7 Days Big 5 Wildlife Safari in Tanzania

Tag für Tag

Dieser Reiseverlauf ist vorerst nur auf Englisch verfügbar.

1. Arusha1 Nacht
2.  Ngorongoro crater1 Nacht
3. Serengeti2 Nächte
4. Northern Serengeti1 Nacht
5. Central Serengeti1 Nacht
6.  Transfer to Arusha Town1 Nacht

1. 1

   Tag 1 · Arusha

   Transfer from Arusha to Tarangire National Park

   You'll depart from Arusha after breakfast for the approximately two-hour journey to Tarangire National Park. Along the way, your eyes will be opened to all the colors and character of Tanzania: perhaps some Maasai herdsmen driving their flocks of goats to new pastures. You’ll get to know your driver-guide, amazed at his depth of knowledge as he effortlessly answers all your questions. Once you've entered Tarangire, you'll begin your game drive across a rich vista of endless golden savannah that surrounds the Tarangire River. Tarangire is huge. As you stand at the park gate and look south, it stretches as far as the eye can see. Known as the ‘Elephant Playground,’ this spectacular park contains largest population of these mighty mammals. But Tarangire is also home to buffalo, lion, gnu, zebra and gazelle and the park can rival Serengeti for sheer animal densities. What might you see today? Perhaps a solitary male lion stretched out beneath a tree, perhaps a trio of male cheetah enjoying some lazy bonding-time in the sun. Maybe some graceful Grant’s gazelle or zebra bounding away from the road or a couple of giraffes munching happily from the choicest acacia branches. For Tarangire specialties, look out for kudu and oryx. Here as in other parks, it pays not to ignore the small animals. It is so easy to be mesmerized 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 one who changes color in front of you according to the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as pimbi, an insignificant-looking creature of around 30 cm in length…who astonishingly is related to elephant! Not many trees will pass you by without something of avian interest catching your eye. A memorable flash of colour might be a lilac-breasted roller or superb starling. Ostrich is plentiful and it is hard not to chuckle at the sighting of the well-named, studious-looking secretary bird as it awkwardly pads across the grasslands. The park is also famous for its noble baobab trees, rolling savannah and acacia woodland. It can be dusty – wear a scarf over your mouth - but this is a minor inconvenience for sighting wildlife in such abundance.

   After an extensive game drive, you will head to the lodge for check-in, dinner and an overnight.

   
2. 2

   Tag 2 ·  Ngorongoro crater

   Drive to Ngorongoro conservation area for Game drive

   After your morning breakfast, at 6:30am you will enter Ngorongoro Conservation Area gate which is so close to the lodge, and after reach the rim and then descend into the vast crater itself. At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled. By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them. The crater has a population of around 120 lions, with well-defined territories; 15,000 gnu, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and around 50 black rhinos. Many gnu and other herd animals are resident, benefiting from the many sources of year-round waters and are boosted by some migrators in season. Buffalo, Serval, Jackal, Thomson’s gazelle and eland are also present in numbers. Hippos can be found in pools and swampland and highland birdlife is colorful and plentiful around the waters. Flamingos can often be seen in Lake Magadi, which occupies part of the crater floor.

   Later after your done, we shall head to the Masai community, where we shall learn more about their way of life with cattle, making beads, dancing experience and many more. After we continue our journey to central Serengeti check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.

   
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   Tag 3 · Serengeti

   Full Day Game drive at Central Serengeti National Park

   After breakfast, you will set off for your next destination, the stunning Serengeti National Park, a distance of 166 km and a journey time of around 3 ½ hours. By late morning, you will reach Serengeti, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the country’s oldest and most celebrated national park and take a game drive. There are surely not many better places on earth to see such quantities and variety of wildlife. You will absorb the breath-taking scenery, fantastic changing light and – of course – spot the many animals choosing to make their home here. Your dedicated driver-guide will be delighted to share with you his knowledge of this incredible place and its flora and fauna. With thousands of predators – and their prey numbering in the hundreds of thousands – it is no surprise that there is always something fascinating happening amongst the wildlife populations. Your driver-guide may find you lion, leopard, elephant, zebra, cheetah and antelope on today’s safari… just some of the many species here. Snap off some memorable photos, but don’t forget to simply take a deep breath and enjoy nature in its real-time, raw beauty. After the game drive, you will be taken to your accommodation for some welcome rest, your evening meal and to spend the night.

