7 Day Tanzania Odyssey Safari

These seven days are guaranteed to produce memories to last a lifetime, as you will visit no fewer than five of the Northern Circuit’s natural highlights. You will begin with the less visited Arusha National Park which you will explore on foot and in your vehicle before you move westwards to mighty Tarangire: beautiful diverse and teeming with wonderful wildlife.

Next up comes Lake Manyara National Park whose wildlife live their daily lives beneath the dramatic backdrop of the Rift Valley escarpment, and on the shores of the sparkling lake itself. In Serengeti, you will have a full program of game-drives, letting you explore the stunning and varied landscapes of this famous place. Then, you will finish your adventure in another Tanzanian gem, the incomparable crater of Ngorongoro, on the lookout for a black rhino.

Day 01: Arusha National Park

In the morning after breakfast (around 8:30 a.m.) your driver-guide will arrive at the hotel and inform the receptionist that he is waiting for you. After meeting up with your driver-guide you will set off to the nearby Arusha National Park, and by 9:30 a.m. you will already be on your first safari destination.

After finishing the registration process on the gate, accompanied by an armed ranger for safety with your expert driver-guide, you will choose from a number of routes, depending on what this small but beautiful park has to offer today and how far you might want to walk. Your ranger might show you the deep holes dug by aardvarks, or explain how an acacia tree emits a warning scent to other acacias! Be on the lookout for zebra, duiker, giraffe and hippo. The black-and-white colobus monkey is a favorite in this park, while in the skies, egrets and sacred ibis can often be observed. Even the trees have a story to tell.

You might meet the aptly named strangler fig, which sucks the life out of other trees. pends years sucking the life out of its victim – perhaps an unsuspecting juniper. You might encounter warthog and buffalo, often seen together, with the former possessing a good sense of sight and hearing, while the buffalo relies on smell to alert to impending danger. A perfect symbiosis.You might also have the chance to visit one of the park’s picturesque waterfalls, such as Tululusia, as it plummets 30 metres down to a rocky base.

After your walking safari, you will enjoy your well-earned lunch, before you jump in your vehicle and relax as your driver-guide will show you the rest of what this little gem has to offer. And its areas are impressively different, with Mount Meru towering above the Momela Lakes, the montane forest area and the perfectly formed crater of Ngurdoto. In some ways, this is a Tanzania in miniature! After your day of a walking safari and a thrilling game drive, you will head back to your accommodation so you can relax, enjoy your dinner and get a good night’s rest.

Day 02: Tarangire National Park

You'll depart from Arusha after breakfast for the approximately two-hour journey to Tarangire National Park. Along the way, your eyes will be opened to all the colours and character of Tanzania: perhaps some Maasai herdsmen driving their flocks of goats to new pastures. You’ll get to know your driver-guide, amazed at his depth of knowledge as he effortlessly answers all your questions. Once you've entered Tarangire, you'll begin your game drive across a rich vista of endless golden savannah that surrounds the Tarangire River.

Tarangire is huge. As you stand at the park gate and look south, it stretches as far as the eye can see. Known as the ‘Elephant Playground,’ this spectacular park contains largest population of these mighty mammals. But Tarangire is also home to buffalo, lion, gnu, zebra and gazelle and the park can rival Serengeti for sheer animal densities. What might you see today? Perhaps a solitary male lion stretched out beneath a tree, perhaps a trio of male cheetah enjoying some lazy bonding-time in the sun.

Maybe some graceful Grant’s gazelle or zebra bounding away from the road or a couple of giraffes munching happily from the choicest acacia branches. For Tarangire specialties, look out for kudu and oryx.Here as in other parks, it pays not to ignore the small animals. It is so easy to be mesmerized by the power and majesty of an elephant or the elegance of the giraffe.

Ask your guide to find you an agama lizard, especially a male one who changes colour in front of you according to the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as pimbi, an insignificant-looking creature of around 30 cm in length who astonishingly is related to elephant! Not many trees will pass you by without something of avian interest catching your eye. A memorable flash of colour might be a lilac-breasted roller or superb starling. Ostrich are plentiful and it is hard not to chuckle at the sighting of the well-named, studious-looking secretary bird as it awkwardly pads across the grasslands.

Day 03: Lake Manyara National Park

You'll be picked up from your hotel at 8 am and start a beautiful journey to Lake Manyara, with a travel time of around 2 hours. Stretches along the Rift Valley Escarpment, and characterized by its shimmering lake, Manyara is rich in vegetation and the wildlife that thrives here. Enjoy the tranquility as majestic pink flamingoes wade elegantly, picking out a meal of algae from the shallow, alkaline waters.

Bird-lovers are in for a treat as over 400 species have been recorded here – everything from bee-eaters to hornbills and everything in-between. And if you visit between February and June, watch out for yellow-billed stork and pink-backed pelicans, two more avian highlights. On land, Manyara’s terrain is compact, yet boasts differing environments such as diverse forests fed by waters seeping from the nearby escarpment.

Monkeys are abundant, but look out too for the lions, giraffe, warthog and grumpy Cape buffalo who all proudly call this park their home. Hold your nose when you reach the hippo pool, because these big semi-aquatic mammals smell! After an extensive game drive, and, of course, lunch you will continue onwards to Karatu in the Ngorongoro highlands, where you will spend the night at the your lodge.

