AVAILABILITY: Yearround

ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels, lodges or campsites

 

HIGHLIGHTS: Maasai, Hadzabe, Datooga & Barbayg Peoples; Lake Manyara; Big 5; Great Rift Valley; Serengeti; Olduvai Gorge; Ngorongoro Crater

 

Experience a mix of authentic encounters with African cultures and people as well as safari wildlife.

 

ITINERARY

• DAY 1: (June-Oct) We will depart from Arusha at 9 am and drive to Tarangire National Park to begin game viewing on the savanna, with the richest elephant population in Africa, as well as lions, leopards, giraffes, buffales, tree-climbing pythons and extensive exotic birdlife. Picnic lunches will be set on sites in the proximity of wildlife. Dinner and overnight at Tarangire National Park’s lodge or campsite.

• (Dec-Mar) We will depart from Arusha at 9 am and drive to Lake Manyara National Park, passing through the market town of Mto Wa Mbu. Once we’ve reached the park, you’ll see wildlife like elephants, hippos, giraffes, buffalos and the largest baboon troops in Africa, as well as a exotic birds and butterflies. Picnic lunches will be set on sites in the proximity of wildlife. Dinner and overnight at the top of the Great Rift Valley.

• DAY 2: After breakfast we will proceed to Lake Eyasi, a shallow soda lake that during periods of high water levels attract hippos and other animals. Here we will take time to meet the Datooga and Barbayg people, who are mostly farmers and cattle breeders. Dinner and overnight at Lake Eyasi, at your lodge or campsite.

• DAY 3: We will start our day before breakfast and visit the village of the Hadzabe tribe, with a community much like those of the first hunter-gatherer societies. Watch as the local hunters prepare a performance of hunting techniques, and they will show you how they attract animals. The Hadzabe are endangered with only an estimated 2,000 representatives. This tribe is the only one still allowed to hunt legally. We will return to the lodge to eat a late breakfast, then drive to the Serengeti National Park to spend the rest of our day. Overnight at your lodge or campsite.

• DAY 4: At 6 am we will rise for a sunrise game drive. We will return to the camp or lodge for a late breakfast at 9 am. We will continue our game drive at 10:30 am for the rest of the day. Dinner and overnight at your lodge or camp.

• DAY 5: After breakfast we will start another morning game drive, then head to the one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world, Olduvai Gorge. The gorge lies on the site of an ancient lake, covered by thick layers of volcanic ash, which carefully preserved the world’s earliest records of mankind. It was here that Louis and Mary Leakey and their team discovered a multitude of hominid fossils dating back to 1.75 million years ago. You will also have the opportunity to visit the Oldupai Gorge Museum, located on the gorge’s rim. Next on this exciting day is a visit to the Maasai group, a semi-nomadic people who are one of Africa’s best-known ethnic groups. Dinner and overnight at your lodge or campsite.

• DAY 6: After breakfast we will descend into the Ngorongoro crater floor for a half-day game drive. You will have another opportunity to spot the Big Five, as well as hippos, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and a rich diversity of birdlife. After a picnic lunch in the park, we will drive you back to your Arusha hotel.

 

Program includes: Hotel/lodge/camp accommodations for the duration of the safari, private 4-wheel drive vehicle with a roof hatch. Professional English-speaking safari and tour guide/driver, all park entrance fees, all meals on the safari, water and hot drinks during the safari, camping equipment if applicable (tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, pillows, table and chairs), all game-viewing activities.

 

Program excludes: International flights, airport taxes, entry visas, travel insurance, tips and gratuities, personal costs, medical and personal insurance.