Tanzania - Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Arusha & Lake Manyara
Saturday 11th to Friday 24th July 2009
AA9022
Tanzania’s
legendary landscapes of Tarangire, the Serengeti, Arusha National Park,
Lake Manyara, and the Ngorongoro Crater offer the ultimate and most
fantastic ‘African wildlife’ experience imaginable. A visit to the
Ngorongoro Crater is an awesome experience and also a spectacular
backdrop for viewing Black Rhino, Leopard, Cheetah, Buffalo, Grant’s &
Thomson’s Gazelle and Burchell’s Zebra; in the grassy plains of the
Serengeti, Lions stalk the thousands of migrating Wildebeest; and the
vast savannahs of the Tarangire National Park are home to large herds of
Elephant. With so many exciting mammals, it must not be forgotten that
Tanzania is also an excellent destination for birdwatching: hornbills,
kingfishers, bee-eaters, sunbirds and rollers provide splashes of
brilliant colour, and the lakes are brimming with flamingos, storks and
ibises. The many raptor species range from Dark Chanting Goshawk to
Lappet-faced Vulture. Tanzania offers the complete bird and wildlife
safari, operated in vehicles (open-top), that are designed for the best
viewing and photographic situations and using excellent lodgesthat are in idyllic locations and are extremely comfortable.
Day 1: A scheduled flight from the
UK to Kilimanjaro. After an evening arrival we will transfer to our
lodge.
Overnight - Mountain Lodge, Arusha
Day 2: Today we will experience
game drives in Arusha National Park, a wilderness set between Mount Meru
and the snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro - a fantastic backdrop to
abundant birdlife and mammals. We will look for, Lesser Flamingo, Maccoa
Duck, Ross’s Turaco, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-eared Barbet, Stripe-faced
Greenbul, Giraffe, Bushbuck, African Buffalo and Eastern Black-and-white
Colobus.
Overnight - Mountain Lodge, Arusha
Days 3 & 4: Two days in the
Tarangire National Park. This vast area of savannah, thornbush and swamp
is home to large herds of Elephant and an array of other animals,
including Oryx, Gerenuk, Impala and Lesser Kudu. Amongst many bird
species are Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Crested Francolin, Black-faced
Sandgrouse, Woodland Kingfisher, Orange-bellied Parrot, Lilacbreasted
Roller, Northern Pied Babbler and Magpie Shrike.
Overnights - Tarangire Sopa Lodge
Day 5: Today we drive to the
marvellous and world famous Serengeti National Park. Our route will take
us along the Ngorongoro Crater rim – a savannah-like environment at the
foot of the Ngorongoro Highlands. We will pass through Alduvai Gorge,
where many remains of early man have been discovered. Our final
destination in Serengeti, is our lodge in the Serenora River valley that
has views over the plains and woodland. During our journey to and into
Serengeti we should encounter many birds and mammals, including: Hooded
& White-headed Vultures, Secretary Bird, Montagu’s Harrier,
White-bellied Bustard, Kori Bustard, Rosy-throated Longclaw,
Hildebrandt’s Starling, Thompson’s Gazelle, Topi, Zebra, Lion and
perhaps Cheetah.
Overnight - Serengeti Serena Lodge
Days 6 - 8: The Serengeti
National Park covers some 12,000 sq km and is a superb wildlife
sanctuary and during the next three days, we’ll cover different areas of
the vast Acacia clad plains of this wonderful area. There are reputed to
be two million Wildebeest here, not to mention a couple of thousand
Lions and a wonderful selection of other mammals, including: Cheetah,
Leopard, Serval Cat, Common Jackal, Bat-eared Fox, Spotted Hyena and
Kirk’s Dikdik. A superb array of bird species, includes Brown
Snake-Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Secretary Bird, Pygmy
Falcon, Two-banded Courser, Black-bellied Bustard, Grey-headed
Kingfisher, African Cuckoo, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Nubian Woodpecker,
Marico Sunbird, Silverbird, Pin-tailed Whydah and Speckle-fronted
Weaver.
Overnights - Serengeti Serena Lodge
Days 9 - 11: On Day 9 we travel
to the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, with its phenomenalarray of birds
and game. This is simply a scenically wonderful and fascinating location
and a visit here is a truly awesome experience. Our game drives into the
crater should reveal a wealth of mammals, including: Blue Wildebeest,
Burchell’s Zebra, Grant’s & Thomson’s Gazelles, Buffalo, Lion, Hyena,
Bat-eared Fox, Serval Cat, and this is perhaps the best site in Africa
to see the endangered Black Rhino. Amongst the bird species at Lake
Magdi, we may find Abdim’s & Yellow-billed Storks, Glossy, Sacred &
Hadada Ibises, Cape Teal, Rosy-breasted
Longclaw and countless flamingos - a truly marvellous place. The montane
forested rim is home to a good variety of birdlife and we may see the
following species amongst many others: Olive Pigeon, Schalow’s Turaco,
African Cuckoo, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Common Scimitarbill,
Bar-throated Apalis and Jackson’s Widowbird.
Overnights - Ngorongoro Serena Lodge
Day 12: Lake Manyara, where we
spend our last night, is situated in the Great Rift Valley. The National
Park has a wonderful mosaic of habitats including woodland, swamp and
grassland, plus a soda lake brimming with Greater & Lesser Flamingos,
Pink-backed Pelicans, Yellow-billed Storks and migrant waders. Manyara
is also famous for its tree-climbing lions.
Overnight - Lake Manyara Serena Lodge
Day 13: After a morning visit to the National Park on Day 13, we will transfer to the airport for our return flight to the UK, via Amsterdam, arriving next day.