Essence of Tanzania – 4-Day Luxury Safari Escape

In the morning you will be collected from your accomodation in Arusha by your personal Safari Guide. The drive to Tarangire is on a good tarmac road, across the gently rolling Masai plains with scattered acacia trees. En route, you will pass many Masai in their colurful dress walking on the roadside, riding bicycles, herding their cattle and driving donkeys carts.Tarangire National Park is well known for its large elephant herds. From the open roof of the vehicle you will experience the seasonal swamps, savanna and Tarangire River in search of many animals including zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant and giraffe. It’s possible that you will catch a glimpse of a lion stalking its prey or leopards watching and relaxing in the trees above. After an extensive game drive, having experienced the various sights and sounds of the wilderness, you will leave the park and head to a nearby luxury hotel, where you will enjoy dinner and an overnight stay.

After an early breakfast you will drive through the Rift Valley to the cooler regions of the Ngorongoro highlands. The Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest volcanic caldera, is almost 20km wide, approximately 610 m deep and is known for its large variety of wildlife, including the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard. It should be recongnised as one of the world’s wonders. It is truly magnificent.In addition to the Big Five, the various springs attract animals such as wildebeest, gazelles, reedbucks and more than 500 bird species. At a picnic site you will have lunch before enjoying some more game viewing in the crater. You will leave the crater in the afternoon, driving up the steep road out of the crater and return to the hotel.

After breakfast, you will drive to Lake Manyara National Park, a small but diverse park 120km west of Arusha. The park’s namesake is a shallow, salt lake. It covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons and is home to thousands of flamingos and over 500 other bird species. On your exploration of the park you will see monkeys, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant and with some luck, lions lounging in the trees. In the evening, you will return to Arusha.