Safari Description
NGORONGORO, SERENGETI AND RUBONDO ISLAND IN LAKE VICTORIA
Starts and ends at: Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
Visiting: Ngorongoro Crater | Serengeti National Park | Rubondo Island National Park
Serengeti and Chimps
A 9 day / 8 night flying safari combining some of Tanzania’s most rewarding national parks with the unique opportunity to be part of a chimpanzee habituation program on an island in Lake Victoria. Begin at the Ngorongoro Crater, game-driving on the floor of this dormant volcano before flying to the Serengeti, staying in a mobile tented camp that follows the pattern of the Great Migration. Conclude your adventure on Rubondo Island, home to a chimpanzee population as well as other wildlife, including elephant, hippo, sitatunga and flocks of African grey parrot.
Depending on the season, Ubuntu camp will be either in Northern Serengeti or located on its southern plains. Starts and ends at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO).
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Children below 5 years are not allowed unless the camp is booked exclusively. Child rates for ages 5 – 18yrs are available, please request these as pricing varies with ages. Child 19 years and older – full adult rate.
- Stunning Scenery
- Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park – Tanzania’s top safari parks.
- All Inclusive
- High Quality Safari Camps
- Excellent wildlife viewing
- 4×4 day and night game drives
- Dining under the stars
- Maasai culture
- The Big 5
- Wildebeest Migration (seasonal)
- Flying Safari
- Chimpanzee tracking, fishing for Nile Perch in Africa’s largest lake
- Tropical Island hideaway.
Day 1 – The Highlands, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport you will proceed to the Coastal Aviation desk for your light-aircraft ight to the Manyara airstrip. A guide from The Highlands will drive you through coffee plantations towards the Ngorongoro Crater, a journey of three hours to reach the property, enjoying a packed lunch on the way. Stop at the viewpoint overlooking the crater to soak in the spectacular landscape and continue your drive around the rim until you reach the Olmoti Crater, where you will stay at The Highlands for the next two nights. If you feel like stretching your legs, you can opt for a guided walk from the camp up to the rim of Olmoti Crater, passing through dense forest and waterfalls on the way.
Day 2 – The Highlands, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
After an early breakfast, depart with your guide for the Ngorongoro Crater, a drive of around an hour until you reach the descent road. Spend the morning game-driving on the crater floor, exploring in search of the varied wildlife that lives here. You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch during the heat of the day in a shady spot before driving back to The Highlands, where you can relax a little. In the late afternoon, a guide will take you to one of the nearby Maasai villages, where you can learn more about this rich culture and take part in their afternoon activities, which often include rounding up cattle into the boma for the night.
Day 3 – Ubuntu Migration Camp, Serengeti National Park – North or South
Depart by road for the Manyara airstrip, three hours away, where you will catch a flight to the Serengeti, a journey of 45 minutes. A guide from Ubuntu Migration Camp will meet you at the airstrip and game-drive you back to camp, stopping at any wildlife sightings along the way. Enjoy a leisurely lunch and settle into your tent before going on an afternoon game drive to fully explore your new surroundings. The Serengeti is impressive in terms of both the diversity and density of wildlife found here, so there is plenty to discover each day. Return to camp in the early evening for drinks around the camp fire and dinner.
Day 4, 5 – Ubuntu Migration Camp, Serengeti National Park – North or South
Safari activities at Ubuntu take place in the early morning and late afternoon, when the wildlife is most active. You will explore with expert guides on game drives, looking for the big cats that have made the Serengeti famous as well as hippos wallowing in muddy pools and giraffe browsing the fresh shoots of an acacia tree. In between, you will return to camp for a delicious lunch, and to have a siesta or catch up on a good book. Evenings are spent sharing stories of your day’s adventures with other guests around the dinner table.
Day 6 – Rubondo Island Camp, Rubondo Island National Park
There’s time for a final morning game drive and lunch in camp before you fly out to Rubondo Island on Lake Victoria in the mid-afternoon. A guide will drive you through the dense tropical forest to the camp, which will be your base for this final stage of your safari. Settle in and either relax for the rest of the day or perhaps go out for a boat trip on the lake in the late afternoon to enjoy sunset views across the water.
Day 7, 8 – Rubondo Island Camp, Rubondo Island National Park
Activities on Rubondo Island take place in the morning and afternoon, with time during the heat of the day to relax in the shade at the lodge or by the pool. One morning you will set out with a guide, researcher and ranger to search for chimpanzees, typically travelling by boat to a different part of the island and then walking through the thick forest. The researcher will explain the habituation process along the way. Sightings are not guaranteed as this habituation program is still a work in progress, but it offers you a unique opportunity to be part of the conservation story of Rubondo and to be some of the first travelers to meet the island’s chimps. Other activities available include boating on the lake; fishing for Nile perch, which are found in good numbers here; birding to look for some of the unusual species found here, such as the African grey parrot; and forest drives, during which you may encounter sitatunga or an elephant.
Day 9 – Rubondo Island -> Kilimanjaro International Airport
Enjoy a final breakfast overlooking Lake Victoria before a short drive to the airstrip for your morning flight back to Kilimanjaro Airport in Arusha, taking a picnic lunch with you. The flight will stop a few times on the way in the Serengeti and other airstrips to drop off /pick up passengers, and the total journey will be approximately four hours. You will land at the international airport so you can simply collect your luggage and check in for your international flight home.
END OF SAFARI
2 nights – The Highlands
3 nights – Ubuntu Migration Camp
3 nights – Rubondo Island Camp