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The Ultimate Tanzania Safari….

Combine a fleeting visit to the Ngorongoro Crater, a small traditional tented camp close to the wildebeest migration on the southern Serengeti plains with the iconic Lamai Serengeti, built amongst a rock kopje, close to the Mara River at a time when there are few people but loads of resident game (including the big 5), dramatic

scenery and great birdlife. Overview: Day 1 Plantation Lodge Day 5 Lamai Serengeti Day 2 Plantation Lodge Day 6 Lamai Serengeti Day 3 Serengeti Safari Camp Day 7 Lamai Serengeti Day 4 Serenegti Safari Camp Day 8 Flight to Arusha Airport

Day 1 – On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you shall be met by your private Nomad car and guide. Take a gentle drive through Arusha town and towards the highlands of Ngorongoro, perhaps stopping for a picnic on the way. You'll be overnighting at Plantation Lodge in the Karatu area. The lodge is peaceful and lush, and a good base to explore the Ngorongoro Crater and venture on into the Serengeti. Like a green oasis, Plantation Lodge rests on the soft, red-brown hills amidst the vastness and silence of East Africa. The individually furnished rooms and suites melting harmoniously into the flowering garden offer comfort and relaxation. Everywhere you look, you can see and even feel the personal atmosphere of this owner-run lodge with furnishings that

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were selected with great attention to detail. Plantation Lodge’s cordial service leaves no wish unfulfilled. The lodge’s location promises maximum safari enjoyment: a stone’s throw from the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a short hop from the Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks, and just a short journey from the Serengeti.

Dinner and Overnight at The Plantation Lodge Day 2 – After breakfast, you shall depart for a full day of exploration of the Ngorongoro Crater, in your private car. Let your guide venture first up to the heights of the highlands for a magnificent view and then down into the World Heritage Ngorogongoro Crater. Ngorongoro is quite unique as its physical protection from man natural beauty ranks it among the most pristine wildernesses on earth. It is regarded as a natural wonder of the world and has been declared a World Heritage Site. It is the largest intact crater in the world, being 610 meters deep, 16 kilometers across and covering an area of 540 square kilometers. On the crater floor, grassland blends into swamps, lakes, rivers, woodland and mountains – all a haven for wildlife, including the greatest predator population in Africa. The volcanic crater is jam packed with wildlife, including all the big game. Its pride and joy, however, is that it remains the last great wild refuge for black rhino. A picnic hamper lunch will be served on the Crater floor. After lunch you will explore more of the Crater before heading back to your lodge. Dinner and Overnight at the Plantation Lodge Day 3 –

After breakfast, board your private car again and head from the highlands out to the plains of the Serengeti, perhaps with a picnic en-route.

The mighty Serengeti is Tanzania’s most famous national park found in the southern sector of Maasai Mara. It covers some 14,760sq km of gloriously varied savannah, gold-green plains, verdant hills and volcanically contorted mountains with an extraordinary concentration of animals here, to include some spectacular prides of lion and wildebeest. The torrents of the Grumenti River are also home to hundreds of fearsomely gigantic crocodiles. A million wildebeest... each one driven by the same ancient rhythm, fulfilling its instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life: a frenzied three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating; survival of the fittest as 40km long columns plunge through crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus north; replenishing the species in a brief population explosion that produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km pilgrimage begins again. Even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat. But there is more to Serengeti than large mammals. Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies. 100

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varieties of dung beetle have been recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland, to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills. As enduring as the game viewing is the liberating sense of space that characterizes the Serengeti Plains, stretching across sunburnt savannah to a shimmering golden horizon at the end of the earth. Yet, after the rains, this golden expanse of grass is transformed into an endless green carpet flecked with wildflowers. And there are also wooded hills and towering termite mounds, rivers lined with fig trees and acacia woodland stained orange by dust.

Settle into Serengeti Safari Camp on the edge of the Ndutu woodlands for a delicious lunch. Serengeti Safari Camp is a traditional mobile tented camp which moves through the season from the grassy plain to rolling wooded hills and dramatic granite kopjes, all within the national park. The camp itself is small and built in classic safari style, with only six comfortable walk-in tents, each with its own en suite bathroom, with flush loo and bucket shower. It was designed with a purpose in mind; to be in the best possible location to view the wildebeest migration as it covers hundreds of miles of the Serengeti National Park each year. So it should come as no surprise that it really hasn't changed much since its early pioneering days. For a few months of the year the migration is on its doorstep at Lamai Serengeti. But of course the wildebeest move and this is what our Serengeti Safari Camp is all about - understanding the Serengeti seasons and game movements and mirroring them. Serengeti Safari Camp has just 6 large walk-in meru tents, with a dressing area and then an en-suite bathroom at the rear. New eco-flush toilets and safari-style bucket showers, as well as jugs of hot and cold water delivered as and when you'd like them. The main dining tent sits in the middle of the line of tents, with the fireplace right in front and a separate library /bar tent nearby.

