Welcome to Enchanting Journeys

Welcome to Tanzania. After you exit in the Arrival Hall at Arusha - Kilimanjaro Airport, subsequent to customs & immigration, you will be met by a Journeys representative who will ensure your comfort and will discuss the program for the next few days and will provide the transfer to the hotel.

Arusha is the capital of the Arusha Region. Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern branch of theGreat Rift Valley, it has a temperate climate. The city is a starting point for  Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara National Park, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro & Arusha National Park.

It is also is a major international diplomatic hub for the East African Community. Since 1994, the city has hosted the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. It is a multicultural city with a population of mixed backgrounds: indigenous Bantu, Arab-Tanzanian and Indian-Tanzanian, plus a minority of Europeans & Americans, harmoniously following all major religions

Check-in on arrival.

Balance of the day free to relax or for optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements). Overnight.   

Morning, commence your safari with a short drive to Tarangire National Park.

Tarangire is a good sized national park located just to the south of Lake Manyara in northern Tanzania and is a classic Africa of lore with shimmering acacia stands, old baobab trees, Masai tribes and herds of elephant. The main highlight here is elephant, which mass here in enormous numbers during the dry season July to October.  General game is also good, although predators tend to be quite difficult to find.

In the dry-season of July-October, Tarangire National Park surpasses the Serengeti in terms of animal concentration as big herds begin to congregate around the permanent water of Tarangire River. Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It's the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem - a smorgasbord for predators - and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.

During the rainy season, these seasonal visitors scatter over a 20,000 sq km range until they exhaust the green plains and the river calls once more. But Tarangire's mobs of elephant are easily encountered, wet or dry.

The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world's largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys. More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling - all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.

Disused termite mounds are often frequented by colonies of the endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by their loud, clockwork-like duetting. Tarangire's pythons climb trees, as do its lions and leopards, lounging in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree disguises the twitch of a tail.

Check-in on arrival and relax for a while.

Proceed for a game drive to explore this beautiful park. Tarangire is best known for its herds of elephant numbering more than 2,500.  

 Return to the camp / lodge for lunch.

Depart again to enjoy another game drive in the late afternoon / evening.

Balance of the evening free to enjoy Sundowners atop Sunset Hill at Tarangire Treetops.

Overnight.  B L D

Morning, depart for Lake Manyara National Park.

The Park is tucked below the majesty of the Rift Valley wall and the white-hot shores of an ancient soda lake on the other. More than 400 species of birds can be forund here. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large waterbirds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks

From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy.

Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes - some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.

Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favoured haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions lying languidly among the branches in the heat of the day, and impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park.

You will continue up the escarpment to your lodge located on the edge of the escarpment overlooking the lake below, arriving in time for lunch.

Check-in & relax.

Shortly after, proceed for an afternoon / evening game drive.

Return to the lodge / camp.

Balance of the day free to relax or for optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements). Overnight.  B L D

Early morning, Check-out and depart for Ngorongoro Conservation Area, enroute stopping at Olduvai Gorge to visit the site where Mary and Louis Leakey first discoved the remains of Zinjanthropus Bosei, a distant ancestor of man believed to be 1.8 million years old, Australopithecus Bosei, the ‘Nutcracker Man’, a species that became extinct about 1 million years ago and fossilised footprints that date back 3.6 million years. Through this discovery, Tanzania has become known as the ‘cradle of mankind’.

A unique safari destination, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to more than 30 000 protected animals. The Ngorongoro Crater, once a gigantic volcano, is the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in existence. About 20 kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder. Nearly three million years old, it shelters one of the world's most beautiful wildlife havens. Black rhino are protected within its rim, giant tusked elephants wander the forests, black-maned lion stalk the grasslands and flamingo crowd the soda lakes.

Continue to the Ngorongoro Highlands and Check-in on arrival at the camp / lodge.

Afternoon, proceed for a game drive. A veritable “Garden of Eden”, the Crater is reputed to contain the highest density of carnivores, which includes Cheetah, Leopard and Lion. This is the only place in East Africa where one can easily observe a natural population of Black Rhino.

