Bird Watching & Wildlife Safaris

Breakfast this morning is enjoyed at the lodge before driving to Arusha National Park for a full day game drive in the park. Lying between the peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Meru, Arusha National Park is an outstandingly beautiful area. The Park has wide range of habitat, from the string of crater lakes where many water birds can be watched, through the highland montane forest and on up to the imposing summit of Mt. Meru. Following a picnic lunch enjoy an afternoon game drive. The forest contains a wealth of birds and other animals, like the beautiful bushbuck easily glimpsed in the glades between the ancient cedar trees, or the black and white Colobus monkeys climbing along their branches. The interesting geology of the area is reflected in the impressive view of the ash cone and cliff face leading to the summit of Mt. Meru.

Overnight at Ngaresero Mountain Lodge

Following breakfast you will be met by your Ecological driver/guide who will transfer you by road through the Arusha town, you might optionally stop for shopping before proceeding to the Lodge located within Tarangire National park. The driving time from Arusha to Tarangire Safari Lodge is 3 hours with a short game drive en route. Tarangire has an exceptional elephant population and the highest recorded number of breeding bird species for any habitat in the world. , the highlights of the day is searching for the Tanzanian endemics, again that will include the Rufous Tailed weaver, Yellow collard Lovebird and Ashy Starling, the later occurring in only Tarangire On arrival you’ll venture out into the Tarangire for an afternoon game drive.

Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Safari Lodge or similar 

After breakfast you’ll embark on a full day’s game drive with picnic lunch, ranging far and wide. Among many aspects of animal behaviour, your Guide will point out the fascinating way elephants have of communicating with subtle interactions.

Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Safari Lodge or similar 

Dawn game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, perhaps the most beautiful on the circuit. Famous for its elephants and lions-in-trees, the park boasts rich ground water forest, lakeside grassland and an abundant variety of trees and shrubs. The Lake is famous for its flamingoes, pelicans, storks and shorebirds. During the morning game drive you'll understand why this is where part of Out of Africa was filmed.

Dinner and overnight at Escarpment Luxury Lodge or similar 

After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive to the Serengeti. We will ascend through an extensive and rich agricultural area between Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater rim and then we enter the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The main route to the Serengeti (a lovely dirt road) passes alongside the Crater rim for our first view down to the Crater floor. From a good viewpoint overlooking this ecosystem 2000 feet below, a small speck is perhaps an elephant and the pink hue on the alkaline lake most certainly flamingos. We then cross over from the highlands down to the short grass plains. From there, we drive slowly over the Serengeti plains to Olduvai Gorge on the eastern boundary of the Serengeti Ecological Unit. Here the Leakey’s found the hominid remains Australopithecus, Homo habilis and Homo erectus, plus many other fossils exhibited in the excellent, small museum at Olduvai. Then we are off across the Serengeti plains to the Southern end of Serengeti around Ndutu area arrive in time for lunch and afternoon will be spent exploring the grassy plains and woodlands in the area, tracking the resident animals such as lion, cheetah and hyena on the hunt. The area also teems with other wildlife, including elephants, eland, various gazelle species, Kirk’s dik-dik, giraffe and, if we’re lucky, the elusive leopard as well. There is, a variety of Raptors should be seen above the skies to include the Tawny and Walberg’s Eagle. Many large mammals shall also be added on our list.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Savannah Camp 

Today we will leave very early in the morning (after a very early breakfast) and drive to the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. There we will have a full day game drive, as we will be carrying our picnic lunch with us. The Crater is wonderful place - you descend more than 2,000 feet on steep tracks cut into the crater wall to reach the open plains of the Crater floor. 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. 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. We will have our picnic lunch at the hippo pool and later in the afternoon drive to the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge for dinner and rooms for the night.

Dinner and overnight Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge or similar

Today you will have a leisurely breakfast and then start the drive to Arusha through the Great Rift Valley, close to Lake Manyara and arrive in Arusha in time for lunch. After lunch there will be time for shopping before the trip to the Kia Lodge where the day use room will be provided to freshen up before transferred to the airport for your home departure

Kia Lodge (Day use room)