Photo Tours and Mara River Crossing.

Day 1: Arrival Day. Arrive in the early evening on KLM into Kilimanjaro International Airport. You will Meet by Africa Nature Photography & Safaris team and transfer to River Trees country Inn for dinner and overnight in your suite room. Dinner and overnight at a Hotel in Arusha City. Day 2: Arusha-North Serengeti. Breakfast at the lodge, thereafter the Africa Nature Photography & Safaris team will drive you to Arusha Airport for your bush flight to Kogatende Airstrip, in north Serengeti where the Mara River situated. You will be meet by your private Safari Guide and drive to Mara Under Canvas for check in where you will spend your next four nights, before driving out for the late afternoon game viewing around Wogakuria kopjes and along the Mara River in search for Migration Herds. The northern Serengeti is home to a huge number of resident animals including Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Elephant, Buffalo, Eland, Black Rhinos and Occasionally wild dogs are even being seen. This is also a wonderful time of year to witness one of three significant events that happen during the Great Migrations – The annual river crossings. Your days will be a combination of looking for good river crossings and other wildlife interactions along the Mara river, Wogakuria kopjes as well as the Lamai triangle (A triangular shaped area just north of the Mara River). The northern Serengeti and the entire Mara river area are truly awe-inspiring and will surely be one of the highlights of your safari. You will arrive at the lodge/camp in time for dinner and overnight. Dinner and overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 3, 4, and 5: – Exploring North Serengeti and Kopjes. Early morning and late afternoon game viewing at Mara river areas. You will depart the Lodge at first light with a picnic breakfast for a big day in search of the biggest herds of the great migrations. Alternatively, as usually you may choose to enjoy a more leisurely breakfast at the lodge instead of a picnic breakfast. You will drive through the Mara River in the golden light of dawn looking for special photographic opportunities of wildebeest and Zebras taking the cold plunge to cross the glittering waters of the Mara River as well as other wildlife interactions. Witnessing the river crossing takes PATIENCE as the herd will often take hours to decide whether or not to cross, weighing the risk of crocodiles and the strength of the river’s current. A good place to enjoy your picnic breakfast today is along the Mara River. You will later drive back to your camp for Lunch and a little leisure at the camp in the middle of the day. Late in the afternoon, you will have another game viewing searching for different wildlife interactions around Mara River and Wogakuria kopjes area during sunset and softer light for photography. Dinner and overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 6: North Serengeti-Central Serengeti. After early breakfast, leave our base camp and drive south to the central Serengeti with game viewing en-route exploring the Mara River and Wogakuria kopjes. Then proceed with the drive to seronera via the bologonja area as well as lobo valley and kopjes before arriving at your Camp in Central Serengeti for Dinner and overnights Dinner and Overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 7 and 8: Exploring Central Serengeti. A game viewing around Central Serengeti plains and You have an options of breaking the days into two by doing Early morning and late afternoon game viewing, drive through the central Serengeti in the golden light of dawn looking for special wildlife interactions and photographic opportunities, whereby, You will depart the Lodge at first light with a picnic breakfast for a big day in search of the biggest herds of the great migrations. Areas that will be visited are the Retima Hippo pool, maasai and sametu kopjes and plains as well as Moru and Gol Kopjes. The Central Serengeti and seronera river valley is home to a great diversity of wildlife due to its unique ecological niches as a transition zone where two distinctly different habitats, the plain and the woodlands merge and various species of wildlife from both habitats can coexist. Dinner and overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 9: Central Serengeti-Ngorongoro Crater. Depart Sametu Tented Camp after early breakfast and drive to the southern plain of Serengeti via the Gol Kopjes. This area linking the Central and southern plains of Serengeti is a fragile habitat consisting of ethereal kopjes and short grass plains. Driving through the Gol kopjes is always a breathtaking experience with a vision of vast open plains and amazing wildlife. This is gazelle country and where there are gazelles there are always cheetahs. Continue game viewing through the gol kopjes searching for different wildlife interactions at the area and late in the afternoon drive to Ngorongoro Crater for the Afternoon Game drive. