Tour Summary
Your travel expert:
Upon arrival into Kilimanjaro, after completing immigration formalities, collect your baggage and proceed to the Arrivals Hall. Here you will be met by an Alluring Africa representative for your private road transfer to Katambuga House, where you will stay for one night.
At a time to be advised: You will be collected by an Alluring Africa representative for your road transfer to the Arusha Airport for your scheduled charter flight to the Serengeti National Park. Upon arrival at Ndutu Airstrip you will be met by a camp vehicle and transferred to Serengeti Safari Camp, where you will stay for three nights. Time permitting, enjoy lunch and an afternoon activity.
Serengeti Safari Camp was the first of it’s kind. It was designed with a purpose in mind; to be in the best possible location to view the wildebeest migration as it covers hundreds of miles of the Serengeti National Park each year. So it should come as no surprise that it really hasn’t changed much since it’s early pioneering days.
Enjoy two full days of game viewing activities at Serengeti Safari Camp.
The Serengeti together with Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Park form Africa’s most famous wildlife park. The image of acacia trees on an endless grass plain epitomizes Africa for many, and then add a Masai warrior and some cattle to the picture, and the conversation need go no further. The annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti and the Masai Mara is the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet – with more than a million animals following the rains. But that is not where the game viewing ends; large prides of lions, elephants and giraffes in grasslands, gazelles and eland to mention but a few.
Activities on offer include morning and afternoon shared game drives in closed 4WD vehicles (with open-roof hatches).
After the morning activity (time permitting) and breakfast, you will be transferred to the airstrip by a camp vehicle for the scheduled charter flight to Katavi National Park. Upon arrival you will be met by a camp vehicle and transferred to Chada Katavi, where you will stay for three nights. Time permitting, enjoy lunch and an afternoon activity.
Chada Katavi is a true remote bush camp with every comfort. Wildlife abounds in this remote corner of Tanzania. Incredible landscapes, where even seeing another vehicle is unlikely.
Enjoy two full days of game viewing activities at Chada Katavi.
Encompassing Lake Katavi, the Katuma River and picturesque Lake Chala, Katavi National Park stretches across roughly 4500 square kilometres of unspoilt Tanzanian woods, open savannah and wetlands. This park is the third largest in the country and is home to the world’s largest herds of buffalo. It boasts a wide array of bird and animal life, including leopard, elephant, zebra, lion and the densest hippo and croc populations in the country.
Bush walks
The wide open spaces of the Chada flood plains with extra wide angle visibility make for a unique brand of rambling. At times you can feel impossibly insignificant against backdrops of golden grass, distant herds of buffalo and piercing blue skies. Yet again, we redefine the meaning of a walk in the park.
Picnics
Why head for cover, when the open-air is so good? We love the eccentricity of rounding a bend in the river to find a fully laid breakfast table and steaming cups of coffee, in front of a pool of hippopotamus. While sharing picnic lunch, as we watch elephants crossing the plains, is as high octane as dining can be.
After a morning activity (time permitting) and breakfast, you will be transferred to the airstrip by a camp vehicle for the scheduled charter flight to Greystoke. Upon arrival, you will travel by boat to Greystoke Mahale, where you will stay for four nights. Time permitting, enjoy lunch and an afternoon activity.
At Greystoke Mahale take a legendary journey to meet the most privileged primates on the planet: the wild chimpanzees of Mahale in their leafy Nirvana. In the forest’s dappled sunlight, chimpanzees romp and commune. At the lakeshore, on a white beach, Greystoke opens its shaggy arms, hewn from vintage dhows, proffering yet another level of pleasure to all its intrepid guests.
Enjoy three full days of activities at Greystoke Mahale.
Spreading out from the shores of beautiful Lake Tanganyika, the mountainous terrain of the Mahale Mountain National Park is home to some of Africa’s last surviving wild chimps, and trekking in search of these endearing primates is one of the main attractions of the reserve. Other highlights include on-foot game safaris that take in the park’s diverse wildlife, hiking up the 2460-metre Mount Nkungwe – the highest of the Mahale mountain range’s six peaks – and fishing and snorkelling in Lake Tanganyika on the park’s western border. While the park is home to over 900 chimpanzees, it is also home to a variety of other wildlife including: leopards, blue duikers, red colobus monkeys, giant pangolins, lions, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, otters and a variety of bird species.
CHIMPANZEE TRACKING
Our main quest is always on foot to a wild living group of chimpanzees, whose complex social and political maneuverings are played out within a few feet of us. Their behavior is interpreted by their greatest fans, our team of chimpanzee experts who can recognize each individual and the significance of every action.
LAKE TANGANYIKA
This lake is a phenomenal natural habitat for us to explore. But we also pleasure-seek here, unashamedly: kayaking towards the Congo at sunrise, the unsurpassable feeling of diving off the dhow into its sunset waters, and watching hippos moonwalk through the depths.
UNDER THE CANOPY
On winding forest trails, our guides show life beyond the chimpanzees; eight other species of primate alone, insects unseen elsewhere, a pharmacopeia of medicinal plants. Often you get just a flash of what’s in the shadows: the silhouette of a red-tail monkey, the scarlet wing of a turaco, the neon of a beetle’s back.
TO THE VILLAGE
Get the feel of a Tanganyika village and see the work of the Nomad Trust, with a visit to Katumbi on the park boundary. You can call in at the primary school, where we have built and furnished classrooms and installed solar power, and the community clinic, where we fund vital healthcare from first aid and midwifery.
After a morning activity (time permitting) and breakfast, you will transfer by boat to the airstrip for your scheduled charter flight to Kilimanjaro for your departure flight.
Return home, taking with you the sights, sounds, and memories of an incredible African adventure!