Karatu is a town located at the southern end of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The town was of great importance to the German colonial administration.primarily acts as a safari gateway to the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. In this 8 days package, explore Karatu with a taste of all four game reserves in Northern Tanzania. Wrap it all up with some relaxation in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Logistic Info approx:
165 kilometres to the lodge / 2hrs commuting to Lake Manyara 5hrs game drive & 1hr to Karatu.
Lake Manyara National Park offers a wilderness experience rich in diverse habitats, from its Rift Valley soda lake to its dense woodlands and steep mountainsides. Apart from a spectacular setting, the park is famous for its unusual tree-climbing lions and the vast elephant herds it was established to protect. The shores of the lake, encrusted with pink flamingo, attract more than 400 species of birds, many of them waterfowl or migrants. Large herds of buffalo, cheetah, Masai giraffe and impala roam the lake shores and the forested valley slopes. , although in abundance, are hard to get a glimpse of, just like the other elusive carnivores - the lions - of this
park
Logisitic Info approx:
166 kilometres/5hrs commuting to the Serengeti lodge / 4hrs will be for Ngorongoro crater drive.
The Ngorongoro crater is a conservation area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located 210 km west of Arusha. Known as ‘the eighth wonder of the world' the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa's best-known wildlife arenas. It offers a unique biosphere, which has remained virtually unchanged since the dawn of time. Deep within the Crater, enclosed by towering walls, some 25,000 large mammals wander the lains, lakes and forests of ‘the land that time forgot', dominated by enormous bull elephants, rhinos and lions
Logistic Info approx:
8hrs game drive experience
The Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and scientific value. With more than two million wildebeests, half a million Thomson's gazelles, and a quarter million zebras, it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. The wildebeest
and zebra moreover form the star cast of a unique spectacular - the annual Serengeti migration. The name
'Serengeti' comes from the Maasai language and appropriately means an 'extended place'.
The National Park, with an area of 12,950 square kilometers, is as big as Northern Ireland, but its ecosystem, which includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Maswa Game Reserve and the Maasai Mara Game.reserve (in Kenya), is roughly the size of Kuwait. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyasi in the
south, and the Great Rift Valley to the east. As such, it offers the most complex and least disturbed ecosystem on earth.
Logistic Info approx:
5hrs commuting from Serengeti lodge to Karatu outside ngorongoro
Logisitic Info approx:
3hrs commuting + 1.5hrs before flight + 1.5 hrs flight + 20 minute to stonetown.
Logisitic Info approx:
1hr to launch point + 6 hrs experience + 2hrs to beach
The excursion starts at the fishing village of Fumba, 30 minutes drive from Stone Town. Fumba is situated in the southwest corner of the island and an ideal starting point to explore Menai Bay, designated a Conservation Area. The bay has a number of beautiful uninhabited islands and sandbanks and is frequented by humpback and bottlenose dolphins.
On arrival at Fumba clients are given a briefing on the day and a life jacket demo. We then board the dhows and set off to explore the bay and find the dolphins. We are lucky enough to see dolphins on at least 85% of our trips. Later in the morning we stop on a sandbank where we set up sunshades and fit the clients with snorkelling equipment. We have a large range of sizes and good quality equipment. Guides, who can safely lead the snorkelling session and show points of interest, accompany the clients. For beginners or those who are not confident swimmers, we have inflatable snorkelling vests and our guides can give tuition. After snorkelling we offer fresh green coconuts before we move to another sandbank for lunch. During the morning our catering boat has gone on ahead to prepare lunch which is served on teak picnic tables set up beneath smart canvas sunshades. Lunch is a traditional Zanzibar meal and includes a selection of grilled fish, slipper lobster, squid, rice, tamarind and coriander sauces and barbecued chicken. A gastronomic fruit tasting follows with a selection of between 10
to 15 different tropical fruits. Cold drinks are available throughout the day and include mineral water, sodas ,
coffee and hard drinks are also served after lunch.
When the tide allows we visit a beautiful mangrove lagoon where it is possible to swim through the mangrove forest. We return to Fumba by sail and arrive back at 6 p.m. in time to see the colourful African sunset.
We advise clients that there are no formal changing facilities at Fumba so please wear your swimming things under your clothes. We also advise clients to bring waterproof shoes for boarding the dhows and to bring towels, sunscreen and a spare T-shirt for snorkelling.
Octagon Lodge 2* 1 night - 2 Standard Twin rooms
Serengeti Sopa Lodge 3* 2 nights - 2 Standard Twin rooms
Octagon Lodge 2* 1 night - 2 Standard Twin rooms
Maru Maru Zanzibar 3* Deluxe - 1 night - 2 New Wing rooms Room
Kena Beach Hotel 4* 2 nights - 2 Twin Standard Rooms
