9 DAY SERENGETI SAFARI  – MEMORABLE CALVING SEASON

9-DAY SERENGETI SAFARI – MEMORABLE CALVING SEASON

Day 1: Arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport

Your Serengeti safari starts with pick-up at Kilimanjaro International Airport. After Immigration formalities, meet your driver/guide at an arrival lounge. After an introduction and a brief orientation, your guide will drive you for about an hour to your lodge in Arusha.  After breakfast the following day, your adventure begins. Overnight – Serena Mountain Lodge. (Bed & Breakfast basis)

Day 2: Arusha – Tarangire

After breakfast, you will leave Arusha with a packed lunch for Tarangire National Park, a 2 – 2.5 hour drive. You’ll have lunch in the park while observing the scenic natural environment and its amazing wildlife diversity. After lunch continues with a game drive for few more hours. Tarangire is a small park that covers 2600 kilometers (1600 Miles). Wildlife diversity is great all year round, though in the rainy season some wildlife species wander wildly up to the surrounding areas. In the evening, before dark, drive slowly to the lodge for dinner and overnight. Dinner & overnight – Tarangire Safari Lodge. (Full board basis.)

Day 3: Tarangire Park

Our advice is to have an early start with a packed breakfast to enjoy the wilderness and wildlife in the great morning light. Birding at Tarangire is phenomenal; the park has a record of over 500 bird species. The park has the largest elephant population density per square kilometre in the Northern part of the country compared to other parks. The great wildlife diversity of the park makes it one of the great places to visit year-round, though most reports say Tarangire is at its best in the rainy season. You’ll have lunch at the lodge and relax during the hot part of the day. We’ll leave again for the late afternoon drive for a couple of hours. Dinner & overnight – Tarangire Safari Lodge. (Full board basis.)

Day 4: Tarangire – Ngorongoro

After breakfast, depart with packed lunch to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. On the way to Ngorongoro, we will have a cultural tour with a short walk at the Mto Wa Mbu village, aiming to share a little experience of African life. Mto Wa Mbu is an agricultural village; agriculture contributes 70 – 75% of the livelihood of the people of Tanzania. After the walking tour, you’ll have lunch and then continue on to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Dinner & overnight – Karibu Tented Lodge. (Full board basis.)

Day 5: Ngorongoro (Crater Tour)

You’ll make an early departure with a packed breakfast from the lodge. The Ngorongoro Crater is an unflooded caldera with unbroken walls (intact walls). Wildlife diversity in the crater is spectacular, literally among the very few places in the world that still has black rhinoceros. In the rainy season, they tend to wander widely due to the greater availability of pasture. After breakfast in the caldera, enjoy a few hours of wildlife adventures before heading back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, have a pleasant stay at the lodge, or short walks within the lodge compound escorted by a park ranger and a safari guide. Dinner & overnight – Karibu Tented Lodge. (Full board basis.)

Day 6: Ngorongoro – Ndutu

After your leisurely breakfast, depart with packed lunch to Serengeti National Park. On the way, you can take an excursion to the Olduvai Gorge, the archaeological site where the remains of the Zinjanthropus Boisei, said to be the ancestors of man, were excavated. It is a fascinating historical site with amazing information displays of the evolution, and an interesting lecture of evolution from the Gorge officials. After lunch at the Gorge, drive across the open woodland, valleys, hills, and vast open plains where wildlife of variable species dwell. Dinner & overnight – Lake Masek Tented Lodge.

Day 7: Ndutu

Get an early start with a packed breakfast and enjoy a morning drive with the greatest light for photographs. Wildlife is good at energy conservation; they know to avoid activities when it is hot, and instead are more active at dusk and dawn. We’ll stop and have breakfast in the bush when you are ready. After breakfast, continue with the game drive searching for the great migration and any other interesting wildlife sightings. Great migration is on the move in search of favorable conditions of water and pasture. Wildebeest are selective feeders; they prefer the most nutritious pasture and when found in adequate supply, they stay for a while. After lunch at the lodge, we’ll leave again for a drive in the wilderness in the late afternoon when the sun cools. Dinner & overnight – Lake Masek Tented Lodge.

Day 8: Ndutu

Get an early start with a packed breakfast to enjoy the sunrise in the middle of the Serengeti ecosystem. Besides the great migration, there are smaller creatures like dung beetles that utilize waste of the ungulates for food and nesting for their eggs – once larvae develop inside the ball of dung, they feed within the dung for few days of their development to a different stage of growth. This combination of different creatures in an ecosystem makes the ecosystem healthier and maintains its natural existence. Both big and small animals in an ecosystem play a vital role in the balance of nature. After breakfast in the bush, continue with game drive a few hours before lunch. After lunch at the lodge, leave again for an evening drive in the wilderness when the sun cools down. Enjoy the beautiful sunset in the middle of the Serengeti with its wildlife and the spectacular natural beauty of the area. Dinner & overnight – Lake Masek Tented Lodge.

Day 9: Serengeti – Arusha

After your leisurely breakfast, drive to the Ndutu Airstrip for the flight back to Arusha. It is a little more than a 1-hour flight. You’ll have lunch and day rooms at Arusha Serena Mountain lodge, followed by a late evening transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight back home.