5 days – Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater

We depart Nairobi early to drive south. We cross the vast Athi plains, a region dotted with whistling thorns, and a landscape so characteristic of this part of East Africa.

Crossing the border into Tanzania at Namanga we are tempted by Maasai selling beaded trinkets, jewellery and carvings. Then closer to the city of Arusha, with a little luck, we view Kilimanjaro, the world’s largest freestanding mountain.

Arusha is located at the foot of Mount Meru on the edge of the Great Rift Valley. We stop here for shopping and to change money before making our way to camp. We have a briefing tonight to go through arrangements and what to expect on safari, and relax over our first meal together.

Distance: 278 kms
Est. Drive Time: 6 – 7 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X1 Breakfast, X1 Dinner

Leaving camp early this morning in our 4×4 open top cars we head on safari traveling towards Ngorongoro Conservation Area which sits beside the Serengeti. The drive takes us through rolling plains. Traditional Maasai herdsmen can be seen tending cattle and goats.

At the edge of the Crater rim we have superb views across the ancient caldera of Ngorongoro, before descending to the flat grasslands of Serengeti. Across these two reserves wildlife viewing is exceptional.

We arrive at Naabi Gate, the official entry to the Serengeti by mid afternoon. Serengeti provides an excellent chance to view Africa’s renowned wildlife from hyena, lion, leopard and cheetah to elephant, hippo, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, antelope and much more across the 14,000 square kilometre park. Kopjes, small hills of rocks, are favourite vantage points for lion dozing in the sun from where they keep an eye out over the vast grassy plains.

A late afternoon drive provides our first opportunity to enjoy time in the park.

The seemingly endless grasslands of the Serengeti are the stage for the famous wildebeest migration too. This is Siringitu for the Maasai – “the place where the land moves on forever”. On the annual migration 1.5 million wildebeest and other game including zebra and Thomson’s gazelle move on mass between the Mara, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti. The rains and the endless search for water and good grazing drive this movement. To encounter one of the countless wildebeest herds in a bleating, snorting dust – kicking motion on migration is an experience of a lifetime. We game drive through the late
afternoon to see what we discover.

Tonight’s camp is in the heart of the park with our fire burning and the sounds of African wildlife filling the night air.

Est Distance: 325 kms
Est. Drive Time: 6 hours including time in the Conservation Area, then game drives through the afternoon
Meals: x1 Breakfast, x1 Lunch, x1 Dinner

Included wildlife activities: Drive through Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Afternoon game drive in Serengeti National

We are up at sunrise this morning to explore further into the park, in the hope of seeing one of, if not all of, the famous Big 5 animals that inhabit this park, and much more. Viewing is often best early in the day. Big cats and other predators always capture the imagination. Regularly blonde-maned lions can be seen nonchalantly lazing on the rocky outcrops or lolling in the shade. With a little luck cheetahs can be found pacing the open grasslands. Leopards can be located resting up in the buffalo thorns and sausage trees that line the Seronera River. Spotted hyenas, bat-eared foxes and jackals also roam Serengeti, as well as the Conservation Area.

After our morning game drive we return for lunch at the Gate before leaving the plains area to continue our journey through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and up into the more mountainous terrain around the Crater rim.

A visit to a Maasai boma is arranged during which Maasai warriors perform the traditional jumping dance for us. Depending on road and time constraints, the Olduvai Gorge Museum is also a stop off point (on request) where you can find out about the Leakey’s work into the origins of man.

Our overnight camp tonight is high on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. We are at altitude here, so wrap up warm this evening.

Est. Distance: Game drives, then 163 km to Ngorongoro Crater rim
Est. Drive Time: Game drives through the morning and slow transit in afternoon
Meals: x 1 Breakfast, x1 Lunch, x1 Dinner

Included wildlife activity: Morning game drive in Serengeti National Park, return drive through the Conservation Area

Optional excursions: Maasai Boma, balloon safari over the Serengeti, Olduvai Gorge Museum (depending on road conditions and time constraints.)

As the low clouds clear from the Crater rim we take the journey down to the floor of the ancient caldera, Ngorongoro, for the chance to see more wildlife including the Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.

We spend the morning in this perfectly intact volcanic caldera and the world’s largest extinct volcano. On the Crater floor we find a garden of Eden full of all the wildlife for which Africa is famous – rhino, hippo, lion, elephant, hyena, buffalo, zebra, gazelle, impala, wildebeest, ostrich, flamingo, and many, many more. Plain’s game peacefully graze. Hippopotamus are found lolling in the pools and Lake Magadi can be rimmed with the pink of greater and lesser flamingo.

We travel back to Arusha via the village of Mto Wa Mbu. On the drive, time permitting, we stop in one of the market stalls for those who might enjoy shopping for artwork, paintings, carvings, spears, materials and beadwork.

Back in Arusha we all enjoy a final group barbecue to celebrate our experiences over the last few days.

Distance: 195 kms
Est. Drive Time: Game drives through the morning in Ngorongoro Crater, then 5 hours to our Arusha camp in the afternoon
Meals, x1 Breakfast, x1 Lunch, x1 Dinner

Included wildlife activity: Morning game drive into the Ngorongoro Crater

Today we bid farewell and travel back to Nairobi by shuttle bus. We can arrange drop off at the airport or a central location in the city. Alternatively we can drop you at Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airports or transfer you through to Moshi or Marangu if Kilimanjaro trekking.

Distance: 278 kms
Est. Drive Time: 6 – 7 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X1 Breakfast

Please note: Itineraries are given as a guide only. A safari is a journey and true journeys unfold. They are of an adventurous nature. The unexpected can arise, so do allow for this. Feel free to give us a call about your safari plans. We look forward to your enquiries.