Day 04: Serengeti National Park, By the way of Ngorongoro Conservation Area

After breakfast, you will set off for your next destination, the stunning Serengeti National Park, a distance of 166 km and a journey time of around 3 ½ hours. By late morning, you will reach Serengeti, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the country’s oldest and most celebrated national park and take a game drive. There are surely not many better places on earth to see such quantities and variety of wildlife. You will absorb the breath-taking scenery, fantastic changing light and of course spot the many animals choosing to make their home here.

Your dedicated driver-guide will be delighted to share with you his knowledge of this incredible place and its flora and fauna. With thousands of predators and their prey numbering in the hundreds of thousands It is no surprise that there is always something fascinating happening amongst the wildlife populations.

Your driver-guide may find you lion, leopard, elephant, zebra, cheetah and antelope on today’s safari just some of the many species here. Snap off some memorable photos, but don’t forget to simply take a deep breath and enjoy nature in its real-time, raw beauty.After the game drive, you will be taken to your accommodation for some welcome rest, your evening meal and to spend the night.

Day 05: Serengeti National Park

Waking up in the Serengeti is something really special. Sights, sounds and smells of Africa are all around you, and ahead is a full day of adventure in the world’s most famous national park. After breakfast, you start today with the morning section of your game drive in Serengeti National Park, marveling at the stunning scenery, ever changing light and always entertaining wildlife, all explained to you by your expert driver-guide.The Seronera River weaves its way through this area, providing waters for all species of wildlife. You will also see the distinctive rocky outcrops, the famous kopjes which characterize the Serengeti landscape. Kopjes are very hard and often granite.

They have been aged at maybe 600 million years old and created even before the earth’s surface was pushed up from the ocean. Lions and other cats frequent these stony places and they are also home to snakes and hyraxes. Slowly weathering in wind and rain, they are peeling off in layers, which you may see on close inspection. Lunch will be an unforgettable experience, enjoyed in the middle of the bush. After lunch, you set off again, searching for wildlife in this awe-inspiring park. Serengeti’s wonders evolve subtly as the day progresses.

The myriad animals and birds are the ‘stars of the show’ and Nature’s dramas can unfold at any time. Of course, the animals don’t work to a timetable, so you may find lion or leopard, elephant and zebra, cheetah and antelope at any time on your drives. Look out for the magnificent sight of the world’s heaviest bird capable of flight, the Kori Bustard. The avian equivalent of a lumbering cargo plane, it can weigh up to 15 kg and has a wingspan of nearly three metres! At the end of the afternoon, you return to the accommodation for dinner and some much-needed rest.

NOTE: For those who have booked a hot air balloon safari for today, you will be picked up from the lodge at 05.00 hours for a 06.00 hours departure. After your 60 – 90-minute aerial adventure, bush breakfast and champagne, your driver will pick you up for your full-day game drive.

Day 06: Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Crater.

Following breakfast, you will have a morning game drive in amazing Serengeti, marveling at its animal inhabitants. With its informative visitor centre, the Seronera area of Central Serengeti is the national park’s most popular area. And it is very popular with the wildlife, too. The Seronera river enjoys year-round waterflow, so there is always something of interest to observe.

Several game drives can be undertaken here and might reveal lions in sizeable prides, hippo or herds of elephants whose populations in the park have risen in recent times. Depending on other attractions, you may choose to call in at the Serengeti Visitor Centre, where there is an excellent explanation of the park’s eco-system and a chance to understand the history of conservation in this area.

In particular, you will find out about the work of Bernhard Grzimek and the Frankfurt Zoological Society who had the foresighted vision of preserving the Serengeti’s eco-system. Even at the center, you may well find wildlife: populations of hyrax and mongoose, as well as many small bird species. After lunch, you will head south-east towards Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

If it has not already struck you with its vastness, Serengeti’s ‘endless plains’ will make a deep impression on you as you will take the long, straight road which passes Simba Kopjes (famous from ‘The Lion King’) to reach Naabi Hill Gate, close to the divide between Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Here you can gather information at the gate’s visitor center, clamber up the hill for superb views back over the plains, or look out for a colorful agama lizard among the rocks.

Day 07: Ngorongoro Crater - Arusha

From your accommodation, you will set off after breakfast, a 6am departure to reach the rim and then descend into the vast crater itself. At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled.

By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them.From your accommodation, you will set off after breakfast, a 6am departure to reach the rim and then descend into the vast crater itself.

At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled. By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them.

PLAN: From your accommodation, you will set off after breakfast, a 6am departure to reach the rim and then descend into the vast crater itself. At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled. By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them.

DEPARTURE INSTRUCTIONS: Please note this 7 Days Tanzania Obyssey Safari ends at Arusha at 17:00hrs, your departure can only take place tomorrow if you have booked a domestic flight which departs from Kilimanjaro International Airport at 07:10hrs and onwards or an international flight which departs at 06:40hrs and onwards. Thus, you will need to book an extra night’s accommodation (not included in the tour price) and take a flight the following day.