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12 days/11 nights Program
This is Africa as you've always imagined it! Mondo Verde Expeditions’ private safari offers unsurpassed opportunities to view wildlife in a spectacular natural setting with your own driver guide. A program designed so you travel Tanzania at your own pace. Your adventure will take you to some of Africa's premier game parks including Loliondo Game Contolled Area, Serengeti Southern Plains, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara & Tarangire National Park.
Accommodations include deluxe lodges constructed of local materials and in harmony with their environment and luxury tented camps where you will be immersed in the sights and sounds of Africa. Food at all locations is well prepared and delicious. |
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Pricing: Private safari cost based on double occupancy with stretched 4x4’s:
Price per Person (US$) |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 - 6 |
7 (one vehicle) |
7 (two vehicles) |
8 |
9+ |
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7,400 |
6,800 |
6,323 |
6,121 |
5,907 |
6,427 |
6,291 |
6,186 |
Single Supplement Fee: $1,488
Junior discount (12-15): $921
Discount for Children under 12: $1,381
*an additional 3% will be charged for payments with credit cards
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ITINERARY
Day 1
Arrive in Tanzania
Arrive in the evening on KLM. VIP meet and greet and connect with Mondo Verde Expeditions representative. VIP services include the cost of the Tanzania visa and you will be met by a private security officer who will collect your passports and personally stamp them while you continue to baggage claim. Transfer to Arusha for dinner and overnight at Kigongoni Lodge.
D included
Day 2 - 3
Loliondo-Northern Serengeti
After an early breakfast, transfer to Arusha airport for the 8:00 am flight to Klein’s airstrip. Meet and greet by your private driver guide and game drive to the lodge for lunch. Your afternoon is a choice of activities, from game drive, to game walking or just relax in the lovely environment and recover from your long flights. One evening at Buffalo you will enjoy a night drive as well. Overnights at Buffalo Luxury Camp.
Loliondo Game Controlled Area The Serengeti is much larger than just Serengeti National Park. The park is actually just the center of a vast natural ecosystem, which includes the area known as Loliondo, or more specifically, The Loliondo Game Controlled Area. Loliondo encompasses a vast area, from the north to the south, along the eastern border of Serengeti National Park. Although it is part of the Serengeti ecosystem, it is not subject to the same rules and regulations of the National Park system. This offers many benefits to visitors because there is more freedom of activities here, such as night drives, escorted walking safaris, and more intimate interactions with the Maasai. This magnificent area contains breathtaking scenery and a vast diversity of landscapes, including beautiful mountains, deep gorges, rivers, acacia and riverine woodlands, rolling hills and lush valleys, grassy plains dotted with rocky outcrops (called kopjes), and even a volcano (Ol Donyno Lengai). There is abundant resident game here, who enjoy the region’s many waterholes and river areas, as well as seasonal migratory herds, which pass through on their annual trek to and from Maasai Mara in Kenya. Visitors who are here when the herds decide to cross the Mara River are in for a memorable sight, as thousands of wildebeest and zebra swim for their lives while crocodiles lie in wait for them to try to make this very dangerous crossing. In addition to the luxury of being able to enjoy walking safaris and night drives, visitors also enjoy the fact that there are fewer tourists in this more remote region of Tanzania. People who venture here experience a more private and intimate experience with the wildlife, and people, who live in this spectacular region. One other bonus of visiting Loliondo is that there is a pack of wild dogs that appear to be thriving here, often producing puppies and denning nearby. While there is never a guarantee of seeing wild dogs, one of your best opportunities for finding these rare and fascinating animals is in Loliondo.
Day 4 - 7
Serengeti – Southern Plains
Game drive through the central Serengeti, exploring Seronera Valley, the preferred habitat for leopards. Continue into the southern plains of the Serengeti, where the large wildebeest and zebra herds are destined for in anticipation of the famous wildebeest calving. Enjoy four nights in a private mobile camp, close to sights and sounds of wildlife at night.
Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous wildlife areas in the world. The park’s 5,700 square miles are part of the 9,600-square-mile Mara- Serengeti ecosystem, home to incredible herds of wildebeest and other grazing animals. It is the largest national park in Tanzania, with a staggering animal population of about 4 million within 14,763 km sq. It is the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the world and the site of one of the most breathtaking events in animal kingdom-the migration of more than a million wildebeest. The area consists of treeless central plain, savannah dotted with acacia and granite outcroppings called kopjes, and riverine bush and forest in the north. The park’s name is derived from the Maasai language “SIRINGET” which means endless plains. The famous “Migration” that people dream to experience, is actually a dynamic process taking a full year to complete. There are different ‘events’ that happen at different times of the year and in different locations in this park. The basic migration occurs in a clock-wise direction, but it is guided by rain and the growth of grass, so at any time the animals can ignore “tradition” and just follow rain clouds in a more haphazard direction. There are three “seasons” in the Serengeti. They are short rains, long rains and dry season. During the start of the “short rains” of November and December, the large wildebeest and zebra herds leave the northern part of the Serengeti Eco-system (the Mara in Kenya) and travel east and south around the Gol Mountains and into the short grass plain of the southern and eastern Serengeti. The female wildebeest need to be in this area to begin the calving, as they rely on this particular kind of grass for calving and milk production, that is high in calcium and magnesium. Wildebeest calving can begin anytime between January-March. More than 750,000 females will drop their calves within a 3-week period of time, so predator/prey activity is at a peak. The short grass plains also offer some of the best protection against predators, as they are more visible to the herd animals. Herd animals will remain in this area as long as there is decent rain that continues in the following months, although they only need short bursts of rain to be happy. April is usually the month of long rain, meaning it rains fairly constantly and heavy. At this time, the herd usually begins to move to the Central Serengeti and begins to prepare for the wildebeest rut of May and June. These are some of the most amazing herd sightings, as the male and females herd reunite for breeding. The herd movement continues both west and north between May usually to the end of July. At this point, the herd disperses a bit and males without females may migrate directly north to the Mara and some may move to the famous Western Corridor and remain year round in the Serengeti. If rains are normal, we can expect the majority of the herd to leave the Serengeti by the middle to the end of July. The dry season of July-October still remains excellent for viewing cats of all kinds. In fact, some cats are easier to locate because they must remain more active during the daytime to search for dwindling food. During these months, clients usually stay in the Central Serengeti or the Western Corridor. The famous “river crossings”, which everyone hopes to see, are hard to predict and can occur in a short number of days. But, there are herd that cross at a few different locations on the Grumeti River in Tanzania and the Mara River bordering Kenya and Tanzania. Crossings typically occur October-November on the Mara River and July on the Grumeti River in Tanzania.
Day 8
Ngorongoro Crater
Game drive out of the Serengeti and continue to Ngorongoro Crater, stopping along the way to visit Oldupai Gorge, the site of Louis and Mary Leakey’s famous archeological discoveries. Drive down the to the Crater floor for an afternoon game drive and picnic lunch. Overnight at Serena Crater Lodge.
B,L,D included
Day 9
Ngorongoro Crater
Full day on the Crater floor. Be prepared to leave the lodge by 6 AM to enjoy some of the best game viewing time in the Crater, with a picnic lunch. Overnight at Serena Crater Lodge.
B,L,D included
Ngorongoro Crater is one of seven World Heritage Sites designated in Tanzania, and it is the world’s largest unflooded caldera. This means the entire rim of the old volcano is intact. The Crater is a memorable experience, while only 100 square miles in total, it also offers six distinct habitats: acacia forest, swamp, short grass, long grass, riverine and woodland. Each habitat attracts a variety of animals. NCA is also the world’s first multi-purpose land use experiment, combining tourism, research, archeology, wildlife management, grazing rights and farming. The rim of the Crater sits at 7,800 feet in altitude and the Crater floor descends to 5,000 feet above sea leave. The Crater is home to almost 30,000 animals in an area naturally enclosed by the slopes of the volcano. The Crater is the best location for viewing black rhino and the huge old bull elephants. There is not enough vegetation to support the large cow and calf herds, but the old males “retire” to the Crater for the wonderful swamp grass and acacia forest. The only animals you will not see in the Crater are the impala and giraffe. It is not known why impala do not inhabit the Crater, but giraffe are unable to descend the steep grade without lowering their heads, which raises their blood pressure to dangerous levels.
Day 10
Lake Manyara-Tarangire
Drive to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive to enjoy this small but diverse park. Birding is especially excellent at Lake Manyara. Enjoy a picnic lunch and then continue to Tarangire National Park. Along the way, stop at the village of Mto wa Mbu to experience a local market and learn from your driver guides about the unique cultural and tribal make-up of this village. Mto wa Mbu is famous for a large variety of species and a locally grown rice, which is often favored in Arusha town. Dinner and overnight at overnight at Kirurumu Tented Lodge.
