is rich in vegetation and the wildlife that thrives here. Enjoy the tranquility as majestic pink flamingos wade elegantly, picking out a meal of algae from the shallow, alkaline waters. On land, Manyara’s terrain is compact, yet boasts differing environments such as diverse forests fed by waters seeping from the nearby escarpment. Monkeys are abundant, but look out too for the lions, giraffe, warthog and grumpy Cape buffalo who all call this park ‘home’. Hold your nose when we reach the hippo pool, because these big lumps smell! Dinner and overnight at Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge-FB

Journey: Lake Manyara National Park to Serengeti National Park With Serengeti as our destination, we leave Lake Manyara behind and set out to the northwest on our 5- hour (222km) journey. On the way, you can quiz your driver-guide about all aspects of Tanzanian culture, traditions, tribes and of course wildlife. Treat him as an ‘encyclopedia on legs’ – he will rarely disappoint with his answers! In no time, you too will feel like an expert, even before you reach the awesome Serengeti plains. On arrival, we take lunch before embarking on our afternoon game-drive. Day’s Highlight Serengeti is a National Park which will offer you a whole variety of wildlife surprises over the two days, but perhaps today’s highlight – certainly for first-time visitors – will simply be the Serengeti terrain itself. The sheer vastness, as the plains roll away in front of you into eternity, will leave you with a sense of awe. Safari in Serengeti National Park At last! Serengeti, the incomparable wonder of Tanzania, will be the stage for the natural animal theatrics which will undoubtedly be performed during your visit. Your afternoon game drive here combines the known with the unknown, the certainty that you will be amazed with the uncertainty of exactly what you will see and when. Changing light, a changing cast of animal actors, ensuring that at every turn there is a new experience. Snap off some memorable photos, but don’t forget to simply take a deep breath and enjoy nature in its real-time, raw beauty. Dinner and overnight at Four Seasons Serengeti Safari Lodge-FB

After breakfast, our journey from Central Serengeti to Northern Serengeti will take around 5 ½ hours (155km), with plenty of changing landscapes and wildlife highlights to see along the route. Day’s Highlight The changing landscapes of Northern Serengeti and the wildlife surprises it will almost certainly provide. There are no guarantees, but a rhino sighting cannot be ruled out! Afternoon Game-Drive in Northern Serengeti National Park The Northern Serengeti is a land of open woodland, extending from the Seronera in the south to the Mara river in the north, marking the frontier with neighboring Kenya. During your time here, you can get to grips with a whole new set of exotic names: Bolongonja, Kogatende, Lamai and of course, the legendary Mara river. We are now following in the footsteps of the Great Migration, great herds of thousands of zebra and wildebeest getting ready to cross the Mara into Kenya, and back again. On a daily basis, crossings cannot be guaranteed, but our driver-guides know the most likely places to witness them, one of Nature’s most awe-inspiring sights. Patience is required! And if you’re not lucky enough to witness a crossing, there’s always tomorrow; and in Northern Serengeti, plenty more to see today. Dinner and overnight at Mara Mara River Lodge-FB

Morning Safari (Game Drive) in Northern Serengeti As you awake for a second day in Northern Serengeti, you can contemplate that parts of this northern area can easily match the Southern Serengeti for the abundance of wildlife viewing, especially between July and October. After your breakfast, you will embark with your driver-guide on a full-day game drive, looking out for elephant and buffalo, eland and gazelle. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to spot something really special: perhaps a cheetah, or even a rare black rhino, of which a small population are resident here. Afternoon Safari (Game Drive) in Northern Serengeti Depending on what your driver-guide found for you yesterday and this morning, this afternoon we’ll set out to see something new. If a Mara River crossing has escaped you, perhaps the conditions this afternoon will suggest that a crossing could take place. Our driver-guides have intimate knowledge of where and when they might occur. As well as the migrating herds, the Northern Serengeti is an area where you might easily see giraffe, elephant and dik-dik: with many resident species, there’s never a dull moment. Dinner and overnight at Mara Mara River Lodge-FB

