February 11, 2022 – Arrive Tanzania

Schedule your flights so that you arrive in Arusha on February 11, 2022, and we will overnight here before heading for Tarangire.

We will spend the night at Trip Advisor 4.5 star, Mount Meru Game Lodge. You will immediately feel that you are in old Africa, and for a good reason. The hotel was built in the 50s and was among the first lodges in all of Tanzania.

February 12, 2022 – Tarangire

After an included breakfast, travel by private 4×4 and private guide to Tarangire National Park for a game drive with picnic lunch. Later, dinner & overnight stay at Nimali Tarangire.

About Tarangire

Tarangire Baobab

Tarangire is a lush area filled with wildlife and giants! The most famous giant in the park is the elephant. Tarangire is home to the largest population of elephants in all of Africa! The ancient (up to 3000yrs old!) Baobab trees are magnificent.

There are some fascinating and unique species to photograph, including Lesser Kudu, Fringe-eared Oryx, Gerenuk, and Grants Gazelle. Tarangire has arguably the best bird diversity in East Africa and is home to over 500 species.

About Nimali Tarangire

Nimali Tarangire is an exclusive lodge located on the eastern boundary of Tarangire National Park. It’s a Trip Advisor 5 Star lodge built alongside a riverbed, hidden amongst Acacia and Baobab trees. The six newly constructed luxury tents are all en suite.

February 13, 2022 – Tarangire

We continue to explore Tarangire today with multiple game drives and plentiful photography opportunities. I promise we will take time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if you clean your plates, we will find a spot for a sundowner or two.

February 14, 2022 – Tarangire – Lake Manyara

We will game drive our way through Tarangire on our way to the Ngorongoro Crater. We’ll be taking a side trip through the beautiful Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive with a picnic lunch. A night of sleep will follow dinner, drinks, conversation, and frivolity at Ngorongoro Serena.

About Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara Flamingos

Manyara is famous for three things, tree-climbing lions, elephants, and millions of flamingos. If you saw the movie Out of Africa with Redford and Streep, you know about the flamingos!

February 15, 2022 – Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast, we will descend into the crater floor for full day game viewing in the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater. The first glimpse of Ngorongoro leaves one breathless. Once a colossal volcano, probably larger than Kilimanjaro, it is now a vast circular amphitheater, spectacularly beautiful and a perfect location that’s home to an enormous wildlife population. The centerpiece of the park is Crater Lake with its pink mantle of flamingo and other birdlife. 

About Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Wildlife

We travel to the Ngorongoro Crater to photograph and explore the most unusual ecosystems on the planet. The volcanic rim, a de-facto fence, controls the animal population’s movements and gives us great up-close looks. The notorious reputation for crowds is worth the chance to see animals at close range.

The crater of the extinct Ngorongoro Crater is 40 miles across (64 Km), making it the largest intact caldera on the planet. Africa’s “Garden of Eden” is covered with fresh and saltwater lakes, swamps, rivers, savannah, woodlands, and 25,000 animals!

There is a considerable population of Masai Lion, and it will be your best chance to photograph the highly endangered Black Rhino. It’s a highly traveled park, and the animals are more relaxed around people than anyplace else in Africa.

About Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge.

Our base for the next two nights is the Trip Advisor 4.5 star Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge.

The Lodge is perched on the crater’s jagged rim, wreathed in the morning mist, camouflaged in river-stone, and cloaked in indigenous creepers. The Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge is a triumph of ecological and architectural fusion. The suites are ecologically focused and constructed to afford views of endless vistas. The Lodge’s boulder-built buildings hug the crater rim, linked by rope-lashed timber walkways that skirt the buttressed roots of ancient, liana-hung trees.

February 16, 2022 – Serengeti

After our breakfast at the Lodge, we will game drive our way to our next destination, the Serengeti Plains. We will follow lunch and a nap at the camp with a game drive and, more likely than not, a sundowner with the Wildebeest!

About the Serengeti

Great Wildebeest Migration

The central Serengeti has dense populations of wildlife and is known for its cats and especially for leopards. Kopjes dot the vast grassland terrain and are fabulous “perches’ for predators to scout the migration and for your photography.

The Seronera River flows here with hippos, and the giant crocs wait patiently sometimes for the entire year for a chance of grabbing something crossing their river. 

About Nimali Central Serengeti

Nimali Central Serengeti is a Trip Advisor 5 Star lodge in the heart of the Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania. This luxury tented camp is hidden away and offers a sense of seclusion and a dense wildlife population. With breathtaking views over the hills and plains and perfectly situated on the path of the renowned migratory route, it is a place where you can expect the unexpected. Makoma Hill is home to numerous predators, and our Lodge is right next door. No doubt you will be waking up to the chorus of lions calling in the dawn.

February 17, 2022 – Serengeti

We will spend the day following the migration, keeping alert for some of the predators that are also carefully watching the migration. We may see lion, leopard, cheetah, serval, caracal, hyena, and wild dogs.

I imagine that we will eat at least three times during the day! 

February 18-21, 2022 – Ndutu Region

We head to ground zero for the final days of this magical safari following the herds, Ndutu! Lake Masek Tented Lodge will be our home base for the next four nights. Why are we staying longer here? The answer is simple: this is where the Wildebeest come to deliver their calves. As you can imagine, with thousands of new calves, the area will draw every predator’s attention in the Serengeti.  

About Ndutu Region

Ndutu Cheetah Predation

The Ndutu region is the area in Northern Tanzania between the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Ndutu is a vast grassland and a perfect habitat for the Wildebeest. Wildebeest by the millions pass through Ndutu on their perpetual migration. It’s in February (No coincidence!) that the herds give birth, and 1000s of Wildebeest are born every day!

The migration and the predators that follow the herds are the focus of this leg of your safari.

About Lake Masek Tented Camp

You can watch wildlife from the comforts of the private terrace of your tent as they come to drink at Lake Masek. The vast Serengeti and the Great Migration await our game drives.

The camp is proud of its efforts to maintain as small a footprint as is possible without losing any comfort or charm. Solar panels generate electricity, and the water is rainwater collected during the rains. The camp utilizes ecologically friendly supplies wherever possible.

The camp’s elegant tents are built on raised wood platforms and include en-suite facilities and a fabulous outside shower. Outdoor showers are the best! Each tent has its private terrace where you’ll enjoy the views, birds, and critters that live close to camp.

February 22, 2022 – Departure Day

After breakfast, we will fly back to Arusha. We will have lunch at Arusha Coffee Lodge. After lunch, our guide will take us on one more drive to Kilimanjaro airport. Please arrange your flight to depart at 6 PM or later.