| |
| DAY 1
- ARUSHA, TANZANIA
|
|
|
Arrive into Kilimanjaro International Airport today off your International flight, or by ground shuttle or a connecting flight out of Nairobi, Kenya. After clearing customs you will be met and transferred to the Arumeru River Lodge. This magnificent lodge is spread over 12 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and natural foilage, bordering on a river lined with large old trees. There are 20 spacious comfortable rooms along with 10 chalets – each is designed and decorated in harmony with the main building where the accent is on traditional eco-friendly African architecture. The main building houses the lounge and bar, a boutique and restaurant – with spectacular views of the Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro. It also overlooks the tropical gardens and a large solar-heated swimming pool.
Relax for the rest of the day. In the evening your group will have a safari briefing. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Overnight
- Arumeru River Lodge – (B&B basis) |
| DAY 2
- ARUSHA / TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
|
|
|
This morning after breakfast you’ll depart by road to Tarangire National Park, Tanzania’s third largest. Here you’ll find a diverse geologic landscape, with nine distinct vegetation zones. Ancient Baobab trees dot the landscape dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. The Tarangire River, that meanders through the park attracts an abundance of wildlife, from elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and numerous antelope to a variety of colorful birds. During the dry season thousands of elephants gather in the area.
Your accommodations for will be at the Tarangire Sopa Lodge. Located inside the park, the lodge is perched in a strategic location overlooking the Tarangire River. Each of the
75 suites has a private lounge with a mini bar, two queen size beds, an en-suite bathroom with shaver sockets and a hair dryer. The private verandah offers stunning views over the baobab studded lands. The unique swimming pool which is located at the edge of a rocky gorge has its own bar and snack kitchen.
After lunch you will enjoy an afternoon game drive followed by drinks before dinner.
Overnight
- Tarangire Sopa Lodge (all meals & activities) |
| DAY 3
- TARANGIRE / LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
|
|
|
This morning, after an early breakfast, you’ll leave Tarangire and drive across the Great Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park. Although only 205 sq. miles in size this enchanting park is noted for its beauty and incredibly lush acacia forest of giant fig and mahogany trees, which are home to troops of baboons and blue monkeys. The park is also home to large numbers of buffalo, giraffe, elephant, hippo, impala and the Hippo Pool, where large numbers usually gather. Well known for its birds (over 400 species), Lake Manyara is one of the few places you will see the comical Ground Hornbill and the Crested Eagle.
After spending several hours in the park, you’ll continue to the Ngorongoro Highlands, driving through small villages and passing small and the town of Karatu on your way to The Plantation Lodge. Each room has its own veranda and bathroom and is designed with African antiques, arts and crafts. The Plantation Lodge also offers exquisite meals with menu choices ranging from European specialties to exotic dishes prepared in the Suaheli-kitchen. Only the freshest ingredients are used which are harvested from the lodges vegetable garden.
Relax by the pool this afternoon or visit the nearby town of Karatu.
Overnight
- Plantation Lodge (all meals & activities) |
| DAY 4
- SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
|
|
|
Today you’re off to the famous Serengeti National Park, home of the “great migration”. Your drive today is spectacular as you drive up into the Ngorongoro Highlands and stop for a look into the Ngorongoro Crater, some 2,000 feet below you. You then continue to the other side of the crater cresting a hillside where spread out before you as far, as the eye can see, is the vast Serengeti. Serengeti means “endless plains” in Kiswahili and this 6,900 sq. mile (18,000 sq. km) park is inhabited by more than 2 million large animals including more than a million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of plains zebras, and Thomson’s gazelles. Large predators including lions, cheetahs, and hyenas are drawn to the area by this abundance of prey which migrate throughout the park. Many smaller animals – rock hyrax, bat eared foxes, mongoose, honey badger, jackals, monkeys, baboon and African hare inhabit the area along with nearly 500 species of birds.
On the way into the Serengeti you will stop at the famous “Oldupai Gorge”, where Dr. Louis and Mary Leakey made their discovery of early man. After attending a short lecture describing the archeological digs and geology of the gorge, you’ll have time to visit the small museum before continuing to your camp where you’ll spend the next three nights under canvas.
