Wildebeest Calving & Predators Safari
explore tanzia - central serengeti migration safari

Wildebeest Calving & Predators Safari

Our Wildebeest & Calving Safari will take you to visit Tarangire, the plains of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (part of the Serengeti eco-system), and Ngorongoro Crater. One of the greatest wildlife spectacles occurs during the wildebeest calving season (up to 8000 young wildebeest are born every day during the peak of the season). Travel through breathtaking landscapes with exciting and exclusive off-road game drives in the Ndutu area, the calving grounds for the Great Migration. Be amidst thousands of wildebeest, zebras and witness a baby wildebeest take off running just minutes after being born. Predator action during this period is at its peak with great sightings of cheetah, lion, hyena and leopard.

Itinerary:

  • Day 1: Kilimanjaro Airport / Arusha

    Our friendly safari team will welcome you at Kilimanjaro Airport, and they will transfer you to Arusha. Arusha is the hub of Tanzania's legendary Northern safari circuit and home to Mt Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks. Arusha is also one of the major coffee-growing regions in Tanzania.

    Stay: Kahawa Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Dinner & breakfast

  • Day 2: Arusha / Tarangire National Park / Lake Manyara

    After breakfast, we meet our guide for a short briefing.  We head off to Tarangire National Park, known as the land of giants - elephants and baobab trees.  We’ll leave Arusha behind and drive to Tarangire National Park for a game drive in the Park. 

    Late afternoon we travel towards the local town of Mto Wa Mbu (Maasai for Mosquito Village – the only place in Tanzania which represents all tribes – 120 ethnic groups). Bananas are the main export in the area, and there are over thirty species of banana in the village, including a red banana which we recommend you give a try!  We continue to drive up the Rift Valley escarpment to our Lodge, perched on the edge of the Rift Valley with distant views over Lake Manyara.

    Stay: Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room)

    Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 3: Lake Manyara / Ngorongoro Conservation Area

    Enjoy a morning game drive. Your journey continues towards the misty Ngorongoro highlands, passing on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater where we will stop for your first spectacular view of the Crater.  The Ngorongoro Crater and surrounding highlands together form one of Africa's most beautiful regions.  En route you can opt to visit a Maasai Village near Ngorongoro Crater. (The Maasai charge US$30 per person - for your account).  

    After bidding the Maasai farewell, drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, located in the southeastern plains of the Serengeti ecosystem. The plains of the Conservation Area are the main holding ground for migratory animals where vast herds congregate and linger for more than four months, from December to April, before they start moving across the Serengeti in search of greener pastures and water. Afternoon game drives.

    Stay: Nyikani Ndutu Camp (Tent)

    Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 4 & 5: Ngorongoro Conservation Area

    Balloon Safari - optional

    Enjoy two full days game drive to explore more of what the Ngorongoro Conservation Area offers and enjoy the greatest safari spectacle in the world – the great wildebeest migration as thousands of little calves are born.  For a once in a lifetime experience, we highly recommend an early morning hot air balloon safari (will be for your account) – a unique 'bird's eye' game viewing experience, before landing in the beautiful wilderness and enjoying a full bush-style breakfast, complete with fresh coffee, tea, fruits, and champagne.

    Stay 2 more nights: Nyikani Ndutu (Tent)

    Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 6: Ngorongoro Conservation Area / Ngorongoro Crater

    Today we’ll rise early morning and drive to Ngorongoro Crater to enjoy an extended game drive along the Crater floor.  A steep entry track leads us 600m down to the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater floor (referred to as the Garden of Eden).  The crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes, and springs to open grassland with fantastic wildlife. Witness an unforgettable spectacle of African wildlife - a world teeming with animals. The park sustains a vast variety of animals, including the black rhino, with its year-round water supply and fodder.  Another big drawcard to this picturesque park is its dense population of predators, which includes lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, and the ever-elusive leopard. A drive through the forest will allow you to feast your eyes on some of the most spectacular green vegetation you will ever see.  We enjoy a picnic lunch with a last game drive en-route to the access point followed by a short drive to your lodge.

    Stay: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room).

