11 Days Tanzania Camping Safari
11 Days Tanzania Camping Wildlife Safari
11 Days Tanzania Camping Safari Tarangire, Manyara, Mto WA Mbu, Lake Eyasi, Lake Natron, Ngorongoro & Serengeti
This 11 day Tanzania camping safari allows you to experience the spectacular views and wildlife of the Northern Safari Circuit. You will experience breathtaking wildlife in the midst of some of the most diverse landscapes; monkeys in the forest, lions in trees, elephants amongst acacias and a huge variety of animals inside a collapsed volcano. You will also visit the world famous Serengeti National Park, home to the Earths last great terrestrial migration and full of creatures both big and small, Ngorongoro Crater, Mto wa Mbu Cultural Tour, Lake Eyasi, Lake Natron and Lake Manyara National Park. The landscapes are breathtaking and the variety and volume of wildlife you will see are unforgettable. Really amazing experience.
Detailed Itinerary
Welcome to Tanzania: Meet and greet at arrival point(usually at Kilimanjaro International Airport ,JRO) by our transfer and representative driver from Nduwa Tours who will escort you to the waiting vehicle for loading your luggage then drive you to the Hotel in Arusha town. You will meet our representative who will show up at the Airport with a sign board with your name and a warm smile on his/her face when welcoming you to Tanzania. After checking in at the hotel you will get a briefing about your next day’s 11 Days Tanzania Camping Safari Tarangire, Manyara, Mto WA Mbu, Lake Eyasi, Lake Natron Ngorongoro & Serengeti then your safari guide will come to give you a brief about this safari and share with you a copy of this safari itinerary. The rest of the day can be spent relaxing at the pool or exploring the town of Arusha.
Accommodation: Mid-Range Hotel in Arusha on Bed & Breakfast Basis
Nduwa Tours’ personal safari guide and driver will meet you at hotel in Arusha to undertake the drive, on good tarmac road, the some 120 kilometers to Tarangire National Park where we undertake our first day of game drives. Tarangire National Park famously known for its huge elephant populations, three families numbering in the region of one thousand each, is so named for the life giving Tara River which wends its way through the park and gives sustenance from its cooling waters to a broad variety of game that come here to imbibe. We may hope to see zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant, and giraffe, to name a few. It is possible we will glimpse our friend Leo panthera, the mighty lion, stalking his prey or, the leopard watching in relaxation in the trees above. An ornithological paradise, some five hundred birds have been here identified. Picnic lunch at the best picnic site in Tarangire for a hot lunch we again at 1300 hrs. head out to continue our game viewing experience in the park, in search of the creatures at their daily business With the day coming to a close and the sun setting over the rift valley our driver will convey us to our accommodation for a delectable dinner and an overnights .Migombani Campsite is located at the top of East African rift valley in Manyara region, it gives you a great and amazing view.
Accommodation: Migombani Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Mto WA Mbu Village Walk:
The bustling farming community of Mto WA Mbu, located between Manyara and Ngorongoro, is home to around 18,000 people. Spend half a day here with a knowledgeable local guide and you’ll discover a side of Tanzania that many visitors miss.
What to expect during your village walk:
A melting pot of cultures, Mto WA Mbu is thought to be one of the only places in Tanzania where there are representatives from all 120 tribes living happily side by side. Although the name translates as ‘Mosquito River’, due to the permanent water source in the village, we fortunately didn’t see many mosquitoes. Your guide is very likely to be from the village itself so you will have a unique opportunity to see the community through his eyes. Tours last around 2–3 hours, but are flexible. During your visit you’ll get a good feel for the social side of the village – the farms and the milling machines, the schools, markets and churches. Your guide will happily answer any questions you might have, and will help you to gain an understanding of the inner workings of this typical Tanzanian community.
You’ll likely start in the village banana plantation, where they grow more than 30 different varieties of bananas. As well as finding out how this staple fruit is grown, you’ll hear about the different uses of the plant as a whole, from food to materials for building and art. Next you might visit a youth art project, and learn about the different painting styles and techniques. The artists are happy for you to ask questions and take photos, and while there are opportunities to purchase their artwork, which makes wonderful souvenirs, we were impressed that there was no hard sell or pressure to buy. We then visited a wood workshop, where you can watch skilled members of the Makonde tribe carefully carving intricate figurines, masks and household objects. They’ll show you the different types of wood and finishing, and explain some of the historical and cultural meanings behind the carvings. You can even have a go at doing some carving yourself! Again, there are opportunities to purchase carvings should you wish, but with no hard sell or aggressive haggling, which we found very refreshing.