Lake Manyara National Park is 135 km [81 miles] from Arusha town. It is a small park and is bordered by the Western Wall of the Great Rift Valley and lies at 3,150-feet altitude. It is noted for its elephant population, abundance of hippos and tree-climbing lions. Actually, it is quite hard to see tree-climbing lions in Lake Manyara, due to the brush and woodland. The behavior of lions climbing trees was first observed in this park, but lions do climb trees in Tarangire and the Serengeti as well. This park was also made famous by the elephant research of Ian Douglas Hamilton. The park is 123 square kms in area, 88 square kms of which is surrounded by ground –water forest, with wild fig, palm, tamarind and baobab trees. You will see hippo, giraffes, elephants [the highest density in Africa – 7 elephants/sq.km], tree climbing lion, zebras, monkey and profusion of birds [more than 380 species]. Note: Manyara Park is one of the best areas for the bird watching.
Day 11
Tarangire National Park
Enjoy a full day in the national park. While this is not typically peak season in Tarangire, the park remains excellent for elephants (3,000 resident elephants), giraffe and birds. The park is one of the most scenic in Tanzania with huge baobab trees. Overnight at Tarangire River Camp.
Tarangire National Park which is the “Baobab Capital of the World”, is 120km and 2 hours drive from Arusha (75 miles). Tarangire is renowned for its wild landscapes and diverse habitats. The Tarangire River, from which the park derives its name, is the only permanent water source within 2600 square kilometers (1625 sq.miles) of protected wildlife area. In addition to numerous animals, the park has over 300 species of birds and has the highest recorded number of breeding bird species of any habitat in the world. Tarangire is most famous for its elephants. There are 3,000 resident elephants in the park and another 3,000 individuals migrate into the park during the dry season of July-October. Elephants can begin to migrate into Tarangire as early as May and June as they follow the long rains and love the tall swamp grass found in Tarangire National Park. Elephant watching is excellent in Tarangire all year round. Bird watching is amazing all year round as well and Tarangire boasts the largest number of breeding species in one park in all of Africa. During the dry season, herd animals of all kinds (elephants, wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and antelopes) migrate from the surrounding areas for the water found inside the park. This is the second largest migration of animals in Africa after the Serengeti Migration. Tarangire has a very large swamp, called Silali Swamp that attracts animals and birds of all kinds. During the dry season, the famous giant rock pythons leave the swamp to avoid being stepped on by herd animals and live in the trees on the edge of the swamp. These are amazing creatures and some of the most unusual wildlife viewing is of rock pythons killing large animals of all kinds! Tarangire is also home to the last remaining pack of wild dogs in northern Tanzania. They remain an extremely elusive find.
B,L,D included
Day 12
Back to Arusha – Flight Out
GEarly morning birding and then drive back to Arusha (2 hours) arriving in time for some shopping at the Cultural Heritage Center with a buffet lunch. Continue to Arumeru River Lodge for dayrooms and a farewell dinner. Transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport at 6:30 for KLM return flight. End of services.
Price includes all meals and accommodations from arrival to departure, all park and camping fees, all local travel including any bush flights and all transfers, soft drinks on game drives, baggage handling, VIP arrival service including the cost of the Tanzanian visa, beverages and laundry if clients are staying at a private mobile camp, beverages if clients are staying at Buffalo Luxury Camp (laundry not included), all activities listed in the itinerary.
Trip Difficulty: Journey requires minimum walking since most activities are vehicle based. However participants must be in very good heath and reasonable physical condition. High heat and off road driving can present a challenge.
Included: All meals and accommodations from arrival to departure. All park and camping fees. All local travel including any internal flights, departure taxes and transfers. All activities listed in the program. 4-wheel drive stretch Land Rovers or Land Cruisers specially adapted with a canvas roll-top roof for unobstructed views. Soft drinks on game drives. Unlimited soft drinks and laundry in luxury mobile camp. Porterage. Tanzanian visa upon arrival.
Not Included: International airfare, alcoholic beverages. Soft drinks and laundry at lodges. Tips/gratuities for driver guides and camp staff. Items of a personal nature. Any changes made to the program. Any costs associated with flight delays or cancellations. |
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