Tanzania Family Safari

An early morning will immerses us in the African wild we always dreamed about. The topography of this small park is amazingly varied including grassy plains, montane forest, volcanic craters, swamps, and saline lakes. On clear days we have excellent views of Mount Meru and of Mount Kilimanjaro. We can choose to game drive, to go on a game walk escorted by an armed ranger, or to do a canoe ride on one of the soda lakes. We hope to see giraffe, buffalo and black and white colobus monkeys, as well as some of the shy forest antelope – bushbuck, red duiker and maybe suni.

After breakfast in Arusha, you will be driven 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.  After a stop for lunch at Tarangire Safari Lodge, you will have time to unpack and maybe rest before the afternoon 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.

Diner and overnight at Tarangire Safari Lodge or similar.

This morning we drive to Arusha, Tanzania's safari capital. We may do some shopping or stop for lunch before continuing to Lake Manyara. Much of the northern part of the park is fed by underground water from the Ngorongoro Highlands and as a result is covered in dense forest vegetation, giving the appearance of a tropical jungle. This forest is ideal habitat for elephant, bushbuck, blue monkey, and huge troops of olive baboon. Some parts are dry bush land attracting zebra, impala and giraffe, while the lakeshore provides another habitat, perfect for flamingos and other shore birds. Today we will stay at Lake Tloma Mountain Lodge 

Diner and overnight at Tloma Mounatin Lodge  Lodge 

A highlight of your trip to Africa is a chance to meet people from other cultures, broadening our understanding of the human spirit. We spend the day learning about traditional tribal life during an intimate visit to a local Iraqw home; as farmers, they know the natural world in a profound way, and we discover how they have lived harmoniously with the land for centuries. We overnight at peaceful Tloma Lodge located on a working coffee plantation in the green hills of Karatu. Rise early for a hike through the lush highlands of the Oldeani mountains and visit local working farms with sweeping views of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Eyasi. We continue to a local school (if in session) and to meet our peers before returning to the Lodge.

Diner and overnight at Tloma Mountain  Lodge or similar.

We will leave this morning on our way to Ngorongoro Crater for full day game drive (1½ hrs drive from the Tloma Lodge). Our drive takes us up to the rim of the Crater; we will 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, 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. Later in the afternoon proceed to Sopa Lodge for Dinner and overnight.

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge 

After a relaxed breakfast, we drive westwards descending onto the vast Serengeti Plains. “Serengeti” derives from the Maasai word 'siringet' meaning "an extended area" - description of the endless rolling plains that give these grasslands a timeless romantic beauty. The principal features of the Serengeti are its stunningly dense wildlife populations and the annual spectacle of the migration of millions of zebra and wildebeest in pursuit of water and forage as the seasons change. 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 central Serengeti where the Serengeti Savannah Camp will be located during the Dry season and we will spend four nights at

Serengeti Savannah Camp

After breakfast we drive toward the Seronera  or Ndutu Airstrip game drive en-route. Boarding you schedule flight to Kilimanjaro from the Serengeti, where we’ll have the use of a dayroom at Kia Lodge  before transferred to the Airport for your home bound flight.

Kia Lodge (Day use room)