6 Days Ultimate Tanzania

Pick-up from Moshi and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park. We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge/campsite and head into the park for an afternoon game drive. This national park is one of Tanzania's most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park), located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley's western escarpment. The park's varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa's largest concentrations of elephants, Lake Manyara's unique tree-climbing lions, as well as large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae in the lake.

After breakfast we head towards the Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high-lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa with endless plains rolling into the distance. We head to the central Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, and enjoy a late afternoon game drive en route to the lodge.

Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost). After breakfast we do a game-viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, good for possible lion, Thomson's gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings. We visit the Serengeti Visitor Centre and enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch under giant acacia trees. In the afternoon we follow the Kopjes Circuit, anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, weathered granite outcrops that make good spotting grounds for lions lying in wait for animals coming to drink.

After breakfast at the lodge we depart to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, stopping over at Olduvai Gorge, boasting a history dating back to the dawn of time — it was here that anthropologists Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of "Nutcracker Man" and "Handy Man", both significant links in the chain of human evolution. We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch descend over 600 metres into the crater to view wildlife for a half-day safari tour. Supported by a year-round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, including wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo and giant African elephants, plus a dense population of predators. We visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake, home to flamingos, hippos and other water birds.

After breakfast we depart for Tarangire National Park. The park runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. Its natural vegetation mainly consists of Acacia woodland and giant African Baobab trees, with huge swamp areas in the south. Both the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals during Tanzania's dry season. Tarangire is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa, and is home to three rare species — the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, and a few Ashy Starlings. After a picnic lunch we do an afternoon game drive.

We enjoy an early morning game drive in Tarangire National Park, followed by breakfast at the lodge. We then transfer back to Arusha, or alternatively to the airport. Upon arrival we have a late lunch and end our African safari adventure — you'll be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.