Explore the wonders of Tanzania’s national parks on our exceptional 8-day safari – a safari well-known and recommended by our South African clientele. Experience the dramatic scenery of the Great Rift Valley, the scenic baobab trees of Tarangire and the Ngorongoro Highlands. Enjoy a front row seat to one of the world's greatest natural spectacles, the Great Wildebeest Migration! Witness on the vast open plains of the Serengeti the sheer volume of wildebeest and zebra dotted as far as the eye can see across the plains. Explore the unique terrain of the Ngorongoro Crater, dotted with wildlife. Spend 1 night on the Ngorongoro Crater rim to enjoy spectacular views across the Crater and experience a game drive on the crater floor. Search for Big Cats in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater! Enjoy excellent accommodation and safari guiding throughout. Comfortable land cruisers with pop up roofs for better game viewing & guaranteed window seats. UNLIMITED kilometers on game drives!

Included

• Return economy airfares with Kenya Airways from Johannesburg to Kilimanjaro Airport o Including airport taxes
• Airport transfers from Kilimanjaro Airport with English speaking driver/guide
• Accommodation with breakfast, lunch & dinner
• 4x4 Stretched Land Cruiser safari vehicles (maximum 6 clients per vehicle) o Roof pop tops for better photography and game viewing vantage points o Mini fridge you can use to stock with drinks (for your account) o Reference Books & Maps o 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 (park fees are valid for 24 hours – if you enter the park at a particular time, you need to exit at the same time)
• Driving in the parks is allowed between 6 am and 6 pm only (no night drives allowed)
• Comprehensive support from our operational office in Tanzania for the duration of the safari
• Travel information pack
• Free postage of travel documents

Excluded

• Entry visa to Tanzania (SA passport DO NOT require a visa for Tanzania)
• Travel Insurance (Highly recommended)
• Meals and drinks not specified
• Laundry services
• Gratuities to the driver/guide, hotel staff & porters – our recommendations: o Driver/guide – suggested at US$12 per person per day o Hotel staff – at your discretion o Porters carrying suitcase/s – recommend US$1 per suitcase
• Maasai Village visit fee
• Balloon safari
• All expenses of personal nature

DAY 0: JOHANNESBURG Meet a representative Big Sky Travel & Tours at OR Tambo Airport at the Kenya Airways check-in counter 3 hours before the scheduled departure time as your flight to Tanzania departs after midnight. Enjoy full assistance from our representative through all airport check-in process.

DAY 1: JOHANNESBURG / KILIMANJARO AIRPORT / ARUSHA Distance to Arusha: 55 km Depart from Johannesburg on an overnight flight with Kenya Airways to Kilimanjaro Airport . You will, therefore, touch down in Nairobi and board another flight to Tanzania. 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: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

DAY 2: ARUSHA / TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK Estimate diving time to the park: 2 hours 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. En-route stop at a supermarket near Arusha for last-minute shopping (buy drinks to enjoy in your vehicles while on safari – remember we have mini-fridges in our vehicles to keep your drinks cold). We’ll leave Arusha behind and drive to Tarangire National Park for game drive in the park. The landscape is ironically African with open Acacia woodlands and Baobab trees scattered all over the area. It has the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem. 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 AREA / SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK Distance between the parks: 205 km Our 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, our adventure now takes us to the Central Serengeti with en-route game viewing as we make our way toward the lodge. The Central area encompasses the world-famous Seronera Valley, which is known for its prime wildlife-viewing opportunities. You can visualize the meaning of the word ‘Serengeti’ at this point – which means the ‘endless plains’ in Maasai. The Serengeti is renowned for its incredible concentrations of predators and the Great Migration of more than 1,5 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras. Stay: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room) Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast.

DAY 4: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK Optional Activity: Balloon Safari 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. Or enjoy a full-day game drive to explore more of what the Serengeti offers and to enjoy the greatest safari spectacle in the world – the great wildebeest migration as massive herds of wildebeest call the Central Serengeti home during this time of the year. Stay: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room) Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast.

DAY 5: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK Enjoy your second full day in the Serengeti with game drives. You can do a game drive from sunrise to sunset, take a picnic lunch, or choose to explore more leisurely, coming back to the lodge for lunch and doing a morning and afternoon game drive. Few lifetime experiences can beat that of watching more than 1,5 million wildebeest plus hundreds of thousands of zebras - followed by predators - embark on a 1000km long circular trek in search of seasonal pasture and water. Big cats take advantage of the elevated kopjes to scan their territories for prey and are often found in the area. Stay: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room) Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast.

DAY 6: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK / NGORONGORO CRATER Distance between the parks: 145 km We’re in no hurry to leave and will spend most of the day in the Serengeti discovering more of what the Serengeti offer as we are slowly moving toward the park gate. The Serengeti will leave you with images of vastness and breathtaking beauty and memories to re-telling and re-living long after your safari. Late afternoon drive to Ngorongoro Crater to overnight on the crater rim. Stay: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge (Standard room) Meals: Picnic lunch, dinner & breakfast

DAY 7: NGORONGORO CRATER Today we’ll rise early morning to witness the sunrise over the Crater before enjoying 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 Acacia Farm Lodge (staying here allows us to spend the most of our day in the Crater and avoid rushing back to Arusha - enhancing the safari experience)!!! Stay: Acacia Farm Lodge (Luxury room) Meals: Dinner, breakfast & packed lunch.

DAY 8: NGORONGORO / KILIMANJARO AIRPORT / JOHANNESBURG Distance to the airport: 245 km Today we take it a little bit easier after a packed safari filled with endless memories and sightings. We enjoy a leisure breakfast with some great Kilimanjaro coffee before driving back to Arusha where we stop at the Cultural Heritage Centre (for shopping of Tanzania art, memorabilia, and Tanzanite’s), and enjoy our picnic lunch. Transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport for your onward Kenya Airways flight home (departing at Tanzanian time, arriving at South African time). End of service

More information on the package can be found here.