6 Days – The Great Rift Valley Safari – Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Olduvai, Manyara
Itinerary
DAY 1 Arusha -Tarangire National Park
Morning departure from Moshi with picnic lunch boxes and proceed to Tarangire National Park. This park has the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem, a smorgasbord of predators and the one place in Tanzania where dry country antelope such as the stately fringed eared Oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed. Drive to the park to explore some of the 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest land crowd the shrinking lagoons. Afternoon drive to the picnic sites for lunch then continues with a game drive in the evening proceeds to one of the Lodges or Campsites in Tarangire for dinner and overnight.
DAY 2 Tarangire Ngorongoro
Early morning game-drive in Tarangire National Park, searching for leopards. Return to your lodge for late breakfast before 11:00hrs. Leave Tarangire lodge and drive to Ngorongoro. Stop at Mto wa Mbu to visit the local market. Later on, proceed to Highview Hotel for lunch and leisure. In the evening continue to Ngorongoro for dinner and overnight in one of the lodges or campsites located on the rim of the Crater.
DAY 3 Ngorongoro Serengeti National park
After breakfast collect your picnic lunch. Descend 610m/2000ft down into the Ngorongoro Crater base. In the crater, the Lerai Forest on the crater floor gets its name from the Maasai word for the elegant yellow-barked acacia tree. Elephants often graze in the forest shade during midday, emerging into the open plains during the early hours of the morning and in the evening, as the midday heat abates. The small forest patches on the crater floor are home to leopard, monkey, baboon, and antelope such as waterbuck and bushbuck. Afternoon picnic lunch, then leave the Crater and proceed to Seronera for a game drive en-route the Serengeti. Dinner and overnight at the Lodge or Campsite.
DAY 4 Serengeti Full Day Tour
After breakfast, drive into Serengeti National Park. The Seronera Area, located in the heart of Serengeti is the place where you will be able to witness the Serengeti animal’s great migration depending on migratory seasons. Return to your lodge for afternoon lunch. At 16:00hrs drive in the Park to watch the lovely birds of Serengeti – estimated to be 500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills. Then return to the lodge or campsite for dinner and overnight stay.
DAY 5 Serengeti – Lake Manyara National Park via Olduvai Gorge
After breakfast leave the lodge or campsite at 8:00hrs with picnic lunch. On this day, as you continue to Olduvai Gorge, start to explore the Serengeti vast where you can see all the big five which are the elephants, lions, leopards, giraffe, buffalo including cheetah and more. Serengeti National Park has about 35 species of animals from the hare to the elephant and a wonderful selection of bird life. Drive to Olduvai Gorge to get a briefing about the discovering of the Nut-Cracker-Man ZINJANTHROPUS. The human-fossil Homo habilis was uncovered by Dr. Leaky and dated 1.7 million years. Here you walk to the picnic site to have lunch. Thereafter leave Olduvai Gorge and proceed to Lake Manyara, arriving on time for dinner and overnight at the Lodge or Campsite.
DAY 6 Lake Manyara National Park Moshi
After breakfast drive into Lake Manyara for game-drive. The most famous spectacle in the park is the tree climbing lions, which are occasionally seen relaxing on the branches of acacia trees. Other animals found in this area include elephants, leopards, impalas, hippos, and millions of birds especially pelicans and flamingos. The scenery of this park with its Alkaline Lake including its five vegetation zones is compared to a scenic gemstone glittering in the bush. The park also has the Tanzania’s highest population of elephants per square kilometer. Late afternoon return to the lodge for hot lunch. Shortly after lunch depart from the lodge and drive back to Moshi.