Great Northern Circuit Safari Tanzania, Wildlife Tour – 13 Days

DAY: ARRIVAL

You will be met at the airport in Arusha (JRO) by your Driver/Guide and our representative. We will take you to the Mount Meru Game Lodge (or similar) at Arusha for a free day, with your Safari starting tomorrow. Dinner at your lodge

DAY 2: LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

The driver/guide will pick you up at 9am, then you’ll drive across the floor of the Great Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive. This beautiful park with it’s lush vegetation and tropical forests of giant fig and mahogany trees, takes its name from the Maasai word for “euphorbia tirucalli”, a bush which is used to make a thorny hedge to protect their cattle. Elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra and a variety of antelope inhabit the park as well as a variety of monkeys and a large population of hippo’s. If you are lucky you may see the Manyara lions, well known for their tree climbing habits, lazily resting on the branches of an “Acacia tortilis” tree. The birdlife is also abundant, with flamingoes, pelicans, hornbills and plenty of forest species. Overnight at E Unoto Retreat. All meals included.

DAY 3: LAKE NATRON

In the morning drive to Lake Natron, passing the active volcano Oldonyo Lengai! At Lake Natron check in in the Lake Natron Tented Camp, then we’ll visit the lake with its flamingoes. All meals included.

DAY 4: NATRON – SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast you start on your way to Serengeti National Park, crossing Loliondo Game Reserve. Overnight at our Mapito tented camp Serengeti in the Serengeti. All meals included.

DAY 5: FULL DAY SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

In the morning walking tour, then return to the Serengeti, to another full day game drive close to the migration. Overnight at our Mapito tented camp Serengeti in the Serengeti. All meals included.

DAY 6 – 7: LAKE VICTORIA

Game-drive to Lake Victoria. In the afternoon drive into the nearby hills to take a look at rural Africa, passing through the small villages of the Sakuma people, who grow cotton, ground nuts, sorghum and cassava as well as keeping livestock. Life carries on simply as it has done for centuries, but with a few poignant reminders of the 20th Century! See the local school and take a stroll to the top of a small kopje. Overnight at Speke Bay. All meals included.

DAY 8: SERENGETI – NGORONGORO

Return to the Serengeti. Depending on the time of year and the migration of the herds you can expect to see wildebeest, lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos, antelopes and many birds and other species. Your Driver/Guide will be in contact with other safari drivers and will amaze you with his skill at locating the hidden animals. Overnight at Ndutu Safari Lodge in the Serengeti/Ngorongoro. All meals included

DAY 9: OLDUVAI GORGE – NGORONGORO CRATER

After breakfast we depart for Ngorongoro. On the way you will stop at the Olduvai Gorge where anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey made many significant discoveries, contributing to the theory that human life originated in Africa. Afternoon game drive in the crater. As very few animals migrate in and out of the crater with its 2000 ft. high walls, you can expect to see lions, elephants, zebras, hippos, flamingos, jackals, rhinos, antelopes, many birds and other species. Overnight at a lodge at Ngorongoro/Karatu, Ngorongoro Farmhouse. All meals included

DAY 10: NGORONGORO – LAKE EYASI

From Ngorongoro you proceed to Lake Eyasi home to the hunter-gathers ethnic group of the Hadzabe Bushmen bearing similar characteristics to those of Bushmen at Southern Africa.

Walking Safari with Maasai warriors
The small people of this indigenous tribe are probably the last living in true harmony with nature and have a wealth of Fauna and Flora knowledge to share with us. The two days are filled with tours and game walks guided by bushmen taking you on their traditional hunting tracks. Overnight at a bush camp at Laka Eyasi. All meals included.

DAY 11: TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast we depart for Tarangire, Tanzania’s third largest national park and sanctuary for an unusually large elephant population. Majestic baobab trees are an interesting feature of the park, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. Animals concentrate along the Tarangire River, which provides the only permanent water supply in the area. There is a great diversity of wildlife including lion, leopard, cheetah and up to six thousand elephant.
Overnight two nights at Tarangire River Camp. All meals included.

DAY 12: TARANGIRE – ARUSHA

One final morning game drive before leaving. In the afternoon we will reach Arusha, spend the night at the Mount Meru Game Lodge. All meals included

DAY 13: DEPARTURE OR ZANZIBAR EXTENSION

In the morning departure to the airport for your flight back home (or Zanzibar extension). Breakfast