   
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   Tag 4 · Serengeti

   Full Day Game drive at Central Serengeti National Park

   You can either have a relaxed breakfast and depart for game drives around 9:00 AM with packed lunch or you can depart at 6:00 AM on an early morning game drive. You will have another morning game drive in amazing Serengeti, marveling at its animal inhabitants. With its informative visitor center, the Seronera area of Central Serengeti is the national park’s most popular area. And it is very popular with the wildlife, too. The Seronera river enjoys year-round waterflow, so there is always something of interest to observe. Several game drives can be undertaken here and might reveal lions in sizeable prides, hippo or herds of elephants - whose populations in the park have risen in recent times. Even at the center, you may well find wildlife: populations of hyrax and mongoose, as well as many small bird species. You will later enjoy your packed lunch in the wild and later continue for game drive to look for other animals as the next chance. Later in the evening head back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

   
5. 5

   Tag 5 · Northern Serengeti

   Central Serengeti to North Serengeti for Migration

   After your breakfast depart at 6:30 AM to North Serengeti with packed lunch. You will explore the central portion of the Serengeti National Park today and move towards the northern part of the park. The enroute game drive towards the Kogatende region will offer mild action from resident games. As you approach the northern part of the Serengeti, you will notice the terrain change from the usual plain grassland to a more hilly and broken terrain. The northern region offers a variety of resident game such as zebras, topi, gazelle, buffaloes, leopards and lions. A picnic lunch will be done during the day long drive itself. Based on the time of your arrival you will be able to spend a few hours by the Mara River. In the months between mid-June to September the migration can be found in this region. From mid-June to September, the Mara River in this region offers the most dramatic river crossing of the great migration. Fierce, deep and heavily rain fed the river takes an enormous toll on the migrating wildebeest. Watching the wildebeest surging through the torrential flow, some drowning and a few falling preys to lurking crocodiles is an unforgettable sight. If it’s your lucky day you will be able to witness this natural wonder and watch nature take its course. Tracing the great migration, you might even move towards the Lobo valley. The pristine lobo valley is scattered with woodlands, plains, hills and famous granite Kopjes. It offers an enormous amount of big cat game with lions, leopards and cheetah in plenty. During the dry season the permanent water sources in the valley attract plenty of resident and migratory animals, resulting in excellent game viewing. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night's rest in your accommodation.

   
6. 6

   Tag 6 · Central Serengeti

   North Serengeti Morning migration and Transfer to Central Serengeti.

   You can either have a relaxed breakfast and depart for game drives around 9:00 AM with packed lunch or you can depart at 6:00 AM on an early morning game drive to try our chance again to see the wildebeests’ migration in the morning before setting off back to central or catch a flight for those that want to Arusha town. Later after the migration, depart to Central Serengeti with packed lunch. Today you will head south towards central Serengeti. The four-hour drive to the central will offer mild enroute game. The drive south from the Mara River valley takes you through hill country, the Lobo area, woodlands and then back into Seronera terrain. The central portion of the Serengeti - known as Seronera area is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. It features the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengetis' species. As you make your way into the Seronera region, you will begin to notice the hilly and broken terrain altering into plain grasslands. In Seronera one must really look out for the many lion prides that thrive in this region. The interactions and survival of these lion prides provide an excellent game viewing experience all year round. A picnic lunch will be done during the day long drive itself. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and an overnight.

   
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   Tag 7 ·  Transfer to Arusha Town

   Transfer from Serengeti central to Arusha town.

   Transfer from your lodge after breakfast to Kilimanjaro International Airport to catch up with your flight depending on the departure time and the Airline to transfer to back to your Home. It has a 3 ½ hour journey, covering the 192 km back to Arusha for those that want to have an overnight at the hotel in Arusha you will also be dropped and the following day you will be dropped at the Airport. This marks the End of an East African Safari.