Elephant Level

Day 1 Arrive into Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania, and connect with the regional scheduled flight to Lake Manyara. Met upon arrival and taken to Kirurumu Tented Lodge for an afternoon relaxing and recovering from your flights.

The Kirurumu Tented camp is a comfortable, permanent tented lodge set along the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment where it looks down the cliffs to the blue waters of the lake Manyara national park. Large comfortable tents with private verandas, flush toilets and solar heated hot water showers provide all the comforts of home under canvas. A fully stocked bar and good restaurant ensures that you never go hungry or thirsty. Friendly, helpful staff will introduce you to the people of Tanzania and give a cultural insight to the tribes of this magnificent country.

Lying in a shallow basin at the foot of the western wall of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara spreads out at the bottom of the sheer, red brown cliffs of the rift escarpment. This park is a study in contrasts, with a dry, dusty brown heat haze filling the air, a vivid, green vegetation fringe surrounding the lake, and the shimmering blue water of the lake itself spreading out to the horizon.

An ancient trading post for tribes such as the Mgubwe, Iraq, Gorowa, Chagga and Masai, the village of Mto wa Mbu, at the entrance to the Park, is the only place in Africa where you may hear all four of the major African languages groups (Bantu, Khoisan, Cushitic and Nilotic) spoken in the same area. A vibrant market town, the handicraft markets are worth a visit!

The Manyara area has a highly unreliable rainfall, which varies between 10-47 inches per year. In 1961 the lake dried up completely, yet just one year later, in 1962, it flooded the area. In this area of rainfall extremes, the forests and plants find an alternative water supply that sustains them - underground springs that surface at the base of the cliffs.

Entering the park, one is surrounded by the tall trees of the "ground water" forest with its lush foliage and variety of bird life. Blue monkeys pick insects and fruits from the high branches while elephant feed off the wild figs. Baboons, bushbuck, civet, leopard and the nocturnal aardvark are all present in the forest and some of the few remaining Manyara rhino may also be spotted. Reeds, sedges and star grass cover the forest floor in small clearings where the ground literally seeps water, forming an ample food supply for the large herds of buffalo.

Venturing further into the park takes you past huge hippo filled pools in the Simba River, where bird song and the quick, darting movements of birds accompany the grunts and splashes of these huge animals. Over 380 species of bird have been recorded at the pools.

Leaving the river, the landscape opens out into the classic African acacia tree woodlands, filled with giraffe, zebra, impala and elephant. This is also the area known for its tree-climbing lions. During the heat of the noon day sun, entire prides of lion may be seen draped over branches of the acacias, escaping both biting insects and the heat of the long grass.

Lake Manyara itself is slightly alkaline and maintains a huge population of water birds; pelicans, storks, cormorants, geese, ducks and flamingoes are all supported by the rich waters of the lake and provide wonderful photographic opportunities.

It is well worth a quick visit to "Maji Moto", literally 'Hot Water' in Swahili, a natural hot springs where the super heated water bubbles out of the ground at temperatures of up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The water itself is fairly fresh although there is the occasional sulphur smelling gas emissions.

Day 2 Ethno botanical walk with Maasai guide and game drive in Lake Manyara National Park with picnic lunch; also an option for a cultural visit to village. Evening meal and overnight stay Kirurumu Tented Lodge.

Day 3 After breakfast drive to the Ngorongoro Crater rim for a picnic lunch and then continue to the Crater highlands for your evening meal and overnight stay adventure camping in the highlands.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a World Heritage Site and probably one of the most beautiful areas in the world. However, the Crater itself is only 3% of the total area of Conservation Area, which covers 8,280 square km. This vast area is littered with recently active volcanoes, towering mountains, undulating plains, rolling sand dunes, forests, rivers, lakes and of course, the world famous Olduvai Gorge archeological site.

The Crater remains the main attraction of the area and it is very easy to see the reasons: a perfect caldera, 18 km across, which contains a microcosm of East Africa. Within this one small area, swamps, lakes, rivers, grasslands, woodlands and forest provide virtually every habitat found in East Africa and in every habitat, wildlife is found in profusion.

The scenery by itself is magnificent. The ground falls away at your feet, descending into the deep greens of waving forest branches before opening out to the flat expanse of open plains at the base of the crater. Green and brown patches of waving grasses are covered with tiny, moving creatures that turn into elephant when viewed with binoculars. Glittering blue lake waters reflect the sun, gleaming like diamonds scattered on a blue cloth. And in the distance, the deep, misty, blues and greens of the crater walls rise into the mountains again, ending only with the endless expanse of the Africa sky.

