Designed with the environmentally-conscious traveler in mind, this safari takes you to the best parks in Northern Tanzania, including Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. While on safari in Tanzania, you’ll enjoy excellent guiding and unique, small-footprint camps and lodges that have innovative eco-friendly programs and social projects.  Your trip also benefits the Tanzania Land Conservation Trust with a $100 donation.

Day 1 – ARUSHA: Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport. After clearing customs and immigration, you’ll be met and transferred to Onsea House, outside Arusha, for overnight. (D)  

Onsea House supports the iThemba Foundation Baraa Primary School project and other responsible tourism initiatives. Their Belgian, Michelin-experienced chef uses locally sourced ingredients in his cooking. Each of the 5 guest rooms are welcoming and comfortable.

Days 2 - 3 – TARANGIRE  NATIONAL PARK:  After breakfast, drive to Oliver’s Camp deep inside Tarangire National Park with a picnic lunch and game viewing en route.  Tarangire is famous for its large elephant herds.  You will spend two nights at this eco-friendly camp where you can enjoy low-impact walking safaris in addition to game drives.  (B, L, D, Dr)

Oliver’s camp has 8 beautiful and comfortable canvas tents each with modern composting toilets and eco-friendly bucket showers.  Oliver’s focuses on preserving a small footprint and respectful water use practices given the challenging water conditions in Tarangire NP.  The camp is fully carbon neutral thanks to offsets purchased from Carbon Tanzania.
 
Days 4 - LAKE MANYARA/NGORONGORO HIGHLANDS: After breakfast, drive to Lake Manyara National Park, famous for its tree climbing lions. Later, continue on to Gibb’s Farm in the lush, green Ngorongoro Highlands.  Enjoy the myriad activities offered at Gibb’s Farm such as tours of the organic farm (where produce for all meals served at Gibb’s comes from), forest and birding walks, village visits or a treatment at the African Spa, an on-site Maasai healing center that helps support and retain traditional medicine practices and merges them with contemporary spa services such as massage and hydrotherapy (extra charge).  Overnight Gibb’s Farm.  (B, L, D)

Gibb’s Farm was recently ranked 5th in the ‘Doing It All’ category of the Conde Nast 2009 World Saver award for wildlife and ecology conservation, poverty alleviation, and cultural and environmental preservation initiatives.  Gibb’s recycles 100% of their grey water, has the largest solar array in Northern Tanzania which they use for water heating, supplies 90% of the ingredients for their kitchen via their own organic farm (including organic dairy and terrific organically grown coffee), compost 100% of their kitchen waste, and use local craftsmen for building and repair work which directly impacts the economic status of local villages.  This is just a sample of the sustainable philosophy and social/eco-friendly programs at Gibb’s Farm.

Day 5 – NGORONGORO HIGHLANDS:  Today you will either enjoy a visit to Manyara Ranch for a view into successful land use/wildlife conservation management and a lecture with an African Wildlife Foundation expert (when available), or  take a tour of the bustling town of Mto Wa Mbu (mosquito creek). Here, you’ll find real people from hundreds of different tribes and have the chance to visit a school, local shops, and a home to see how real Tanzanian’s live.  Enjoy a late afternoon walk around Gibb’s Farm where you can see the working farm in action and enjoy the stunning views over the Ngorongoro Highlands.  Overnight Gibb’s Farm. (B, L, D)

Manyara Ranch - Lake Manyara National Park and Tarangire National Park are 40 kilometers apart. About ten years ago, the migration route that connects them—known as the Kwakuchinja corridor—began to disappear. To address these threats, The Tanzania Land Conservation Trust (TLCT) was born. The TLCT is a non-profit institution whose main goal is to acquire critical wildlife areas threatened by private development. The TLCT manages these lands to protect the needs of pastoral communities as well as to preserve the integrity of these areas for wildlife conservation.  In April 2001, Manyara Ranch became the first property acquired by the TLCT. Previously owned by the Tanzanian government, Manyara Ranch occupies a critical central location in the Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor between Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks and comprises a total area of 17,800 hectares. Long-term conservation goals for the two national parks require linking these core protected areas with corridors of undeveloped land across which wildlife can move, and the acquisition of Manyara Ranch serves as an initial major step in this direction.

Day 6 – NGORONGORO CRATER:  After breakfast, drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and spend the day exploring famous Ngorongoro Crater. Land in the conservation area outside of the crater itself is multi-use.  It was once unique in Tanzania as the only conservation area providing protection status for wildlife whilst allowing human habitation. Land use is controlled to prevent negative effects on the wildlife population. For example, cultivation is prohibited at all but subsistence levels. This 100-square-mile caldera is home to more than 25,000 large mammals like lions, leopards, elephants, zebras, wildebeest and the rare black rhino. Dinner and overnight at Gibb’s Farm.  (B, L, D)

Day 7-9 – SERENGETI: After an early breakfast, you’ll transfer to the Lake Manyara airstrip for a light aircraft flight to Sayari Camp in the Serengeti in time for a lunch arrival.   This giant ecosystem is home to millions of animals including lions, cheetah, leopards, buffalo, elephants, zebras, impalas, hyenas, gazelles, hippos, crocodiles, and more. November to June, chances are good you’ll see the great wildebeest migration and maybe even a river crossing near camp!  During your time in Serengeti, you can enjoy traditional game drives, as well as low-impact walking safaris lead by highly trained guides. You can also arrange a visit to a local Maasai boma to get a more intimate view into the area’s traditional culture.  Overnights here. (B, L, D, Dr)

Sayari Camp is Swahili for ‘universe’ or ‘planet’.  It is a beautiful and intimate camp with a light footprint.  The camp recycles all back of house greywater, the tents are built on platforms (instead of concrete foundations) to minimize long-term soil impact, they harvest rainwater for staff use, and use recycled and reclaimed materials in construction.  Sayari Camp is carbon neutral thanks to offsets purchased from Carbon Tanzania.

Day 10 – ARUSHA:  Enjoy an early breakfast before you are transferred to the airstrip for your scheduled flight to Arusha. Transfer to KIA lodge and a day use room to wait for your evening flight from Kilimanjaro International Airport for your flight home. With luck, skies may be clear and from KIA Lodge you can view Mount Kilimanjaro! (B, L) END OF SERVICES.