SERENGETI TRAILS

Arrive in Arusha and transfer to your lodge, situated on a working coffee plantation. Your private chalet near Mount Meru features a log fireplace and a balcony.

This morning, meet the students of Ilboru Primary School, an AKP-supported project serving hearing-impaired and other local children with mental and physical disabilities. Travel to Tarangire National Park, where open grasslands, acacia trees and the Tarangire River paint the wild landscape. Spend the afternoon on a game drive in search of eland, oryx, wildebeests, zebras and a large elephant population. Keep your eyes trained for hartebeests, gazelles and exotic birds like the bateleur and martial eagle. 

Today, enjoy morning and afternoon game drives. Your local expert driver-guide draws on years of experience in the bush to locate the best wildlife viewing opportunities right as they happen.

As you cross the Great Rift Valley, stop for a Market Visit in Mto wa Mbu, where stalls brim with vibrant local produce. Take a scenic drive to tranquil Gibb’s Farm, where you stop for a lunch made with organic, just-picked ingredients. Later, arrive at the natural amphitheater of Ngorongoro Crater, a 2,000-footdeep caldera. A fascinating microcosm of East African wildlife — including buffalo, flamingos, lions and leopards — resides inside. Climb the outer wall, passing through dense vegetation until a breathtaking view across the crater floor appears. Arrive at your tented camp, located on the rim of the crater and featuring luxury accommodations adorned with mosquito nets, hand-woven rugs, crisp linens and en suite bathrooms with flush toilets and hot showers. Relax on your veranda and view the panoramic natural wonderland below.

Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater, a vast expanse where animal activity is commonplace. Avoid the crowded picnic sites during a private hot gourmet lunch, prepared by your camp staff, as a symphony of wildlife sounds envelope you. This afternoon, visit with an elder at a Maasai village, where you learn about the tribe’s traditional, nomadic lifestyle and coexistence with wildlife. You also partake in an Artisan Visit with a demonstration in traditional beadwork and crafts. Later, witness a private dance performance at your tented camp. Sense the incomparable spirit of this pastoral, nomadic people who have kept their tribal traditions alive through countless generations of life in East Africa.

Fly to the fabled Serengeti National Park and settle into your camp. Then, set out on the boundless Serengeti, one of the oldest and least-changed ecosystems on earth as well as home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of wildlife, with lions, hyenas and leopards all endemic. The region also hosts the spectacular Great Migration, when a flurry of wildebeests and zebras arrive in search of grass and water. It is an epic spectacle you may witness depending on your choice of departure. This evening, as the equatorial sun hangs low over the plains, take a moment to sip a sun-downer cocktail and reflect on the majesty of Africa.

Venture out on morning and afternoon game drives in the protected Serengeti refuge, where flowing rivers support a variety of birds, mammals and reptiles. In addition to the “Big Five” (lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhinos), keep your camera handy for a cheetah bolting after a fleet Thomson’s gazelle. Enjoy ideal game viewing throughout your time in the bush, as your highly experienced A&K-trained driver guide strives continually to keep you in the heart of the action. Tonight, gather for a memorable farewell dinner.

Fly to Arusha. Relax in a comfortable day room in anticipation of your flight home.