Safaris of Substance
The core focus on this ‘ultimate’ safari experience is the Serengeti National Park however, you will also visit the iconic Ngorongoro Crater. After a quick overnight in Arusha, offering time to recover from your flight, your driver / guide will drive you to Karatu for a 2-night stay at the lovely Gibb’s Farm. An organic farm and coffee plantation, it offers 30 acres of coffee, 10 acres of vegetables and fruit and 5 acres of flowers and herbs.
From this idyllic location you will travel by road to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater with spectacular views of the caldera floor below, then drive down into the crater to enjoy the sensational wildlife that call the crater home including black rhino, lion, elephant, leopard, hyena, jackal, cheetah, serval cat and many plains game species too.
Though, without question the key spectacle on this adventure is time spent in the Serengeti National Park with Alex Walker’s Serian Camp. The camp moves periodically to take full advantage of the wildebeest migration. For example, from mid-June to mid-November, along with 1.6 million wildebeest, the camp is located in the far north of the Serengeti, within minutes of the major crossing points. You will benefit by having your own private safari vehicle and dedicated specialist guide with the safari experience including walking safaris as well as unlimited 4WD game drives and night drives. Follow the migration to your hearts content!
You will love
- Iconic Ngorongoro Crater
- Wildebeest migration in the Serengeti
- Private safari vehicle and dedicated guide
- Walking safaris
- Unlimited 4WD game drives, including night drives
- Follow the migration
8 UNFORGETTABLE DAYS
DAY 1 | ARUSHA | 1 NIGHT
Arrive to Kilimanjaro International Airport, where you will be met and privately transferred to your hotel for the night. Time to relax and recover from your flight or enjoy an optional excursion, such as a bike ride or coffee plantation tour. Evening at leisure before the real adventure begins tomorrow.
DAY 2-3 | KARATU | 2 NIGHTS
After breakfast, depart with your guide and travel by road (approx. 4 hours) to Gibb’s Farm. Located halfway between Lake Manyara and the famous Ngorongoro Crater, the lodge offers breathtaking scenery and impressive wildlife sightings, as well as unique cultural activities in and around the coffee farming area of Karatu. This afternoon relax at the lodge or enjoy a spa treatment or guided tour of the farm. The following day (day 3), after an early breakfast, depart for the Ngorongoro Crater (approx. 1 hour) with packed lunches with your driver-guide. After entering the national park, you can stop at the viewpoint to take in the panorama of the dormant caldera of Ngorongoro, before driving around to the descent road to reach the crater floor. Here your game drive begins, searching for any of the abundant wildlife living in this unique place – Ngorongoro has good populations of lion, elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, numerous species of antelope and if you are lucky you may see a leopard or one of the resident black rhino. In the early afternoon, drive back to the crater rim and return to Gibbs Farm after a day full of incredible wildlife sightings.
DAY 4-7 | SERENGETI | 4 NIGHTS
This morning, after breakfast, you will say goodbye to your driver / guide as he transfers you to the local airstrip to join a scheduled light aircraft charter flight, deep into the Serengeti National Park to spend 4 amazing nights at Alex Walker’s Serian Camp. Serian Serengeti is a mobile camp, where the location is governed by the wildebeest migration. For example, from mid-June to mid-November, along with 1.6 million gnus, the camp is located in the far north of the Serengeti plains. The beauty of Northern Serengeti is it is the heart of the crossings, and in this respect, it is all about location, location, location. The camp is set a mere 2 kilometres from the Mara River, within minutes of the major crossing points. You will have the benefit of your own private safari vehicle and dedicated guide; guides who are trained by Alex Walker himself. You will enjoy walking safaris as well as unlimited 4WD game drives and fascinating night drives. Search out or follow the migration to your hearts content, it’s all about offering you the ultimate safari experience and adventure.
DAY 8 | END OF SAFARI
Today, after your final morning game drive and breakfast, transfer to the local airstrip to join a scheduled charter flight to Kilimanjaro for your onward international connection. Alternatively, there is also the option to fly to Rwanda to see the Gorilla’s, or to the Masai Mara in Kenya to continue your safari adventures, or even fly to Zanzibar for several days relaxing in the sun.
WHERE YOU’LL STAY
A selection of the finest safari camps
Legendary Lodge – Arusha
Legendary Lodge is a luxury Colonial Plantation Farmhouse located on the outskirts of Arusha, just ten minutes from the airport. Surrounded by a working coffee farm and set in lush tropical gardens with views of Mount Meru, it is a cool and peaceful city retreat - the ideal spot to spend a couple of nights pre– or post-safari. Read More
Gibb’s Farm – Ngorongoro Foothills
First constructed by a German farmer in the 1930's to be the homestead of a large coffee plantation, Gibb's Farm is now a warm and inviting safari lodge that imparts a sense of well-being and tranquillity as you take in the beauty of nature, relax into the rhythm of farm life and experience the warm hospitality of the local community. Read More
Alex Walker’s Mobile Serengeti South – Serengeti National Park
At Alex Walker's Mobile Serengeti South, set up from mid-December to May, stay in one of 6 spacious and comfortable tents in prime position to witness the wildebeest birthing season. The area is surrounded by predators ready to feast, zebra dotting the landscape and there is also the chance to spot wild dog. Read More
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