Tarangire National Park

In the morning pick up from your hotel in Arusha and drive to Tarangire National Park for game drives. The park runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. Its natural vegetation mainly consists of Acacia woodland and giant African Baobab trees, with huge swamp areas in the south. Both the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals, during Tanzania’s dry season. The Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa, from June-October. The fierce sun sucks the moisture from the landscape, baking the earth a dusty red, the withered grass as brittle as straw. This African National Park is also home to three rare species of animals – the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings. After a picnic lunch we do an afternoon game drive, where after we continue to Karatu, where you will overnight and enjoy your dinner at Karatu Simba Lodge.

Lake Manyara National Park

In the early morning, we will continue our safari-journey to Lake Manyara National Park. The park encompasses the northwest bank and part of the alkaline Lake Manyara which itself rests in the Great Rift Valley. The park is perhaps best known for its flamingos, pelicans and cormorants but it is also the home for a few hundred other species of birds; it is therefore a paradise for ornithologists. Next to a great variety of birds, the “Big Game” can also be seen. With a bit of luck you might see elephants in the wooded regions and with even more fortune the tree-climbing lions. Indeed, it was thought for a long time that the Lake Manyara National Park is the only place where lions can be found with this atypical behavior of climbing trees. Baboons and velvet monkeys are also found amongst the forested areas and in the more open spaces, giraffes nibble at the fresh leaves while the various types of antelopes common to the region browse for tasty shoots. After a picnic lunch, there will be more time for further game and wildlife watching before it is time to head back to Arusha city, where you will be dropped off at your accommodation around dinner time.