Karibu, Tanzania! Family Safari

Day 1: Arrive in Tanzania

Karibu Mgeni (that's Swahili for "Welcome!"); your safari begins. Here you will be met by  your guide and transferred to the Mt. Meru Game Lodge for your overnight. The lodge was established in 1959 by Dr. Andreas Von Nagy with the goal of providing superior accommodation to discerning animal lovers visiting Tanzania. All rooms have verandas with comfortable chairs where guests may sit in the early morning, enjoying the peaceful surroundings, soaking up the unique atmosphere of the Lodge and watching the animal and bird-life. Mt. Meru Lodge is a wonderful place to start your Tanzanian safari adventure.

Day 2: Tarangire National Park

Your first African day dawns, and your true adventure begins! After breakfast, depart for Tarangire National Park in your four-wheel drive vehicles. Tarangire retains a real air of undiscovered Africa. Perhaps it is the vast number of baobab trees that first catch your eye as you enter the park. There are a fantastic number of colorful birds that swoop and strut along the rough paths throughout the year. Because the park extends through two game-controlled areas, wildlife moves freely throughout. On arrival, look for wildlife as you drive toward the Tarangire Safari Lodge, beautifully situated on a bluff overlooking the Tarangire River, arriving in time for lunch. This afternoon, with your cameras loaded and your binoculars at the ready, you will head out for your afternoon game drive. The drivers will have learned the best spottings in the morning, and this will determine which direction you will head. This is not an amusement park, so you never know where the animals may be or what they will be doing. Return to the Tarangire Safari Lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Tarangire National Park

You will have a full day of game-viewing and exploring Tarangire National Park in a 4WD safari vehicle. The park is spectacular in the dry season (July to October) when many of the migratory species come back to the permanent waters of Tarangire River. Huge herds of wildebeest, zebras, elephants, eland, and oryx gather to stay in Tarangire until the onset of the rains when they migrate again to good grazing areas. The calving season falls in the early months of the year, through January, February, and March, taking advantage of the abundant fresh grass during the rainy season, so you are quite likely to see this year's youngsters in the herds. The park is also noted for its prolific bird life, the occasional sighting of cheetah, and the rare African Wild Dog. Return to the Lodge for brunch, relaxing at the camp during the hottest hours of the day, before setting out again in the afternoon. Or you may choose to relax at the lodge and enjoy its facilities. Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Safari Lodge or similar.

Day 4: Tarangire / Lake Eyasi

This morning, you will head west to Lake Eyasi. This beautiful lake lies between the Eyasi Escarpment and the Kidero Mountains. The meadows along the shores of the lake and among the forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife including leopard, hippo, a variety of monkeys, various birds, greater and lesser flamingos, storks, and pelicans. This area is also home to the Hadzabe people who are believed to have lived here for nearly 10,000 years. Dinner and overnight at the Tindiga Tented Lodge (or similar).

Day 5: Hadzabe Tribe

Get ready for an exciting day! After breakfast, you will be introduced to your local guide, a member of one of the tribes, who will accompany you in the area. Take an afternoon hike to meet the Hadzabe tribe. Due to their nomadic lifestyle, it is difficult to predict where you will find them, but your guide will know where to look. The Hadzabe tend to shadow the movements of the wildlife, as they are hunters and rely upon the migrating herds for food. Spend the day learning about their lifestyles and traditions and possibly visiting the caves where they sleep nights while hunting. The Hadzabe are of Cushitic background and are very similar to their Kalahari Bushmen relatives. They still use bow and arrow for hunting and still speak a click-based language. While traveling through this area, you may also see smaller game such as dik-dik and lesser kudu. Dinner and overnight at the Tindiga Tented Lodge (or similar).

Day 6: Serengeti National Park

Travel further to the west toward the Serengeti. On the way, you will stop at Olduvai Gorge to visit the site where Mary and Louis Leakey first discovered the remains of Zinjanthropus bosei, a distant ancestor of man believed to be 1.8 million years old. They also found Australopithecus,  a species that became extinct about a million years ago, as well as fossilized footprints that date back 3.6 million years. From here, the predator-rich plains of the Serengeti reveal themselves before you as you go on a game drive through the park toward the central plains, arriving at your bush camp just before dusk. The Serengeti is a vast plain of approximately 5,750 square miles and is full of different features, predators, prey, and a number of species of birds. Your driver-guide will choose your route based on his extensive knowledge of the park and local conditions. Your trip might include a driving along the banks of the Grumeti River in search of basking lions, tracking cheetah through the Gol Kopjes, or hunting leopard (with camera, of course) along the Seronera River. Dinner and overnight at Ikoma Bush Camp.

Day 7 - 8: Serengeti

Enjoy two full days of game viewing, with picnic lunches, in the most famous National Park in Africa. Explore the southern plains and western hills, where at this time of the year around two million wildebeest, zebra, and a vast assortment of other plains animals congregate to feast on the nutrient-rich grasses growing with the developing rains. You will probably agree that this is the most impressive and dramatic wildlife spectacle on earth. There is an optional balloon safari available, but it must be booked in advance. Overnights (two) at Ikoma Bush Camp.

Day 9: Ngorongoro Crater

Proceed to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a World Heritage Site and home to nearly 25,000 animals, for an exciting half-day of game viewing. Here you have a very good chance of spotting the big five: lion, elephant, endangered black rhino, buffalo, and leopard, plus countless other African mammal species. You will also visit a Maasai Village and learn about their unique culture. Return to the lodge just before dusk. Dinner and overnight at Rhino Lodge, located near the crater rim.

Day 10: Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast, spend another half-day in the crater. This caldera, formed by a collapsed volcano, hosts a unique cross-section of ecosystems, from Soda Lake to the savannah, and is home to almost every major species of African mammal. Your presence does not alarm the wildlife, allowing for close proximity game viewing. Return to the lodge for lunch. Later in the afternoon, you will have an optional guided hike along the rim of the crater into the Melaga depression. End the roughly two-to three-hour hike with a stunning view over the Serengeti short grass plains.

Day 11: Ngorongora / Arusha / Onward

Today your adventure comes to an end. Depart in the morning after breakfast for Arusha. You may have time to walk around the city before being transferred to the Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight home. Or extend your stay with a visit to beautiful Zanzibar Island.