Journey: Northern to Central Serengeti After breakfast, and a morning game-drive in the north, we set off back to our next destination, the Central Serengeti, a journey of around 155km with an expected time of around 5 ½ hour. There will be plenty to see on the way. On arrival, we take lunch and have an afternoon game drive. Day’s Highlight As we reach the Central Serengeti, you will soon realize why this is often known as the ‘wildlife hub’ of the Serengeti. There are animals everywhere, graceful, quirky, dangerous. Safe inside your vehicle, you will see them all here. Your driver-guide will find you a highlight. Morning Safari in Northern Serengeti/ Afternoon Safari (Game-drive) in Central Serengeti Before leaving the Northern Serengeti, we take the opportunity this morning to enjoy another game drive in this incredible location. This allows us further time to wonder at the migratory herds and the dangers and challenges they face each year in their battle for survival. As well as the herd animals, you can look to the skies, perhaps finding a majestic martial eagle or one of the other birds that populate this area. As well as the thousands of migrating animals, this area also has a good population of resident wildlife, so you will never be disappointed. In the afternoon, we take the short drive to the central part of Serengeti, where after lunch a game-drive will help us explore further this busy area. Finally, you will go to your chosen accommodation for relaxation and your evening meal. Dinner and overnight at Four Seasons Serengeti Safari Lodge-FB

Journey: Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Conservation Area After a morning game drive and lunch, this afternoon we will head south-east towards Ngorongoro, a distance of 145km which will take us around 3 ½ hours. Day’s Highlight Today, we will get our first sight of the spectacular, incomparable Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and the heart of the Conservation Area of the same name. But before that, we have another morning game drive in amazing Serengeti, marveling at its animal inhabitants. Another day of adventure, another day to enjoy the wildlife. Safari in Central Serengeti National Park After our morning game drive, perhaps trying to find any animal that has – until now – been elusive enough to evade your eagle-eyed driver-guide, we head south-east towards Ngorongoro. If it has not already struck you with its vastness, Serengeti’s ‘endless plains’ will certainly now make a deep impression on you as we take the long, straight road which passes Simba Kopjes (famous from ‘The Lion King’) to reach Naabi Hill Gate, close to the divide between Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Here you can gather information at the gate’s visitor center, clamber up the hill for superb views back over the plains, or look out for a colorful agama lizard among the rocks. Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge-FB

After our morning game drive in Ngorongoro incredible crater, we will enjoy our lunch before we set out southwards for Tarangire National Park, a journey time of 4-hour (199km). Day’s Highlight Like nothing else on Earth, the stunning crater of Ngorongoro is a unique home for many, many species of Tanzania’s wildlife. With some luck, you may even see a black rhino here. Safari in Ngorongoro Crater From our accommodation, we set off after breakfast, a 6am departure to reach the rim and then descend into the vast crater itself. At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled. By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them. The crater has a population of around 120 lions, with well-defined territories; 15,000 wildebeest, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and around 50 black rhino. Many wildebeest and other herd animals are resident, benefiting from the many sources of year-round waters and are boosted by some migrators in season. Buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle and eland are also present in numbers. Hippos can be found in pools and swampland and highland birdlife is colorful and plentiful around the waters. Flamingos can often be seen in Lake Magadi, which occupies part of the crater floor. Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Treetops Lodge-FB

After our morning game drive in Tarangire National Park and then lunch, we will have a 3-hour journey, covering the 175km back to Kilimanjaro International Airport. Day’s Highlight The diverse landscapes of Tarangire, spread across nearly 3,000 km2, and the density and variety of wildlife they contain. And it is the wildlife – not us – which will decide what your highlight will be! Safari in Tarangire National Park Tarangire is huge. As you stand at the park gate and look south, it stretches as far as the eye can see. Known as the ‘Elephant Playground,’ this phenomenal park contains huge herds of these mighty mammals. But Tarangire is also home to buffalo, lion, wildebeest, zebra and gazelle and the park can rival Serengeti for sheer animal densities. What might you see today? Perhaps a solitary male lion stretched out beneath a tree, perhaps a trio of male cheetah enjoying some lazy bonding-time in the sun. Maybe some graceful Grant’s gazelle or zebra bounding away from the road or a couple of giraffe munching happily from the choicest acacia branches. For Tarangire specialities, look out for kudu and oryx. Here as in other parks, it pays not to ignore the small animals. It’s so easy to be mesmerized by the power and majesty of an elephant or the elegance of the giraffe. Ask your guide to find you an agama lizard, especially a male one who changes colour in front of you according to the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as pimpi, an insignificant-looking creature of around 30cm in length…who astonishingly is related to elephant! Not many trees will pass you by without something of avian interest catching your eye. A memorable flash of colour might be a lilac-breasted roller or blue-eared starling. Ostrich are plentiful and it’s hard not to chuckle at the sighting of the well-named, studious-looking secretary bird as it awkwardly pads across the grasslands. The park is also famous for its splendid baobab trees, rolling savannah and acacia woodland. It can be dusty – wear a scarf over your mouth – but this is a minor inconvenience for sighting wildlife in such abundance.