Great Northern Tanzania Expedition

GREAT NORTHERN TANZANIA EXPEDITION
SUMMARY ITINERARY

DETAILED ITINERARY

DAY 1

ARRIVAL /ARUSHA

Jambo! Upon arrival at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met and transferred to Kibo Palace Hotel for overnight.

Overnight: Kibo Palace Hotel    

Meal Plan: Bed and Breakfast

DAY 2

NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA

Following breakfast, depart for the famous Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area (NCCA), which features rolling plains, lakes, craters, mountains and dormant volcanoes. Journey up the side of the vast Ngorongoro Crater, a World Heritage Site, which is one of the largest volcanic craters in the world (almost 20 kilometers wide, 610-760 metres deep and covering a total area of 264 sq km). Arrive for lunch at Ngorongoro Farm House. Later in the afternoon descend into the ‘8th Wonder of the World’, a unique biosphere that has remained virtually unchanged since the dawn of time. Enclosed within its towering walls are grasslands, swamps, forests, saltpans, a fresh water lake and a glorious variety of birdlife. Here too are all the members of the ‘Big Five’ (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo) as well as a large cast of plains game and one of Africa’s densest populations of predators. You will be transferred to Ngorongoro Farm House for overnight.

Overnight: Ngorongoro Farm House

Meal Plan: Full Board

DAY 3 & 4

SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast, depart to the famous Serengeti national park. En route visit the Olduvai Gorge. Arrive in Serengeti and embark on an afternoon game viewing drive in the park. Return later as the sun sets for dinner and overnight. On the second day, you will have a full day of game viewing drives in the park with all meals and overnight at the park.

The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates greatest park during a Serengeti safari. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat. But there is more to a safari in the Serengeti Plain than large mammals. Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies. A full 100 varieties of dung beetle have been recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland, to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills.

Overnight: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp      

Meal Plan: Full Board

DAY 5

LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast, depart to the beautiful Lake Manyara, a shallow alkaline lake that shimmers in a cleft in the Great Rift Valley. You will arrive for lunch at your lodge followed by afternoon game drive.

Tucked below the majesty of the Rift Valley wall, Lake Manyara National Park consists of a thin green band of forest, flanked by the sheer 600 m high red and brown cliffs of the escarpment on one side and by the white-hot shores of an ancient soda lake on the other. Acacia woodland shelters the park’s famous tree climbing lions, lying languidly among the branches in the heat of the day. Lake Manyara

safaris offers many unique views including elephant, giraffe, buffalo and wildebeest can be found grazing in unexpected clearings or heading towards the water to drink or wash, and the rivers and riverbeds provide scenic vistas for possible animal spotting.

Warthog seem to thrive here, growing notably fat and tuskered, and it is a natural playground for baboons and monkeys. Later on in the afternoon, you will be transferred to which stands on the edge of the escarpment, overlooking the lake.

Overnight: Kirurumu Tented Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

DAY 6

TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast, depart to Tarangire National Park which Tanzania’s best-kept secret on the northern safari circuit. Named after a nearby river called Tarangire, it has the same attractions as the parks up-north- the only difference is that this place is not usually as crowded as the other ones.

Arrive in time for lunch at Maramboi tented camp a permanent safari camp and situated on the eastern shore of Lake Manyara within the migratory corridor of the Manyara and Tarangire National Parks. Following lunch, depart for an afternoon game viewing drive in the park returning later as the sun sets. This is a year-round park with distinct seasons offering different experiences, from dusty, dry and baking with animals clustered around the rapidly reducing river, to the fecund green season full of new-born animals and chattering birds.

A lot of migratory animals aim to reside here during the dry season. You can see groups and herds of animals like 600 elephants followed by zebras, buffalos and oryxes who ventured from the Maasai to the Tarangire in search for water. There are also a few lions prowling around and looking for unsuspecting preys around the jungle. Some of the other animals that you may see here are antelopes, warthogs, hippos, cheetahs, leopards, foxes, jackals and waterbucks.

Overnight: Maramboi Tented Camp

Meal Plan: Full Board

DAY 7

DEPARTURE

After breakfast this morning, drive back to Arusha for last minute shopping. You will later be transferred to the Kilimanjaro airport for your flight back home.

Say good bye to the wonderful country and promise to join us on another expedition!