Luxury Safaris and Vacations in Northern Tanzania
Safaris to northern Tanzania
Tanzania contains some of the most spectacular attractions in Africa including the Serengeti National Park, home to the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. During the short rains, around November, up to 2 million wildebeest migrate to the Serengeti (in what is known as the wildebeest migration). Climb Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest mountain) taking the scenic and uncommercial route; Game view with your own private 4 x 4 vehicle and expert Tanzanian guide; View wonderful flamingoes on Lake Magadi; Spend time on beautiful Lake Eyasi with the Hadzabe tribe, who are one of the last true hunter-gatherers of Tanzania; Walk through the Serengeti with your private guide, following the spoormarks left by predators and other animals; Have a private, mobile tent erected just for the two of you or your family in a game rich region; Tanzania tends to be more African and genuine than many of its other African counterparts and the time spent with your guide really lets you learn more about these wonderful people and their culture. There are also some very beautiful and luxurious lodges for those who would prefer not to camp!
Highlights of northern Tanzania
- Wildebeest migration in the Serengeti
- Hot air ballooning in the Serengeti
- Walking safaris in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro highlands area
- Ngorongoro Crater – a world heritage site
- Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain
- Lake Manyara – famous for its beautiful lake with excellent birdlife and tree climbing lions
- Tarangire – with its own migration and fantastic elephant population
- Lake Eyasi – for both its flamingoes and learning about the Hadzabe tribe.
- The coast – Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia Island
- Private, mobile tented camps
- Private vehicle and guide throughout
General information on Tanzania
The migration migrates to the southern part of Serengeti where they spend 3-4 months and then follow the seasons around the rest of this massive ecosystem. Tanzania has a veritable legion of reasons to visit amongst which are the game-rich north, stunning south, Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest mountain), and a magnificent Indian Ocean coastline and islands. It is a wonderful country and our safaris in Tanzania are made better by our ability to organise, in the north, private 4×4s for each client group, accompanied – again privately of course – throughout the safari by the finest of Tanzanian guides.
This is wonderful, one develops a real rapport with one’s guide, thus being able to access so much more information than just the basics. There are other, less obvious, benefits such as total flexibility! One of the best ways to experience our safaris in Tanzania is by private “mobile”, especially at the time of the wildebeest migration when camp is located as close as it is possible to be to the masses of game. When one links the Serengeti with Tarangire, which has its own migration at certain times of year as well as big concentrations of elephant, and Lake Manyara with its magnificent birdlife, Tanzania represents probably the finest game viewing in Africa!
The Ngorongoro Crater is a World Heritage Site and there is little to rival the beauty of the sun setting against the rim of the Crater wall, not to mention the abundance of wildlife and the birdlife of Lake Magadi. But what we offer in the north goes much further than just the spectacular wildlife.
Tanzania is very much multi-tribal and one can spend time with ancient huntergatherers such as the Hadzabe of Lake Eyasi. The tribe is, bizarrely, of bushman origin (in a region where the inhabitants are predominantly semi-nilotic) and a pre-dawn walk with the hunters is a superb experience before spending time watching and, perhaps, participating in the morning settlement routines. Whichever way you do it there will be plenty of time to walk or choose whatever you want to do. On foot, this is a dry and rugged landscape which is still inhabited by these small groups of Bushmen. The Hadzabe (also called the Watindiga) still live in bands, hunting with bow and arrow. They gather roots, tubers and wild fruits, much as early man lived 10,000 years ago.
Down here, below the Crater Highlands, you can stay at a small, tented camp in the most beautiful setting. One can also walk with Masai in the Loliondo region of the Serengeti, which is beautiful. Between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro is Olduvai Gorge where, in 1959, Dr Louis Leakey and his wife found the remains of Australopithecus Boisei, an early form of Homo Erectus, there is a small museum about this and the finds further south at Laetoli. For the intrepid traveller, there is always Mount Kilimanjaro (as well as Meru and, for the real adventurer, Ol Donyo L’Engai) to conquer. We will always recommend the Shira route up “Kili”; better acclimatisation, far less used and glorious views – surely reason enough in itself! Whatever you decide upon though, a safari in Tanzania will offer a very genuine, down to earth experience with the most extraordinary array of wildlife!
Care to explore the southern part of the country? As we also provide fantastic Safaris in South Tanzania
