Unless your arrival time yesterday allowed time for your safari briefing, then this will take place after breakfast. We will provide you with all the essential information, before we set off to our first safari destination, the diverse Tarangire National Park, where we will enjoy lunch, take an afternoon game drive and spend the night. Journey: (morning) Arusha to Tarangire National Park Our two-hour (120km) morning journey first takes us westwards from Arusha. Along the route, your eyes will be opened to all the colours 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. Day’s Highlight Your game drive in Tarangire, with its incredible diversity, massive baobab trees and herds of elephants. Safari (Game Drive) in Tarangire National Park 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 phenomenal park contains huge herds of these mighty mammals. But Tarangire is also home to buffalo, lion, wildebeest, 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 giraffe munching happily from the choicest acacia branches. For Tarangire specialities, look out for kudu and oryx. Here as in other parks, it pays not to ignore the small animals. It’s 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 colour in front of you according to the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as pimpi, an insignificant-looking creature of around 30cm 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 blue-eared starling. Ostrich are plentiful and it’s 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 splendid 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.

• Camps/Lodge: Hotel / Lodge
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Tarangire to Ngorongoro Crater (afternoon) This morning we depart from Tarangire after a relaxing breakfast, with our goal being the remarkable Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Todays’s journey from Tarangire to Ngorongoro takes us to the northwest, a journey of around 4 ½ hours (199km) Day’s Highlight Like nothing else on Earth, the stunning crater of Ngorongoro is a unique home for many, many species of Tanzania’s wildlife. With some luck, you may even see a black rhino here. Safari in Ngorongoro Crater From the rim, we admire the incredible view 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 wildebeest, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and around 50 black rhino. Many wildebeest and other herd animals are resident, benefiting from the many sources of year-round waters and are boosted by some migrators in season. Buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle and eland are also present in numbers. Hippos can be found in pools and swampland and highland birdlife is colourful and plentiful around the waters. Flamingos can often be seen in Lake Magadi, which occupies part of the crater floor.

• Camps/Lodge: Our Ngorongoro Tortilis Camp is only a 20km drive from the crater itself (around 40 minutes), set beneath an atmospheric acacia ‘umbrella,’ located in dense, sloping woodland and adjacent to a traditional Maasai community. Some will call the set-up here ‘glamping’, and it certainly offers a great level of comfort, considering the wilderness location. The nearby Ol Mote and Makarot mountains give it an added dimension, but it is the warm welcome of the staff which is the highlight for many of the visitors here. You’ll enjoy the team’s singing and dancing, perhaps you will even be tempted to join in. You can relax, have a drink, sit in front of the camp fire, and listen to the sounds of the noisy tree hyrax who live nearby. Then, enjoy dinner – and fall asleep, dreaming of the day’s highlights.
• Meals: BreakFast & Dinner

Ngorongoro to Serengeti National Park (afternoon) After breakfast, we set off for our next destination, Serengeti, a distance of 145km and a journey time of around 3 ½ hours. On arrival, we take lunch and have an afternoon game drive. Day’s Highlight Here’s a National Park which will offer you a whole variety of wildlife surprises over the next few days, but perhaps today’s highlight – certainly for first-time visitors – will simply be the Serengeti terrain itself. The sheer vastness, as the plains roll away in front of you into eternity, will leave you with a sense of awe. Safari in Serengeti National Park At last! Serengeti, the incomparable wonder of Tanzania, will be the stage for the natural animal theatrics which will be performed over the next few days. Your game drive here combines the known with the unknown, the certainty that you will be amazed with the uncertainty of exactly what you will see and when. Changing light, a changing cast of animal actors, ensuring that at every turn there is a new experience. Snap off some memorable photos, but don’t forget to simply take a deep breath and enjoy nature in its real-time, raw beauty.

• Camps/Lodge: Hotel / Lodge
• Meals: Breakfast , lunch & dinner

Today, we set off from our accommodation in the Central Serengeti. Wildlife is abundant: sometimes you may think it has come to find you, rather than the other way round. Today’s highlight is unknown, as the animals don’t publish their schedule (!) What we see also depends on the season, but this area is where bushland meets grassland, a favorite spot for big cats looking for prey. Cheetah, leopard and lions are all possibilities today. Safari in Serengeti National Park Today is a full day of discovery, a chance to enjoy the varied landscapes of the Central Serengeti. The Seronera River weaves its way through this area, providing waters for all species of wildlife. You will also see the distinctive rocky outcrops, the famous kopjes which characterize the Serengeti landscape. Lunch will be an unforgettable experience, enjoyed in the middle of the bush. Everything here varies with the seasons, but in May, November and December migrating herds join the already rich population of resident animals which live here year-round. (In the rainy season, the landscape turns black with hundreds of thousands of wildebeest – a simply incredible sight.)

• Camps/Lodge: Hotel / Lodge
• Meals: Lunch / Dinner

Experience a day of adventure and culture with this tour from Arusha to Materuni Waterfalls. Start in Arusha with a luxurious van, then immerse yourself in local coffee production in Materuni Village. Cap off the day with a hike to the stunning Materuni Waterfalls. A perfect blend of natural beauty and cultural immersion in a single day. In this tour you will taste local dishes, locally made beer, wines and lots of surprises. After morning breakfast at your hotel our guide will pick you up and the day tour will commence. The Materuni Waterfall tour starts with a walk through the area adjacent to the waterfall, rich in beautiful natural scenery of Tanzania. It is an opportunity to see how local fruit like avocados, mangos, lemons, and bananas grow, as well as learn some of the local history, traditions, village economy, agricultural and cultural life. When you get to the waterfall, you can refresh yourself in the natural pool, so swimsuits will come in handy! The tour will continue with a visit to the local village lying in the coffee plantations. The villagers will demonstrate the process of coffee farming and guide you through the preparation of coffee from a bean to a cup. Sing and dance along with the Chaga people as they are grinding, roasting and boiling the beans. When the coffee is ready, villagers will serve lunch - a national Chagga meal. Drop off at your hotel.

• Camps/Lodge: Hotel / Lodge
• Meals: Dinner