After breakfast, you will start the day with a beautiful nature walk with an armed ranger; enjoying the impressive flora and fauna of this area, with waterfalls and huge fig trees. The walk takes about 2-4 hours. Walking safaris can be as short or as long as desired. You will return to camp for a hot lunch and then take off on an evening game drive, spotting wildlife while enjoying the spectacular views of Mount Meru and the Kilimanjaro, waterfalls, lakes, swamps and steep cliffs. Alternatively, in consultation with your guide, you can choose to do an optional excursion (at additional costs): a walk to Meru’s Summit. Momella Lake is one of the best places in Tanzania to see waterbirds: flamingo, pelican, little grebe, a variety of heron, duck and wader are common. Augur buzzard, Verreaux’s eagle and other cliff-associated raptors can often be seen flying above Ngurdoto Crater. At the end of the day, you will return to camp for dinner and your overnight stay.

After breakfast, you begin your drive to Mto Wa Mbu, where you will spend an hour or two wandering around this busy town. You’ll learn more about the life of the Masaai and the 100 or so other cultural groups living in this area (some in traditional huts). We visit plantations, local craftsmen, taste banana beer in an authentic bar and amble past the many market stalls with local produce. Lunch is served by a cheerful Tanzanian “mamma” who will delight you with tasty local dishes. Then it’s on safari in Lake Manyara National Park where we will set up camp in a beautiful restful site in the heart of the park at Endabash Public Campsite. Distance: 150 km Time/road condition: about 3,5 hours on mostly paved roads.

Lake Manyara is perfect for viewing Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded. Even a first-time visitor to Africa can reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day. A big array of water-associated birds including pink-backed pelicans, herons and storks, sacred and glossy ibis, and black egret are easily seen around the hippo pool. When the water level is right, the lake is also home to thousands of pink-hued flamingo. More than 50 birds-of-prey have been recorded including the crowned eagle and African hawk-eagle. Before breakfast, we plan a game drive in the calm early morning park and with a little bit of luck, you will experience a beautiful sunrise over the lake with an abundance of flamingoes and hopefully spot lions close-bye. After midday heat, we take another game drive on a different route. Most animals are making their way down to the river for a much-needed drink … and at this time of day, the famous Manyara lions could be spotted in the trees!

After an early breakfast, we take our lunchboxes and leave for Serengeti National Park via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a spectacular area with panoramic views over the crater hundreds of meters below. Today is also an adventurous safari day as a large part of this route is straight across the centre of the Serengeti National Park, the area of the Seronera River. The Serengeti has more than 500 bird species recorded. The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of Africa’s Endemic Bird Areas (land important for habitat-based bird conservation), hosting five bird species found nowhere else. Distance: 210 km Time/road condition: 6 hours, partly paved, mostly sandy and bumpy. Dinner and overnight: Seronera Public Campsite.

After breakfast, you will take off on a full day game drive in the Serengeti! The drive will take you along the shores of the Seronera River and Mara River, finding unforgettable moments and a glimpse of wild animals including wildebeest crossing the river, a hunting cheetah, lion or any other predator as well as the magnificent view of the silhouette of a giraffe on the horizon. You will have a chance to see crocodile waiting for an animal to come to the shore for a drink or to cross the river and ambush them. You will enjoy areas that are not known to the greater public and are therefore perfect for an experience off the beaten path. In Seronera area right in the middle of the park, the grey-breasted spurfowl is among the common roadside birds. In forest areas, you will catch sight of flocks of Fischer’s lovebird and unique rufous-tailed weavers. Two other species that can only be found in Serengeti are the grey-crested helmet-shrike and the Usambiro barbet.

You will rise early and depart for an unforgettable morning game drive. At sunrise, while the bush is awakening and still peaceful, the carnivores are out in hunting mode. You are on their trail to once again be observers of another natural spectacle. At midday, you will return to camp to enjoy a delicious brunch. You will then check-out and leave for your next campsite on the edge of the Ngorongoro crater. Optional activities (at an additional costs): a visit to a Maasai Boma where you will experience how semi-nomadic communities continue to live according to their age-old traditions. Later in the evening you will check-in at the Simba Public Campsite for dinner and your overnight stay.

After breakfast, you will depart for an unforgettable game drive in the famous Ngorongoro Crater. You will wind your way down into the caldera with the most breathtaking views along the way. Armed with your guide’s years of experience and his ‘eagle-eyes’, you might encounter a solitary rhino or the chance encounter with an active pride of lion at close quarters. At times the lake is covered with thousands of greater and lesser flamingos. Sand-pipers, storks, the ever-present vultures and other birds will often be found floating overhead. A number of specialized grassland birds are resident in the crater. Most noticeable are the ostrich, kori bustard, crowned crane and the secretary bird. At the hippo pool you will enjoy all the sights and sounds of the lazy hippos enjoying a wallow in the cool water and a mud-bath. You will return for a hot lunch at your campsite and leave for Tarangire National Park. Dinner and overnight: Tarangire Public Campsite.

After breakfast you will take off on another game drive in the park, observing elephants, sometimes very close to the campsite as they gather near the river. Your game drive will take you to Larmaku Swamp, a large swamp where you can find elephant and other animals, cooling down in the water and sheltering themselves from the sun in the shadows of the acacia trees. The swamp has the most breeding birds species in one habitat anywhere in the world. The park also harbours several dry-country bird species at the extremity of their range, such as the northern pied babbler and vulturine guineafowl. Regarding encountering wildlife we can not guarantee anything, but the chance that you will see large herds of elephants in this park is 99,9%.

After breakfast and depending on your itinerary we will drive you to a lodge in Arusha, the Arusha Airport (for domestic flights) or to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your return flight home. This is where your safari will end.