Our driver will meet us and drive us to Mulala village in Usa River and there we will meet the Agape foundation. Upon arrival we will be welcomed with a big smile from Mama Anna and she will share the story of how she started this women project (Agape Women). This group had gone far to fund for the new school and continues to support the local community. Besides Mama Anna received a cow from a Germany charity foundation. From this cow she has been whipping out butter, ghee, different types of cheese and yogurt. she has also tough all the women and they are doing this project and on the profit they get they support the local community. 

After a short brief with Mama Anna we will walk along a trail past cabbage, sunflower and carrot fields to a very clear and uninterrupted field of Mt. Meru. We will also visit a coffee farm plantation to learn how they grow coffee and when we return we have a lesson in coffee roasting from wet beans to the simmered end product then an introduction to no-sting bee honey harvesting. Then Mama Anna will welcome us with a cup of hot coffee and thereafter we will enjoy a traditional lunch.

Thereafter we return to the hotel to enjoy the amenities before dinner

Lodging: Rivertrees Country Inn (B,L,D)

Today our adventure to the National Parks begins as we load our safari vehicles and start driving to Lake Manyara National Park, the park is known as an introduction to Tanzania, the park is small, but wonderfully-scenic safari park, often overlooked by touring groups. It's superb for bird watching and also a good area for finding elephants, as well as spotting the elusive Lake Manyara tree- climbing lion. In addition to the lions, the park is also home to the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world. Close to the park gates in the north, woodlands are fed by freshwater flowing through the porous volcanic rock, but further south, around Msasa River, the volcanic rock gives way to ancient, crystalline rock, creating impressive waterfalls down the dramatic western escarpment of the Rift Valley. The park is ideal for a few hours of exploring, a picnic lunch along the way, and wildlife viewing before heading to your accommodation in Manyara or Karatu.

Lodging: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge (B,L,D)

After breakfast, we drive to a Maasai village and peek inside a boma (a traditional circular Maasai home). Maasai women make up the completely construction crew and use a genius cement mixture of vacated termite hill soil, cow dung and water to build their homes.

In Ngorongoro Crater, we continue our Big Five search. This enormous volcanic caldera is from an eruption over three million years ago. Be on the lookout for sleepy lions, elephants, stalking cheetahs and “dirt devils.”

The crater is synonymous with the Great Wildebeest Migration, an annual event that sees more than 1.5 million wildebeest move northwards towards the greener pastures of Kenya’s border. The animals follow a predictable clockwise movement through the Serengeti following the rains and greenest grass. From here we drive to our lodge before dusk

Lodging: Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw (B,L,D)

Today we drive to Nainokanoka Maasai Village a place where is often covered in thickened clouds and mist. Nainokanoka means “foggy in Maasai language!

We will have time to enjoy the walk for about three to four hours near the traditional villages of the Ngorongoro Highlands. We will be accompanied by a Maasai worrier as well as an armed ranger on our walk. On this walk you need walking poles as there is a downhill that is tricky. Around here, zebras mingle with cattle (safety in numbers!) and there is a constant tinkle of sheep bells. This walk covers uneven pasture with unexpected dips in the scrubby grasses and goat paths. The fields are peppered with Maasai herds, bustards, buzzards and tawny eagles. 

Thereafter we return to our Camp for lunch and shade. Sunset tonight will be from the finest vantage point at the top of the caldera! Later, after sharing stories and fireside laughs, we zip up our sleeping bags and listen to the African night come alive with the otherworldly cry of the bush baby.

Lodging: Kwato Fly Camp (B,L,D)

Our walking safari will continue through the Maasai Land! Our local guide will meet us at a small village called Bulati then we continue to Empakai Camp where we will have lunch. like the animals, we will keep cool in the shade until late afternoon when we start our 2hrs walk down ot Empakai Crater. This crater is about 300m (984 feetI deep and 6km wide. The biggest surprise is the deep alkaline pool that covers three quarters of the crater’s floor. During our hike, we can search for blue monkeys in the enormous strangler figs. Flamingos are often seen at the super saline lakeshore in long streaks of pink. Thereafter we will return to our campsite for an overnight.

Rise and shine is made easier with coffee and tea (or hot cocoa) service at your tent doorstep! 