Moving on, you’ll come to a local ‘bar’ to try mbege, the traditional banana and millet beer that is brewed and drunk mainly by the Chagga tribe. The process of making this brew is quite labour intensive, and the beer is usually served in one large cup, which is passed around the group, and refilled as needed.Your tour will finish in the bustling local market, where you can wander around stalls selling fruit and vegetables stalls, spices and meat. Your guide will stop and explain points of interest, and give you the opportunity to try and smell a variety of foods. A real treat for the senses! Dinner and an overnights .Migombani Campsite is located at the top of East African rift valley in Manyara region, it gives you a great and amazing view.
Accommodation: Migombani Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After an early breakfast, depart to Lake Eyasi Home to the Hadzabe bushmen, Lake Eyasi is one of the few places remaining in Africa where tribal life is still maintained relatively untouched by the development of the region. The Hadzabe people have called Lake Eyasi home for more than 10,000 years, and still retain their hunter gatherer lifestyle; making them one of the last bastions of ancient African tribal life. A visit to the Hadzabe lands offers a unique and unforgettable glimpse into an ancient culture. The lake is as all the other lakes in the Rift Valley a soda lake. Lake Eyasi, which has one principle spring, the Sibiti River, is enclosed with walls consisting of purple lava. The main attraction of Lake Eyasi are the Hadzabe Bushmen, the indigenous inhabitants and the last community of hunters and gatherers in Africa. Lake Eyasi is their homeland for over 10,000 years. They are still holding to their traditional way of life, hunting and gathering different kinds of fruits and honey. The Hadzabe live in caves and they don’t wear any kind of clothes but rather skin to cover the private parts. Their community is endangered, because most of their land has been taken away from them for commercial production and they are forced to join the civilization. Lake Eyasi is also inhabited by another Bushmen community, the Tindiga. This community is also a hunters and gatherers community, but they are tired of this kind of live and want to join the civilized world. They have been living for centuries from the forest and its products, hunting animals such as monkeys. The Tindiga people don’t have permanent houses and avoid buildings with iron sheets, because they believe they cause blindness. Dinner and an overnights .Migombani Campsite is located at the top of East African rift valley in Manyara region, it gives you a great and amazing view.
Accommodation: Migombani Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Early morning you will depart from Mto Wa Mbu to Lake Natron with a drie.This day will take place at Lake Natron, a very beautiful and remote place. Often featured in wildlife magazines, Natron is the only place in the world that has red-hued water. The color is attributed to a high content of special bacteria, which have a blood-red color. However, it can only be seen and photographed from a bird’s-eye view. Lake Natron has very beautiful African landscapes and wild animals: ostriches, antelopes, zebras, giraffes also live here, but due to its remote nature, there are not many tourists. This is a great place to start or end your safari through Tanzania’s northern parks.
It can be quite hot during the day. To freshen up, you can swim in the springs nearby. Water flows into them directly from the slopes of the Ngorongoro Reserve. It is very pure and well-saturated with sulfur. Some scientists believe it is beneficial for the development of bones in the body. We’re not sure about that, but it’s definitely not harmful.
Accommodation: Lake Natron Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Very beautiful birds live on Lake Natron including large and small flamingos, which can have numbers of tens of thousands at a time! The brilliant pink birds taking flight is a very beautiful sight. Flamingos are very fond of Lake Natron, because here they are guaranteed not to be disturbed by predators because of the water’s high alkaline level. Every year from September through to April, more than three-quarters of all Lesser Flamingos in the world are born on Lake Natron. Eggs are laid in the shallow mud of the waters, and new chicks hatch along the shore. Through binoculars, you can watch very small chicks that are just taking their first steps. They are still gray in color, but very soon their plumage will begin to turn pink. In addition to flamingos, pelicans and other birds are found in the vicinity of Lake Natron. In the wild, they behave completely differently from the zoo – the birds are very active and playful. Later afternoon we will start to depart to Karatu town for overnight stay.
Accommodation: Lake Natron Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
We make an early start today to make the most of our adventure and, after our breakfast in our accommodation at Migombani we will depart to Serengeti with en route game drive in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, at early in the morning we set out on our adventure to the one of the seven wonders of Africa, The Serengeti National Park, taking our lunch and enjoying game drives en-route. The Serengeti, largest park in Africa at 15,000 sq km, is home to some three million large mammals and is made up of a diversity of landscapes with the southern region being dominated by the lush grassy plains that draw the two million wildebeest, half a million zebra and some quarter million antelope to make the hazardous journey in search pasture when the autumn rains come. All of ‘the big five’ here inhabit, elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino, and the elusive leopard, alongside a multitude of other large mammals. Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelle, cheetah, hyena, eland, hartebeest, bushbuck, the flightless ostrich, and the largest flighted bird in the world, the kory bustard. We will seek out these creatures with the keen intuition and experience of our Signature guide and, with day drawing to a close, we will wend our way to our selected lodgings to unwind, dine and take our ease by the fire under the endless East African sky.