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater / Kilimanjaro Airport

    Today we take it a little bit easier after a packed safari filled with endless memories and sightings.  We enjoy a leisurely breakfast with some great Kilimanjaro coffee before driving back to Arusha where we stop at the Cultural Heritage Centre (for shopping for Tanzania art, memorabilia, and Tanzanites), and enjoy our picnic lunch. Transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport for your onward flight home.

New Paragraph

  • Return airport transfers from Kilimanjaro Airport with English speaking driver/guide 
  • Accommodation in Arusha with dinner & breakfast
  • Accommodation on safari on a full board basis (breakfast, lunch & dinner) 
  • Private 4x4 Stretched Land Cruiser safari vehicles 
  • Roof pop tops for better photography and game-viewing vantage points
  • A mini fridge you can use to stock with drinks (for your account)
  • Reference Books & Maps
  • Bottled water in vehicles 
  • 1x Ngorongoro Crater tour 
  • Unlimited kilometers on game drives during the safari 
  • Services of your professional and knowledgeable Tanzanian English-speaking driver/guide. 
  • All national park entrance fees. 
  • Comprehensive support from our operational office in Tanzania for the duration of the safari 
  • Travel information pack
  • Free postage of travel documents

  • Entry visa to Tanzania 
  • Travel Insurance (Highly recommended)
  • Meals and drinks not specified  
  • Laundry services
  • Gratuities to the driver/guide, hotel staff & porters 
  • Maasai Boma visit fee 
  • Balloon safari
  • All expenses of personal nature
  • Malaria – Tanzania is a malaria area

Dates & Prices

Dates:

March 2024

Rates:

SA RESIDENTS: INTERNATIONAL:
2 persons: R63,343.00 pps US$ 3,362.00 pp
4 persons: R51,686.00 pps US$ 2,735.00 pp
6 persons: R49,350.00 pps US$ 2,612.00 pp
Return flight from Johannesburg: R8,807.00 pp

 

  • February 2024 rates available on request.
  • Exchange rate used (bank selling rate): R18.90 to US$1.00
  • Please treat all pricing as a guide only.
  • All rates are subject to increases beyond our control, including fuel price, government taxes and exchange rate fluctuations.

 

National Parks:

Tarangire National Park 

Tarangire is a long, thin park covering 1,360 sq. km, roughly running north south along the line of the Tarangire River.  It is made up chiefly of low-lying, rolling hills on the Rift floor, its natural vegetation of acacia woodland and giant baobabs only altered by huge areas of swamp.  The swamps of black cotton mud produce rich grasslands, while the watercourses are lined by huge trees, including sycamore fig, tamarind, and sausage trees.


Ngorongoro Conservation Area:

Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes its famous eponymous crater, Olduvai Gorge, and huge expanses of highland plains, scrub bush, and forests that cover approximately 8300 square kilometres. A protected area, only indigenous tribes such as the Maasai, are allowed to live within its borders. Lake Ndutu and Masek, both alkaline soda lakes are home to rich game populations, as well as a series of peaks and volcanoes and make the Conservation Area a unique and beautiful landscape. The seemingly unending plains of the Southern Serengeti and the Conservation Area are inhabited by enormous herds of wildebeests and zebras. The vast herds graze on rain-ripened grass. In the calving season (late January through end March) the herds concentrate at the Ndutu and Salei plains (Southern Serengeti / Ngorongoro Conservation Area) attracting the attention of predators like lions, cheetahs, and hyenas.


Ngorongoro Crater 

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest unbroken volcanic caldera and is regarded as the 8th wonder of the world. It is one of the most diverse and fascinating areas of Tanzania and has been given the status of a World heritage site and International Biosphere Reserve. The fertile slopes and steep forest-covered walls are home to approximately 30,000 animals including the rare black rhino. The various ecosystems found within the 260 square kilometre crater floor sustain Cape buffalo, elephants, wildebeest, zebras, elands, gazelles, hippos, numerous bird species as well as a high concentration of predators. Although birdlife is generally good throughout the year, from November to April, migratory birds from Europe and Northern Africa are present and many resident birds are in breeding plumage. 

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