Grazing animals dominate Ngorongoro, with zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, buffalo, eland, warthog and hartebeest covering the crater floor. Large prides of lion and packs of hyena are drawn to this bounty and the Crater boasts the highest concentration of predators in East Africa. Cheetah also are commonly seen in the crater, and, as they hunt in daylight, frequently spotted at a kill. Leopards lurk in the forests, as do many of the smaller, nocturnal predators, the civets, servals, and genets. For those in search of felines, the Crater offers unrivalled opportunities for study and photography.

The bird life is abundant; red-eyed doves, Hildebrandt's francolins, turacos, hornbills and shrikes are found in the forest and those looking up will find the open spread wings of Verreaux Eagles and Auger Buzzards soaring through the air. Water birds are always present at the swamps, the spoonbill, jacana and widow birds being just a few.

Outside the Crater itself, the Ngorongoro Area is dominated by vast areas of open grasslands, which are dry throughout most of year. Tiny dust devils swirl about, swept up into the air as the wind catches the fine dust on the ground. Only the most drought resistant animals remain on the plains throughout the year, the fringe eared Oryx and striped hyena are some of the few that survive. During the brief rains, the plains spring to life, with thick grasses quickly sprouting in the fertile soil. Wildebeest, Thompson's gazelles, zebras, topi and hartebeest move into the area to take advantage of this growth, and for a few brief weeks, the plains are rich in wildlife.

As if the diverse landscapes and abundant wildlife were not enough, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area also boasts Olduvai Gorge, site of Louis and Mary Leakey's archeological dig. Their discovery here of the Australopithecus boisei and Homo habilis (Handy Man) fossils are some of the most important, and controversial, hominid finds known. The debate these remains have fuelled about the Origins of Man continues today.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is shared by wildlife and pastorialists and does not form a National Park. The Masai graze their cattle in this area as they have for centuries. The NCA Authority, established in 1959 by the Tanzanian government, is responsible for coordinating the wildlife, Masai grazing, forestry, archeological sites, education, research and tourism, a formidable task, which it performs very well.

Day 4 Spend a full day in the highlands walking with a picnic lunch; evening meal and overnight adventure camping at Makarot base camp in the highlands.

Day 5 Drive to the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge for a bit of luxury and hot shower. After lunch descend into the Crater for an afternoon game drive. Evening meal and overnight stay Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.

This large lodge is part of an excellent African hotel group and the lodges offer superb service, friendly, helpful staff, excellent food and very comfortable rooms, even though deep in the African wilderness. Each lodge is decorated in a different style, with each lodge picking up décor ideas from the local landscapes and peoples. The Serena Lodges offer excellent value for money in all their locations.

Day 6 Morning game drive in the crater with picnic lunch then continue through the conservation area and Olduvai Gorge to the Serengeti National Park. Enjoy an evening meal and overnight stay at the Serengeti Serena.

'Siringet' is the Masai word for "endless plains", and it is for these endless plains that the Serengeti National Park is named. This huge, 5,700 square miles, park is one of the world's last great wildlife refuges. The Park is estimated to contain over three million large animals, and countless millions more of the small.

Despite the huge herds of antelope and wildebeest, the unusually large and social prides of lions that abound, the main impression received from the Serengeti is that of space. Even at the height of the wildebeest migration, when over one million animals are on the move, noisily bleating and creating thundering dust storms that scud across the plains, the Serengeti never seems crowded. The waving yellow grasses stretch endlessly into the horizon, with the deep, blue African sky filling the space above.

The Serengeti's appearance and provisions change with the rain, and the huge herds of animals follow these changes. The Wildebeest Migration of the Serengeti consists of a huge circle, with the herds following the new grasses that sprout after the rains. The short grass plains of the southern Serengeti are home to the herds during the rains, when the constant showers replenish the grasses, providing nourishment for the cows and their new calves.

By May, with the start of the dry season, the grasses start to vanish and the move is on towards the fresh pastures of the Northern Serengeti, The Mara River and the Mara itself, just across the border in Kenya. This movement coincides with the mating season and the deep lowing of the dominant males and frantic territorial battles resound across the plains as nearly half a million animals breed within a small, month long period.

By November, with the northern grasses exhausted, the heavily pregnant females lead the migration back towards the short grass plains of the south, now being replenished by the rains and the cycle starts again. The cycle supports a multitude of predators as well, with Wild Dog, lion, cheetah, and the most successful of them all, the spotted hyena. These magnificent predators tend to cull the herds, taking the oldest, youngest or the sick and leaving behind the healthy to breed the next generation.

The rolling plains of this vast grassland are interspersed with unexpected kopjes, rocky outcrops dating back to more volcanic times. These kopjes are home to Klipspringer antelope, orange and turquoise Agama Lizards, sunbathing in the heat of the day, as well as several species of Mongoose. The large, black Verraux Eagle often make their nests high on these rocky domes, and both cheetah and lion are frequently found using them as lookout posts in their continual search for prey.

