PDF version - The Big Journey Company
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PDF version - The Big Journey Company
Call: 0844 3350 197 Full Itinerary TANZANIA ESCORTED JOURNEY JOURNEY SNAPSHOT ACTIVITY LEVEL: Level 2 DESTINATION: Tanzania DURATION: 10 days, 9 nights FLIGHT INFORMATION: International economy air tickets from London Heathrow [LHR] to/from Kilimanjaro airport [JRO] PICKUP LOCATION: Kilimanjaro airport [JRO] OVERVIEW The ultimate safari in Tanzania — Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Maasai village, Elephant Caves and Serengeti National Park. An opportunity to experience the wonderfully rich diversity unique to Tanzania on our 10 day guided holiday tour. Of course the main highlight is the wide variety of animals to be found in the different regions of Tanzania — but other highlights include; a stay on Ndarakwai Ranch on the slopes of Western Kilimanjaro, a visit to local Masai villages, Lake Manyara National Park, views across the great Rift Valley and the breathtaking natural wonder that is the Ngorongoro Crater. The Serengeti National Park is our final stop where we will spend our days in search of the ‘Big 5’. © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282. Call: 0844 3350 197 ITINERARY SUMMARY PRE-JOURNEY We will depart London Heathrow the day before the tour starts in order to arrive into Kilimanjaro Airport on Day 1. DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY DAY 1 - Arrive Kilimanjaro Airport and Drive to Arusha 2 - Arusha to West Kilimanjaro 3 - West Kilimanjaro 4 - West Kilimanjaro to Lake Manyara National Park 5 - Visit the Elephant Caves and the Iraqw Elder 6 - Ngorongoro Crater tour, Maasai Village Visit 7 - Ngorongoro Highlands to Serengeti National Park 8 - Serengeti National Park 9 - Serengeti National Park 10 - Departure from Kilimanjaro Airport FULL ITINERARY DAY 1 - ARRIVE KILIMANJARO AIRPORT AND DRIVE TO ARUSHA We will be met from our flight and transferred from Kilimanjaro International Airport to our city hotel located around an hour’s drive from the airport. Lake Duluti Serena Hotel is designed like a typical African village, and we will stay in cottages thatched with banana fronds and surrounded by tropical shade trees and bougainvillea. You may want to spend the rest of the day at leisure or for the more energetic there are walking, biking and canoeing trips available to book locally. Meals: None Accommodation: Lake Duluti Serena Hotel Activities: Arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport and transfer to the hotel DAY 2 - ARUSHA TO WEST KILIMANJARO Enjoy breakfast at the lodge, and then your driver guide will transfer you from your hotel in Arusha to West Kilimanjaro, approximately 2 hours. Ndarakwai Ranch is over 11,000 acres (4500 hectares) in area and located in Siha District, on the slopes of Western Kilimanjaro. This privately owned ranch, started in 1995 as an experiment in self-sustaining conservation, preserves a variety of habitats that are home to over 70 mammal species, and 350 bird species (at last count). Ndarakwai is an important part of the Amboseli / Ngasurai eco-system and helps to preserve vital seasonal elephant routes. Many species (lesser kudu, Grants gazelle, warthogs, impala, wildebeest, giraffe, waterbuck, bushbuck, hyena, etc), are permanent residents on the ranch, while others (eland, zebra, buffalo, elephant, cheetah, etc) use Ndarakwai seasonally. Accommodation is in spacious tents with thatched roofs with en-suite bathrooms featuring safari-style showers. The tents are set on raised wooden platforms and are spaced well apart. Food is a highlight and is served in the dedicated dining area or by the camp fire. Hot showers are provided in the camp at any time of day. The main activities are guided full or half day walks (where the emphasis can either be on game or bird watching), game drives, and night game drives. You can also visit local Maasai villages to photograph and buy authentic beaded jewelry. The ‘tree house’ where you can watch game at the waterhole, is an activity in itself with an ever changing wildlife cast. © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282. Call: 0844 3350 197 Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Accommodation: Ndarakwai Activities: Arrive Ndarakwai Ranch, West Kilimanjaro. Optional activities including game drives. DAY 3 - WEST KILIMANJARODAY 4 - WEST KILIMANJARO TO LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK After we’ve enjoyed our breakfast we will visit the locals in the nearby village. A short walk near Kilimanjaro National Park and game drives and other activities as described above are on offer. