7 Day Asilia Lodges Safari circuit

After breakfast at the lodge, you will be driving to Tarangire National Park, the third largest national park in Tanzania. There will be many opportunities for game viewing as we drive through the park. We have the option of taking picnic lunch or arrive at the lodge for lunch settling in and then afternoon at leisure or game drive. Tarangire contains a range of ecosystems from grassland and woodlands in the north, to scrub and wetlands further south. The Tarangire river cuts through the park and empties into Lake Burunge in the west. Tarangire boasts one of the largest and most conspicuous elephant populations in East Africa. There are large family groups with many calves being born each year as the population continues to recover from the devastating effects of poaching in the eighties. You will see herds of elephants and experience close contact with the matriarchs, the babies, teenagers, and bulls. Your close contact will help you in understanding these incredible animals. Spend several hours surrounded by the herds and you cannot help but feel their wisdom. Tarangire is also known for its abundant baobab trees, most of which are over 400 years, old and the beautiful landscape.

Dinner and overnight at Oliver’s Tented Camp

Leave after breakfast with picnic lunch drive toward the Ngorongoro Crater en route we may visit Olduvai Gorge. Here in 1959 Mary Leakey discovered an early hominid fossil, nicknamed Zinj, dated to 1.8 million years old. This discovery, and later the uncovering of a set of hominid footprints dated to 3.6 million years old, changed the way scientists thought about human evolution. After a picnic lunch we continue to the lodge for dinner and overnight,

Dinner and overnight at The Plantation Lodge

In the early morning, we can often watch banks of cloud lift off the Crater as the sun penetrates an already magical setting. We descend more than 2,000 feet on steep tracks cut into the crater wall to reach the open plains of the Crater floor taking picnic breakfast and lunch with us so that we can spend the maximum time viewing animals. The Ngorongoro Crater is undoubtedly the best place in Tanzania to view black rhino as well as large prides of lion that include magnificent black-manned males. It is also home to huge herds of wildebeest and zebra and many other plains game, such as Thomson's gazelle. An alkaline lake in the floor of the Crater provides a habitat for colorful flamingo and a variety of other water birds. Massive bull elephants feed in the swamps, some adorned with enormous tusks. In the mid-afternoon we ascend to the lodge, relax on our veranda and marvel at the view. We can soak in a hot bath, or walk around the lodge grounds.

Dinner and overnight at The Plantation Lodge

Leave after leisurely breakfast to Arusha, arrive in time for lunch, after lunch you may do some shopping if you wish before transferred to Kia Lodge where day use room will be provided for refreshments before your home bound flight