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unflooded, intact caldera in the world. Known as the eighth wonder of the world, its vastness and beauty are truly overwhelming. Ngorongoro Crater itself is but a small portion of the 3,200-square-mile Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a World Heritage site that is characterized by a highland plateau with volcanic mountains as well as several craters, extensive savannah and forests. Altitudes range from 4,430 to 11,800 feet. Ngorongoro Crater is about 12 miles wide and its rim rises 1,200-1,600 feet off of its expansive 102-square-mile floor. The steep descent into the crater along winding roads takes 25-35 minutes from the crater rim. The crater floor is predominantly grasslands (making game easy to spot) with two swamps fed by streams, and the Lerai Forest. The walls of the crater are lightly forested. Ngorongoro contains possibly the largest permanent concentration of wildlife in Africa, with an estimated average of 30,000 large mammals. In addition, this is one of the best reserves in Africa in which to see black rhino. Large concentrations of wildlife make Ngorongoro Crater their permanent home. Game viewing is good year-round. Because there is a permanent source of fresh water, there’s no reason for much of the wildlife to migrate, as they must do in the Serengeti. Dinner and overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 10: Exploring Ngorongoro Crater. We will have a very early start and we will Collect breakfast and lunch boxes, at around 05:45 and descend into the crater for an in-depth exploration of this distinctive eco-system. Enjoy abundant wildlife viewing set against the impressive backdrop of the Ngorongoro Crater, the heart of the conservation area. These drives provide one of the best opportunities in Africa to view black rhino, which tend to spend their time on the crater floor. Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles; its magical setting and abundant wildlife never fail to enthrall visitors. Another big draw card to this picturesque Caldera, is it’s dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, and if Lucky enough you will have chance to see the small cats like the Rare Caracal, Seval cat as well as the African wild cat which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. Picnic breakfast will be served at one of the picnic site at the crater floor, Followed by another game viewing visiting the hippo pool near the Mandusi Swamp, Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner which is one of the main features of the crater, the lerai forest as well as other parts of the crater. Meals and overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 11: Ngorongoro-Tarangire National Park. After a Leisure breakfast, leave the lodge at Ngorongoro and proceed driving southwards enjoying the scenic drive through the villages of karatu, mto wa mbu and the Great Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park, considered a birdwatcher’s delight and world-renowned among ornithologists; extraordinary bird life includes pink flamingos and great birds of prey. You will have a full day exploring the flora and fauna of lake Manyara National park. You have an option to visit the culturally-diverse village of Mto wa Mbu set on the banks of the river of the same name, for an in-depth look at tribal life in the African bush; more than 100 different Tanzanian tribes make their homes before check in into Lake Manyara National Park. Picnic Lunch is served at Msasa Picnic site, which has got fabulous view of the Lake. Followed by afternoon game viewing in the park searching for the diverse flora and fauna of the park. There are some 350 species of birds in the park. The park provides sanctuary to a variety of animals like the gazelle, impala, buffalo, wildebeest, hyena, baboon, giraffe, hippo and the famous tree-climbing lions. Late in the afternoon, drive to Tarangire National Park for Dinner and Overnight. Dinner and Overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 12 and 13: Exploring Tarangire National Park. You will have two full day of game viewing at Tarangire national park and we will break the day into two by having a morning and Afternoon game viewing, visiting the Silalei Swamp and Tarangire River is the centerpiece of this park which is famous for some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa. In the dry season large numbers of animals congregate along the lifeblood of the river. Here you may see lion, leopard, cheetah, Greater and lesser kudu, buffalo, Oryx, eland, giraffe and zebra. In addition to the animal species, the park is famous for its century-old baobab trees and over 300 species of birds.in the park visiting the Tarangire River is the centerpiece of this park, which is famous for some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa. Dinner and Overnight at a Lodge or Tented Camp. Day 14: Tarangire-Arusha – Home. Early breakfasts at the lodge followed by a game drive enroute to the park gate until 10:00, and then drive to Arusha. Stop at cultural heritage for lunch and an optional shopping, and then drive to the lodge for a Day use room, followed by an early dinner at River Tree Country Inn before driving to Kilimanjaro Airport for your flight back home.