8 Days Cultural Safari Lake Manyara/ Serengeti/Ngorongoro/Lake Eyasi/Tarangire

Pick up from your hotel in Arusa and at around 08:30 we leave Arusha town and drive for two hours to Lake Manyara National Park with picnic lunch box for game drive.

Lake Manyara National Park is one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park) at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment.

The park’s varied habitat attracts a wide variety of African animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos, attracted by the algae in the lake. Late afternoon depart the park and drive for dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Farm House 

After breakfast, we head towards the Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa – the Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species.

We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti national park.

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, at Kubu Kubu Tented Camp 

Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement). Floating silently above the awakening bush, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages.

We do an after breakfast game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, and which is good for possible Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings.

The Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites, is well worth a visit after the morning’s game drive. This nicely designed centre offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area.

The centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby kopje. We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the centre in the shade of the giant acacia trees.

In the afternoon we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lion and some formidably large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons – including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink!

Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, at Kubu Kubu Tented Camp 

After breakfast depart with picnic lunch boxes for Serengeti game drives en route to Ngorongoro via a Maasai Village.

Visitors meet the village elders, get an insight into the Masai way of life, visit the bomas, learn about their prized cattle and visit the local school.

Thereafter drive for dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge. 

After breakfast, descend into the Crater with picnic lunch boxes for game drives.

Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants.

Another big draw card to this picturesque national park, is it’s dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot.

We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually been seen here.

Thereafter drive to Lake Eyasi. This evening you will be introduced to the extraordinary people who belong to an indigenous tribe known as the ‘Hadzabe’ (hunter-gatherer bushmen). The tribe inhabits the shores of Lake Eyasi as do the Nilotic-speaking Datoga tribe. You will visit these tribes, which will include a visit to their homesteads, learn about their way of life, animal tracking, medicinal plants, and much more.

Dinner and overnight at Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp 

Early morning we depart to the village for local hunting experience with Hadzabe and Datoga tribes.

This is not a mere performance. The bushmen rely on these techniques to survive and you’ll need to be very attentive and at times quiet, while they demonstrate their use of locally made poisons in incapacitating the poor creatures on which they depend for survival.

Then return at the camp for breakfast.

Lake Eyasi is a very scenic soda lake found on the southern border of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This less visited lake lies at the base of the Eyasi escarpment on the western rift valley wall. Some wildlife and a wide range of bird species can be viewed during walks around the lake, which can be arranged.

Return for dinner and overnight at Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp

After breakfast, drive to Karatu, we will visit the local Market and villages around the Karatu, experience life in the local village setting, meeting local people, learning about their culture, agriculture and history of the area, then go for lunch at Ngorongoro Farm House, thereafter continue to Tarangire Sopa Lodge for dinner and overnight 

After breakfast we depart for the Tarangire National Park.

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 like a magnet for wild animals, during Tanzania’s dry season.

The Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. This African National Park is also home to three rare species of animals – the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings.

After a picnic lunch we do an afternoon game drive.

We will then transfer back to Arusha. Upon arrival in Arusha will we have lunch and then we will end our African safari adventure.

The group should tip the guide around $20 a day. You will be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.