8-Day Tanzania Safari with Lake Natron – Oldoinyo Lengai

After breakfast, you will be heading to Lake Natron. Just past Mto wa Mbu, you will leave the asphalted road. Along the East African Rift Valley the drive continues on adventurous slopes. The drive leads past Maasai villages and the holy mountain of the Maasai, the Ol Doinyo Lengai. As soon as the Maasai village Ngare Sero comes into sight, it is not far from the lake. The outlet Lake Natron is the home of a remarkable variety of birds, in particular about 2.5 million dwarf flamingos, the lake serves them as a regular breeding ground. The water is strongly saline and the basis of life for unicellular algae and bacteria, which are responsible for the planar red-brown to purple-violet coloring of the lake. The area around Lake Natron is one of the most beautiful and unspoiled regions in Africa. You will make a hike to the lake and then you will visit the nearby waterfalls, a true oasis with awesome waters to swim. You'll stay overnight at a campsite at Lake Natron.

At 1.00 a.m., you'll have a cup of coffee, and meet a Maasai English-speaking mountain guide who will guide you to the summit. Then, you'll drive to the Mt Ol Donyo Lengai climbing starting point, it is hard and steep. You have to be a mountaineer. You will climb with your guide up to the Mt Oldonyolengai Summit 9442 ft / 2878m to see the volcanic eruption, view the magnificent landscape of the wonderful Ngorongoro Crater, Mt Longido, Lake Natron, Maasai Bush-land, Mt Kitumbeine, Mt Kerimasi, etc. After sunrise, you will descend slowly to the starting point, the driver will wait for you there and drive back to the camp. Then, you will return back to the campsite for lunch and rest. You will have dinner and an overnight stay at Maasai Giraffe Eco Lodge, or a similar lodge with a hot shower, mosquito nets, and Wi-Fi available.

After an early breakfast, you will head towards the Serengeti. On adventurous slopes, it goes the Rift Valley up into the wide plains of the Serengeti. Serengeti National Park is one of the largest natural migration systems for wild animals. Annual between the three mentioned conservation areas migrate over 1.4 million gnus, almost 300,000 Thomson's gazelles, about 200,000 zebras, and several thousand topi with the rainy seasons to the areas with the greener and lush meadows. Furthermore, the park is home to many other animal species, such as giraffes, buffalos, hyenas, elephants, and crocodiles. Particularly large is the population of feline predators, about 3000 lions, a good 300 cheetahs, and an estimated 400-700 leopards have their hunting ground here. On the way, you will enjoy viewing a lot of different wild animals e.g. leopards, lions, buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and birds.

You will enjoy an early breakfast and start your full-day game drive in the Serengeti National Park. This park is home to the Great Migration, when over 1.5 million wildebeests, hundreds of thousands of zebras, and all kinds of antelopes start their ever-moving journey. And with such a large number of animals, it's only expected to observe many big cats and other large predators, attracted to their prey. So take this opportunity to look out for lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. Many other smaller animals reside here too, not to mention over 500 species of birds. You will spend this day according to the season of wildebeests either in central Serengeti or Northern Serengeti for migration.

This morning you will continue with further game in the Serengeti, at noon you will leave for the Ngorongoro Crater. Both conservation areas are not separated by fences. On the way, you can observe with some luck some more wildlife. You will spend the night in the Simba Camp on the upper crater rim, where you can enjoy a spectacular view and a great sunset.

Today you’ll visit Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most beautiful natural sights in Africa, a place where you’ll experience otherworldly beauty with extraordinary wildlife. Watch as, from above, morning mist rolls up and over the crater rim, and notice how the steep walls suggest a place unlike any other. Down below on the crater floor, you will explore a lost world preserved in a state of pristine isolation, one that shelters lions and hyenas, elephants and black rhinos, flamingos, and golden jackals. There are also forests, hippo-filled lakes, a salt pan, and hyena dens, and you’ll never lose the sense that you’ve stumbled into a safari theme park where everything’s wild.

If you’ve never been to Tarangire (and even if you have) you’re in for a real treat. Tarangire is filled with giants – baobab trees all across the park, as well as elephants, lots of them. But that’s just the beginning. Of the big cats, you’ll probably see lions, cheetahs, and leopards around, too. It’s impossible to miss the wildebeest, giraffes, hippos, buffaloes, and zebras. Your backdrop for all of this is one of the prettiest in northern Tanzania, with a memorable mix of river woodland, open plains, and rolling hills. You will have some vantage points to take it all in. Your Tanzanian safari draws to a close, and we're sure that you will have enjoyed it as much as we have. Later this afternoon, you will drive back to Arusha for your overnight stay or to the airport.