8-Day Northern Tanzania Tour: Parks, Hadzabe & Materuni

Overview

Tour highlights

• Tarangire’s elephants and baobab trees
• Two nights in the central Serengeti
• Picnic lunch on the Ngorongoro Crater floor
• Morning with the Hadzabe at Lake Eyasi
• Lake Manyara game drive and village visit
• Materuni waterfall walk and coffee tour

1. Day 1 Settling In at Arusha Stay Mid-range lodge in ArushaMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Arusha is the starting point for nearly every northern safari, and your guide meets you on arrival for the transfer to your lodge. Take the afternoon to rest after the journey, with Mount Meru standing over the town if the clouds allow. In the evening, you go over the week ahead together, from early starts to what to pack for the parks.

2. Day 2 Baobabs and Elephants in Tarangire Stay Mid-range lodge in the Karatu highlandsMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Head south-west after breakfast for about two hours to Tarangire National Park. Ancient baobabs stand over the grassland, and elephants gather in big family groups, especially in the dry months. Look for zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and buffalo along the river, and keep a camera handy for the birds, which are plentiful. In the late afternoon, climb into the cooler highlands near Karatu for the night.

3. Day 3 Across to the Serengeti Plains Stay Mid-range tented camp in the central SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   A long but scenic day. Drive up through the Ngorongoro highlands and down onto the grassland, about three hours of road plus stops, and enter the Serengeti for an afternoon game drive toward the central plains. The area around Seronera is known for big cats, so watch the kopjes and acacias for lions and leopards. Depending on the month, migrating herds may be close by.

4. Day 4 Predator Day in the Central Serengeti Stay Mid-range tented camp in the central SerengetiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Give the whole day to the Serengeti’s hunters. Leave early, when lions and cheetahs are most active, and follow your guide’s instinct from one sighting to the next. A picnic lunch keeps you out on the plains rather than driving back to camp. Watching a cheetah stalk, or a pride simply resting together, is the kind of moment that makes the long drive worthwhile.

5. Day 5 Into the Ngorongoro Crater Stay Mid-range lodge near KaratuMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Leave the Serengeti early and drive back to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, then descend to the crater floor. In a single drive you can see buffalo, elephants, lions and, with luck, a black rhino. Hippos wallow in the pools and flamingos often line the soda lake. After a picnic lunch, climb out and continue to your lodge near Karatu.

6. Day 6 Hunting with the Hadzabe at Lake Eyasi Stay Mid-range lodge at Lake EyasiMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Drive about an hour from Karatu to the shores of Lake Eyasi to spend the morning with the Hadzabe, among the last hunter-gatherers in Africa. Men hunt with handmade bows and arrows, while women gather wild fruit and firewood, and nothing is farmed. Following them through the bush is a rare look at a way of life that takes only what the land offers. The afternoon is free at your lodge.

7. Day 7 Lake Manyara Shoreline, Then Arusha Stay Mid-range lodge in ArushaMeals Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Make an early start for Lake Manyara National Park and a morning game drive along the lakeshore and through the forest. The lions here are known for resting in trees, so scan the branches as well as the ground, and look for elephants, baboons and water birds. After lunch, visit a local village to learn about daily life and food, then continue to Arusha for the night.

8. Day 8 Materuni Waterfall and Coffee, Then Fly Home Meals Breakfast, Lunch

   Drive to Materuni village on Kilimanjaro’s lower slopes. A local guide leads you through coffee and banana farms to the Materuni waterfall, where you can cool off in the pool beneath it. Back in the village, follow coffee from bean to cup and grind your own, taste banana beer and share a Chagga lunch. After a stop at a Kilimanjaro viewpoint, transfer to the airport.

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