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Accommodation: Ndarakwai Activities: Village visit. Kilimanjaro National Park. Optional Activities. DAY 4 - WEST KILIMANJARO TO LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK From Arusha we head to Lake Manyara National Park which will take around 4 hours by road with a picnic lunch en-route. A drive around Lake Manyara will take us through the underwater forests thick with monkeys, warthogs, wildebeest, and buffalo before arriving at a clearing that looks out over the lake. However you approach Lake Manyara National Park, your first view is spectacular. Lake Manyara National Park has a wide variety of habitats attracting a host of different animals: monkeys leap between the trees of the ground water forest, on the slope of the escarpment elephants stand in the shade of the baobab. In the pools along the lakeshore, hippos wallow and in the acacia woodland lions rest in the trees. The birdlife is fascinating, with pelicans, storks, geese, herons and cormorants sharing the water with migrant amingoes that turn the crystalline edges of the lake a bright pink. High on the top of the dramatic Mto Wa Mbu escarpment overlooking the shimmering expanse of the Manyara soda lake, is Lake Manyara Serena Lodge with panoramic views across the Great Rift Valley. Meals: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch & Dinner Accommodation: Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge Activities: Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park. Game viewing. DAY 5 - VISIT THE ELEPHANT CAVES AND THE IRAQW ELDER Today we’ll drive from Lake Manyara to Karatu, a rural town located in the crater highlands. Walk to a nearby waterfall, winding in and out of the forest, and see caves made by elephants - or simply stroll in the farm’s beautiful gardens, coffee plantation or vegetable garden. Lunch is served at Gibb’s Farm which is a working farm, superbly located in a beautifully fertile valley with the heavily forested slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater behind it. Set among formal gardens, the Farmhouse and 20 en- suite cottages are the heart of a working farm. After lunch we’ll take a short drive to a House of Mzee Daniel Tewa. He lives in a simple house on the edge of the Ngorongoro Highlands, an area in which he told us, his people were the first to inhabit over 2000 years ago before even the Maasai came along. ‘Mzee’ is a respectful Kiswahili term meaning an elder and Daniel Tewa is a member of the Iraqw (pronounced Irow) tribe. Almost straight away you will warm up to him; his manner is kind and his smile welcoming. The main reason you will want to meet with him though is his story telling ability. He will take you through over 2000 years of his people’s history and culture, acting it out with you all taking roles of hunter, warrior, bride, family member and villager. He will tell you uses for his indigenous plants teach you how to protect yourselves from visiting wildlife and show you how to power gas lighting and a cooker with a cow. In 2 hours you will learn a wealth of knowledge and be gripped for the entire meeting. They are a lesser known tribe, but once © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282. Call: 0844 3350 197 you have met Mzee Tewa you will always remember the Iraqw. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Accommodation: Farm House Valley Activities: Drive from Lake Manyara to Karatu. Visit Elephant caves and meet an Iraqw Elder. DAY 6 - NGORONGORO CRATER TOUR, MAASAI VILLAGE VISIT Our game drive today will be like no other as we visit one of the most dramatic safari destinations in Africa, the Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro Crater is a deep, volcanic crater and the largest unbroken caldera in the world. About 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder. We’ll descend to the crater oor in search of the ‘Big 5’ with the back drop of the forest covered crater walls surrounding you, creating stunning back drops for all of your wildlife photographs. We’ll travel through the Lerai Forest looking for leopard and onto the plains where the wildebeest and zebra graze whilst cheetah and lion lay and watch. Old elephants pass your vehicle whilst further afield rhino wander and hippos hide in the pools. A picnic lunch is provided so you can maximize your day in the crater. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Accomodation: Farm House Valley Activities: Ngorongoro Crater tour and Maasai village visit. DAY 7 - NGORONGORO HIGHLANDS TO SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK Leave your lodge and drive along the crater rim before descending the outer slopes of the Ngorongoro crater and onto the vast plains of the Serengeti. The Serengeti is famous for the vast number of species that reside in the park year round. One of the world’s last great wildlife refuges, the Serengeti, stretches between the Ngorongoro Highlands and Lake Victoria. The name comes from the Maasai word siringet, meaning “endless plains”. The concentration of predators in the Serengeti is high with large prides of lion, numerous hyena clans, and regular sightings of both cheetah and Leopard. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe, and antelope can be found feeding on the rich plains as well as some of the lesser known species such as aardwolf, mongoose, caracal, servals and hyrax. We arrive at Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge in approx. 