Return to the lodge / camp.

Balance of the day free to relax or for optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements). Overnight. B L D

At dawn, depart again for a full day game drive, descending into the crater floor itself.

Game drives through the Ngorongoro Crater begin early in the morning in closed safari vehicles with pop - up roofs. Accompanied by an expert ranger, a magnificent experience is sure to be had! The descent into the crater is one of scenic beauty, as you make your way through lush forests, home to numerous elephants & buffalo.

Spend the morning exploring this fascinating wildlife amphitheater. As you reach the inside of the Ngorongoro Crater, marvelling at the incredible landscape around you, your ranger will take you through the grassy crater floor, the unbelievable fever tree forest, the banks of Lake Magadi and the surrounding marshes. This caldera, formed by a volcano sinking, hosts a unique cross-section of eco-systems, from Soda Lake to savannah and is home to almost every major species of African mammal, which remain in the crater due to the constant supply of water from the springs. There is a very good chance of spotting the big five: lion, elephant, endangered black rhino, buffalo and leopard plus countless other African mammal species.

Lunch is served picnic style, surrounded by the natural wonders around you as well as the exceptional wildlife, roaming freely, with which you share this extraordinary paradise.

Return to the camp / lodge by evening.

Balance of the day free to relax or optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Overnight.   B L D

Morning, depart for Serengeti National Park.

You will pass through the forested slopes of Ngorongoro, before the predator rich plains of the Serengeti unfurl before you. The Serengeti ecosystem has a vast array of amazing habitats, ranging from open grassland plants to acacia strewn savannas and rocky outcrops. It sustains more than thirty species of large herbivores and over five hundred varieties of birds. As enduring as the game-viewing, is the liberating sense of space that characterises the Serengeti Plains, stretching across sunburnt savannah to a shimmering golden horizon at the end of the earth. Yet, after the rains, this golden expanse of grass is transformed into an endless green carpet flecked with wildflowers. And there are also wooded hills and towering termite mounds, rivers lined with fig trees and acacia woodland stained orange by dust.

Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th world wide wonder, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.

The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat.  But there is more to Serengeti than large mammals. Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies. A full 100 varieties of dung beetle have been recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland, to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills. Popular the Serengeti might be, but it remains so vast that you may be the only human audience when a pride of lions masterminds a siege, focussed unswervingly on its next meal.

Continue your journey to your camp with some excellent game viewing opportunities en-route.

You will stop for a picnic lunch, before arriving at the Camp, set in among a kopje, providing lovely views over the plains.

Check-in on arrival and relax for a while.

Later, proceed for a game drive to explore this beautiful park.

Return to the camp / lodge.

Balance of the day free to relax or optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Overnight.   B L D

Today you will set off on a full day of game viewing.  

You will have more time to explore a larger area of the Serengeti, with its various landscapes, from savannahs, forests, dry river beds and rocky kopjes, all of which offering a better environment for a whole range of animals.

Enjoy a picnic lunch in a secluded spot in the Park among the wildlife.

Return to the camp / lodge by late afternoon in time to enjoy a relaxing sun downer on your veranda.

Balance of the day free to relax or optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Overnight.   B L D

Today, depart for the other side of the Park.

Traveling west beyond the Seronera Valley, you will enter the Western Corridor and Grumeti River region, located amongst lovely rolling hills & acacia woodland habitat and famous for a population of huge Nile Crocodiles.

Check-in on arrival and relax for a while.

Later, proceed for a game drive to explore this beautiful park.

Return to the camp / lodge.

Balance of the day free to relax or optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Overnight.   B L D

Morning, set off on a full day of game viewing.  

Enjoy a picnic lunch in a secluded spot in the Park among the wildlife.

Return to the camp / lodge.

Balance of the day free to relax or optional activities (we would be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Overnight.   B L D

                    Depart Q Arusha

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the Grumeti Airstrip for your flight to Arusha.

Meeting on arrival by a Journeys Rep and transfer to the hotel.

Balance of the day free to relax before you are transferred back to the Airport for your onward journey.

(Room for day use).  B L

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