Our walking safari will continue through Maasai Land! Our local guide will meet us at Bulati Village and together we head to Empakai Camp for lunch. Like the wildlife, we keep cool in the shade until the late afternoon, when we strike off on a two hour (roundtrip) walk down to Empakai Crater lake. The crater is 984 feet (300 m) deep and 3.7 miles (6 km) wide! The biggest surprise is the deep alkaline pool that covers three quarters of the crater’s floor.

Lodging: Kwato Fly Camp (B,L,D)

After breakfast we load into our 4x4 land cruisers and start hearding to the Serengeti National Park. We are immersed in Africa scenery, kopjes and riverine forests. This national park is a World Heritage Site of abundant biodiversity—our Big Five list will soon be renumbered with “the BIG 500”! We see dozens of everything: crested cranes, eland, guinea fowl, Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelles. At the camp where we stay, we are introduced to an authentic and unmatched safari experience. This is the only all-female-run camp in the Serengeti! Women change the busted shocks on the safari vehicles and run every department from the kitchen to security. The luxury tented camp’s location is in the beating heart of the Serengeti—elephants casually pass right through!

It’s time for a sundowner by the fire! Listen for the roar of the lions as you fall asleep–they’re out there!

Lodging: Dunia Camp (B,L,D)

An early morning wake up coffee is served to our tents. We then start our morning game drive to search for the big catch along the Seronera River before a mid-morning brunch. Linger over another coffee on the verandah or enjoy the view and silence of the Serengeti from the deck of your tent.

In the late afternoon, we will take another game drive in the Serengeti. On safari, every day is unique and can’t be repeated! as our guide will choose our way through their extensive knowledge of the park. There will be white-headed barbets, Eastern plantain-eaters, hippos, lilac-breasted rollers-–it’s a non-stop drive-thru flora and fauna show.

We take in a classic, unforgettable African sunset in the hospitality of the camp. The bush fire will be stoked, there will be a lot to enjoy as songs, dance and fire-side apps and drinks before a memorable dinner.

Lodging: Dunia Camp (B,L,D)

After an early-bird coffee in our tents which will be followed with a proper breakfast for everyone, we depart from the camp with heavy hearts. It’s going to be a full day’s drive that will shift from the distinct landscape of central to northern Serengeti. Think kopjes, erratic rocks, the endless plains and the conversant and lingering dust.

There’s no time for a catnap: we are on high alert for the elusive leopard and cheetah. As we head north, through Lobo and Bologonja, we stop for a picnic lunch in the park. Crowned lapwings, marabou storks, elephants, giraffes, repeat!

In the Mara River area, we have front row seats to a reliably gorgeous tomato-red sky sunset and follow the sinking sun on a wildlife drive before proceeding to our tented camp for a shower, dinner and a starry-eyed night.

Lodging: Karibu Mara River Camp (B,L,D)

In June, the Great Wildebeest Migration crosses the northern Serengeti as a thundering force en route to Kenya’s Masai Mara. June is when the migration first crosses the crocodile-infested Grumeti River to the south. As the herd migrates north (and clockwise), the migration crosses the Mara River in July and again in August and September on their return south.

En route, we see jackals, hyenas, a few vulture picnics, marabou storks, ibis and strategic crocs along the river. Elephants, Topi and Thomson’s gazelle will also be hanging out, and with the short grass, it’s easier to spot predators. Even mambas! 

The actual dramatic wildebeest river crossing isn’t guaranteed (herds can wait for weeks before taking the plunge), but we will definitely see countless wildebeest in wait. It’s a day of patience and anticipation. 

We spend our last night in Tanzania’s embrace, positively buzzing safari stories!

Lodging: Karibu Mara River Camp (B,L,D)

For those who are eager, there may be an extremely early opportunity to do one last game drive in hope of catching the great migration crossing the river. 

After breakfast, from the dirt airstrip at Kogatende we have a scenic one-hour flight back to Arusha on a Dash. With safari dust still in our seams and laces, we relax and enjoy our last lingering lunch together at Shanga restaurant where we will be able to see the creativity of people with disability.

There will be time to squish in some last minute souvenir shopping too, though our greatest souvenir will be the Big 5 encounters, the warmth of the Maasai, camaraderie around the campfire, sunsets, safari bucket showers and unforgettable sounds of the hyrax and bush babies at night! In the evening you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro airport to catch your KLM flight back home.

End of our Safari