Tour
Code SF25
SEE
OUR NEW EXTRAS SECTION (gorilla trips to Uganda, day trips
in and around Mombasa, flying visits to Zanzibar, Safaris to southern
Tanzania around Selous)
BROCHURE
Also available on CD-Rom by request (telephone now)
- Day 1:
Morning departure from Nairobi to Tanzania, crossing
the border at Namanga. Proceed to Arusha for lunch before continuing to
the Ngorongoro crater. You will arrive in the late afternoon at the lodge
built on the rim of the crater. Dinner and overnight at the Ngorongoro Wildlife
lodge/camp.
- Day 2:
Breakfast at the lodge/camp, then descend to the crater
floor by a special 4 wheel drive vehicle for a full day of game viewing.
The magnificent Black-maned Lion, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino exist here
in the greatest concentration in the whole of Africa. A picnic lunch follows
in the crater. Dinner and overnight at the lodge/camp.
- Day 3
After breakfast depart for Lake Manyara. Lunch at
the hotel/camp overlooking the Great Rift Valley and the lake itself. Afternoon
game drive at Lake Manyara National Park, famous for it's climbing Lions.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel/camp.
- Day 4
Breakfast and another short game drive. After which you return to Nairobi
by shuttle to arrive in the early evening
(Back to top)
The
Ngorogoro Conservation Area of 6,475 sq Km (2,500
sq Miles) was established in 1959. The Crater is one of the most spectacular
game haunts in Africa: it is also one of the biggest craters, or more correctly
calderas, in the world. Over 14.5 Km (9 Miles) wide and 610-760 Km (2,000-2,500
Ft) Deep and covering 264 sq Km (102 sq Miles). The approach road at 2,286 m
(7,500 Ft) skirts the rim of the crater floor thousands of feet below. Entry
into the crater is by way of the Lerai Descent, an extremely steep and winding
road down the slopes of the crater wall- negotiable only by 4 wheel drive vehicle.
The bottom is open grassy plain with alternating fresh and brackish water lakes,
swamps and two patches of dense acacia woodland called the Lerai and Laindi
Forests. Game animals and birds are abundant inside the crater. All of the so-called
'Big Five' may be seen. Elephants, Lion, Black Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus and
Buffalo. Other species encountered are Cheetah, Eland, Grant's and Thompsons
Gazelles, Common Zebra, Wildebeest, a superabundance of Hyaena, Hunting Dog
and if you are lucky Leopard. Among the notable Birds are Lammergeyer, Veraux's
Eagle and Egyptian Vulture which make their home in the highest cliffs of the
crater wall: the beautiful Rosy-breasted Longclaw, which appears on the plains
after rains; and flocks of lesser and Greater Flamingos which are spasmodic
visitors to the crater lakes. In the highland forest on the crater rim two sunbirds
are especially noticeable, the long tailed Golden-winged Sunbird and the smaller
Eastern Double-collared Sunbird. At dusk the Abyssinian Nightjar is often seen
or heard. Accommodation is available at the crater lodges on the crater rim
near the Lerai entrance road.
(Back to top)
Lake Manyara National Park covers
an area of only 318 sq Km (123 sq Miles), but its terrain is so diverse that
its mammal and bird lists are most impressive. The Park includes the Northern
and most of the Western parts of the Lake and its shores with a Westward expansion
to the top of the Rift Valley wall where the Lake Manyara Hotel is situated.
Large areas of groundwater forest with giant Fig and Mahogany trees alternate
with acacia woodland and more open places, all well watered. A network of roads
and tracks gives the visitor maximum game and bird viewing opportunities. The
tree climbing Lions of Manyara are famous for this form of behaviour. It is
probably due to a combination of the need to avoid dense undergrowth and a search
for cool shade. Probably lions have found that in an arboreal resting place
the torment of biting flies is less. Numbers of Elephants are resident in the
park, Buffalo are common and herds of 300-400 have been recorded, Black Rhinocerous
are very uncommon. Leopards occur in most places and it is not unusual to come
across them in the early morning or late evening: like the Lions, they may be
seen resting in the trees. Manyara is noted for it's wealth of birdlife. At
all times the Lake is visited by many thousands of Lesser Flamingos, together
with a sprinkling of the larger species. Maccoa Ducks and white backed Ducks
are resident and the beautiful Pygmy Goose is sometimes observed. The Chestnut-Banded
Sand-Plover is found on the mudflats and sandy areas. In addition there over
30 species of prey bird including the Palm-nut Vulture and Ayre's and Crowned
Hawk Eagles.
(Back to top)
