9-Day Tanzania National Park Safari with Lake Natron and Hadzabe

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Day 01

Arusha to Arusha National Park Adventure

• Start at Arusha, a cheerful, bustling town filled with coffee houses and a lively buzz.
• Set off to Arusha National Park, home to the jewel-like Lake Momella, and glimpse through the bronze bush where buffalo, waterbuck, giraffe, warthogs, zebra, and gazelle reside throughout the year around Ngurdoto Crater.
• Set out afoot for a stroll that offers the sensation of feeling Africa's vibrant pulse through the soles of your shoes and experience the bush in infinite detail.
• Hike through the lush forest to a sparkling waterfall and continue to a magical place famous for the antics of the black-and-white colobus monkeys.
• Spend the evening gazing at the stars at a camp close to the park while the chef prepares a delicious meal for you.

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Day 02

Arusha National Park to Tarangire National Park

• After a tasty breakfast, head off to the lovely, quiet Tarangire National Park. It is a huge park with a diverse concentration of wildlife, especially between July and October when the Tarangire River is in full flood.
• After a picnic lunch, drive to Mto wa Mbu and reach the campsite in the late afternoon.
• Relax and enjoy the African evening while savouring a tasty dinner.

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Day 03

Mto wa Mbu to Lake Natron

• After a yummy breakfast, depart for Lake Natron, which is famous for its salinity and the unique consequences of this. The microorganisms that prefer an alkaline environment cause the lake's russet tone.
• Explore a curious terrain of salt marshes and freshwater wetlands with unique flora, leading to sparkling waterfalls. The lake is framed by the incredible Oldoinyo Lengai (Mountain of God in Maa, the language of the Maasai people), an active volcano that carves out hornitos - incredible statues made of cooled lava.
• Spend the evening watching the pink sunset over this incredible landscape.
• Dinner will be served as the first stars appear.

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Day 04

Lake Natron to Serengeti National Park

• After breakfast, say goodbye to Lake Natron and arrive at the world-famous Serengeti National Park.
• Travel through the bustling towns of Loliondo and Wasso, entering through Klein's Gate at the northeast entrance to the park.
• Arrive at the campsite in the centre of the Serengeti and enjoy a delicious dinner in time for a good night's sleep.

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Day 05

Full Day on the Plains of Serengeti

• After a nourishing breakfast, continue into the vast plains of the magnificent Serengeti, which is home to a diverse array of hundreds of species of animals and birds. Each moment of today's adventure will stimulate your senses: your eyes alert for each new sighting, your ears feasting on the calls, screeches, and buzz of life - or the still, dead silence of the hot noonday.
• Spot some of the park's lesser-known, but equally beautiful, creatures, including eland, hyenas, gazelle, crocodile, giraffe, zebra, monkeys, baboons, hippo, and rhino. The hundreds of bird species, both endemic and migrating from Eurasia, are a special bonus for bird-watchers.
• Enjoy a freshly cooked, delicious dinner at the campsite in Seronera under the stars.

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Day 06

Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Crater

• After breakfast, go for another drive through the sights and sounds of the Serengeti: the golden grasslands dotted with acacia, the endless blue of the skies, and the ever-changing sights. Here you might see a rare tree-climbing lion - not as graceful as the leopard, who is a lithe, natural climber - and towards the horizon, a mixed herd of zebra and wildebeest grazing gently.
• After lunch, set off for the next adventure, an exploration of the unique Ngorongoro Crater.
• Spend the night at Simba Camp, which is on the very rim of the crater itself. This is an ideal place to rest and relax.
• Enjoy a drink while watching the incredible colours of the sunset range over the savannah and the shadow of night creep into the caldera below.
• Enjoy a delicious dinner by starlight.

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Day 07

Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Eyasi

• Get up early in a world etched in the pink and apricot rays of African dawn, because early mornings are the best time to spot the animals - especially the Big Five.
• After a busy morning, enjoy a leisurely picnic lunch near a pond full of hippos and then gaze at the sights at Soda Lake.
• In the afternoon, set off for Lake Eyasi, in time for a peaceful sunset walk at the lakeshore before a well-deserved rest at the Lake Eyasi campsite.

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Day 08

Lake Eyasi Cultural Visit to Mto wa Mbu

• Watch the Hadzabe traditional methods of survival, including how they hunt.
• After lunch, return to Mto wa Mbu, which is very close to the gate of the next national park, Lake Manyara National Park.
• Spend the evening reflecting on the adventures so far and relax with a drink.

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Day 09

Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha

• Go on another early start, fuelled by a decent breakfast, to spot the wildlife as they are starting their day. Lake Manyara National Park nestles at the foot of the Great Rift Valley escarpment and is a patchwork of diverse landscapes: the shrubby expanse of the golden savannah, the narrow shores teeming with wildlife, and the still waters of Lake Manyara itself.
• Enjoy a picnic lunch at the heart of the park, to the calls of the birds and the buzzing of insects.
• Head for more wildlife spotting, and then say goodbye to the lake and drive through Maasai bomas, baobab forest, and rolling savannah plains en route to Arusha.