10 DAYS MIGRATION SAFARI NDUTU AREA

DAY 1: ARRIVAL DAY AND WELCOME TO TANZANIA

Whatever your arrival time at Kilimanjaro International Airport, your driver-guide will be waiting for you with a warm welcoming smile. Kick back and relax in your comfortable vehicle as he takes you to your hotel in Arusha, Tanzania’s self-styled ‘safari capital.’ On your journey to the hotel, you will get a brief impression of this large, bustling, commercial city. Depending on your arrival time, you may have your pre-safari briefing today; if not, it will take place early tomorrow morning.

Overnight at the hotel

DAY 2: ARUSHA CITY TO TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, you will be taken to Tarangire National Park for a safari. This park is well known for a large population of elephants and baobabs.

Tarangire is huge. When you stand at the park gate and look south, it stretches as far as the eye can see. Known as the “Elephant Play Round”, this phenomenal park contains huge herds of these powerful mammals. But Tarangire is also home to buffaloes, lions, wildebeest, zebras and gazelles and the park can compete with the Serengeti for animal density. What could you see today? Perhaps a lone male lion lying under a tree, perhaps a trio of male cheetahs enjoying lazy bonding time in the sun. Perhaps a graceful Grant’s gazelle or zebra moving away from the road or a few giraffes happily munching on the fanciest acacia branches.

Here as in other parks, it is better not to ignore the small animals. It is so easy to be fascinated by the power and majesty of an elephant or the elegance of the giraffe. Ask your guide to find you an agama lizard, especially a male that changes color in front of you depending on the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as a pimpi,

Evening drive to your lodge outside the par

DAY 3: TARANGIRE TO LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, you jump in your vehicle to cover the highlights of this park. Leaning against the rugged escarpment of the Rift Valley and characterized by its sparkling lake, Manyara is rich in vegetation and fauna which thrives there. Enjoy the tranquility as the majestic flamingo’s wade elegantly, choosing a meal of seaweed in the shallow alkaline waters. On land, Manyara’s terrain is compact, but offers different environments such as various forests fed by water seeping from the nearby escarpment. Monkeys are abundant, but watch out for lions, giraffes, warthogs and grumpy Cape buffaloes who all call this park “home”. Hold your nose when we reach the hippo pool, because these big pieces smell!

Evening drive to Karatu for dinner and overnight

DAY 4: KARATU TO NDUTU
Ndutu is a real hotspot for wildlife during these rainy months. Wildebeest and their accompanying zebra, often in their tens of thousands, choose Ndutu as part of their Great Migration. It forms an integral part of the annual ritual. And where the herds wander, the predators are never far away, so wildlife viewing here can be dramatic. A fascinating landscape is the setting for our afternoon game drive today. In the distance lie nine dormant volcanoes and one active one. In times gone by, it was the ash that blew in this direction that shaped the soil here. Ndutu itself is located partially in the Serengeti, partially in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. As well as resident populations of lion, cheetah and hyena, there are also lesser-spotted wildlife here, so keep your eyes open for aardvark, porcupine and civet cat.

Dinner and overnight at the camp inside the park

DAY 5: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE IN NDUTU

Ndutu can be considered in many respects as a continuation of the endless plains of the southern Serengeti. But as it actually lies in part within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, there is the possibility – ground conditions permitting – to go ‘off-road’ which is permissible here. A characteristic feature of this area is the collection of small, salty, lakes, whose water allows wildlife to exist here throughout the year. Among the most important of the water courses are Lake Masek, which is comparatively deep and thus remains more or less unchanged throughout the year. Lake Ndutu, nearby, is shallower and varies greatly according to the seasons, fed by a combination of rainfall, springs and rivers. At this time of the year, Ndutu is one of the best places to see migrating herds who seek out the short, nutritious grass and choose this area to give birth. The richness of the vegetation gives them the best chance of survival, but with predators everywhere, survival is by no means guaranteed.

Dinner and overnight at the camp inside the park

DAY 6: NDUTU TO SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, you will be taken to the Serengeti National Park for a safari. Finally! The Serengeti, the incomparable wonder of Tanzania, will be the scene of the staging of natural animals which will undoubtedly take place during your visit. Your afternoon safari here combines the known with the unknown, the certainty that you will be amazed at the uncertainty of what you will see and when. A changing light, a changing distribution of animal actors, guaranteeing a new experience at every turn. Take memorable photos, but don’t forget to take a deep breath and enjoy nature in its raw beauty in real time.

Evening drive to your camp inside the park for dinner and overnight

DAY 7: FULL DAY OF GAME IN THE SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, you will have the opportunity to go on a day safari in the Serengeti National Park.
Today is a full day of discovery, the opportunity to enjoy the varied landscapes of the central Serengeti. The Seronera River makes its way through this area, providing water for all wildlife. You will also see the distinctive rock outcrops, the famous kopjes that characterize the landscape of the Serengeti.
Lunch will be an unforgettable experience, enjoyed in the middle of the bush. Everything varies according to the season, but in May, November and December, the migrating herds join the already rich population of resident animals who live here all year round. (During the rainy season, the landscape turns black with hundreds of thousands of wildebeest – a simply incredible sight.)

Evening drive to your camp inside the park for dinner and overnight

DAY 8: FULL DAY OF GAME IN THE SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, you will have the opportunity to go on a day safari in the Serengeti National Park.

Evening drive to your camp inside the park for dinner and overnight 

DAY 9: SERENGETI – NGORONGORO CRATER
After breakfast, our driver-guide will drive you to the Ngorongoro crater to see the match.
Early in the morning, you will leave Ndutu to reach the edge, then descend into the vast crater itself. On one side there is the Lerai forest, a classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. It’s a good land of elephants, so keep your eyes open. Next to the nearby swamp is what is sometimes called the “elephant cemetery” because the powerful male defenders at the end of their life come to chew on the sweet and swampy grasses after their teeth have failed.

Many wildebeest and other herd animals reside there and some carnivores, benefiting from the numerous sources of water all year round and stimulated by certain migrants in season. Buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle and eland are also numerous. Hippos can be found in swimming pools and swamps and the highland avifauna is colorful and plentiful around the waters. Flamingos can often be seen in Lake Magadi, which occupies part of the bottom of the crater.

Evening drive to Karatu for dinner and overnight at Karatu

DAY 10: KARATU-AIRPORT

After breakfast you will be driven to the Airport for your onward flight.