7-Day Tour in Lake Manyara, Serengeti Plains, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire

Day 1: Arusha- lake manyara

1. Lake Manyara National Park
   Pass by
   Non game-viewing travel time: 2½ hours
   Distance: 130 km
   
   Pick up from Arusha and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park. We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch we head into the Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive. 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.
   
   Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Day 2: Lake Manyara- Serengeti Plains

1. Serengeti National Park
   Pass by
   Non game-viewing travel time: 6 hours
   Distance: 205 km
   
   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.
   
   Dinner and overnight in the Seronera area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Day 3: Serengeti Plains

1. Serengeti National Park
   Pass by
   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’s centre not far from the Serengeti Seronera Lodge and public campsites, is well worth a visit after the morning’s game drive
   In the afternoon we will follow the Kopjes Circuit, which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lion and some formidably large cobras.

Day 4: Serengeti Plains- Ngorongoro Crater

1. Ngorongoro Conservation Area
   Pass by
   Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours
   Distance: 145 km
   
   After breakfast at the lodge do we depart to Ngorongoro Conservation area. We will stopover at Olduvai Gorge, boasting with a history dating back to the dawn of time. It was here, that the anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of the’Nutcracker Man’ and ‘Handy Man’, both very significant links in the chain of human evolution.
   
   We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and spend the afternoon at leisure.
   
   Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested on the crater rim, no accommodation available inside the crater.

Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater

1. Ngorongoro Crater
   Pass by
   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.
   
   Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested on the crater rim, no accommodation available inside the crater.

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater- Tarangire National Park

1. Tarangire National Park
   Pass by
   Non game-viewing travel time: 3½ hours
   Distance: 155 km
   
   After breakfast we depart for the Tarangire National Park. 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 Fringed-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings. After a picnic lunch we do an afternoon game drive.
   
   Dinner and overnight in the Tarangire National Park area, as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.

Day 7: Tarangire National Park- Arusha

1. Arusha
   Pass by
   Non game-viewing travel time: 2 hours
   Distance: 120 km
   
   We enjoy breakfast at the lodge and then transfer back to Arusha. Upon arrival in Arusha will we have lunch and then we will end our African safari adventure. You will be taken to your hotel, which ends our safari services.

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels