Tanzania Signature Wilderness & Island Expedition

Tanzania offers a magical natural setting for all ages, from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to game drives in national parks. In the beautiful northern circuit, you can see the massive herds of elephants in Tarangire National Park; flocks of water birds in Manyara National Park; the beautiful black-maned lions of Ngorongoro, and the huge herds of wildebeest in Serengeti.

Zanzibar, the beautiful island in the Indian Ocean, is the perfect place to end an exciting safari – whether you choose to relax on the white sand, swim in the clear blue water, or tour the island.

• AREA OF TOURING: The northern cirque of Tanzania, Zanzibar Island
• BEST TIME TO VISIT: All year
• MAIN ATTRACTIONS: Serengeti, visiting the tribes, relaxing in Zanzibar
• WEAR: Shorts and T-shirts during the day, light long sleeves during the night, swimsuit

Day 1: Kilimanjaro International Airport – Lake Manyara National Park

As soon as you step out of Arusha International Airport terminal, you will be greeted by your guide and start your journey to your first safari in Tanzania: Lake Manyara Park. Located beneath the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park offers varied ecosystems, incredible bird life, and breathtaking views.

In contrast with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest, and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, and so do the giraffes. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, whereas the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in their shade. Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded, and any visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day.
Overnight – dinner and breakfast at Lake Manyara Escarpment

Day 2: Tarangire National Park

After breakfast, you will be heading into the Tarangire National Park for a morning game drive. The park runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. Its natural vegetation mainly consists of Acacia woodland and giant African Baobab trees, with huge swamp areas in the south. Both the river and the swamps act as magnets for wild animals during Tanzania’s dry season. In the afternoon, you will eat your lunch at the picnic overlooking the Tarangire River before you depart for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where you will overnight in a beautiful hotel.

Tarangire– This National Park enables you to experience an unrivalled landscape of open plains, dotted with thousands of baobabs. Not only does the meandering Tarangire River attract a vast number of wildlife, but the Park is also especially renowned for its huge elephant herds, enabling its visitors to spot entire thick-skinned families!

Tarangire National Park has some of the highest population densities of elephants as compared to anywhere in Tanzania, and its sparse vegetation, strewn with baobab and acacia trees, makes it a beautiful and distinctive location to visit. Before the rains, droves of gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, and giraffes migrate to Tarangire National Park’s scrub plains, where the last grazing land remains.

Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest, and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. The swamps, tinged green year-round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. Disused termite mounds are often frequented by colonies of the endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by their loud, clockwork-like duetting. At the end of our visit, we will drive to our lodge.
Overnight – dinner and breakfast at Lake Manyara Escarpment

Day 3: A day with the tribes

After an adventurous one-hour drive on dusty roads, we will arrive at the northern shore of Lake Eyasi: a mildly alkaline lake which stretches some 50km across the south-western area of the Ngorongoro Crater.

The shores of Lake Eyasi are still inhabited by Hadzabe Bushmen: hunter-gatherers, who can perhaps be considered one of the most interesting tribes in Tanzania and eastern Africa. Their language resembles the click languages of other bushmen further south, in the Kalahari and they are often willing to provide visitors with an insight into their simple bush homes, consisting in no more than a tree canopy or a cave. You will experience their everyday life at close and be able to witness the tribe men skillfully hunt small antelopes and baboons with bows made from giraffe tendons and poison-coated wood arrows. After Lunch we will drive to visit another group of nomadic Bushmen: the Datoga Tribe.

Datoga people are agro-pastoral nomadic, and nowadays they do some small blacksmith work, like jewelry and arrowheads. They live in several areas in Tanzania, and the majority live near Lake Eyasi.

This tribe consider themselves the oldest tribe in Tanzania (the Maasai and Bushmen also claim this fame). The men of the tribe do the pastoral and blacksmith work, while the women care for the children and home duties. The married women are dressed in beautiful leather dresses and have tattoos around their eyes for decoration.
Overnight – dinner and breakfast – Ngorongoro Serena

Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater – Serengeti

After breakfast, we will make our way to the gate of Ngorongoro. You then enter the conservation area of Ngorongoro and descend 600m into this magnificent crater for a morning, half-day game drive.