4-5 hours. It is situated on a hill, deep in the heart of central Serengeti. Designed in a rugged, rustic carved wood and stone style, it follows the age old African theme of thatched circular huts set out as a village. A series of traditional domed “rondavels” are widely spaced throughout the grounds, which are cooled by groves of acacia trees. Time to unwind with stunning views of the Serengeti wilderness from your room or over the very edge of the ridge is a vanishing horizon pool which looks over the “endless plains” after which the Serengeti is named. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Accommodation: Farm House Valley Activities: Game viewing — Serengeti National Park DAY 8 - SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK Spend your day exploring the extensive plains of the Serengeti in search of the ‘Big 5’. If you would like to maximize your time game viewing you can take a picnic lunch out into the park and enjoy a meal out in the © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282. Call: 0844 3350 197 vast savannah before returning to the lodge later in the day. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge Activities: Game viewing — Serengeti National Park DAY 9 - SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK Spend your day exploring the extensive plains of the Serengeti in search of the ‘Big 5’. If you would like to maximize your time game viewing you can take a picnic lunch out into the park and enjoy a meal out in the vast savannah before returning to the lodge later. Perhaps explore the wonders of the spa, educate yourself in the Discovery Centre, play a frame of snooker or just sit on the terrace and watch the drama of the Serengeti unfold in front of you! Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Accommodation: Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge Activities: Game viewing — Serengeti National Park DAY 10 - DEPARTURE FROM KILIMANJARO AIRPORT The light aircraft flight from Seronera to Kilimanjaro is approximately before flying overnight from Kilimanjaro back to London Heathrow. Meals: Breakfast and Lunch Accommodation: none Activities: Departure from the Serengeti © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282. Call: 0844 3350 197 WHAT'S INCLUDED International economy flights from London Heathrow [LHR] to/from Kilimanjaro airport [JRO] Domestic economy air tickets Seronera to Kilimanjaro Meet & Greet at the airport on arrival and transfer to the hotel Transfer from the hotel to the airport on the final day Transport in an air-conditioned deluxe vehicle Transfers as detailed in the itinerary Accommodation as detailed in the itinerary Meals as detailed in the itinerary English speaking tour guide All activities, visits and excursions as detailed in the itinerary WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED Transfers on arrival or departure, to/from the airport(s), outside of the tour dates Drinks Gratuities to drivers, guides or rangers etc Visas, travel and medical insurance Any personal items and anything not mentioned under included in price above Any meals not mentioned in itinerary Any optional activities offered © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282. Call: 0844 3350 197 IMPORTANT INFORMATION Tour includes international flights from London Heathrow [LHR] to arrive into Kilimanjaro Airport [JRO] on Day 1 and departing from Kilimanjaro Airport [JRO] to London Heathrow [LHR] on Day 10. We will depart the day before the tour begins in order to reach Tanzania on Day 1. Please arrange your Visa for entry into Tanzania. Please consult your physician at least 6 weeks prior to departure to discuss vaccinations/immunisations and appropriate antimalarial prophylactics. Please let The Big Journey Company know prior to travelling if you have any medical needs or take any medication that we need to be made aware of to ensure that you have a safe and pleasant tour. Check in is after 2-3pm and check out is before 10am unless otherwise specified in the itinerary. Cancellation 90 – 0 days prior to departure cancellation fee is 100%. It is your responsibility to ensure the correct travel insurance in place to protect you against the need to cancel your holiday. Deposits are non-refundable. Further terms and conditions apply and will be provided upon request or at the time of booking. The Big Journey Company reserves the right to withdraw any offer prior to accepting a reservation request. This does not affect your statutory rights. This offer is subject to availability and space is limited. We can provide you with a list of recommended tipping scales if you wish, or suggest an all-inclusive tips package that we will distribute fairly to ensure the best possible service. © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282. Call: 0844 3350 197 BOOK YOUR JOURNEY Choose from the list of dates below Call to Book 0844 3350 197 Monday to Friday 09:00 - 18:00 GMT © The Big Journey Company 2016. All rights reserved. Holiday tours are operated by The Big Journey Company Limited. Registered in England. Registered office: Marron Bank, Branthwaite, Cumbria, CA14 4SZ. Registered number: 6532140. The Big Journey Company Limited is a member of The Travel Trust Association member number U5675 and holds an Air Travel Organiser’s License number T7282.