Day 1: Arrive Arusha
Arrive in Arusha at any time. A G.A.P Adventures representative will meet you at the airport and transfer you to our joining point hotel. There are no planned activities, so check into the hotel (check-in time is approximately 3pm) and enjoy the city. In the late afternoon, at approximately 5pm, meet your fellow group members to go over the details of your trip; this is also when your leader will collect your local payment. Check the notice board or ask reception to see the exact time and location of this group meeting. After the meeting you may join the group for dinner. If you arrive late, just look for a message from your leader at reception.
Arusha, Tanzania’s “safari capital,” is the most important centre in northern Tanzania. A modern town with markets and services, as well as many national parks, reserves, and mountains nearby (on a clear day you can see Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance), Arusha is a great base for your safari trip.
Arusha officially became a city on the 1st of July 2006. The primary industry of the region is agriculture, with large vegetable producers sending high-quality produce to Europe. The city and its environs are also spotted with large coffee plantations, adding to the area’s charm. Unfortunately in recent years many local farmers have been badly hit by a coffee crisis, and now subsistence farming is the most common source of livelihood.
Arusha, named for the local Wa-arusha people who have lived here for hundreds of years, is a historically and politically significant city within East Africa. In 1961 the documents ceding independence to Tanzania (from the UK) were signed here. Six years later the Arusha Declaration of Self Reliance in Tanzania was signed. On the 4th of August 1993 the Arusha Accords were signed by representatives of competing factions in the civil war in neighbouring Rwanda. After the Rwandan genocide, the UN Security Council decided that Arusha should host the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; the establishment of the tribunal and its resulting employment has significantly impacted the local economy. The tribunal is expected to end its mandate in 2008.
Day 2 Lake Manyara (B,L,D)
We make our way to the village of Mto Wa Mbu, and beyond to Lake Manyara National Park, spending the afternoon touring and wildlife viewing in Lake Manyara National Park. This area is truly stunning: the western wall of the Rift Valley escarpment provides a backdrop for spotting birds, tree-climbing lions, elephants, giraffes, and hippos. Spend the afternoon game viewing along the main road, which winds for several kilometres through a cool, lush, mature groundwater forest dominated by large ficus trees and a tangle of green epiphytes. Total estimated travel time: 2-3 hrs; Approximate distance: 130km.
The name Manyara is derived from the Masai word “Emanyara”, which is a Euphorbia species of plant found in the area. The lake itself is a shallow, alkaline lake stretching for 50km along the base of the sheer 600m high Rift Valley escarpment. This forms part of the national park that covers an area on roughly 330km sq.
Lake Manyara National Park is home to the giant fig (ficus) trees, acacia woodlands, mahogany trees and grassy flood plains. The contrasts of this area are breathtaking, with the open plains, huge escarpment, central soda lake, dense woodlands, and distant volcanic peaks coming together in an area best described by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa.”
Animals such as blue monkeys, hippo, impala, elephant, wildebeest, buffalo, warthog, and giraffe all roam the park’s territory. The park is home to legendary tree-climbing lions, and also has small populations of leopard. Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s bird life, with over 400 species having been recorded within the park’s boundaries. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks.
Day 3-4 Serengeti National Park (2B,2L,2D)
Travel to the world-famous Serengeti, one of Africa's premiere game parks, stopping at the archaeological site of Olduvai Gorge en route. Continue on to your safari lodge in the late afternoon. We stay in the central Serengeti 'Seronera' area, in the southeast of the National Park; because of the sheer size of the park we focus on only this one area. Total estimated travel time: 5-6 hr, approximate distance: 220km.
As we drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and on to the Serengeti National Park, you begin to feel the vastness of this territory. Cruise through the acacia-spotted savannah, and marvel at the animal and bird life en route. On Day 4, rise early for an early morning game drive, returning for a hearty lunch followed by a brief but well-deserved rest. Continue your search for the "Big 5" - lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino - while taking in the vastness of the Serengeti plains.
The Olduvai, or Oldupai, Gorge is commonly referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind.” It is a deep, steep ravine roughly 48km long, famed for the discovery of the 3.5 million year-old fossil fragments of an early human civilization. Accordingly, it is considered one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world, and has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution.
