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Safari Babatana

SAFARI BABATANA

TUESDAY: ARUSHA

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Arusha.

Rest of the day spent at leisure or for optional acitivies or excursions (payable direct)

Overnight at ARUSHA SERENA HOTEL.

(Meals not included)

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Geographically situated midway between the Cape and Cairo, Arusha has grown from a simple trading post to one of Tanzania’s principal towns. The main starting point for most safaris and expeditions in to Northern Tanzania, Arusha is located at the foot of Mt. Meru, Tanzania’s second highest mountain, and boasts spectacular views of Kilimanjaro. The numerous vegetable and flower farms and coffee plantations, as well as the Tanzanite mines, are the mainstay of the town’s economy. Lake Duluti, a short drive from Arusha, is a scenic spot where swimming and tilapia fishing is permitted. Numerous water birds can be found in the area, and the surrounding area makes for an interesting and easy walk. The 137sqKm Arusha National Park, a small gem located on the slopes of Mount Meru (4566m/14980ft), shelters the beautiful string of Momella lakes, the striking Ngurdoto Crater as well as a good number of plains game including elephants and giraffes, monkeys and baboons, the occasional leopard, and rich and luxuriant vegetation including mahogany and olive trees which grace the slopes of the mountain.

WEDNESDAY: ARUSHA – TARANGIRE

Distance: 120 KM / Driving time: 3 hours

Breakfast at the Hotel.

Morning at leisure to enjoy the wonderful gardens or maybe to engage in a nature walk.

Use of room until 10:00 hours unless prior arrangements are made with the Hotel.

Lunch in the Lodge (at around 12:30 hrs).

At 14:00 hrs, continue to Trangire National Park famous for its large population of elephants.

Large part of the Park is covered with grasslands, along with swamps and flood Plains which feed the Tarangire River.

On entrance to the Park immediately commence game veiwing to culminate in TARANGIRE SOPA LODGE for dinner and overnight.

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The 2600 sq Km Tarangire National Park covers an area of open country dotted with the majestic baobab trees, acacias and palm trees. The orange- hued landscape alternates between scrub, open plains, swamps and rivers, crossed by the Tarangire River. During the hot dry season, the park is at its prettiest. Everything is coloured brown or orange; the baobabs, the massive elephants that cover themselves in the red earth to protect themselves from the flies and the heat. At this time, the concentration of animals in the park rivals that of the Ngorongoro Crater, as animals from as far away as Kenya travel to the Tarangire River’s cooling permanent waters. As characteristic of the park as are the baobabs, the local Elephant population, estimated to be at about 5000, is Tarangire’s pride and joy. Other animals include wildebeest, zebra, eland, oryx- all under the watchful eye of cheetahs, leopards and lions. The less visited southern part of the park is covered by swamps, teeming with hippos and birdlife and by savannah plains, in which walking safaris can be arranged.

THURSDAY: TARANGIRE – LAKE MANYARA – SERENGETI

Distance: 270KM / Driving Time: 5 hours

Early morning breakfast.

Further game veiwing this morning in order to truly appreciate the width and breadth of Tarangire National Park.

At around 10:00 hrs, exit the Park and drive to the adjacent Lake Manyara área passing through picturesque African villages and large corn, coffee and bananas plantations.

Arrive in time for lunch at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge located on the Edge of the Great Rift Valley with panoramic views of the Park.

At 14:00 hrs, continue your drive through the Karatu highlands and the Ngorongoro conservation área towards Serengeti National Park.

Upon entry to the Park enjoy game viewing drive enroute to SERENGETI SERENA LODGE for dinner and overnight.

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14673sqKm of endless plains, the Serengeti National Park lies in north western Tanzania, straddling the border with Kenya. The Park encompasses half of the 30,000 sq Km Serengeti- Mara Ecosystem, a range of land defined by the limits of the Wildebeest movements throughout the year Tanzania’s oldest park, with its even more ancient landscape forged by the past volcanic activity of the several volcanoes in the nearby Ngorongoro Highlands; the rich grasses of the plains play host to the most spectacular numbers of wildlife in the world. Almost every African animal species is represented in the Serengeti, birthplace of the millions of plains game that continually circle the ecosystem. Huge granite boulders, known as kopjes, are characteristic of the park, and provide sanctuary for birds, colourful Agama lizards and sombre snakes, adorable rock hyraxes, as well as the big cats that seek shelter from the elements.

