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The Complete Tanzania Tour
Beach & Safari – North, South & Zanzibar

“Safari” is the Swahili word for “Travel”.  Kiswahili is the predominant language ofTanzania where safari was born.  The package visits four of Tanzania’s most popular parks of the Northern Circuit of Tanzania which is the most famous.

The Parks
Serengeti National Park
Between the Ngorongoro Highlands, Lake Victoria and Tanzania’s northern border with Kenya stretches one of the world’s last great wildlife refuges - the Serengeti.  The name comes from the Maasai “siringet,” meaning “endless plains”. The Serengeti’s 14,763 km2 contains about three million large animals, most taking part in seasonal migrations, unparalleled in nature.

Twice a year, triggered by the rains, 1.4 million wildebeest, 300,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle gather to undertake the long trek to new grazing lands. The migration of the herbivores roughly defines the boundaries of Serengeti National Park, which is the central zone of the Serengeti ecosystem, an area that also takes in Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Maswa Game Reserve in the west. Within this 25,900 km2 of varied landscape live thirty-five species of plains game and 500 bird species. 

The endless plains of the Serengeti lie 330 km North West of Arusha.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers 8288 km2 and encompasses the volcanic area around the Ngorongoro Crater - including the still active volcano of Oldonyo Lengai and the famous Olduvai Gorge. Its centrepiece, the Ngorongoro Crater, is the largest unbroken caldera in the world and the first sight of it is breathtaking. The floor of the crater is only 100 sq miles but is home to around 30,000 animals with a high concentration of predators.

The crater supports up to 25,000 large mammals.  Grazers dominate: zebra, wildebeest – accounting for almost half the animals - gazelle, buffalo, eland, hartebeest and wart hog. Giraffe, for example, stay away because there is insufficient food at tree level; topi because they compete directly with wildebeest. An odd feature of the crater elephants is that they are almost exclusively bulls. Breeding herds - comprising large numbers of females and young with a few attendant older males - are probably unable to find sufficient quality food in the crater.

Ngorongoro has carnivores in quantity, drawn by the large herds of prey animals. It has the densest population of large predators, mainly lion - about 100 - and more than 400 spotted hyena, living in eight clans of up to eighty individuals. Both lions and hyenas will scavenge from each other, depending on weight of numbers and of course, hunger. Most of the bird wildlife in Ngorongoro is seasonal. Also influencing the variety of bird species on display is the ratio of soda water to fresh water – soda water has the largest expanse of water on the crater floor, Lake Magadi. The lake is alkaline due to deposits of volcanic ash thrown out by surrounding volcanoes.

Selous Game Reserve
Embracing 54,000 square kilometres of south-western Tanzania, it is the largest protected wilderness reserve on the continent, three times larger than the Serengeti and twice the size of Belgium.  Named after the legendary 19th century explorer and hunter Frederick Courtenay Selous, the reserve was founded by the German colonial administration in 1905. It was later expanded to include traditional elephant migration routes and accommodate the vast herds of buffalo that roam this remote, untouched corner of Africa.

Here one can explore the sheer diversity of the landscape; from hot volcanic springs, placid lagoons and the many channels from the Great Ruaha and Rufiji Rivers which bisect the reserve, making the Selous a unique area in which to observe the full panoply of African wildlife. Most of Africa’s mammal species, from the largest to the smallest to the rarest, thrive here. In addition there are some 440 species of birds and more than 2,000 recorded varieties of plants (with many more still to be discovered.)  There is no other region in which visitors can experience the pristine splendour and beauty - as well as the sense of adventure in Africa - than those like Selous enjoyed. The Selous Game Reserve has been declared a World Heritage Site, one of three in Tanzania.

