TANZANIAN TENTED CLASSIC SAFARI
11 NIGHTS / 12 DAYS

Highlights
Tarangire National Park - Lake Manyara
Serengeti National Park & the Ngorongoro Crater

Day 1 - Transfer from Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha. Overnight at the Arusha Coffee Lodge.

Days 2 & 3 - Breakfast at the Arusha Coffee Lodge. Morning drive to Tarangire National Park where you will spend two nights at Tarangire Safari Lodge. This is a wonderful park for the wildlife and birds.

You spent a day driving around Tarangire National Park. This national park is a great place to start a safari as we had close encounters with zebra, giraffe, elephant, gazelle, monkeys, buffalo, osterich and loads of other birds. You will see some species again and again throughout the safari but because all the national parks you visit are slightly different to each other in their own unique way you never get the feeling of 'been there done that'!

Days 4 & 5 - Lake Manyara for lunch at Migunga Forest Camp. Afternoon game viewing drive in Lake Manyara National Park. Dinner and overnight at Migunga Forest Camp.

The camp is set on 35 acres of acacia forest in a secluded part of Migungani Village. The lake is one kilometre away. Bushbuck and other antelope are sometimes seen on the property. Dwarf galago are common and can be seen every evening at dusk. The camp consists of nine self-contained tents. Bathrooms have running hot and cold water, showers, and flush toilets. There is a dining room and bar under thatch. Electricity is 12 volt supplied by solar power.

Day 6 - After breakfast drive to Serengeti National Park via Olduvai Gorge with packed lunch served en-route. Dinner and overnight at Ikoma Safari Camp. Sleeping in a tent is part of one's wildlife experience in Africa. When you arrive back at the camp after a day of game viewing, the day doesn't end. There is still the night skies to look at, the camp fire to sit around, and even night game drives. During the day, walks can be arranged. The camps have their own ambiance and very different attractions to the lodges. They have much more of a feel for what is envisaged of Africa. Ikoma Safari Camp is situated five minutes (two kilometres) from the gate to the Serengeti National Park in a part of the greater Serengeti ecosystem known as the Ikoma Wildlife Area.

The area covers approximately 450 sq kms as a buffer zone to the Park itself. Ikoma Bush Camp has the concession for the area to operate game viewing drives and walks. The camp works in close collaboration with the local villages. Fort Ikoma is 17 kms to the west and is now the headquarters of the Serengeti National Park. The camp is small, comfortable and secluded. Tents are spacious with their own bathroom. There is hot and cold running water and flush toilets. Electricity is provided by solar power as also is the hot water. There is a dining room and bar under traditional style thatched grass.

Game Drives Ikoma Bush Camp is well situated for numerous game drives. Game viewing drives include the Seronera River valley, and what is probably the nicest game drive in the Park the circuit along the western corridor via Banagi, the Grumeti River, Kirawira and back to Ikoma.

Day 7 - Breakfast at the Camp. Game viewing drives in the Ikoma Wildlife Area, or Game Walks from the Camp, or visit the Local Ikoma Village. Optional night game viewing drive available from the Camp. Dinner and overnight at Ikoma Safari Camp.

Throughout the year there is a constant to and fro movement of gnu in the woodland areas. In the intermediate periods when the herds are not on the Serengeti Plain or in the Mara, they will be found in large numbers in the central, western and northern Serengeti. The years 1999 and 2000 were very unusual in that the big herds were not on the plains for long periods in January and February as they normally are, but instead were concentrated in the woodlands surrounding the plain. Apart from the Serengeti Plain, the remainder of the Park is a mixture of acacia woodland and savannah grassland. It is through this area that the animals migrate on their way to the dry season grazing areas in the larger Serengeti Ecosystem; it is also primarily where the hotels and permanent camps are situated and where there is excellent game viewing throughout the year. Your driver normally knows the latest bush news and even the most recent dining-out place of the local lions.

Days 8 & 9 - After breakfast drive back through the Serengeti whilst enjoying a game viewing drive. Packed lunch served on route for a two night stay at Ndutu Safari Lodge.

