FAMILY SAFARI - Tanzania - Amazing Family Safari & Adventure

ARRIVAL

You will be met at the airport with a signboard with your name written on it. You will be whisked away to your hotel to recover from your flight and enjoy your first taste of African hospitality. After a good night's rest you will be ready for the start of your safari tomorrow!

The road will be a bit bumpy and dusty but after the roughly 1,5-hour drive you will be rewarded by a stay at Africa Amini.

Today you have all day to experience this special place. You can join the following inclusive activities:

• A guided nature walk through Maasai territory to learn about various herbal remedies
• Spear throwing demonstration
• Sunset singing and dancing ceremony.

Of course it is also the perfect spot to relax! Enjoy the views from your private bungalow or the Mirror Cave or hop in the pool.

Built and run by the Maasai people, the Original Maasai Lodge offers nature, culture and relaxation with views of Mount Kilimanjaro. Get to know the Maasai through stories around the campfire, spear throwing or traditional dances. Relaxation is provided by the pool, massage rooms, sauna and rest areas. With a total of 16 bungalows, individuality and authenticity ensure an unique experience.

After breakfast you get in the car for the drive to Kilimanjaro. At the gate you will meet your walking guide and start your adventure.

Take a walk on the Shira Plateau and enjoy a picnic lunch with a view over the Tanzanian and Kenyan plains! Don't forget to stop and take a moment to admire the breathtaking view from the top. This is a circular walk that takes about 2 to 2.5 hours. With a breathtaking view of Kilimanjaro you can also see Kenya on a clear day.

It is possible to take a short walk of about 1.5 hours - or longer hikes. You will decide on your hike duration together with your guide at the start.

After your walk and your lunch - you will start the journey down. You drive there to Arusha for the night.

After breakfast you will proceed to Tarangire National Park for your game drive.

Once you've entered Tarangire, you'll begin your game drive across a rich vista of endless golden savannah that surrounds the Tarangire River. The river itself runs throughout the year and is a vital source of water for the animals of the region during the dry season. Lined with acacia and Baobab trees, the river is regularly visited by the park's large elephant population as well as other herbivores such as zebras and antelopes.

A picnic lunch with a view of the river is a great way to take it all in, but you'll have to keep on your toes as the local monkey population does its best to separate you from your lunch!

Driving through the park you'll also have the opportunity to see lions, leopards, cape buffalo, and a huge variety of antelopes. If you're particularly lucky, you might even see endangered animals such as the Greater Kudu or the Fringe-Eared Oryx.

After your game drive, you will retire to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

You'll depart from your lodge after breakfast for the drive to Lake Manyara National Park. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour.

The park is truly a photographer's playground and offers some of the best game viewing in the world. You can expect to see many of Africa's most well-known animals, with the tree-climbing lions a particular treat. These proud predators lounge in acacia trees practically begging to be photographed.

Bird-watchers will find Lake Manyara is an absolute delight, with a huge variety of birds on display in the park. Even the novice can expect to be amazed by large flamingo flocks, circling birds of prey, and the brightly coloured lilac breasted roller.

You'll then return to your chosen accommodation for dinner and a good night's rest.

Today you will discover modern day Tanzanian village life - from a tuk tuk! During this tuk tuk tour you go on a 2-hour stroll through the local farming village of Mto Wa Mbu. This village is unique in Tanzania since it is home to over a 120 different tribes from across Africa. The walk will take you to see local farms, schools, a kindergarten, local homes, the market and milling machines.

You will conclude your morging of exploration with a hot local lunch under the banana leaves.

After lunch you will set of for your drive to Lake Eyasi. Enjoy the sunset and get ready for an early morning!

You'll be up before breakfast today, as you'll be joining the Hadzabe bushmen for the opportunity to hunt for your own food!

One of the last true bushman tribes in Africa, the Hadzabe live very much as they always have despite the rapid development of Tanzania. With only 2,000 members, the Hadzabe tribe are a fascinating people who offer us a window into how life in Tanzania was in the past.

The local hunters will prepare a demonstration of hunting techniques just for us. Far from being a mere performance, this display reveals a great deal about their everyday lives when they must hunt for animals to feed their families. You will see firsthand how the Hadzabe use distinctive motions and even the body parts of certain animals to lure their prey close enough that they can be brought down with hand-crafted poisons.

After a late breakfast, you'll have the opportunity for a drive around Lake Eyasi proper. While this shallow soda lake is not home to the same variety of wildlife you'll find in a national park, you'll have the chance to spot a variety of bird and mammal life. On occasion, flamingos and hippos even call the lake home.

You'll also have time to meet with the Datoga people. Mostly farmers and cattle breeders, these fascinating people offer another insight into tribal life in Tanzania.

Once your day's activities have been completed, you'll make your way to Karatu Town to overnight.

We'll take an early breakfast, as we've got a big day of exploration and adventure ahead of us!

We'll begin the day with the scenic drive towards the Serengeti. Along the way we'll pass through the mist-shrouded rainforests of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where you might be lucky enough to glimpse cape buffalo, baboons, or even elephants and leopards in the dense undergrowth.

It's a nearly four hour drive to the Serengeti park gates, but you can choose to break up the drive with one of the optional activities.

After a delicious lunch at the Serengeti National Park picnic area, it’s time to explore the Serengeti itself. Witness Africa’s iconic savannah landscape and be amazed by the sheer number of animals that roam these grassy plains.

Dinner and overnight in the heart of the Serengeti National Park according to the standard and the type of accommodation requested from our options.

After breakfast, we'll start our game drive towards 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.

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 Maasai 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.

Dinner and overnight in the North of the Serengeti National Park according to the standard and the type of accommodation requested from our options.

You'll spend your day driving through this distinct and beautiful region of the park in search of the Wildebeest Migration and the Big Five. As you stay a full day in the Northern part of Serengeti, the chance to see the river crossing of the wildebeests becomes bigger. Almost every day some of the wildebeests are crossing the river looking for new nutrients. There are different crossing points and there might be multiple crossings in one day. Of course you will also need some luck - it is possible that the wildebeest will not cross during your stay. Your guide will be connected with a radio to hear from (or inform) other guides about the location of the crossing- so you will have the best possible chance of catching a crossing.

In the afternoon, you have the option to extend your game drive until sunset or participate in one of the optional activities available at your lodge. These often include nature walks or a sundowner at the lodge.

We'll start our day immediately after breakfast, driving through the plains of Togoro and the Mbuzi Mawe kopjes on our way to cross the Banagi River into the Seronera region of the Central Serengeti. Along the way, you'll spot everything from the enigmatic dik-diks to towering elephants, and everything in between.

The Seronera is often known as 'big cat country', and its kopjes and acacias provide an excellent opportunity to spot prides of lazy lions, sleek cheetahs out on the hunt, and leopards overseeing everything from their lofty perches.

The region's hippo pools and wide open spaces provide ample opportunities for game viewing.

Dinner and overnight in the heart of the Serengeti National Park according to the standard and the type of accommodation requested from our options.

After breakfast, we get right on the road back towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Our drive takes us back through the Serengeti via a different route, offering plenty of opportunities to spot the animals that eluded you on day two. As far as the eye can see, you’ll spot thousands upon thousands of animals in herds; wildebeests and zebras migrating together, tall and graceful giraffes, jumping antelopes and gazelles, the powerful African elephant and the most respected group of animals: the predators. You will have the chance to spot lean cheetahs and shy leopards, foraging hyenas, and last but not least, the king himself; the lion.

Once arrived in Ngorongoro Conservation Area you have the chance to visit an original Maasai Boma. The Maasai is the only tribe that is allowed to live inside this area.

Dinner and overnight on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater or in nearby Karatu Town according to the standard and the type of accommodation requested from our options.

After breakfast, you'll depart for Ngorongoro Crater; considered by some to be the Eighth Wonder of the World. When you get your first glimpse of this vast, verdant caldera from the panoramic viewpoint, you'll soon understand why it has earned such a lofty reputation.

Home to over 120 species of mammal including the fabled Big Five, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the most sought after safari destinations in the world. It's a particularly good place to see the endangered black rhinoceros enjoying a lonely meal out on the grass plains, as well as a place to see large numbers of hippopotamus enjoying the cool water.

From the comfort of your open-top vehicle, you'll be able to observe and photograph some of Africa's most recognisable faces. The crater is home to a large number of predators including lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas, as well as a large population of wildebeest, zebras, antelope, cape buffalo, and more. It is truly one of Africa's premier safari destinations.

After the thrills and excitement of the day, you will have a picnic lunch by the park's famous hippo pool before returning to Arusha.

EVEN GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END

Today is the last day of your Tanzania Adventure!

You can spend the day at leisure - either enjoying the pool and gardens of your hotel - or you can choose to make an easy village walk to learn a bit more about daily life in Tanzania. You will be picked up by a Shadows team member to be brought to the airport in time for your international flight.

If your flight schedule allows and you prefer to ad some extra activities here -just let your safari expert know!