11 Day Tanzania Photographic Safari Package

After an early breakfast we will drive to Arusha National Park for a wildlife drive and picnic lunch. Chance to see the beautiful Black and White Colobus Monkey, hornbills and other birds of the montane forest, Arusha is a breathtaking park (often bypassed by tourists in a hurry to get to Serengeti) that includes the alkaline Momella Lakes, the Ngurdoto Crater, spectacular waterfalls, and 14,000 foot Mt. Meru in the background.  In the afternoon we will proceed to Tarangire National Park and check in before dinner to this Maasai-run eco-lodge, situated just outside Tarangire National Park.  Elephants sometimes roam through camp and rub their behinds on the side of your hut!  Overnight at Lake burunge tented camp -F/B

The day starts with an early breakfast and then a morning wildlife drive in Tarangire National Park with picnic lunch inside the Park.  Baobab trees, herds of elephant, lions and occasional leopards inhabit the riverine forest. After lunch we will continue our wildlife drive and eventually return to the lodge for dinner.  Overnight. At Lake burunge tented camp -F/B Note: Tarangire is another one of those Parks that tourists hurry past on their way to Serengeti.  This is a big mistake that we won’t make!

We will descend over 600 meters into the crater to view wildlife for an afternoon safari tour. Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park, is its dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the south western corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually have been seen here. Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge

Non game-viewing travel time: 5 hours

Distance: 250 km

After breakfast we will head towards the Serengeti National Park, leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa – the Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. The wildebeest migration, normally pass through the Lobo area every year around July / August en-route to the Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve and again in late October / November en-route to the southern Serengeti National Park.

We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park.

• Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge.

After breakfast, enjoy a full day game drive in the Serengeti National Park. The area around Lobo and the Grumeti River has good resident game throughout the year. Non-migrating game like elephant, buffalo, gazelle, zebra, lion, leopard and cheetah can be seen here all year round. The game viewing is very good and you can follow game for long periods without seeing other vehicles – truly one of the forgotten corners of the Serengeti Plains. Magnificent riverine trees can be found along the river lines and bird life such as kingfishers and fish eagles can be found here.

• Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Serena Lodge.

Non game-viewing travel time: 3 hours

After breakfast we head towards the far northern reaches of the Serengeti National Park, also known as the Wagakuria. We will do a game drive en-route from the Lobo area to the Wagakuria area. As we head north, good sightings of giraffe, plain game, herds of buffalo and elephants can often be seen.

We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch will we enjoy an afternoon game drive in the area. The wildebeest migration can normally be found in the Wagakuria area from August to October, depending on rainfall patterns. A long stretch of the Mara River runs through the northern Serengeti National Park and the Mara River provides the migration with its most difficult obstacle. Witnessing the frantic herds of wildebeest crossing the Mara River is amazing.

• Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Safari Camp.

After breakfast enjoy a full day game drive in the Wagakuria area. Resident wildlife numbers are exceptionally high in the Wagakuria area, with prides of lion up to 30 strong, however from August to October the area turns into a wildlife paradise. The key feature is the Mara River and it is not uncommon to see the herds cross the Mara River north on one day and then back south a few days later. Please take note – to actually finding a crossing is very difficult and is sometimes a matter of luck. A herd can be seen next to river and only decide to cross or not cross until a couple of days later. This area is a stunning region with kopjes, woodland, riverine vegetation and open plains, similar to Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve.

• Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Safari Camp.

Lake Ndutu is situated right on the border between the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park.    At this season the Ndutu area is often the most exciting place in the Serengeti, and therefore in the whole of Tanzania. Over one million grazing mammals stream into the short grass plains after the onset of the rains, occurring at a density of many thousand per square kilometre, or even tens of thousands!

In places the plains are largely empty, but in places they literally seethe with mammals – mainly Blue Wildebeest, but also huge numbers of Burchell’s Zebras and Thomson’s Gazelles. We should enjoy some amazing experiences here as we drive right amongst these vast gatherings of large animals until we are completely surrounded and look out over a sea of large mammals that may stretch away to the horizon – a truly incredible sight.

Predators are of course attracted to such a wealth of potential food and we should encounter Lions, perhaps a whole pride trotting along on the edge of a herd, which will part to let them through, or lolling around with full bellies like huge domestic cats. Ungainly but powerful Spotted Hyenas, less lovely but curiously impressive nonetheless, will also be seen regularly, and both they and the Lions typically allow one to get amazingly close, making for wonderful photography opportunities. Here also, feeding on carrion or small mammals, are Common Jackals and delightful Bat-eared Foxes.

There are plenty of photogenic birds too, such as Ostriches striding across the plains, flamingoes on Lakes Ndutu and Masek, the impressive Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers hitching rides on the animals, while out on the shortgrass plains we should find interesting subjects such as the bizarre-looking Secretary bird and Chestnut-bellied and Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, and we may well come across several groups of vultures squabbling over the remains of kills.

At night, tame Common Genets come right into the dining room of our lodge, sitting on the roof beams and waiting for a handout, or scampering around the floor as if they were pets.

One of the most memorable of all our experiences in this fantastic place will be a hunt for the wildlife glory of the Serengeti plains, the incomparable Cheetah. For the best chance of success, we will set off early and drive far from the nearest road. Here the grass is long enough to give some cover to predators, but not much. By careful scanning we should locate Cheetahs hunting in this area and we may be privileged to spend some time with them, perhaps watching those stalking gazelles or even witnessing a kill. These graceful animals are quite fearless of vehicles and so we may enjoy some extraordinary close encounters and with a bit of luck we will be entirely alone as we follow these marvellous creatures across their ancestral lands.

The rolling landscapes and beautiful skies of Serengeti make for great scenery, and we should be able to find wildlife in wonderful situations for photography, with backdrops of the hills or the skyline. Here we may encounter Giraffes striding out across the wide valleys as they make their way between the wooded ridges, see heavy, cattle-like Eland thundering along at unlikely speeds, observe lines of Blue Wildebeest making their way, who knows where, and watch in fascination as a Cheetah tries to creep up on the unsuspecting Thomson’s Gazelles. Lunch: You will have Hot Lunch at a Campsite

• Afternoon game drive at Ndutu area
• Enjoy Dinner & overnight Serengeti Safari Camp.

Today we will reluctantly make the return journey to Kilimanjaro airport, where our Tanzania wildlife photo safari ends early this evening. We will break the journey for lunch at pleasant restaurant en route.

Airport for your departure flight.