Day 1 - Flight to Tanzania
Depart from London with Kenya Airways on an overnight flight. Your flight stops briefly at Nairobi Airport before carrying on to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Meals are included on the flight.
Day 2 - Arusha
On arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania you will be met and transferred to a comfortable hotel in Arusha. This colourful town set in the shadow of the twin peaks, Meru and Kilimanjaro, offers a lovely climate and atmosphere in which to relax and get over a flight before heading off on a dusty wildlife adventure. Although meals are not included here the hotel will usually offer evening meals at their restaurant. Alternatively, you can easily arrange a taxi to a nearby restaurant.
Includes breakfast on the flight.
Days 3 & 4 - Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area
At 08.00, after breakfast, you will meet with your safari group for a short briefing about your camping adventure. This is when you will be introduced to your guide and can ask any final questions that you may have before you depart. After a short stop to buy drinks, you continue out of Arusha town and on to your first stop - the Ngorongoro Crater. This is about a three-hour drive and takes you through beautiful rural Tanzania. Pass farms, coffee plantations, Maasai homesteads and young Maasai herding their cattle.
There are numerous curio stalls along the road and you have time to stop and visit a few if you like. Arrive at your campsite right on the Crater's rim at around lunch time. Take a few hours to relax over lunch, set up camp and enjoy the spectacular view of the Ngorongoro Crater. You can choose to spend a little time relaxing at camp or you can opt to visit a local Maasai village to see inside a traditionally built boma and learn more about this fascinating culture. Note that this excursion is not included in the price of the camping adventure and payment should be made directly to your guide. Either way, the group will come together in the evenings, which are a sociable affair with everyone dining together at one large table.
On your second day at the Crater, get up early for a full day's safari adventure exploring the Ngorongoro Crater floor. The density of wildlife here is astounding; you can expect to see great numbers of zebra and wildebeest, the 'big tusker' elephants which have been poached out of many other parts of Africa, lions and - if you are - lucky rhino.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Days 5 & 6 - Serengeti National Park
After packing down the camp and enjoying your breakfast, you drive down from the Ngorongoro Crater highlands and onto the flat plains of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. This is a leisurely drive, with plenty of time to stop and look at any wildlife that you may pass. Arrive at your next camp around lunch time and set up your tents, before heading out for an afternoon game drive.
The central Serengeti is renowned for its abundant wildlife, which is drawn to the area by the Seronera River. The quantity of zebra, giraffe and other plains game is extraordinary. This in turn attracts a great number of predators.
To maximise your game viewing on your second day in the Serengeti National Park, you take a boxed picnic lunch so that you can head out for a whole day. This allows the freedom to explore further afield without having to return to camp until the end of the day.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 7 - Lake Manyara National Park
Depart after breakfast for your final stop - Lake Manyara National Park. Drive slowly out of the Serengeti whilst looking for wildlife with your knowledgeable safari guide. Make a stop at the fascinating Olduvai Gorge on your way. This is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world and is often referred to as the 'cradle of mankind'. Look around the museum and listen to a talk about the finds that have been made here, dating from 2 million to 15,000 years old.
Carry on through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and around the Crater rim - stopping to take one last look at the phenomenal view over the Crater floor. Drive for a further hour until you get to the edge of the Rift Valley Escarpment. Stop at the viewpoint here where you can see across Lake Manyara and into the far distance before arriving at the small town of Mto-wa-Mbu, just outside Lake Manyara National Park; stop here for one night. Spend time wondering through the curio market, and explore the food market as well to soak up a bit of local atmosphere. Or you can simply relax around the campsite's pool.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 8 - Arusha & flight to London
Spend your morning exploring Lake Manyara National Park - a small but very beautiful park with good wildlife viewing and fantastic bird watching. Pass through the rich and lush forest near the gate, with the dominating Rift Valley escarpment rising up to your right. Here you will find huge troops of baboons, and if you are lucky you may see some of the tree-climbing lions that this Tanzanian park is famous for.
Drive on to the lake, which is usually home to great numbers of flamingos and pelicans. Stop at a look-out point where you can jump out of the vehicle to watch a wonderful variety of birds feeding.
After your picnic lunch, depart the park and drive back to Arusha to connect with your international flight from Africa back to London.
Instead of ending your holiday to Tanzania straight after your camping safari, you can add on relaxation time at a beach destination overlooking the Indian Ocean. Consider one of our tailor-made Expert Africa beach add-on holidays to Zanzibar, Pemba, Ras Kutani or the Mafia Archipelago, to your safari itinerary. Call us to ask about this and we'll put together a costing for you.
Includes breakfast and lunch. Dinner is on your international flight.
Day 9 - Arrive back in London
Arrive home with countless memories and photos of a fantastic wildlife camping adventure to Tanzania.
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