7 Days Great Wildebeest Migration Calvin Safari (Tarangire, Ndutu, Central Serengeti and Ngorongoro)

After breakfast A professional Guide from African Traits ltd will meet you and deliver a short briefing then drive to the Tarangire National Park for a game drive. 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. The Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. This African national park is also home to three rare species of animals – the Greater Kudu, the Fringe-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings. We eat lunch at a picnic after which we continue with the game until late evening, then drive to the accommodation overnight.

Non game-viewing travel time: 2 hours
Distance: 120 km

Meals: breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 
Accommodation: Farm house Lodge 

After breakfast we will head to the Lake Ndutu area, situated in the Ngorongoro conservation area, part of the southern Serengeti ecosystem. Lake Ndutu is alkaline, like most of the other Rift lakes, however the water is still drinkable and used by a wide array of local wildlife.

We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge or camp, and after lunch we will do an afternoon game drive in the Ndutu area. The majority of the wildebeest migration can normally be found on the short-grass plains from December to April. The area is usually heavily populated with elephants, birds and resident game.

Meals: breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 
Accommodation: Lake Masek Tented

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 – the Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti national park.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 
Accommodation: The Singing Grass Tented Camp

Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement). Floating silently above the awakening bush, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages.

We do an after-breakfast game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, and which is good for possible Lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah sightings. The Visitor Centre close to the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites is well worth a visit after the morning’s game drive. This nicely designed center offers some interesting wildlife displays as well as a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. The center also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased, as well as a picnic area and information trail up and around a nearby kopje. We will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch at the center in the shade of the giant acacia trees.

In the afternoon we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lions and some formidably large cobras. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops, scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons – including lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 
Accommodation: The Singing Grass Tented Camp

Be one of only a few fortunate people to glide in a Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti Plains (available at supplementary cost by pre-arrangement). Floating silently above the awakening bush, while spotting wildlife and enjoying the amazing scenery of Africa, across rivers and over numerous small villages. 

If you are not interested in Hot Balloons, you will work up early in the morning for a sunrise game drive. Then return to your accommodation area for breakfast and afterward, we continue with game drive until lunch time. After lunch, we head to Ngorongoro overnight. On the way, we can experience the Maasai traditional life and experience a little bit of these cultural people’s lives in the Ngorongoro conservations.

Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours
Distance: 145 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 
Accommodation: Ang’ata Ngorongoro

After breakfast we descend 600m into this magnificent crater for a full-day game drive. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most densely crowded African wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhino. Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park is its huge population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard. We will enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 
Accommodation: Farm House Lodge

After breakfast, I drove to Lake Manyara national park with a lunch box packed. 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 a game drive, then drive back to Arusha for dinner and Overnight. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch 
Accommodation:Arusha Planet Lodge