Ndutu Lodge is not located at or nearby the crater but falls within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The lodge overlooks Lake Ndutu which is a favourite water spot for numerous herds of game and is a center point during the migration of wildebeest to the Central Serengeti. The grasslands around the lodge are kept short so you have great views of migrating herds and at night you can sit around a campfire and enjoy the sounds of animals which are very nearby.

This place gives you the feel of being out in the bush and you have creature comforts of your home. There are 32 rooms all built in a line facing Lake Ndutu. The rooms are quaint but they are very comfortable and well maintained. Each room has en suite facilities and a front verandah where you can sit and enjoy the view.

Days 10 & 11 - After breakfast at Ndutu Safari Lodge you continue to the Ngorongoro Crater, descending into the Crater for a game viewing drive. Packed lunch served in the Crater. Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. The Ngorongoro Highlands are situated between the Serengeti and the Great Rift Valley - the recent geological formation of which resulted in the building of the Ngorongoro Highlands. To the south is Lake Eyasi and to the north Lake Natron. Overlooking Lake Natron and the volcano Oldoinyo L'Engai (the only remaining active volcano in the chain, and the only active carbonatite volcano in the world) is Embakai Crater. Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge is a very strange looking hotel is one of the Serena Group's flagship hotels. The hotel has been built out of riverbed rocks and provides an interesting spectacle for the first time observer. Apparently the rocks used for the hotel were lifted from a local riverbed in an attempt to maintain a balance in the local eco-system. We do not know what the effect may have been on the river though.

The hotel is situated on the rim of the crater and has spectacular views of the crater below. It is a large hotel so do not expect intimate evenings around a fireplace. You will however be treated like royalty by staff who are very friendly and eager to assist you in any way they can. They have a large double story public area with a cozy bar and lounge area downstairs and the restaurant upstairs. Breakfast certainly is a treat as you watch the roaming wildlife in the crater below and plan your day ahead. The rooms There are a total of 75 rooms all perched on the rim of the crater and all with spectacular views of the crater below. The rooms are fairly plain but very comfortable. All have en suite facilities with a walk in wardrobe, hairdryer for guests and a balcony where you can sit and view the action in the crater below. Central heating facilities help alleviate those cold nights you might experience in the crater.

Day 12 - After breakfast the remained of the day at leisure for last minute shopping and re-packing before your transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport for your onward flight home or to another safari destination.

Price excludes flights to and from Africa.

Safari Includes : Arrival and departure airport transfer, bed and breakfast at the Arusha Coffee Lodge. Full board accommodation - breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout whilst on safari at Tarangire Safari Lodge, Migunga Camp, Ikoma Camp, Ndutu Lodge and Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, all National Parks entrance fees, game viewing drives, Crater tour, transportation in a 4-wheel drive Landrover with an English speaking driver/guide, all other services as indicated on the Itinerary.

Safari Excludes : Flights to and from Africa, visa, accommodation not mentioned in the itinerary, travel insurance and items of a personal nature.

Price Guide

12 Day Tanzanian Tented Classic Safari
Safari starts and finishes in Arusha.
Safari includes all accommodation, meals whilst on safari,
activities and transfers between camps.
Price Per Person Sharing
from £1,515.00
(Excluding all flights to and from Africa)
Safaris subject to availability and prices can change without prior notice.

To check availability for this safari, please contact us at
holidays@safari-africa.co.uk

Don't just take our
word for it!

Richard & Carole Yearsley visited Tanzania in late March and early April 2002

"We had a great time!
It exceeded all my expectations. Just an amazing experience. All the travel arrangements worked very well. Emma could not have been more helpful. Nixon was always cheerful, enthusiastic and informative. It is a lovely country.

The camps gave us a feeling of being closer to the environment and enabled us to speak to 'local' people such as Jasper at Ikoma and Joyce at Tarangire. I think we saw all the major animals. Only a leopard close by eluded us. I think it was all the smaller animals that made it - porcupine, genet, aardvark, spring hare etc.

We will be recommending it to our friends and encouraging them to go."