Home to more than just the wildlife however, the kopjes are often decorated with ancient Masai rock paintings. Using nothing more than natural ochre dyes and sticks of charcoal, the Masai recount the life of the plains. Images of elephant, antelope, cattle and men with tall, red shields survive through decades of wind and rain and allow a glimpse of tribal artwork.

With its immense, wide open spaces, rich plant life, diversity of animals and birds, the Serengeti is truly a natural 'wonder of the world' and no safari to Tanzania would be complete without a visit here.

Day 7 Full day game driving in the Southern Serengeti with a picnic lunch, or relaxing at the lodge and enjoying the pool and views. The choice is yours! Evening meal at the Serengeti Serena.

Day 8 Drive to the North/Eastern boundary of the Serengeti with cool drinks and picnic lunch enroute. Arrive at the semi permanent tented camp of Loliondo for your evening meal and overnight stay.

Loliondo Camp is, in essence, a semi-permanent tented camp. Put in place every season, the camp is removed for the rains each year to allow the site to regenerate. The tented accommodation is luxuriously comfortable and spacious with ensuite bathrooms and is, naturally, fully and tastefully furnished. The tents are spread out throughout the kopje area with the dining tent at the base of the main kopje rock. Resident game is plentiful in the area, drawn during the dry seasons by the nearby waterhole and increasing in the spring and (especially) the autumn, when the Migration can be expected to pass through the Concession on its way to/from the Mara area.

The permanent camp crew takes great pride in providing a first class service with excellent and varied menus, usually served in the dramatically situated dining tent. The camp is also benefiting the local community (Oloipiri Village) through direct donations, which are made in proportion to client revenue. These payments, which are publicly accountable, have so far brought benefits to the community and area Government and supported the local school.

Days 9 - 10 Spend two full days of activities at Loliondo Camp, walking, game driving, village visiting and simply relaxing while the Serengeti plains spread out before you. All meals and overnight at Loliondo Camp.

Day 11 After breakfast transfer to Lobo Airstrip for regional air scheduled service to Arusha departing 10.30hrs.

Includes: All transfers, accommodation, meals on safari, park entrance fees, vehicle, driver/guide and activities listed above. Adventure camping provides clients with their own vehicle, a driver/guide, a camp cook and helper and igloo style, two man tents with 3-inch mattresses for sleeping. They use campsites in the areas visited and the camp share a long drop style safari toilet and shower. Chairs, tables and all camping equipment are provided for the client; the meals in the mess tent are excellent!

Excludes: Drinks, personal purchases, sleeping bags, towels, tips, international flights and visas.

Contact Melinda Rees for more information on this safari.

Why travel with us? Because Eco-resorts is changing the world-one journey at a time.

Animals and people both need land. Ecotourism provides an alternative income for the people, leaving space for the migratory animals. Eco-resorts actively supports the villages and projects that are protecting East Africa's environment and culture.

We develop self-help eco-projects, which promote wildlife conservation. We also educate both our consumers and our partner camps with two free ezines. We use renewable energy products, reduce paper and plastic consumption in our office and have left the natural vegetation unscathed, resulting in duiker and monitor lizards visiting the office!

We donate 10% of all post-tax profits to fund community and/or conservation projects. Community projects are operated with the local villagers as the operators and managers; Eco-resorts provides advice and guidance when requested, but abides by local beliefs and traditions.

Our current projects include:

- The Children of the Rising Sun Orphanage, which provides accommodation, meals, medicine and schooling for 28 street-children. Our goal is to have a vocational job-training center operational at the home, for the kids and local villagers.

- The Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve, the last remaining tract of coastal lowland forest in Kenya, which provides the only refuge for several endemic birds and mammals, such as the golden-rumped elephant shrew and the Sokoke Pippet. Designated as one of Conservation International's 26 global bio-diversity hotspots (www.conservation.org) and surrounded on all sides by an ever increasing human population, the Forest is in danger of disappearing as trees are cut for carvings, land cleared for subsistence farming and animals trapped for food.

Eco-resorts hopes to ensure that the local villagers become the greatest supporters of the Forest. One of the many projects in the Forest trains the local villagers to breed forest butterfly species for export to the live butterfly market.

With two local butterfly farms already in operation, over 400 people in the area bordering the Forest now have an income that relies upon the continued health of the Forest. Our goal is to employ another 100 people.

Please contact melinda@eco-resorts.com for more detailed information on our ezines and the Eco-resorts community and wildlife conservation projects that your eco-adventure safari will support. Help us make a difference!