FRIDAY: SERENGETI

Full day of game veiwing at Serengeti National Park.

During the rainy season, migration herds are found on almost all the wide Plains of the Park.

This day you have 02 options:

Full day game viewing with picnic lunch boxes.

OR

Sunrise and sunset game drives returning to the Lodge for lunch.

In Serengeti you will have the opportunity to sight the big: the lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino. All meals and overnight at SERENGETI SERENA LODGE.

Optional Activities: Payable direct.

01 Hour Balloon Safari culminating in a champagne Breakfast

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Although famed for its plains, the Serengeti encompasses woodland, thornbush, swamps and Lakes Lagaja and Magadi, supporting over 30 species of large herbivores and over 500 species of birds, including Eurasian migrants, with its diversity. The Gol and Moru Kopjes, the central Seronera area which is an oasis of springs, pools and surprisingly, palm trees, and the equally mysterious “Whistling Thorn” country- the Western Corridor which leads to the Grumeti River, home of Africa’s largest crocodiles, are some of the natural obstacles which the wildebeest and zebra encounter and must cross, during their annual migration up north towards the Masai Mara.

SATURDAY: SERENGETI - NGORONGORO

Distance: 155KM / Driving Time: 3hrs

After Breakfast, further game viewing this morning in Serengeti National Park.

Return to the Lodge for lunch.

At 14:00hrs, depart the Lodge and commence your drive towards Ngorongoro Conservation area with enroute game viewing as you exit Serengeti National Park.

Arrive at the Lodge located at the Edge of the crater in the evening for dinner and overnight at NGORONGORO SERENA LODGE.

Optional Activities:

Visit to a traditional Maasai village

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Part of the Serengeti- Mara Ecosystem, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers an area of 8, 280 sq Km. An area of outstanding natural beauty, indeed one of the most breathtaking in the whole of Africa, the Ngorongoro area embraces rolling fertile green hills covered with flowers during the rainy season, while in the sheltered valleys and plains, Clusters of villages that are the home of the red-robed Maasai herdsmen, fierce in the protection of their prized cattle and traditions, abound. Forests, rivers, lakes and swamps, the silent silhouettes of mountain and volcanic craters, including some of the oldest in AfricaThese extinct volcanoes, whose past activity contributed to the landscape and lush vegetation of Ngorongoro as well as that of the nearby Serengeti plains, include Lemagrut, Sadiman, Oldeani, Olmoti, Sirua, Lolmalasin and Empakaai, always a favourite with hikers, and last but not least, the Ngorongoro Crater- a World Heritage Site. Heading out of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and out towards the Serengeti, we find the Olduvai Gorge, an important archaeological site.

SUNDAY: NGORONGORO – LAKE MANYARA

Distance: 65KM / Driving Time: 1.5hours

Early Breakfast at the Lodge.

Descend to the bottom of the Crater for a morning Crater tour.

The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world. Due to its size and diversity, the base of the cráter consists of several distinct regions, ranging from forests, marshes, lakes and springs to open grasslands and some sand dunes.

Lunch will either be a picnic or back at the Lodge.

After the visit, exit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and drive to the nearby Lake Manyara for dinner and overnight at LAKE MANYARA SERENA LODGE, perched at the edge of the Great Rift Valley.

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The Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world measuring over 600m deep and some 8-19Km in diameter, is believed to be about 8 million years old. The steep descent into the crater is almost as exciting as the scene that awaits you within the crater; a fantastic showcase of nature’s best. The diverse landscape within the crater, in which the savannah blends in to swamps, rivers, marshes, forests and cliffs, provides sanctuary for the black-maned lions, cheetahs, buffalos, elephants, and leopards that live side by side with thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and zebras, both black-backed and golden jackals. The Crater is also home to some of Tanzania’s last remaining rhinos. Flamingos and hippos inhabit the alkaline lakes and fresh water pools; old elephants can be seen patiently wading through the papyrus ponds, while way up, on the slopes of the crater, unique and beautiful Afro-Alpine vegetation blankets the ground in a rich green cover, occasionally hidden by the mist and fog that occurs at the rim, which stands at over 2300m.

MONDAY: LAKE MANYARA – ARUSHA- DEPART

Distance: 120KM / Driving Time: 2hrs

Leisurely breakfast at the Lodge.

At 10:00 hrs, return drive to Arusha.

Arrive at around noon, drop off at the Airport / your city hotel.