Ruaha National Park
For anyone seeking a true African wilderness experience, a visit to Ruaha National Park is essential. Although the second largest in Tanzania, the reserve is perhaps the least well-known and yet to connoisseurs it is without doubt one of the most spectacular in Africa.  Covering a conservation area of 10,300 square kilometres in the south-west of the country, Ruaha sprawls within and along the Great Rift Valley, covering a unique transition zone where the Eastern and Southern species of both fauna and flora meet against a dramatic topographical backdrop.  This is also one of the few Tanzanian parks where sightings of the rarer antelope, such as the Sable, the Roan and both Lesser & Greater Kudu, are a probability rather than a possibility.  The proliferation of plains game in the park also ensures that the larger predators - leopard and large prides of lion - are unusually active. The bird life, too, is unparalleled with some 530 species recorded.

The Itinerary

Day 1: Depart from your home Airport to Kilimanjaro Airport where you will be met by a Love Live Africa representative and transferred to RIVERTRESS COUNTRY INN for overnight (dinner not included).

Day 2:  Enjoy an early breakfast before your in depth briefing with our safari representative. Your African adventure will then star and you will drive to Ngorongoro, passing through quaint African villages in the highlands to reach GIBB’S FARM for lunch, dinner and overnight.

Day 3:  After an early breakfast you will descend into the caldera where you will spend half of the day viewing game on the crater floor.  Besides the huge black-maned lions, keep your eyes peeled for Rhino and after a final crater tour you will ascend the crater at about lunch time, to have lunch at the lodge. The rest of the afternoon you have at leisure unless you wish to take any optional activity such as visit a Masai Village, do a Masai Spa treatment or just walk around the coffee plantation (costs for optional activities not included). Dinner and overnight at GIBB’S FARM.

Day 4:  Depart the Ngorongoro Area and continue towards the Serengeti National Park, with game drive en route to see what delights the Serengeti provides. You will arrive at MBALAGETI CAMP in time for lunch. In the afternoon you will go and explore the area around Grumeti River as well as the woodland around the camp. Dinner and overnight at the camp.

Day 5: The Serengeti will always have an unsuspected surprise in stall for you…be it when you are out to check on the migration of the wildebeest or zebra, or in search of the big cats, or even the unnoticed dung beetles whose contribution to this sensitive ecosystem goes unnoticed but is vital. All meals and overnight at your camp in the Serengeti.

Day 6:  Before breakfast you will have a final game drive in the Serengeti and after checking out of your hotel you will sadly leave this wonderful area. You will take a flight to Lake Manyara where you will connect to a flight to Selous Game Reserve. The flight will take approximately 2 hours. On arrival at the airstrip, your camp representative and vehicle will be waiting for you to transfer you to SELOUS SAFARI CAMP for your check in. On reaching the camp the friendly staff will show you to your room. After lunch, a range of various activities will be offered to you to be able to enjoy that afternoon and throughout your stat at your camp of choice in the Selous Game Reserve. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 7:  Coffee or tea and cookies will be delivered to your tent this morning and will serve as a welcoming wake up call. After an early breakfast you will choose what activities you wish to carry out that day; ranging from open vehicle 4x4 photographic safaris, boat cruise or a more energetic walking safari. Full board accommodation and overnight at the camp.

Day 8: Today we leave the Selous Game Reserve and head for the adventurous Ruaha National Park. After a delicious breakfast, your camp representative will drive you to the airstrip for your flight to Ruaha. This flight takes approximate 1½ hours. On arrival at your airstrip in Ruaha, you will be met by your camp vehicle and transferred to your luxurious accommodation, JONGOMERO CAMP. Depending on the game you see en route, this can take between 10 to 45 minutes. Once checked into your tent and had lunch, a range of various activities will be offered to you to be able to enjoy that afternoon and throughout your stay in Ruaha National Park.

Day 9: After and early breakfast you will choose what activities you wish to carry out that day; ranging from open vehicle 4x4 photographic safaris, boat cruise or a more energetic walking safari. Full board accommodation and overnight at the camp.