Enjoy an afternoon siesta in the heat of the day before heading out on an afternoon game drive. Return to camp for hot safari showers, ice cold drinks around the fire and a delicious dinner under the stars. Dinner and Overnight at Serengeti Safari Camp Day 4 - Full day at Serengeti Safari Camp. You can entirely dictate the pace of your day, in discussion with your guide. Search for lion or cheetah along the edge of the woodland, or head out into the vast plains to get in amongst the wildebeest migration, along with herds of zebra and gazelle at every turn. You'll be surprised by the fabulous variety of birdlife in this area as well as the carpet of flowers that develops within the first rains. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Overnight at Serengeti Safari Camp

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Day 5 – After an early morning game drive within the woodlands, catch a scheduled flight from Ndutu to Kogatende in the northern Serengeti. Too often ignored at this time of year, this area is a gem in the green season. Recently opened, and sensitively developed within the rocks, Lamai Serengeti has 12 room combing canvas, rock and thatch; each fabulously comfortable room enjoys one of the best views in the whole Serengeti.

Lamai Serengeti is nestled in the Kogakuria kopjes overlooking the Mara River valley and Lamai beyond. This 12-room camp combines canvas, rock and thatch and each room enjoys one of the best views in the whole Serengeti. Lamai Serengeti is a small intimate safari lodge located in amongst the large round boulders of the Kogakurjia Kopjes of the Northern Serengeti. This stunning spot, with huge views of the Serengeti towards the Mara River, is best known for the epic river crossings by the migrating wildebeest herds that take place here between July and October. It’s less known for the superb resident game that remains for the rest of the year after the migration circus has left town. The lodge, which has a total of just 12 rooms, is divided into two entirely separate camps - the Main Camp and the smaller Lamai Private Camp, which has to be one of the best places to stay as a family or group of friends. Each room site has been carefully thought out; first with the elements in mind, to take maximum advantage of the view, the sun, the wind and even the rain, second, to be virtually invisible from outside to the casual eye. The rooms, which are beautifully designed, are a clever blend of canvas, plaster and natural poles. Both camps have a natural rock swimming pool to keep everyone cool on a steamy day a library and map room. There is a fantasy bar area with cosy nooks hidden within the rocks, fabulous food, perfectly chilled wine, outdoor showers, and roomy verandas with sofas to sink into.

Dinner and Overnight at Lamai Serengeti Camp

Day 6 – Full day ay Lamai Serengeti Camp. Dominated by the Mara River, groaning with crocs and hippos, this area is great for elephant as well as big herds buffalo, lion, cheetah as well as leopard in the many kopjes that make this landscape so distinctive. Also look out for small Oribi which thrives in this area, but is otherwise extremely scarce in northern Tanzania generally. As well as quiet drives and walking safaris between camp and the Mara River itself, guests are encouraged to cross the river into the Lamai wedge itself, which runs north to the Kenya border. After the rains, the short grass plains in this area attract concentrations of plains game from Kenya's Maasai Mara to rival even the southern Serengeti at times - and with them, a great chance of seeing lion, hyena and cheetah. Dinner and Overnight at Lamai Serengeti Camp

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Day 7 – Another day of fabulous game viewing. Again though, you dictate the pace according to your own particular areas of interest. Don't forget that it's ok to just sit and enjoy the spectacular views! Dinner and Overnight at Lamai Serengeti Camp Day 8 – Transfer to the airstrip in time to connect your flight to Arusha, where you shall interconnect you’re your onward flight back home.

END OF PROGRAM.

7 night itinerary starting/ending in Arusha from $4,262 - $6,287 per person sharing.

Add-ons: Upgrade to Ngorogngoro Crater from $1495pp Additional night at Serengeti Safari Camp from $450pp Add 3 nights at Greystoke Mahale from $3,070pp Cost includes:-

➘ Airport & airstrip transfers on specified ➘ Transport in a spacious 4x4 safari vehicle with large windows, game viewing hatches, either fridge or

cool-box for drinks, and inverter for charging batteries. All your fuels, vehicle entry fees and your game drives are included

➘ Bottled water in vehicle on safari ➘ Game viewing activities as specified ➘ Accommodation and meals as specified

Not included are:-

➘ Personal expenses such as tips, laundry, drinks where not mentioned ➘ Alterations to this itinerary (i.e. if different accommodations and services are provided then the price

will most likely vary up or down ➘ Laundry (unless stated) ➘ Hospital bills and international evacuation in the event of an emergency ➘ Visas and visa fees. ➘ Drinks & Meals not stated ➘ Optional excursions ➘ International Flights and airport taxes ➘ Medical & travel insurance