7 Days Northern Encounter Safari

After awakening to a still African dawn, you’ll energise yourself with a hearty breakfast before heading off to the Tarangire National Park, named after the river which flows across the park and is the only source of water for the animals during the dry season. It’s an undulating landscape, scattered with Baobab trees and high grasses and its mixture of vegetation is unique in the Northern safari lands. Tarangire is famous for its birdlife: over 550 species make their homes here including the endearing yellow-collared lovebird. The Tarangire swamps have the most breeding species in one habitat in the world.

If you’re lucky, you’ll spot Omo, the white giraffe who has a genetic condition called leucism: she’s perfectly healthy, just almost-perfectly white! Of course, if you don’t see Omo you’ll see a remarkable selection of wildlife including elephant, lions, warthogs, impala, cheetah,buffalo,and baboons. After a fascinating day in this beautiful park you’ll head off to Mto wa Mbu and reach the campsite in the late afternoon. You’ll have a chance to relax, absorb the sights and finish the evening with a tasty dinner before resting up, ready for tomorrow’s adventure.

Your Serengeti adventure begins here. After a good breakfast, you’ll drive to the world famous Serengeti National Park. It’s world-famous for a reason: it’s home to the world’s largest concentration of wildlife including zebra, gazelle, lions, wildebeest, elephant and giraffe. It’s also one of the points of the seasonal migration of wildebeest, which is an awesome sight in the truest sense of the word. Serengeti means ’The land that moves on forever’ and you can see why: the Serengeti flows with a never-ending wave of movement and a buzz of activity.

You’ll stop for a well-earned break for lunch on a kopje (rock outcropping), gazing down on the incredible views while you eat and preparing yourself for your adventures deeper into the park. The evening will see you settled in Serengeti Camp, enjoying an appetizing dinner, watching a golden and pink sunset and picking out the first stars as they appear in the darkening sky. Tomorrow you’ve a whole day exploring Serengeti further.

You’ll start your day at the center of the majestic Serengeti. After a nourishing breakfast, you’ll continue your journey into the plains on a full-day game drive that will give you the opportunity to spot hundreds of the diverse animals that find their home within the Serengeti’s endless plains. If you’re especially excited to see animals extremely close up, you won’t forget today. You’ll likely see all the animals that make this park famous only a few feet away from you. Lions, leopard, cheetah and water buffalo up close – there are no words to describe the feeling of closeness to animals so beautiful and so wild.

You’ll also have the chance to gaze on some of the park’s lesser known but equally fascinating animals including the majestic eland, the clever hyena, graceful gazelle, stolid crocodiles, and of course giraffe, zebra, monkeys, baboons, hippos, rhinos and antelope. If you visit at the right time of the year you’ll witness one of the modern natural wonders of the world – the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra. You’ll spend the night at the campsite in Seronera, well known for animal sightings.

You’ll be up with before dawn on an early morning game drive, the air crisp and keen and the sky brightening from indigo to golden pink and finally to hyacinth blue as we explore. The park is waking up and is alive with the calls of the animals. This is a time for tracking – predators have left their tracks overnight, and we’ll follow. As dawn breaks, the birds’ melodies begin to harmonize, the early morning air starts to warm and you’ll hear different calls as other animals start their day.

You’ll add to yesterday’s collection of sightings: perhaps today you’ll see more hippos; perhaps a troop of monkeys or family of mongoose will grab your attention. After such an early start you’ll be looking forward to a delicious lunch, which will be served at the park. In the afternoon, you’ll start your Ngorongoro adventure by heading off to the Simba Campsite located at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater itself. You’ll spend the evening enjoying a tasty dinner and relaxing under the stars.

After an early but delicious breakfast you’ll travel into the Crater, which is known as “Africa’s Garden of Eden”; its unique geological formation is at the root of its diversity. Because the crater sides are a barrier to many species migrating in or out, the crater is packed full of wildlife, and there’s an excellent chance of spotting Africa’s Big Five today. You could also encounter vultures, zebra, hippo, wildebeest and hyenas. The alkaline lake attracts geese, and storks and pink clouds of flamingo, too. Your experienced guide will ensure that you discover all the glorious wonders of nature in this unique place. You’ll rest at Fanaka Camp overnight before your journey to the wonders of Lake Manyara National Park.

Your day starts with a healthy, filling breakfast and then you’ll head off to the Lake Manyara National Park, which extends for miles along the emerald base of the gold-flecked Rift Valley escarpment. The park is a patchwork of forest, arid scrubland and soda lake and a paradise for bird lovers. The forest is alive with the birdsong and flittering with the antics of monkeys in the forest canopy; giraffe roam the savannah and lions loll in trees, resting in the shade, while hippo families submerge themselves in the waters of the soda lake. You’ll enjoy a delicious picnic lunch served in the park before our drive back to Moshi, where your safari adventure ends. We can arrange for a transfer to Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport on request.