Your journey starts in Arusha, a bustling city located at the base of Mt. Meru. From there, you’ll take a roughly 2 hour drive through the countryside to reach the Tarangire National Park, home to over 3000 elephants. Driving through the granitic ridges, river valleys and swamps you’ll be graced with baobab trees, known for being amongst the biggest and longest living trees of Africa, and plenty of wildlife. 

Around midday, you’ll stop to enjoy lunch at a scenic picnic spot before heading back out into the park for more wildlife viewing. Not only will you spot elephants during your game drive, but other animals as well, such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, warthogs, elands, greater kudus, monkeys, baboons, and mongooses, with more than 550 species of birds making regular appearances. 

After your final drive, your day will end at either Eileen’s Tree Lodge or the Marera Valley Lodge in the Karatu area, making the drive to Ngorongoro Crater shorter the next day.

The second day starts early with everyone ready to take the hour-long drive to Ngorongoro Crater at 6 am. The early start allows adventurers to get a glimpse of the wildlife at one of their peak times, when they come out to enjoy the cool weather—especially predators, who often spend their mornings hunting for food—all as golden savannah acts as a beautiful scenic backdrop.

Around midday, you’ll stop at a scenic picnic spot tucked into the heart of the park to enjoy your lunch before heading back out for another exciting game drive. 

Often thought of as a small zoo due to its high density of animals, the Ngorongoro Crater boasts incredible diversity, including lions, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, hippos, Buffaloes, gazelles, elephants, waterbucks, baboons, monkeys and many different species of birds. But the most popular attraction all is the ever-elusive black rhino, which is almost impossible to find in any other parks.

After your final drive, you’ll end your evening at Lake Eyasi, just an hour away from the Ngorongoro main gate, where you’ll enjoy dinner and sleep for the night at Lake Eyasi Safari lodge.

The third day delves deeper into the cultural world of Tanzania. Lake Eyasi is home to the Hadzabe bushmen and is one of the only remaining places in Africa where tribal life is still maintained and relatively untouched by modernization. The Hadzabe people have called this place home for over 10,000 years and retain their ancient African lifestyle. 

Primarily hunter-gatherers, you will join the Hadzabe tribe on their morning hunt. This is an opportunity to truly experience the primitive and autonomous art of living. Once enough animals have been hunted to feed the family, you will make your way back to the village where they perform their traditional dance for visitors. At the end of the cultural activities, adventurers will gear up to visit another group – the Datoga tribe. 

While the Hadzabe were hunter-gatherers, the Datoga are known for being blacksmiths, as they normally make arrows that they can trade with the Hadzabe for honey. Their craftsmanship is not limited to weapons, however, as they also make beautiful necklaces, earrings, and many other trinkets. The rest of the day is spent enjoying the cultural activities of the Datoga tribe. 

Bidding farewell to the Datoga tribe and their cows, goats and sheep, you will make your way back to the lodge where a hot lunch will be waiting for all safari-goers. After a few moments of relaxation, the journey ends in a scenic 4-hour drive back to Arusha.