Our eight-day river crossing safari takes you into the northern Serengeti and offers the best chance of seeing death-defying leaps and heart-wrenching near misses as you spend multiple nights and days in the world-famous Serengeti National Park.

DAY 01: ARRIVAL

Upon arrival you will be picked up from JRO with your excellent guide. After meet and greet we will be transferred to our hotel in the City. We will end our day with a short briefing of your journey to the wilderness to be started early tomorrow. Later on, we will enjoy our dinner and depart to our rooms to rest all, excited for tomorrow.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Dinner

 DAY 02: CENTRAL SERENGETI

As well as the migration of ungulates, the Serengeti National Park is well known for its stock of other resident wildlife, particularly the “Big Five” – lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros, and buffalo – as well as cheetahs, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles, Topis, Elands, Waterbucks, Hyenas, Baboons, Impalas, African Wild Dogs and Giraffes. The park also boasts over 500 bird species, including ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, crowned crane, marabou stork, martial eagle, lovebirds, and many other species.  We shall be game driving en-route catching up with the Serengeti wildlife. Central Serengeti has abundant wildlife to enjoy all year long. We then shall head to our accommodation before dusk to enjoy a well-deserved rest.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 03: CENTRAL SERENGETI – SOUTHERN SERENGETI

After enjoying our breakfast, we’ll start driving towards the Kogatende region (Northern Serengeti). This long drive to Kogatende gives you an opportunity to experience and admire the sheer size of the Park. You will also drive through diverse habitats and sceneries enhancing your experience. Upon our arrival at the Kogatende region, we shall go out in search of both the Wildebeest Migration and the famous Big Five.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 04: FULL DAY NORTH SERENGETI

After breakfast, we will start our game drive around the Kogatende area, searching around the kopjes looking for carnivores and the large migration groups that will be preparing to cross the Mara River into Kenya. North Serengeti is home to large numbers of hippos and Nile crocodiles, the Mara River is the last major obstacle standing between the Wildebeest Migration and the relative safety of the Masai Mara. If you’re patient and a little lucky, you may even get to witness the death-defying crossing itself where wildebeest and zebras brave the river’s currents and crocodiles in an attempt to reach safety on the opposite bank. After spending time catching up with these spectacular natural events we drive back to our accommodation.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 DAY 05: SERENGETI – LAKE NATRON

You’ll enjoy a leisurely game drive around Lake Natron and its surroundings. Known both for its unique volcanic landscape and the large flocks of brightly colored flamingos that call it home, Lake Natron’s isolation also means that you have a good chance of having the area to yourself. You can expect to see wildlife such as Zebra, Wildebeest, Oryx, Ostriches, Kudu, Gerenuk, and Jackals in addition to the lake’s resident Flamingos, but it is the area’s distinct mix of ravines, craters, and lakes that makes it such a unique location. You can as well go for a walk along the Lake shore during the sunset if time permits. Visit Engaresero waterfalls or hike to EngareSero rift wall for an exceptional view and experience.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 DAY 06: LAKE NATRON – NGORONGORO CRATER – KARATU

We’ll depart at the accommodated place early in the morning, then we’ll game en-route on our way to the Ngorongoro Crater. As we drive through the main road to Ngorongoro animals will still be littering the savannah outside your window seat. We’ll descend down the crater today.The descent into the crater is one of scenic beauty, as you make your way through lush forests, home to numerous elephants and buffaloes.  The crater is over 600m deep. At the bottom you will be surprised with the number of wildlife that resides here. As you reach the inside of the Ngorongoro Crater, marveling at the incredible landscape around you, your guide will take you through the grassy crater floor, the unbelievable fever tree forest, the banks of Lake Magadi and the surrounding marshes. We shall game drive here and head to a nice picnic site next to a lake for lunch. 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. We’ll resume our drive after lunch. Rhinos are common now, although very few. After a satisfying game drive, we’ll leave the Crater heading to Karatu for an overnight.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 DAY 07: LAKE EYASI

Lake Eyasi will surely enhance your safari experience in Tanzania. Being different from all other destinations, we will get to experience the bush life of the Hadzabe and the Datoga people. The Hadzabe people are an indigenous ethnic group living around Lake Eyasi, in the southern part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This ethnic tribe is descendants of Tanzania’s aboriginal hunter gatherer populations, and still to this day relies on the land and their surroundings for survival. They hunt using bows and arrows, typically hunting baboons and other primates around. As well as the wild meat, the Hadzabe also survives on roots and tubers, and natural honey found in trees.

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 08: KARATU – LAKE MANYARA

You will travel to the Lake Manyara National Park in the morning after breakfast, one of the smallest but most diverse parks in Tanzania. The shallow and alkaline Lake Manyara covers a large area of the park and it is the seasonal home to thousands of flamingos – an awesome (pink) sight. More than 500 bird species are also found here as well as mammals. Troops of Monkeys live in the forests, Giraffes, Buffaloes, Zebras and Wildebeests on the grassy plains and elephants and lions in the acacia woodlands. From the open roof of the vehicle you will be able to watch the animals and absorb the landscape. After an extensive game drive and a picnic lunch, you will leave the park to make your way to Arusha

Accommodation:

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 DAY 09: DEPARTURE

After breakfast at the hotel, you’ll pack up and ready to drive to JRO for your home flights.