Accommodation: Central Serengeti Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Again an early start so as to maximize our adventure, after our breakfast we set out at 0600hrs for a game drive on the Serengeti Plains. Serengeti, ‘Endless Plain’ in the tongue of the Maasai, warrior tribe who have called the scape of land their home for millennia. We return to our lodge for breakfast at 0845.There is to be found upon the plain an abundance of wildlife with over three million large mammals here resident easily justifying the landscapes recognition as a UNESCO world heritage site. Other than the great migrating hordes we seek, we may also see cheetah, lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, wildebeest, hartebeest, topi, eland, crocs , Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelle, amongst many many more. With over five hundred bird species identified the park is a veritable ornithological paradise, ostrich abound, secretary bird, marabou stork, and the largest lighted bird on Earth, the kori bustard the you will drive to the accommodation, we set out on our drive to the Serengeti National Park, enjoying a game drive looking forward to our rest at our accommodation in Serengeti National Park. Where we can enjoy our dinner and the sweeping landscape spread out before our eyes. Rest, relax, rejuvenate, take in the spectacle in anticipation of our day’s adventure to come and take our ease in commodious quarters. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your camp.
Accommodation: Central Serengeti Public Campsite.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Early morning after breakfast, we continue with our en-route drive inside the Serengeti National Park before we depart to Ngorongoro crater. When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. Concealed by the steep volcanic walls is a pristine wilderness including sweeping savannah, pockets of acacia woodland and glistening lakes and swamps.
Arriving at our accommodation in the late evening, we will have our dinner and overnight stay at one of our campsite.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Simba Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Rise and shine, on this day after breakfast we visit one of the most extraordinary landscapes. Again we take an early breakfast so as to enjoy our adventure to the maximum. After our 0600 hrs. Breakfast we descend the windy bumpy track to the crater floor. More precisely a caldera, this 610 meter deep 304 square kilometer enclosed ecosphere was formed some two or three million years ago in the massive explosion of a volcano once higher than Kilimanjaro, and offers the best game viewing opportunities in all of Tanzania. With some 25,000 large mammals within the caldera as soon as we hit the floor we will have the opportunity to see. In addition to ‘the big five’ elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, and leopard, the various springs attract animals such as wildebeest, gazelle, reedbuck, bushbuck, hartebeest, hippo, antelope, both Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelle, impala, to name a few, as well as over 500 species of bird. It is well recognized as one of the world’s wonders, veritably a magnificent spectacle for the human witness lucky enough to traverse her wildlife laden floor. Lunch served at a picnic site by the hippo pool followed by further game drives with eventually as evening comes on, our ascent to the highlands again and on to the accommodation at Migombani Campsite.
Accommodation: Migombani Public Campsite
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Early morning after breakfast, we depart to Lake Manyara National Park which is an unspoilt paradise and is best known for its abundance of birds and tree-climbing lions. The dramatic western escarpment of the Rift Valley forms the Park’s western border. To the east is the shallow, alkaline Lake Manyara. The lake covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons and is home to thousands of flamingos during the rains. The name Manyara comes from the Maasai word ‘emanyara’, a popular plant which is used to build the protective enclosure around a family homestead (boma). The Park’s vegetation is diverse, ranging from savannah to evergreen forest. On your exploration of the park you may see giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, and elephant and if you are lucky; lions lounging in the trees. In the evening, return to Arusha or transfer to the airport for your departure.
Accommodation: Hotel in Arusha on Bed & Breakfast Basis
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
The day is left free to wind down after the trek before your flight home. Depending on flight times you could go and explore Arusha town and grab some souvenirs before heading to the airport.
NB: In additional Nduwa Tours also will love to prepare for you a Mountain Climbing Program at Mount Kilimanjaro or Mount Meru or if you prefer Zanzibar beaches we can also make it unforgettable for you as a private tour, honeymooners or photograph safari.
Price includes:
- Transportation in a 4×4 safari vehicle with open Roof Vehicle
- Professional, English-speaking guide
- Professional, English-speaking safari cook
- Camping fees
- Camping equipment (tents, sleeping mats, chairs, tables etc.)
- Meals according to the itinerary (B,L,D)
- Mineral water (Drinking Bottle Water)
- Wi-Fi in the Safari Vehicle
- All mentioned activities
- All national park fees
- WMA fees,Concessions & Conversations Fees
- Lake Eyasi Entrance
- Mto Wa Mbu Guided activity
- Government Tax (VAT)
- Lake Natron
- Two nights Hotel in Arusha before and after Safari
- Driver’s Salary and park fees for vehicle and driver
- Snacks in your safari car
- Airport Transfers X2 (On arrival and on Departure)
- Soft Drinks during the safari
- 1 Bottle of Wine
- Local Beer
Price do not include:
- International & Local Flights
- Optional activities (Olduvai Gorge 35 $ per person, Balloon Safari 595 $ per person )
- Visa fees
- Tips
- Personal spending money for souvenirs etc.
- Travel insurance