"We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right"
...Nelson Mandela
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Tanzania's Great Migration |
A Private Safari Including the Ngorongoro Crater
Tanzania, perhaps best known as home to the famed Serengeti Plains and the Ngorogoro Crater, is a wonderful safari destination for travelers with Natural Habitat's focus - remoteness and great wildlife viewing! In fact, Tanzania is home to some of the most pristine and untouristed game areas in the world, and by venturing away from the normal route (in our private luxury mobile tented camp and special small group lodges) to some of the country's least-visited areas, these special safaris allow small groups of travelers to experience an up-close East African safari like no other. While visiting the Serengeti and Tarangire, we use luxury mobile tented camps, enabling us to uniquely move away from other visitors to the areas where the game is at its best! This is absolutely key to ensure the very best wildlife viewing.
December through June Itinerary
Day 1: Arusha, Tanzaniavv
Upon arrival, you will be met and transfered to the Mountain Village Lodge, set in beautiful botanical gardens within a coffee plantation. Individual thatched cottages overlook Lake Duluthi and offer a lovely start to your Tanzania safari.
Day 2: Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara National Park, made famous by the elephant studies of Ian Hamilton, is located at the Western edge of the Great Rift Valley and, although the park is small, it offers a surprising diversity of habitats and wildlife. The entrance to the park is a rain forest fed by underground springs and is home to leopard, monitors, baboons, python and a tremendous variety of bird life including hornbills and eagles. The heart of the park is a large soda lake where thousands of flamingos as well as pelicans and hippos abound. In fact, this may be your best opportunity for photographing hippo as you can get out of the vehicle and stand next to the pool. While here, we will stay at the newly built Manyara Serena Hotel which is perched on the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment.
Day 3: Kifaru Lodge and Hadzapi Village
Karatu is Tanzania's most fertile farmland accounting for 70% of the food consumed in the country. Here, you stay at Kifaru Lodge, a coffee, flower and cattle plantation, which accommodates a select small group of travelers. You will also drive to visit the Hadzapi, a tribe dating back to the Stone Age. The Hadzapi people are Tanzania's bushmen, still speaking in the language of clicks and relying totally on their hunting skills for survival. This is truly a rare opportunity to observe people who have had extremely limited exposure to the outside world allowing their unique and fascinating culture to remain intact.
Days 4-6: Ngorongoro Crater
Although the Ngorongoro Crater is small compared to other nature reserves, it is one of the wildlife wonders of the world due to the amazing diversity and quantity of animals living there on the crater floor, some 600 meters below its rim. All the Big Five (elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard) and most of the plains wildlife can be seen here. You will spend days exploring the crater, each morning winding your way down the caldera's steep rim. Here, you will have a good opportunity to see black rhino, as well as the spotted hyena - the dominant predator of the crater floor with a population of over 400. We will spend the nights at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, situated right on the crater's rim. The lodge is constructed of local stone and is molded into the contours of the site. All rooms have en-suite facilities and heat since the evenings can be chilly.
Days 7-11:
The Serengeti-The Great Migration-Our Mobile Tented Camp Gives us the Best Chance! Throughout the ages, naturalists and writers have singled out the Serengeti in their paeans of praise. And with good reason: since time immemorial the world's most astonishing annual migration takes place here with herds of game, numbering over a million, moving in long slender lines stretching to the horizon while predators wait in eager anticipation. Words simply can't describe this incredible stronghold of African life. During your game drives you are sure to sight lion, leopard and other predators, as well as a vast variety of plains game and bird life. Elephants trundle through the woodland and cheetah are sighted more often than not. This world-renowned sanctuary is a veritable wildlife version of a Garden of Eden.
The key to our success in this area is our First-Class Mobile Tented Camp, allowing us to move with the wildlife! Each spacious tent has two large beds, a night table and a private bathroom attached to the rear, making the Serengeti portion of this trip a comfortable wildlife extravaganza! Since our goal is to follow the large herds of wildlife, whether we catch the migration or not, and since the weather determines the movement, the mobility of the camp is vital. To the extent possible, you are right in the middle of the action, not in a lodge that may be several hours drive from the herds. Our guides will take you on game drives well away from the tourist crowds providing you with the greatest opportunities for game viewing and photography that you could ever imagine!
Day 12: Arusha / Home
Today, after a final morning in our mobile camp, we will travel back to Arusha, where we can relax in a dayroom at the Mountain Village Lodge before returning to the airport.
July Through November Itinerary
Day 1: Arusha, Tanzania
Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to the Mountain Village Lodge outside of Arusha.
Days 2-4: The Serengeti
On this itinerary, we stay at the Kirawira Permanent Luxury Tented Camp (a member of the prestigious Small Luxury Hotels of the World), a "reincarnation" of an elegant Victorian outpost. Here, set upon a hill with a commanding view of the endless Serengeti Plains, guests will set out in four-wheel drive land Rovers on twice-a-day game drives in one of the richest wildlife areas of the world.
