The wildebeest migration
from seasonal camps

The migration is only one of a number of excellent reasons to head to the North of Tanzania, hence this trip begins in Tarangire, a wonderful, diverse park teaming with wildlife.

During the dry season animals are drawn to the permanent water in the Tarangire River, while in the green season elephants in particular thrive on the lush grasses.

We advocate heading to the quiet southern end of this park, and staying in the deeply charming Kuro Tarangire, a beautiful camp built mostly of fresh air and light. This is one of those places where you may see as much from your veranda over your morning coffee as out on a game drive.

Time in Tarangire will give you the chance not only to get out on game drives, but also to explore on foot with an armed guide. Even short walks – leaving early before breakfast and returning once you’ve built an appetite – can be incredibly productive. The area is a favourite with elephants which makes walking safaris particularly rewarding.

Accommodation

Kuro is a beautifully understated camp, designed with incredible attention to detail to fit into the fragile Tarangire ecosystem. The rooms have been carefully placed to take best advantage of natural shade and the materials used create a light and airy feel.

You’ll find all the comfort you could hope for in a wonderfully wild setting, just a short distance from the Tarangire River, but tucked well away from other tourists.

Parks & Areas

Tarangire is perhaps best-known for it’s iconic baobabs and elephant, both of which are in abundance here, but of course the park offers so much more than this. Check out a couple of wonderful experiences in Tarangire.

Leave Tarangire and head northwest and you’re on a journey through some of Africa’s most dramatic scenery. Passing under a string of dormant volcanoes, you’ll soon reach the wall of the Great Rift Valley at Manyara.

From here it’s an hour or so more before you start to enter the rarified air of the highlands themselves. Finally the Crater itself appears as if by magic, at just over 7000 ft above sea level. Following the rim you’ll make your way to your small, but immaculate camp on the northwestern side.

Game-drives on the Crater floor are just one aspect. The Rim and the surrounding highlands which go up to over 12,000 ft are both diverse, fascinating and well worth exploring on foot as well as by vehicle.

Nothing really prepares you for the spectacle of the Crater. And while it’s well-known that the area draws a lot of tourists it’s worth remembering that this is a truly unique place. The world’s largest unbroken crater, that also happens to be home to one of the world’s greatest concentrations of large wild mammals.

Accommodation

Your stay at Ngorongoro will be in the award winning Entamanu Ngorongoro. A beautiful small camp where you can expect not only remarkable views, exceptional food and great wildlife, but also the opportunity to understand Ngorongoro from the perspective of the Maasai people. This camp is very much run in partnership with the villagers who live in this part of the highlands.

Above all, be sure to plan for at least one full morning or afternoon to simply soak up the atmosphere at this wonderful and highly unusual safari camp.

Parks & Areas

In the dry season, this will be a flight of about 40 minutes from Manyara or – for those who want to see more of this part of the world – a fabulous day-long game drive that takes from top to toe through the Serengeti. Incredible wildlife (and here we choose our words carefully) guaranteed.

Between December and May, attention is focused on the Southern Serengeti so the drive down from the highlands is shorter and a must.

High octane game viewing

While in the Serengeti, your days will be spent exploring the Migration. Between July and October this means the Mara River area, where much attention is on the crossings. Between December and May you’ll explore the wide open plains around Ndutu woodland as well as the soda lakes and mature acacia woodland itself.

But aside from the Migration you are in territory where you can expect to encounter exceptional wildlife throughout. The sheer number of animals and the open nature of the terrain mean that sightings in the Serengeti are second to none.

Accommodation

Your base while in the Serengeti is Nomad’s Serengeti Safari Camp – the original seasonal tented camp and the first to follow the migrating herds year round. Your camp won’t move while you’re there, but moving every few months it should be in the right place to connect you with the action.

Everything about this camp is about simple quality. From the people who run it to the guides who lead your safaris to the food, the tents and everything else.

Parks & Areas