Day 10: Your safari experience in Southern Tanzania has sadly come to its final day. After breakfast you will be transferred to the airstrip for your flight to Zanzibar. This takes approximately 2 hours. The Spice Islands as Zanzibar is otherwise known as, is ideally suited for those looking for a lazy, yet romantic beach holiday. It is also perfectly suited for the more adventurous of mind with Scuba Diving and snorkeling topping the activities list. On arrival you will be met at the airport and transferred by road to Stone Town for overnight at ZANZIBAR PALACE. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure to explore the labyrinth of roads in the old Swahili town. (Dinner not included).

Day 11: You will be transferred to your beach hotel after your breakfast. It will take approximately one hour to reach BREEZES BEACH CLUB AND SPA, where you will spend the next 3 nights enjoying this little bit of paradise participating in optional activities such as snorkelling, diving, kayaking, windsurfing and spa treatments.

Day 14: Alas your final day has arrived. After checking out of your room (10:00 hrs) you will transferred to Zanzibar International Airport where we will bid you KWAHERI (Farewell in Kiswahili).

The Lodges

Rivertrees Country Inn (Arusha)
Rivertrees Country Inn is a beautiful lodge on the outskirts of Arusha and is located half way between the International Airport at Kilimanjaro and Arusha Town Centre. Overlooking Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, Rivertrees is a small family owned hotel with beautiful landscaped gardens and is the perfect way to start or end a safari.

Gibbs Farm (Ngorongoro Area)
Gibb’s Farm is located in the scenic farmlands of Karatu, close to the Ngorongoro Crater in Northern Tanzania.  Gibbs Farm is an utterly exceptional example of an old style farm stay. It is in fact the original stop on the way up to Ngorongoro, having been opening its doors since the 1950's. In recent years it has become a little more chic, but retains the same tin-roof home-cooking type of appeal.

Mbalageti Camp (Serengeti National Park)
Mbalageti Camp is located on the Western Corridor of Serengeti National Park, high on a hill offering magnificent views of the Serengeti Plains as well as Grumeti River.  The camp is pure Africa; rustic and natural.  It consists of 24 tented chalets with en suite bathroom and private verandah. The camp also has a beautiful swimming pool which one can take a dip in after a day of safari!

Selous Safari Camp (Selous Game Reserve)
The Selous Safari Camp, on the banks of Lake Nzerakera, is designed to blend in with the spectacular natural scenery in what is one of the most photogenic areas of the Selous Game Reserve. Each of the nine safari tents sits atop its own raised timber platform, affording guests an unmatched experience of the African bush.  The camp has the prime position at the centre of the unique riverine and lake complex, with the highest concentration of African wildlife and myriad birdlife. There are no fences and no artificial modifications to the natural fauna and so animals wander freely through the camp.

Jongomero Camp (Ruaha National Park)
Jongomero, is a chic safari camp set under shady acacia trees on the banks of the Jongomero Sand River in the remote south-western sector of Ruaha. Being the only camp situated in this area of the Park ensures unmatched privacy. Accommodation comprises eight large and well-appointed tents under enormous thatched roofs that also encompass a spacious private veranda.

Zanzibar Palace (Stone Town)
Zanzibar palace hotel, located in an old Arabic building which has been restored emphasizing its ancient features, is a luxurious nine room boutique hotel right in the heart of stone town. A combination of Arabic, Indian and English designs into a harmonic and homely place.  It is the perfect place for a stay in Stone Town.

Breezes Beach Club and Spa (Zanzibar)
Breezes Beach Club and Spa is situated on the stunning South East Coast, overlooking the turquoise Indian Ocean and boasts of one of the best and most private tropical beaches the island has to offer. This 5 star hotel is one of the best on the island and the ideal choice for those in search of a romantic getaway.  Set in beautiful tropical landscaped gardens, the resort is famous for its attention to detail, intimate private dining, its world renowned Zanzibar décor with stunning carvings; which creates a unique atmosphere that the clients love. 

Prices for 2009

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FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT US USING OUR ENQUIRY FORM OR CALL +44 (0) 20 7736 4272

Images courtesey of South African Tourism, The Canadian Tourist Comission, Tourism Queensland, BritishColumbia.com and Morguefile.com.