Days 5-7: Ngorongoro Crater
We will enjoy a leisurely game drive out of the Serengeti on Day 5 on our way to the Ngorongoro Crater. The remainder of these days are the same as Days 4-6 on the previous itinerary.
Day 8: Kifaru Lodge and Hadzapi Village
On our way from the Crater, we will have a picnic lunch and visit the Hadzapi Tribe, Tanzania's version of bushmen. The day offers the same features as Day 2 on the previous itinerary.
Days 9-11: Tarangire-Luxury Mobile Tented Camp
A wonderful advantage of traveling to Tanzania at this time of year is the ability to visit Tarangire at its prime wildlife time. Tarangire National Park is considered one of the most scenic parks in Tanzania, with its huge baobab trees that are hundreds of years old. During this dry season, the Tarangire River is the only source of water in the Great Rift Valley and the wildlife (in particular massive migratory herds of elephant) migrates into the park - a migration which is, in nature, not unlike that of the migration in the Serengeti. The park is 650,000 acres making it the third largest reserve in the country. Large herds of wildebeest, gazelles and zebra can be found which attract a large variety of predators. Tarangire is also known for its large lion prides, leopard, giant rock python and prolific bird life. The fringe-eared oryx and lesser kudu as well as wild dog are often viewed here as well. These wild dogs are on the verge of extinction with the exception of this one pack that appears to be thriving. Again, our Luxury Mobile Tented Camp is key to the success of this trip as it is placed where wildlife viewing is most accessible, giving our travelers a true African safari experience.
Day 12: Arusha / Home
This is our final morning in Tanzania and we travel today from Tarangire back to Arusha to for a casual lunch and your return flight home.
Accommodations:
The accommodations on this special safari add greatly to the experience of the trip. They are in luxury-class mobile and permanent tented camps as well as lodges and hotels. The Luxury Mobile Tented Camps offer a remarkable experience with two twin beds, amenities and private bathrooms and showers, set in the areas where wildlife viewing is at its best!!
On our July - November itinerary, we also stay at the Kirawira Luxury Tented Camp, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, providing accommodations reminiscent of days gone by. All accommodations have private toilet and shower facilities, and all have full beds and bedding. They are absolutely wonderful and are situated in areas where wildlife viewing is at its best.
December - June Itinerary: 5 nights luxury mobile tented camp, 6 nights lodges.
July - November Itinerary: 3 nights luxury mobile tented camp, 3 nights luxury permanent tented camp and 5 nights lodges.
Wildlife Viewing and Migration Patterns:
The herds of the famed Serengeti migration are primarily composed of three species: zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest. Although zebra and Thomson's gazelle form concentrations that can number in the thousands, the outlandish-sized herds of wildebeest are truly astonishing, numbering in the millions! Generally speaking, the best time to view the Serengeti migration in Tanzania is during the months of January - April but there is great game viewing there all year round. Our December - June trips are based around attempting to view the migration or, in the case of December, May & June trips, the strongest wildlife times in that area. Our July - November itinerary spends time in the hauntingly beautiful Tarangire National Park because that is where the water is - so that is where the animals can be found. In Tarangire there is also a migration of primarily large herds of elephant but plenty of other game as well and our Luxury Mobile Tented Camp gives us a great opportunity to view the wildlife. Our itineraries are both designed to take advantage of the very best wildlife viewing areas at any given time of year.
Important Information on Your Game Drives Your safari game drives take place in the highest quality, four-wheel-drive Land Rovers and Land Cruisers, providing up-close encounters that cannot be accomplished in typical safari vans. This is a very important feature of our safaris. These vehicles have fully removable tops which provide a full 360-degree view of the game. Since every passenger is guaranteed a window seat, you are assured you will have plenty of space for wildlife viewing and taking photographs.
Included
Accommodations in luxury mobile and permanent tented camps, lodges and hotels; all meals freshly prepared by camp and lodge staff; all game drives and activities; transportation in 4-wheel drive vehicles, transfers; services of professional guides; parks and permit fees; laundry while in mobile camps, all taxes and service charges except Tanzanian customs and visa fees.
Not Included
R/T transportation to the starting and ending point of your trip; items of a personal nature (all beverages, laundry, telephone etc.); departure taxes of approximately US $20, visa fees; gratuities to guides and staff; and required medical evacuation insurance.
Physical Requirements
Although this safari certainly is an exciting adventure, it would not be considered a physically demanding trip. Please consult your personal physician.
Getting There & Getting Home
You must arrive in Arusha on or before Day 1 and can depart after 3:00pm on Day 12. We can best serve you if we makes these reservations for you, as they are intimately familiar with the special requirements of these programs.
Extension Options
Many travelers choose to extend their time in East Africa with a stay on the beautifully exotic island of Zanzibar or in areas offering additional wildlife viewing. Please ask us
Anytime on demand with a minimum of 2 travelers
Ask us about curent rates
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