The Serengeti National Park is to Tanzania what the Masai Mara Game Reserve is to Kenya—although with an area of 14,763 sq km, it is actually over 7 times as large! The Serengeti, which derives its name from the Masai word for “endless plain,” is the jewel of Tanzania’s protected areas; together with the Masai Mara and the Ngorongoro Conservation area it protects the most varied and greatest collection of wildlife on earth. With the Big Five, Small Five and countless other animals, this region offers arguably the best wildlife viewing in the world. That said, with its vast size and varied terrain, game viewing is only one aspect of the Serengeti - the scenery itself is worth the journey.
The Masai people migrated into the Serengeti plains in the 17th Century, displacing the pastoral Datoga. There they lived an undisturbed, nomadic life for hundred of years, until the first westerner, American Stewart Edward White, passed through in 1913. He recorded the plains in the chronicles of a journey that began in Nairobi, Kenya, and what he wrote still applies today: “... We walked for miles over burnt out country... Then I saw the green trees of the river, walked 2 miles more and found myself in paradise.”
There is no bad time to visit the Serengeti as every season has its own special highlight – even the rainy season has the daily thunder and lightening to look forward to. Changing seasons and light patterns form the most beautiful backdrop to view Africa’s majestic and incredible wildlife, consisting of more than 1.6 million herbivores and thousands of predators. Blue wildebeests, gazelles, zebras and buffalos are among the animals most commonly seen.
This area is most famous for the migration that takes place every year: in October over a million herbivores travel toward the southern plains, crossing the Mara River from the hills to the north. They continue west across the Serengeti, and then north once again, crossing the Mara River, after the April rains. This phenomenon, sometimes called the Circular Migration, often totals more than 800km; over 250,000 wildebeest alone die along the journey from Tanzania to the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya.
Day 5 Ngorongoro Conservation Area (B,L,D)
Before leaving the Serengeti, enjoy one last morning game drive to see the animal kingdom come to life in this incredible expanse of grassland savannah. After packing up your safari lodge, journey to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, famous for Africa's best game viewing. The views from the Ngorongoro Crater rim are stunning, and there is an ever-present abundance of wildlife due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor. Total estimated travel time: 4 hrs; approximate distance: 160km.
The 8300km sq Ngorongoro Conservation Area is named after its central feature, the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and arguably its most spectacular natural arena. Ngorongoro Crater has often been described as a wonder of the world, not only because of its geological significance, but also because it serves as an extraordinary natural sanctuary for one of Africa’s densest populations of large mammals. The Ngorongoro was part of the original Serengeti National Park proclaimed in 1951, but it was made a separate conservation area in 1956 so that the Masai could graze their cattle there. The Ngorongoro Crater became a World Heritage Site in 1978.
Land in the conservation area is unique to Tanzania as it provides protection for the wildlife whilst allowing human habitation. The landscape is made up of a blend of volcanoes, grasslands, waterfalls and mountain forests, and the wildlife is extensive. The southern and eastern boundaries are approximately defined by the rim of the Great Rift Valley, which also prevents animal migration in these directions. The annual ungulate migration passes through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with wildebeest and zebra moving south into the area in December and moving north in June. The area has healthy resident populations of most species of wildlife.
Day 6 Ngorongoro Crater/Arusha (B,L,D)
After breakfast embark on a half-day crater tour. The rich pasture and permanent water of the crater floor supports a resident population of between 20,000 and 25,000 large mammals. They are not confined by the crater walls, and can leave freely; they stay because conditions are favourable. Since most of the crater floor is grassland, grazing animals predominate: zebra, gazelles, buffalo, eland, and warthogs. The swamp and forest provide additional resources for hippos, some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhinos, giant-tusked elephants, waterbucks, reedbucks and bushbucks, baboons and vervet monkeys. All these animals in turn support large predators such as lion and leopard, and scavengers such as hyena and jackals.
After this fabulous experience within the crater, we have to leave the wildlife behind us as we head back to Arusha. Enjoy one last safari evening with your travel companions. Total estimated travel time: 3-4 hrs; approximate distance: 200km.
Day 7 Depart Arusha (B)
You are free to depart at any time on Day 7, though remember check out from the hotel is approx 10am.
B=Breakfast
L=Lunch
D=Dinner
