10 Days Wildebeest Calving Season Safari
10 Days Wildebeest Calving Season Safari
Witness the Great Wildebeest’s calving season, this incredible spectacle – the birthing season which happens from late January to early March. On this 10 Days Wildebeest Calving Season Safari you will observe thousands of wildebeest calves as they take their first steps amidst the predators which are drawn to the abundance of the new borns.
Highlights of 10 Days Wildebeest Calving Season Safari
Day 1: Arusha
Day 2: Tarangire National Park
Day 3: Lake Manyara National Park
Day 4-5: Ndutu Plains, Southern Serengeti
Day 6: Ndutu to Ngorongoro Crater
Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater
Day 8: Lake Eyasi
Day 9: West Kilimanjaro
Day 10: Departure
Detailed Itinerary of 10 Days Wildebeest Calving Season Safari
Day 1: Arusha
On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be warmly welcomed by our guide, he will brief you about the safari and drive you to your hotel in Arusha. If you arrive early, you will visit Arusha’s Cultural Heritage Center or Shanga Workshop.
Enjoy a relaxing evening before starting your Tanzania safari the next day.
Overnight at Arusha Planet Lodge
Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 2: Tarangire National Park
After breakfast, you will set off from Arusha and journey your way through beautiful tribal areas en-route to Tarangire National Park which is a drive of 2 hours with picnic lunch boxes and enjoy a game drive before check into your lodge in the late afternoon.
After the Serengeti, Tarangire has the greatest concentration of wildlife in Tanzania. In the dry season the Tarangire River is a magnificent for thirsty wildlife. The river of the park is full of wildlife ranging from a large variety of birds to lions, leopards, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes and, of course, elephants. In fact, the park has the largest concentration of elephants in the whole country and provides unique chances to observe the interaction between elephant families.
Tarangire is also one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as oryx and gerenuk are regularly spotted. The park particularly is known for its spectacular baobab trees, and its breathtaking views of the Maasai Steppe and the mountains to the south.
Overnight at Arusha Planet Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast, make your way towards Lake Manyara National Park, a narrow strip of land sandwich between the towering cliffs of the Gregory Rift Valley and the lake itself. Although it’s small in size (205 square miles), the park has breathtaking scenery and is well famous for its “tree-climbing” lions and growing population of baboons and blue monkeys.
Lake Manyara National Park has fantastic birdlife, thousands of flamingos line the shores of the lake at certain times of year. Explore the different areas of the park and enjoy mid-afternoon game drive en route out of the park stopping at Mto wa Mbu, actually vibrant town, for a market visit along the way. Then you will head towards the Ndutu Plains of the Southern Serengeti.
The drive itself is spectacular, you will drive up the crater highlands, making a quick stop at the rim for an out of this world view of Ngorongoro Crater.
Overnight at Ndutu Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4-5: Ndutu Plains, Southern Serengeti
Enjoy two full days in the Ndutu Plains. The area has high densities of cheetahs and lions particularly when the wildebeests inhabit these plains from December to March. There are two beautiful sodic lakes in the vicinity.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) you will be able to drive off road – a great advantage for getting close up to Africa’s large mammals. This area is also the traditional birthing ground for the wildebeest, which are attracted to the area by the high concentration of phosphorus in the soil, an essential mineral for lactating mothers.
It is one of the greatest places in Africa to sit around a campfire and listen to the night sounds under a sky full of stars.
Overnight at Ndutu Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Ndutu to Ngorongoro Crater
On this day, wake up early and go for an early morning game drive in Ndutu (when the animals are more active) and see one of the best sunrises you will ever witness. It is really one of the most beautiful experience to have.
After the game drive, we return to the lodge for a rewarding lunch and then we will proceed to Ngorongoro – the 8th Natural Wonder of the World.
Overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater
In the morning after an early breakfast you will be one of the first vehicles descending the 600 meters (2,000ft) into Ngorongoro Crater for superb game viewing with picnic lunch boxes. The Ngorongoro Crater is a natural enclosure supporting 20,000 – 30,000 animals at any one time making it virtually a Noah’s Ark and inhabiting almost every species of wildlife that is indigenous to East Africa.
Ngorongoro Crater is considered one of the natural wonders of the world and has the highest densities of predators in Africa such as lions, hyenas and leopards. Also, it is one of the best places in Africa to see the endangered black rhino. In the late afternoon, slowly begin in the climb out of the crater and head toward Lake Eyasi for dinner and overnight.
Overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 8: Lake Eyasi
Wake early, just before sunrise to visit the Hadzabe tribe, one of the last true nomadic tribes in Africa. Your guide will brief you about this fascinating tribe, then join them in their daily morning activities. This experience is off the beaten track and does not feel touristic by any means. The photographic opportunities on this experience are out of this world, this tour will definitely be a highlight of your safari and the activities with the tribe can be either be joining the men in their daily hunting, or the women in their fruit gathering season.
In either of them, you will learn about many aspects of the Hadzabe way of living. After finishing the activities with the tribe, we will visit the beautiful Lake Eyasi, a season shallow salt lake on the floor of the Great Rift Valley and then head to your camp for overnight.
Overnight at Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 9: West Kilimanjaro
After breakfast, embark on a journey to Arusha where you will be staying at Original Maasai Lodge – a magical place where you immediately will come to rest and reflect on the essentials. Aft the foot of Kilimanjaro and in the middle of the wilderness of the Maasai steppe are bungalows with hand crafted furniture with great views of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
Below it is the savannah, home to the Maasai people. This is the right place to get to know them and their traditions and rituals together with a slowing down of your own life’s pace. It is all about being together, sharing traditions, stories and learning from each other.
Overnight at Original Maasai Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 10: Departure
Enjoy breakfast and spend your day at leisure, in the afternoon you will meet your private driver and transfer you to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) for your flight back home or to your next destination.
End of 10 Days Wildebeest Calving Season Safari
