13 Days Tanzania Photographic Safari

After breakfast, drive to Tarangire National Park, the third largest national park in Tanzania. This delightful park, covering an area of 2,600 sq km was established in 1970, and it is the numerous baobab trees that will initially catch your eye. The Tarangire National Park derives its name from the Tarangire River that rises in the highlands of central Tanzania and winds its way through the game sanctuary. The river irresistibly lures the herds of plains migrants from the parched surrounding area to its shrunken – but permanent – brackish waters during the dry season. (accommodation of your choice)

Tarangire National Park. After breakfast, you will explore Tarangire National Park and the large herds of elephant that reside there. Spend morning and afternoon game drives in the park. (accommodation of your choice)

Your drive takes you to lake Manyara this morning, where you will stop for picnic lunch. Lake Manyara is famous for the tree climbing lions and a great spot for scenic and landscape photography. Lake Manyara lies in a depressed valley with the brown and red cliffs of the escarpment rising strikingly on one side. Springs rise up from the base of the escarpment, providing a welcome water supply. Game drive enroute to your lodge. (accommodation of your choice)

More than 380 species of birds have been recorded in Manyara and include the hadada ibis, saddle-bill stork, Hottentot teal, plover and African pied wagtail. As you game view through the ground water forest, look for the playful vervet monkeys searching for food at the top of the trees. Later this afternoon, visit Mto wa Mbu Village, a trading center that has been active for more than two centuries and it is the place where the famous American hunter Ernest Hemmingway used to live. In Adition to providing a unique cultural experience, Mto wa Mbu Village is one of the only places where you can hear Bantu, Nilotic, Hamitic and Cushitic dialects all being spoken in the same place. (accommodation of your choice)

With a picnic lunch,depart for Serengeti via stopping en route at Olduvai Gorge, the site of Dr. & Mrs. LSB Leakey’s discovery of Zinjanthropus boisei. Here, you will enjoy a short talk from one of the Deputies of Antiquities, who will explain to you what has been done and what continues to happen. The Gorge was discovered accidentally by a German butterfly collector, Professor Kattwinkle, in 1911, but it was not until 1959 that Dr. Mary Leakey unearthed the Zinj skull believed to be 1.8 million years old. after the gorge you will proceed to your private mobile tented camp. Settle into your camp before heading out for an afternoon of game viewing. The short grass plains of the Serengeti combined with an abundant source of food in large herds of zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo, make the Serengeti an ideal place to spot cheetah on the hunt. Prepare to put your photographic skills to test.

(Private Luxury Mobile Camp)

The Serengeti surely is the nature photographers' haven. There is nothing more exciting than having a private tented camp site in the Serengeti. Don't worry, as this is not "rough" camping. Your roomy ensuite tent has a proper bed and hot showers are easily arranged. The culinary delights fixed over an open fire rival that of five-star restaurants. And the joyous feeling you get sitting around the campfire star-gazing is unsurpassed. Enjoy a full day of game viewing today.

(Private Luxury Mobile Camp)

Day 9 Serengeti (BLD):

Another wonderful aspect of private tented camping is the ability to fix your own schedule. Today, you might want to relax in camp for a while before heading out on a game drive.

(Private Luxury Mobile Camp)

Another wonderful aspect of private tented camping is the ability to fix your own schedule. Today, you might want to relax in camp for a while before heading out on a game drive.

(Private Luxury Mobile Camp)

Your drive this morning takes you to Olduvai Gorge for a brief visit to one of archaeology’s most historic discoveries. After excavating the site for more than 28 years, Mary and Louis Leakey unearthed one of the world’s most dramatic discoveries: the partial skull of “Nutcracker Man”, dating back 1.75 million years. Their later discovery of homo habilis (Handy Man) added to the debate of the origins of the first human. Continue to Ngorongoro Crater for the night.

(accommodation of your choice)

Professor B. Grzimek once wrote about Ngorongoro Crater: “It is impossible to give a fair description of the size and beauty of the Crater, for there is nothing with which it can compare.” As you descend to the floor of the crater, you will quickly agree with the Professor. The crater is one of the best places for wildlife photography and comprises 100 square miles of the Conservation Area and supports more than 25,000 mammals. Grazers like zebras and wildebeest dominate the landscape but giraffes are notably absent as there is insufficient food to support them. Enjoy a full morning game viewing on the crater’s floor.

(accommodation of your choice)

Drive to Arusha this morning where you will arrive for lunch, spend the afternoon at leisure and optional shopping before proceeding to Kilimanjaro for day use room at Kia lodge