The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unbroken ancient volcanic caldera in the world. In 1979, this nearly three million year old area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The former volcano crater is also considered to be “Africa’s Garden of Eden”, as it is a haven for thousands of wild game, including lions, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, rhinos, Thomson’s gazelles, and buffaloes. The crater is among the 8 Natural Wonders of the World. The crater is one of the most densely crowded African wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals, including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhino. Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro Crater supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants.

You will enjoy a picnic lunch in the crater, after which you will climb out of the crater and travel to Ndutu, where you will spend the night.
Going through Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will have the opportunity to visit Manyata, a village of the Maasai Tribe, and get an insight into their unique customs and their everyday life.

The Maasai tribe lives in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are known for their welcome dance, where the men sing and jump as high as possible with straight legs, to show how fit they are. The women stand at the side, singing with the men and doing a special dance for women only.
The Maasai believe that all the cows in the world belong to them and were given to them by god. The wealth of a family is measured by the number of cows they own. The Maasai tribe lives in villages (Manyata), and each woman builds a small house (Boma) for her family. The Boma’s structure is made of wood, and it is covered by a mixture of mud, wood, sticks, grass, cow dung, human urine, and ash. Traditionally, men wear sheets that are wrapped around the body. Usually, the main color is red, but you can see some blue color and a plaid pattern. Men and women are wearing ornaments made of colorful beads.
Overnight – dinner and breakfast at Serengeti Serena

Day 5: Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is the star of many nature documentary films. The great migration of the wildebeest brings thousands of tourists.
Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world and it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. Established in 1952, it is home to the great migration of wildebeest and zebra. The resident population of lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, and birds is also impressive. The Park can be divided into 3 sections:

• The southern/central part (Seronera Valley)with its classic savannah, dotted with acacias and filled with wildlife.
• The western corridor is marked by the Grumeti River and has more forests and dense bush.
• The north, which meets up with Kenya’s Maasai Mara Reserve, is the least visited section.

It is the migration for which Serengeti is perhaps most famous – over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebras flow south from the northern hills to the Ndutu plains for the short rains every October and November, and then swirl west and north after the long rains in April, May, and June.

During the months of July-September, the herds will cross the Mara River again and again in search of fresh grass. They will have to face the mighty crocodiles in the river, which are waiting quietly in the water for their opportunity.
Serengeti is also known as the “endless plains” in the Maasai language. This will be your area of exploration for the following two days. You will have the opportunity to discover this fascinating area and its wild inhabitants, driving through the vast Serengeti Plains.

Overnight – dinner and breakfast at Serengeti Serena

Day 6: Serengeti National Park – Zanzibar Island

This our last day of safari in we will start it early, after breakfast, to enjoy the morning hours with the waking herds. We will say our goodbye to our guide and departure to Zanzibar. For the next 2 nights you will enjoy the white beaches of the island, the blue-clear water of the ocean and the warm hospitality of the people of Zanzibar.

Overnight – Essque Zalu Zanzibar Hotel

Day 7-8: Zanzibar – Departure back home

You will enjoy a full day in Zanzibar and all it has to offer. On day 8, after breakfast, take a last tour in Zanzibar before heading to the airport for your flight back home.

 

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INCLUDED

• Full board (breakfast, lunch & dinner) accommodation while on safari
• Transfers to and from the airport
• All game drives are conducted in a custom-built 4×4 Safari Land Cruiser
• All parks entrance fees
• Transportation with a 4×4 vehicle with a viewing roofs
• Professional English/ Spanish/ Germany/ French speaking driver-guide during the safari
• Bottled safe drinking water in safari vehicles
• Ngorongoro Crater car supplement fee (if any), Current Government taxes and levies
• 24-Hour support during the safari from our office in Arusha

NOT INCLUDED

• Internal or International flights
• Balloon and/or additional excursions while you are in Tanzania
• Out-of-full board service at the hotel, including body massage, hotel excursions, bar & laundry services
• All-Terrain-Vehicle (Quad-bike) adventure
• Entry visa to Tanzania
• Travel and health insurance
• TIPS to your guide, hotel staff, and porters
• Meals, drinks, and excursions not described in the itinerary
• Items of a personal nature, laundry, telephone, and postage

OPTIONAL

Flight links are available between Arusha/ Manyara and Serengeti. A holiday/ relaxation in the Zanzibar Islands/ Mafia can be arranged. A flight from Arusha after your safari or Mt. Kilimanjaro climb to Zanzibar is recommended

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Frequently Asked Questions