A safari alone is a great reason to visit Tanzania, but can also be a nice extension to a Kilimanjaro climb. We offer safari options that range from just a day outing to a week or more visiting several parks. Tanzania’s extensive network of national parks and conservation areas offer visitors an endless array of opportunities to appreciate the spectacular wildlife that makes this country legendary. Safari can be taken at any time of the year.
The Annual Great Migration
If your interest lies in seeing The Annual Great Migration, consider planning your safari for February or March when giant herds of wildebeest and zebra go in search of food and water, traveling upwards of 2000 miles and eventually returning to their starting point on the Serengeti. For these herds, life is at it’s most intense as they birth their young and struggle to escape multitudes of predators.
Sample Itinerary for a 6 day safari, includes travel time:
<p>Tarangire National Park Depart from Arusha after breakfast to Tarangire National Park for game drive. Tarangire is the sixth largest national park covering an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers. Tarangire is famous for its huge number of elephants, baobab trees and tree climbing African pythons.</p>
<p>Serengeti National Park Morning drive to the Serengeti National Park via Olduvai Gorge. Millions of years ago the site was that of a large lake, the shores of which were covered with successive deposits of volcanic ash. Excavation work there was pioneered by Louis and Mary Leakey beginning in 1931. The Serengeti National park covers 14,763 km² (5,700 square miles) of grassland plains and savanna as well as river trine forest and woodlands. The park lies in the north of the country, bordered to the north by the national Tanzania and Kenyan border, where it is continuous with the Masai Mara National Park reserve.</p>
<p>Serengeti National Park Full day game drive in the Serengeti plains, the endless, almost treeless grassland of the south is the most emblematic scenery of the park. . Other hoofed animals – zebra, gazelle, impala, hartebeest, topi, buffalo, waterbuck – also occur in huge numbers thru out the year.</p>
<p>You will enjoy morning breakfast then drive to the Ngorongoro National Park. Before we descend into the crater, we will stop at the Maasai Bomas (Huts) and learn about their traditional culture. You will see the unique attractions to this historical caldera where human and wildlife are living together without harming each other. One of the best places in Africa to spot the Big Five – elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo and the rare black rhinoceros – ancient Ngorongoro Crater is home to almost every species in Africa except the giraffe, who can’t negotiate the steep incline down. We will have a picnic lunch on the crater floor, after lunch we continue game viewing until later in the evening, then head back to our lodge for the night.</p>
<p>Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for the day. This is world heritage site, the incomparable Ngorongoro crater is the world’s largest “caldera”*. Dominated by cliffs standing some 600 meters high and presenting a sheer drop down to a wide open space of some 246 square km, and you may see everything from elephant to lion, and if you’re lucky, the near-extinct black rhino, all amongst large herds of zebra and wildebeest. Afternoon exit the crater and head to your lodging for the night.</p>
<p>After a leisurely breakfast, head into Lake Manyara National Park. Enjoy a picnic lunch en route to Lake Manyara National Park where you will enjoy the day’s game drive viewing baboons, zebra and hippos as well as the spectacular view of the Rift Valley that opens up to the east across the lake. A small park, we will be able to see most of it in one day affording you many wildlife viewing opportunities. Return to your lodging based in Arusha for the night.</p>