Your stay in the Serengeti will be at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge. The lodge is located in the Nyarboro Hills in the south west of the Serengeti National Park and is the only tourism development in this section of the park. Year round water and the acacia woodland in this area create an ideal environment for the wide variety of wildlife seen in the immediate vicinity of the lodge. Looking out over the seemingly endless Serengeti plains the lodge has 79 suites - each with a private veranda.. As the sun sets, you may enjoy sundowner cocktails by the pool, and in the evening, after a 4-course dinner, traditional dancers entertain guests. Slide presentations are also held daily by resident naturalists.
NOTE: The Serengeti Serena Lodge may also be used in the Serengeti
Overnight
- Serengeti Sopa Lodge (all meals & activities) |
| DAYS 5/6
- SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
|
|
|
You have two more days in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives, or all day game drives with a picnic lunch. An optional sunrise balloon ride with a champagne breakfast can also be arranged.
Overnight
- Serengeti Sopa Lodge (all meals & activities) |
| DAY 7
- SERENGETI / NGORONGORO CRATER
|
|
|
This morning after breakfast, you’ll leave the Serengeti spotting wildlife on the way to the “eighth natural wonder of the world” - the Ngorongoro Crater. The floor of this collapsed volcano spreads for 102 sq. miles and is a virtual “Noah’s Ark”, inhabited by almost every species of wildlife indigenous to East Africa including the rare black rhino. It contains a river, several swamps, a soda lake – complete with flamingoes, a forest and open plains. The large bull elephants that reside here have extremely large tusk, due to the rich mineral content of the volcanic soil and it’s grasses.
Descend down the steep road into the crater floor for an afternoon of wildlife viewing, stopping for a picnic lunch. Then you’ll drive back up to the crater rim and check into the award winning Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. Perched high on the crater rim, nestled into natural vegetation, this unique lodge with it’s dramatic architecture, will give you a taste of staying in a large safari lodge after your days “in the bush”. Enjoy a drink in the lounge before dinner in the exotic dining room.
NOTE: The Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge may also be used here.
Overnight
- Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (all meals & activities) |
| DAY 8
- NGORONGORO CRATER - NGORONGORO HIGHLANDS
|
|
|
Arise early today for an all day game drive in the crater, stopping for a picnic lunch. In the early afternoon you will leave the crater, driving through the lush Ngorongoro Highlands on your way to the beautiful Gibb’s Farm. Formerly a working coffee plantation, the farm is set high on the hillside with a breathtaking view of the surrounding hills. The cottages, set amongst the lush gardens, attract a wide variety of birds. Gibb’s is known for it’s fabulous food with most of it coming from their ten acre organic garden. Relax for the remainder of the day or take a walk to the nearby elephant caves.
Overnight
- Gibb’s Farm (all meals & activities) |
| DAY 9
- NGORONGORO HIGHLANDS / ARUSHA
|
|
|
This morning after a farmhouse breakfast you’ll depart by road to Arusha with a stop for shopping at the local market or the African Cultural Shop for shopping. Afterwards you will return Arumeru River Lodge with the rest of the day to relax.
Overnight
- Arumeru River Lodge or Moivaro Coffee Lodge (all meals & activities) |
| DAY 10
- ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK
|
|
|
Today you will depart for Arusha National. Set between the slopes of Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro this small park is one of Tanzania’s hidden gems and one of the few places where you will have a good chance to see the rare Black & White Colobus monkeys. The parks contains a series of shimmering alkaline lakes, which attract large flocks of flamingo’s and a variety of birds, along with elephant, buffalo, zebra, gazelle, wart hog, hippo and an amazing number of giraffe. The rare black rhino is also found here. One of the highlights of today’s game drive is a short walk to a viewing area overlooking the miniature Ngurdoto Crater, which is completely reserved for the animals.From high above the tiny dots that appear on the crater floor are actually huge Buffalo, that feed in the marsh grasses.
After a day of wildlife viewing, with a picnic lunch, return to the lodge before dinner.
Overnight
- Arumeru River Lodge or Moivaro Coffe Lodge (all meals & activities) |
| DAY 11
- ARUSHA / END OF SAFARI
|
|
|
Today you will be transferred to Arusha in time to board your ground shuttle back to Nairobi, or you will have use of a day room at the beautiful KIA Lodge, before being transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your departing flight.
Overnight
- Dayroom – KIA Lodge (B) |
|
11
Days
from
US $ 3,730
