5 Days Wildbeest Calving safari

Welcome to Tanzania! When your flight arrives at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, it’s time for your East African adventure to begin. We’ll transport you through the lovely town of Arusha to your overnight accommodations at Arusha Planet Lodge. You’ll enjoy relaxing in the lodge’s comfortable rondavel-style suites, situated in an elegantly landscaped garden where you can enjoy the pleasant ambience of many species of native birds. Your authentic African safari will begin tomorrow, so you can spend the rest of the afternoon and evening at your leisure. Consider sipping on a drink by the poolside, exploring the winding garden paths, and enjoying the first-rate cuisine at the hotel restaurant.

We’ll get an early start this morning to begin our wildebeest calving safari, driving west through the world-renowned Ngorongoro Conservation Area and stopping to take a peek at the volcanic caldera of Ngorongoro Crater along the way. After about five or six hours on the road, we’ll reach the Ndutu region, which lies at the southern tip of the Serengeti. Ndutu is known for lush green plains dotted with flat-topped acacia trees, shallow alkaline lakes where flamingos and other birds gather in great numbers, and—of course—thousands of newborn wildebeest. We’ll keep our eyes peeled as we travel through the bush on our way to tonight’s camp, getting our first glimpse of the many young antelope hidden amongst the herds. Your accommodations for the next two nights will be at the incomparable Ndutu Bush Camp, where you’ll sleep under canvas in authentic luxury African safari tents.

Are you ready for a full day in the East African bush? We’ll have the entire day at our disposal, affording us the freedom to roam far and wide across the lush Ndutu savanna in search of calving wildebeest and all of the other species you’ve traveled so far to see. We’ll keep a close watch for any predators stalking along the perimeter of the migratory wildebeest and zebra herds; Ndutu is an especially great place to find the cheetah, and the entire Serengeti is rife with lions and hyenas. We can either return to camp for lunch or select a scenic spot right in the bush to enjoy a picnic-style meal in the middle of the Tanzanian wilderness. These are the moments that make for an authentic safari experience; there’s nothing quite like digging into a packed lunch while massive herds of wildebeest and zebra mill about nearby. Later, we’ll return to Ndutu Bush Camp for dinner and another night’s rest.

Our wildebeest calving safari continues this morning as we depart from Ndutu, retracing our path through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and stopping to photograph all of the wildlife we’ll encounter along the way. Our destination is Ngorongoro Crater itself: you’ve already seen the caldera in passing, but now it’s time to descend along the winding road to the crater floor and enter the confines of this unique geological formation. The crater represents all that remains of a collapsed volcano dating back more than two million years. Today, the fertile volcanic savanna contained within its walls supports a thriving population of blue wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, elephant, lion, hyena, and even the rare black rhinoceros. After exploring the length and breadth of the crater to your heart’s content, we’ll venture back to the crater rim and drive to the Marera Valley Lodge in nearby Karatu, where we’ll spend the last night of your authentic Tanzanian safari in pleasant, comfortable luxury accommodations.

This morning, we’ll pack our bags and begin the return drive to Arusha. But just a few hours from Arusha lies Tarangire National Park: a vast wilderness of gargantuan baobabs, where abundant herds of elephants can be found in just about every bend of the park’s safari circuit. We’ll make a stop to venture into the heart of Tarangire’s woodlands and scenic riverine valleys, keeping an eye out for any new species we’ve yet to encounter on our safari. Afterwards, we’ll cover the remaining distance to Arusha on well-tarred roads, arriving at the Kilimanjaro International Airport in plenty of time for your outgoing flight. We hope you’ve had an unforgettable time on your wildebeest calving safari, and we can’t wait to welcome you back to further explore the wonders of Tanzania.