9 Days/ 8 Night Migration Crossing August to October Safari

Whatever your arrival time at Kilimanjaro International Airport, Fit4Masafa Travel driver-guide will be waiting for you with a warm welcoming smile. Kick back and relax in your comfortable vehicle as he takes you to your hotel in Arusha, Tanzania’s self-styled ‘safari capital.’ On your journey to the hotel, you will get a brief impression of this large, bustling, commercial city. Depending on your arrival time, you may have your pre-safari briefing today; if not, it will take place early tomorrow morning.

Unless your arrival time yesterday allowed time for your safari briefing, then this will take place after breakfast. We will provide you with all the essential information, before we set off westwards to our first safari destination, Tarangire National Park. The park is best known for its elephant herds, savannah, baobab trees, seasonal swamps and the life-giving Tarangire River. Animals gather at the river and giraffes, bushbucks and hartebeests are often seen. With a bit of luck you might even spot the fringe-eared oryx or the weird-looking gerenuk. The park is also home to buffaloes, zebras and wildebeests which are always closely followed by a range of predators such as lions. Leopards are seen every once in a while but cheetahs are rarely spotted. From the open roof of the vehicle you will be able to absorb the landscape and watch the animals. In late afternoon, we will go to your accommodation for our evening meal and our overnight stay. Welcome to the Tarangire!

After a hearty breakfast you will head out on another game drive in the Tarangire National Park. During the dry season between June and October, the Tarangire River is the only permanent source of water and the wildlife tends to concentrate in its vicinity. You will stop at one of the picnic spots for lunch. In the afternoon, you leave this beautiful park behind. Passing through the multi-cultural town of Mto wa Mbu, the higher lands are soon reached and wonderful views of the Masai Plains and the Lake Manyara open up before you. After the obligatory photo stop, you will make your way to the vegetation-rich crater highlands, Accommodation at karatu town.

After breakfast, drive towards the Serengeti National Park via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will drive into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and down into the Ngorongoro Crater. Grass steppes and acacia forests are home to almost all the species of animals found in the East African savannah. In only a few hours, you have the chance of spotting the “Big Five” (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard). After extensive game viewing and a picnic in the crater, you will leave the highlands of Ngorongoro in the afternoon and continue to the Serengeti. You will soon see the seemingly endless plains of the southern Serengeti and finally reach the Seronera Valley in the central Serengeti.

After breakfast, we undertake our en route game drive to the Northern region of the Serengeti. Stretching from Seronera for about 100km, the Northern Serengeti is a gentle rolling countryside broken by small rivers, occasional hills, and kopjes. Here resides a multitudinous permanent population of wildlife, with also very striking geological occurrences such as the beautiful Lobo Kopje. The Northern Serengeti is an interesting and varied country that is far from the park’s main entry point in the south hence receiving fewer visitors.

The migration is found in this area during August and we may with luck witness the most spectacular of river crossings as the herd attempt to cross the Mara River and avoid the strong currents and hungry crocodiles.

After a full day, we head for our accommodation where we will enjoy our dinner and overnight stay under the magnificent African sky out upon the ‘Endless Plain’

After an early breakfast, you will head out to make the most of the day. There is a chance you may see the animals crossing the Mara River. Hundreds of thousands of desperate wildebeest gather together on the banks of the river, gazing wistfully across the turbulent water at the green grass on the other side but no animal will make a move. All it takes is one brave wildebeest to take the literal plunge and, then, all follow! The animals that do successfully avoid the awaiting crocodile jaws and make it over the river are rewarded with the lush green grazing grass of the Masai Mara.

After breakfast, you will return to Seronera with further opportunities to experience the incredible wildlife and natural beauty of the Serengeti. Apart from the migrating herds, we may have the opportunity to see the resident predators, leopard, cheetah, and lion, fulfilling their role in the circle of life.

After an extensive game drive we head for our Accommodation for a hearty dinner and another night by the fire of relaxation and conversation under the sweeping majesty of the star bright African night out upon the ‘Endless Plain’.

After breakfast, you will embark upon another incredible game drive in The Serengeti before travelling to the Ngorongoro Crater. Arriving at the edge of the crater in the afternoon, you will have your first glimpse of what awaits you the following day – glistening streams, open grassland and an infinite number of animals. You will spend the night at a nearby lodge on the rim of the crater.

After breakfast, you will be heading to Ngorongoro Crater for game drives, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the world’s largest caldera, a feature formed by the collapse of land after a volcanic eruption. It is approximately 18 km in diameter and home to about 25,000 mammals. In this relatively small area you can find almost all the mammals of East Africa ranging from Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles to mountain reedbucks in the forests on the slopes. You might also see spotted hyenas, rare wild dogs and some of the more than 500 bird species of the area. It is also possible to spot the Big Five – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard – in the few hours spent in the crater. After lunch at a picnic spot, there will be more time to continue your game drive before you leave the crater way back to Arusha town in which it will be the end of your African safari adventure.