Safari Wildlife and Walking
You like active travelling? You want to see elephants, lions, zebras and giraffes on safari? But you do not want just to sit in the jeep? You want to hike, climb and be active? Then this tour “Wildlife & Walking” is just the ticket for you.
Die Highlights of your Safari:
• private safari in northern Tanzania
• walking safari with ranger in Arusha National Park
• game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater
• guided walk to Flamingo hotbed Lake Natron
• Village walk in Mto wa Mbu
Itinerary and Highlights of the Safari Wildlife and Walking
Day 1 Arrival Day Tanzania
You will be picked up at the Kilimanjaro International Airport and our driver will bring you to your Hotel in Moshi.
Day 2 Moshi – Arusha National Park
On the first day you will go on a three-hour drive to the East African Rift. Lake Manyara is the only national park at the Rift Valley. Right behind the entrance gate, there is a groundwater lake which opens up to grass fields covered with acacias and open grasslands. There is marshland at the edge of the salt lake where hippos and about 400 different bird species live. The park is known for its tree-climbing lions. You can also find leopards and many different types of monkeys. However, giraffes, impalas, gnus, zebras, hippos, large herds of buffaloes and flamingos are predominantly found.
Day 3 Arusha National Park – Lake Natron
After breakfast, you will drive along the East African Rift to Lake Natron. Far away from civilization, you will see
rolling hills as far as the eye can reach. From time to time, you will pass Maasai with their cattle herds. The area is hardly developed, and some zebras and gnus sometimes get lost there. After a short visit to the Gilay Crater and a walk up its hill, you will suddenly find yourself in front of the steep Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano. The 2,878 m high “Mountain of God” is the only active volcano left in Tanzania. Back on the route, you will approach today’s goal, the Egaruka Maasai village.
Day 4 Walk to Lake Natron – visit hot springs
Early in the morning, you will set out on a hike to Lake Natron with a Maasai guide. The first few meters will lead you along the Engare Sero stream and the shady riparian forest before the seemingly endless savanna opens up in front of you. The landscape is characterized by the volcanic ash, small rivers and green oases with acacias. After about two hours, you will get a marvelous view of the unique Lake Natron and its bright pink flamingo colonies. In the afternoon, you have all the time you want for bird watching. You will admire the high concentration of great white egrets, bee-eaters, pelicans, kingfishers, etc. along the Natron lakeside.
Day 5 River walk Engaruka – Ngorongoro Crater
Today, you will climb the holy mountain of the Maasai, the Ol Doinyo Lengai. At midnight, your guide will take you on a one-hour drive to the starting point. At first, the path is only a shallow gradient and leads through knee-high grass. As you leave vegetation behind you, the way up gets a lot more difficult. At sunrise you will reach the upper rim of the crater. The view of the bright red rift and the reflection of the clouds in Lake Natron are simply breath-taking. Once you have returned to the starting point, you will cross the hills of the Karatu District and head to Ngorongoro Crater.
Day 6 Ngorongoro Crater
Today you will enter the Ngorongoro Crater, which is a very special place and was declared a World Heritage site in 1979. You can find almost all wild animals species of East Africa on the crater floor and you will have a good chance of seeing the famous “big five” – lions, rhinos, elephants, buffaloes and leopards. They all have habitats in the natural reserve of Ngorongoro, a naturally delimited space. You will spend the night at the crater rim.
Day 7 Mto wa Mbu – Moshi
In the early morning, you will go to the Mto wa Mbu village. During dry season, it looks like an oasis. You will have time to explore the market and go on a cultural discovery tour through the village, and you will pass rice and banana plantations while walking to Lake Manyara. It is here that you get the rare red bananas. When you arrive at Lake Manyara, your driver will pick you up and take you back to Moshi.
Day 8 Departure Day
Depending on the time of departure, after breakfast our driver guide will drop you off at the airport or you can start another travel package. Also there are several day tours offered from Moshi (Coffee Tour, Biking Tour in the Sugar Plantations, Lake Challa Tour – please book in advance).
