Serengeti & Ngorongoro Safari Extension

After your last hike down the mountain as a group this morning, head to Moivaro Lodge for overnight...BLD
Note: This is Day 11 of your Climb Kilimanjaro: Northern Circuit Route group trip.

Fly from Arusha airport to the Central Serengeti. This scenic flight offers views of the Great Rift Valley, Ngorongoro Crater and the vast plains of the Serengeti National Park. Spend the rest of the day game driving in the Serengeti. Your driver will have a picnic lunch in the vehicle. Arrive at your private camp for sundowners around the fire.

Serengeti National Park, along with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Masai Mara National Reserve across the border in Kenya, protects the greatest and most varied collection of terrestrial wildlife on Earth. Tree-lined rivers, majestic kopje (rock outcroppings), and both long and short grass plains stretch for such vast distances that striking out onto the Serengeti’s expanses is like sailing the open seas. During the famed great migration, which is ongoing throughout the year, wildebeest number in the millions, intermingled with zebra numbering in the hundreds of thousands, along with a smorgasbord of other ungulates. These millions of hoofed animals form the traveling market of the Serengeti, feeding the ever expanding numbers of predators: lions, leopards, hyenas, jackals, foxes, badgers, and many more.

Your leaders will organize game walks when they best fit into your itinerary. We spend our nights in a private camp placed in the best location to maximize game viewing opportunities. Overnights at our Private Wilderness Travel Serengeti Safari Camp...BLD each day

We drive from Serengeti National Park into the 3,200-square-mile Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which includes Maasai land as well as a large portion of the Serengeti Plains. From the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, we see below us one of the earth's most picturesque edens: on the crater's 105-square-mile grassy floor lives Africa's largest permanent concentration of wildlife, a sort of mini-Serengeti in a phenomenally scenic setting. After driving along the rim, we proceed to our private camp.

Our private tented camp is away from the hustle and bustle of the main tourist area, just a short distance from the “boma” of Ole Dorop, a long-time Maasai friend and clan leader. In the early evening, Ole Dorop and members of the local Maasai community will prepare a special goat roast, a traditional "Ol Pul" Maasai feast. Those who are interested have a chance to sample the barbecue. The stories, songs, and dance festivities will end just after dark. However, Ole Dorop will join us for dinner—a wonderful opportunity to learn about their remarkable culture and traditions. Our regular dinner will be served as the Maasai barbecue is drawing to a close. Overnight at our Private Wilderness Travel Safari Camp...BLD

A note about the spelling of Masai and Maasai: When referring to the Masai Mara, one “a” is used, but “Maasai” is used to refer to the people.

A full day's game drive takes us into the remarkable Ngorongoro Crater, and after a fun and active morning, we’ll have a picnic lunch around mid-day. During our time exploring this famous crater, we're likely to see elephant, zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo, and there's hardly a better place on earth for observing lions than on the crater floor, where the prides of lions are large. This is also one of the best places to see the endangered black rhino—the crater’s population dwindled to about 20 rhinos in the mid '70s but has increased in the last few decades to around 30, including 2 that were introduced into the crater environment and are carefully monitored by biologists. In the late afternoon, we return to camp. Those who wish can go for a short hike with one of the resident Maasai junior elders to learn more about the Maasai way of life. Overnight at our Private Wilderness Travel Safari Camp...BLD

This morning, we drive from Ngorongoro Crater back to Arusha with lunch en route for departure on homeward-bound flights or overnight in Arusha...BL