8-Day Mid-Range Mara River Great Migration

Welcome to Tanzania! You will be picked up from the airport by a Sopa Trails representative and driven to your accommodation in Arusha. Depending on your arrival time, you will hopefully have time to relax and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime! Busy Arusha is an essential part of safari life here in northern Tanzania and most travelers pass through at some stage. Accommodation Mid-range: Arusha Planet Lodge Meals & Drinks: at own expense

Your Sopa Trails Safari guide will collect you from your accommodation after breakfast. This morning, you will drive to Tarangire National Park. The transit drive is approximately two and a half hours on good tarmac roads. The Park is named after the Tarangire River which runs through it. This ‘river of warthogs’ is the only source of water for wildlife in the region during the dry season. The Park is well known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffe, bushbuck, and hartebeest. These animals are closely followed by a range of predators, including lions and leopards. There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire than anywhere else on the planet! The huge and ancient Baobab trees can be seen here. Some of them are said to have lived for more than a thousand years. Lunch will be at a picnic site inside the Park. After your game drive, you will transit to your accommodation in Karatu. Accommodation Mid-range: Eileen’s Tree Inn Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included

After breakfast, you will drive up into the cooler regions of Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There will be a chance to stop and see the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater. You will then transit through Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the Serengeti, entering at the South of the Park. The Serengeti is truly spectacular. It is famous for its vast open grasslands which allow for excellent sightings of wildlife. The Serengeti boasts an abundance of wildlife such as impala, buffalo, crocodile, and hippo. In addition to the iconic landscapes, you have a good chance of encountering predators and you may see lion, cheetah and leopard After your game drive, you will head towards your accommodation in time for dinner. Accommodation Luxury: Embalakai Serengeti Camp Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included

After breakfast, you will wend your way through the Serengeti towards the Northern region, stopping off to experience more wonder on the way! Whilst it boasts abundant wildlife, the Serengeti is best known for the annual Great Migration. Vast numbers of wildebeest; zebra and antelope move in an annual pattern, constantly seeking fresh grazing. The migration can be found during any given month; you just need to know where to look! At this time of year, the Migration is normally in the Northern Serengeti. Mid-range: Mara Heritage Camp Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included

The landscape is different in this part of the Serengeti and is made up of hills, riverine forests, plains and rocky outcrops. The immense Mara River cuts through this area, which provides the setting for the mind-blowing river crossing that you may wines during your time here. During the river crossing, over two million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of zebra and antelope attempt to cross the Mara River in search for grazing and water. While they undergo their greatest feat during the migration, Nile crocodiles do not make it any easier for them. On the other side, lion, hyena, leopard and cheetah can be found waiting with growling stomachs and high hopes! Mid-range: Mara Heritage Camp Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included

After breakfast, you will slowly return to Central Serengeti, with an en-route game drive. You may wish to continue your search for the migration before leaving this special place. Every day is different in the Serengeti and there is always plenty to explore. Accommodation Mid-range: Embalakai Serengeti Camp Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included

This morning, you will gently wend your way back through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, seeing more animals only the way (it is common to see a journey of giraffe on the lush slopes). You should reach the Crater by lunch time. When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. Concealed by the steep volcanic walls is a pristine wilderness including sweeping savannah, pockets of acacia woodland and glistening lakes and swamps. The Crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago. The drive down into the Crater is an adventure in itself and when you reach the Crater floor, you quickly find yourself amongst large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, and more than 500 bird species. The Crater provides you with the best chance of seeing the endangered black rhino, which can sometimes be spotted in the open grasslands. After an afternoon game drive, you will drive to your accommodation in Karatu. Accommodation Mid-range: Eileen’s Tree Inn Meals & Drink: All meals included, Drinks not included

This morning, you will drive to Lake Manyara National Park. Your final destination on this epic safari! Manyara is a small but diverse park 120km west of Arusha. Everything you’ll see here is on a different scale. It is both compact (this is one of the narrowest parks in Africa) and epic (the Great Rift Escarpment towers over Lake Manyara’s western boundary). The park’s namesake is a shallow, salt lake. It covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons and is home to thousands of wading birds (including flamingos and over 500 other bird species). You may see baboon and elephant in the park’s thick evergreen forest, and watch for the tree-climbing lions that have become famous throughout Africa. You will enjoy a picnic lunch inside the Park. After your game drive, you will be dropped off at a place of your choosing e.g. Arusha, Kilimanjaro Airport or Arusha Airport. We hope you have enjoyed your adventure with Sopa Trails Africa!