Your adventure starts in Arusha, located near the base of Meru, the fifth-highest peak in all of Africa. From there, you’ll drive about two hours through the Tanzanian countryside to Tarangire National Park. Upon arriving, you will be welcomed by plenty of animals as well as ancient baobabs, known for being the biggest and longest living trees in Africa. Around midday you’ll stop for lunch, then continue on a game drive filled with wildlife.

A paradise for elephant lovers, Tarangire National Park hosts around 3000 elephants along with other animals including lions, leopards, giraffes, wild dogs, zebras, elands, greater kudus, warthogs, ostriches, impalas, and more. You can easily spot many of them on your game drive, in amongst the woodlands and drinking water from the great river the park owes its name to.

Your day ends at Jambo Lodge and Campsite in the Mto wa Mbu village, a cross-cultural melting pot with over 120 tribes residing in the village, where you’ll have dinner and sleep for the night.

After waking up early, you’ll embark on an hour-long drive around 6am to the Ngorongoro Crater before enjoying a captivating morning game drive—one of the best ways to spot animals as they come out to enjoy the cool weather conditions or hunt for prey. Known for its big concentration of wildlife, the Ngorongoro Crater is home to lions, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, hippos, buffaloes, gazelles, elephants, waterbucks, baboons, monkeys, and many species of birds. 

The park’s biggest attraction, however, remains the rare black rhino. While they are very difficult to find in any other park, their presence in the Ngorongoro Crater has had significant influence on tourism in this area.

After the morning game drive, you’ll enjoy lunch at a scenic picnic site before another game drive around the park. You’ll see many of the animals up close and be able to take many opportunities for photos, especially since the wildlife here is so concentrated that people often mistake the area for a small zoo, as it’s nearly impossible to look in any direction without seeing wildlife. 

After your final game drive, you’ll take a beautiful 3-hour drive back to the city of Arusha, bringing your safari adventure to a close.