8- Days Great Wildebeest - Mara River Crossings Serengeti Migration

Welcome to Tanzania! You will be picked up by a Phonex Expeditions Africa representative and driven to your accommodation in Arusha. Depending on your arrival time, you will hopefully have time to relax and prepare for your adventure of a lifetime!

Busy Arusha is an essential part of safari life here in northern Tanzania, and most travelers pass through at some stage.

Accommodation

Mid Range : Arusha Planet Hotel

Meals & Drinks : At own expense

You will be picked up in the morning after breakfast by the Phonex Expeditions Africa driver guide. This morning you will drive to Tarangire National Park. The transit drive is approximately two and a half hours on good tarmac roads. The park is named after a famous Tarangire River, which runs through it. The "river of warthogs" is the only source of water for wildlife during the dry season. The park is well known for huge elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffes, bushbucks, and hartebeest. These animals are often followed by predators, including lions and leopards.

There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire than anywhere else on the planet! The huge and ancient baobab trees can be seen here. Some of them are said to have lived for more than a thousand years.

Lunch will be at a picnic site inside the park. After your game drive, you will transit to your accommodation in Karatu.

Accommodation

Mid Range : Eileen's Tree Inn

Meals & Drinks : All meals included & drinks not included.

After breakfast, you will drive up into the cooler regions of Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There will be a chance to stop and to see the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater. You will then transit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Serengeti National Park, entering at the south of the park.

The Serengeti is truly spectacular; it is famous for its vast open grasslands, which allow for excellent sightings of wildlife. The Serengeti boasts an abundance of wildlife such as impalas, buffalo, crocodiles, and hippos. In addition to the iconic landscape, you have a good chance of encountering predators, and you may see lions, cheetahs & leopards.

After your game drive, you will head towards your accommodation in time for dinner.

Accommodation

Mid Range: Embalakai Serengeti Camp

Meals & Drinks : All meals included & drinks not included.

After breakfast, you will wend your way through the Serengeti towards the northern region, stopping off on your way to experience the wonder on the way. While it boasts abundant wildlife, the Serengeti is well known for the Annual Great Migration. Vast numbers of wildebeest, zebra, and antelope move in an annual pattern, constantly seeking fresh grazing. The migration can be found in any given month; you just need to know where to look! At this time of the year, the Great Migration is normally in the Northern Serengeti.

Accommodation

Mid Range : Mara Heritage Camp

Meals & Drinks : All meals are included & meals are not included.

The landscape is different in this part of the Serengeti and is made up of hills, riverine forests, plains, and rocky outcrops. The immense Mara River cuts through this area, which provides the setting for the mind-blowing sights that you may witness during this time here. During the river crossing, over two million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of zebras, and antelope attempt to cross the Mara River in search of grazing and water. While they undergo their greatest feat during migration, Nile crocodiles do not make it easier for them. On the other side, lions, hyenas, leopards, and cheetahs can be found waiting with growling stomachs and high hopes.

Accommodation

Mid Range : Mara Heritage Camp

Meals & drinks : All meals are included; drinks are not included.

After breakfast, you will slowly return to Central Serengeti; with an en route game drive, you may wish to continue with the search of the migration before leaving the special place.

Every day is different in Serengeti and there is always plenty to explore.

Accommodation

Mid Range: Embalakai Serengeti Camp

Meals & Drinks: All meals included; drinks are not included

This morning, you will wend your way back through the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, seeing more animals on the way (it is common to see a herd of giraffes on the lush slopes). You should reach the crater early at noon. When you first see the Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. Concealed by steep volcanic walls is a pristine wilderness, including sweeping savannah, pockets of acacia woodlands, and glistening lakes and swamps. The crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago. The drive down into the crater is an adventure in itself, and when you get to the crater floor, you quickly find yourself amongst large numbers of wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, and more than 500 bird species. The crater provides you with a chance of seeing the endangered black rhino, who can be spotted in the open grasslands.

After afternoon game drives, you will drive to your accommodation in Karatu.

Accommodation

Mid Range: Rhino Lodge

Meals & Drinks: Meals are included; drinks are not included.

This morning, you will drive to Lake Manyara National Park. your final destination on this epic safari! Manyara is a small and diverse park 120 km west of Arusha. Everything you will see here is on a different scale. It is both compact (this is the narrowest park in Africa) and epic (the Great Rift Escarpment towers over Lake Manyara's western boundary). The park's namesake is a shallow salt lake. It covers a large part of the park, flooding and drying with the season, and is a home to thousands of wading birds (including flamingos and over 500 other bird species). You may see baboons and elephants in the park's thick evergreen forest, and watch for the tree-climbing lions that have become famous throughout Africa.

You will enjoy your picnic lunch in the park.

After your game drive, you will be dropped off at a place of your choosing, e.g., Arusha, Arusha Airport, or Kilimanjaro Airport. We hope you have enjoyed your safari with Phonex Expeditions Africa!

No Accommodation

Breakfast & Lunch included