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Tanzania |
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Tanzania ~ NorthernBoasting some of world’s best known game reserves and greatest animal migrations, northern Tanzania has attracted wildlife enthusiasts for decades. The SerengetiAlthough ten times the size of Kenya’s Masai Mara (with which it is combined to form the huge Mara-Serengeti ecosystem), the Serengeti receives only a fraction of the Mara’s tourists, leaving much of the park wonderfully unspoilt. Derived from the Masai for “endless plains”, Serengeti National Park actually has a surprisingly diverse landscape, savannah being found only in the south and east towards the Ngorongoro crater. The central Seronera area is hilly with granite outcrops know as kopjes and forested river valleys harbouring year-round wildlife. Up to the Kenyan border, the lightly forested northern Serengeti holds plenty of resident game and forms the crucial Northern Corridor during the migration. Following the Grumeti River almost to the shores of Lake Victoria, the Western Corridor is especially remote and attracts plentiful wildlife since it normally contains water throughout the dry season. During the migration, the Grumeti River has spectacular crossing points where the massing animals run the gauntlet of waiting crocodiles and lions. The MigrationThe annual migration of over two million animals through the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem is certainly one of the world’s great wildlife spectacles. Dominated by wildebeest but also involving zebras, gazelles and expectant carnivores, its timing varies according to the annual rains. The short rains begin in late October or November, drawing the herds from the Mara through the Northern Corridor towards the plains of the south. By late December the migration usually settles in the southern plains, often spreading as far as Ngorongoro. The animals remain here for a number of months bearing their young in late January and February. Around April, the migration passes through central Seronera, spilling into the Western Corridor by May or June. The herds usually return along the Northern Corridor in July, revisiting the Mara in August and September. Despite its size, the Serengeti is relatively easy to traverse enabling interception of the migration wherever it occurs: however, for the most rewarding spectacle it is best to choose a lodge close to the migration route.
Ngorongoro Conservation AreaTwo-and-a-half million years ago a volcano the size of Kilimanjaro imploded, creating the vast crater known as Ngorongoro. Now blessed with a staggering variety of wildlife, Ngorongoro is one of the wonders of the natural world. Thick forest surrounds the crater, whose floor contains tracts of practically every habitat found in East Africa: open grasslands, acacia woodlands, swamps, fresh water pools, sand dunes and a small soda lake with flamingos. This diversity supports a huge range of animals including the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, black rhino), cheetah, hippo, two species of gazelle and zebra. Masai tribesmen live on the crater rim where walking tours are also permitted. In nearby Olduvai Gorge the Leakeys found important hominid
Lake Manyara National ParkThe varied vegetation around Manyara’s shoreline comprises tall forest (with large numbers of blue and vervet monkeys, and baboons), shorter acacia woodland and open grassland. The lake itself is home to flamingos, pelicans and other water birds. There are tree-climbing lions, hppos, large numbers of elephants and a resident herd of Cape buffalo, as well as approximately 400 species of birds.
TarangireSouth of Lake Manyara and 100km from Arusha, this is a delightful yet underrated National Park. Covering 2,600 sq km, it has plenty of game and numerous bloated baobab trees creating a distinctive landscape seen nowhere else in the north. The park is exceptionally good for elephants, herds of 50 or 60 being commonly seen, and also contains leopard, python, kudu, wildebeest, zebra and eland.
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We combine two remote, little-visited parks of Ruaha and Selous in the south with exotic Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean to produce a well-rounded programme which provides a perfect balance of big game, sandy beaches, coral reefs, old architecture and African/Arabian culture. You will benefit from accommodation of a high standard and the convenience of flying by light aircraft, thus keeping long road journeys to a minimum. Find out more... Incorporating some of the most fabulous wildlife areas in Tanzania, this comprehensive itinerary stays well off the beaten track using small tented camps and, for the northern section, a private naturalist guide with 4x4 vehicle. September and October aside, you will be well placed the rest of the year for the legendary wildebeest migration. Experience a Tanzania tented camps safari in the style of a bygone era. Find out more... An extraordinary and unusual Ruaha, Katavi and Mahale safari in Tanzania’s remote west, a land of vast open plains, chimpanzee forests and very few tourists. If prepared to invest a little extra time and energy to escape the main safari routes, one is richly rewarded with large amounts of plains wildlife and the thrill of close encounters with chimpanzees. Time spent relaxing on Zanzibar rounds off an adventurous and exclusive wildlife experience. Find out more... We have condensed all the varied wildlife, great landscapes and local tribes of northern Tanzania into this compact tour offered at exceptional value. The region particularly comes alive from November to July when the wildebeest migration arrives – one of the world’s great natural history spectacles. Don’t miss it. |
The sheer wealth of animals in Serengeti is amazing. We have been on several previous safaris but never seen such vast herds. Dr J A, Cambridge.
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Mbuzi Mawe