Perhaps you have never thought about taking a Serengeti Safari and are now contemplating whether three days is sufficient. It may not be ample time for everything but it is certainly enough to catalyze a change in your perspective. Enough to watch the dawn break over the plains, to witness the silence that follows when an elephant emerges from the grass, or to gaze at the horizon blanking out without a single thought in your mind.
This trip is self-contained starting from Arusha or Moshi, moving into the heart of Serengeti, after which visiting the Ngorongoro highlands and returning back to town. The experience is out of this world and is much more surreal than the imaginings of Africa that people carry. The moments encountered during the trip often defy capture through photographs or descriptive sentences.
Here is how your days will roughly look like. Although it goes without saying that animals do not follow program schedules.
Your journey begins in Arusha or Moshi. From there, you drive through the diverse landscape towards Serengeti National Park where you will spend two days with the plains and the big cats. You will then cross to Ngorongoro and finally return to Arusha. This feels like a loop that is ceremonial in its simplicity. Drive, watch, feel, and return encompasses this itinerary, though, in reality, it is never that simple.
Your departure is set for the morning when the air is still cool enough for a light jacket. The vehicle flows along the tar roads out of Arusha or Moshi towards Serengeti with game viewing en-route. While passing over fields, the sight of farmers bent over rows of maize and sunflowers is a common one. There is a shared sense of quiet anticipation “out there” much like how the hours feel like they truly stretch on.
At last, the terrain flattens out and opens up. The sky is deliberately arching upwards, as if it has some intention behind it. That first look at the Serengeti isn’t quite what one has seen in pictures. It is much too big to fit within the frame. Grass extends as far as the eye can see, rippling in the wind.
Your guide is attentive to any signs of movement. Sometimes it is a small creature such as a flicking tail of a jackal. Other times, it would be a lion prone in the tall grass and so quiet you wonder if it was just a figment of your imagination.
Lunch can be on the move as well, and combined with the rest of the schedule, you arrive at your lodge or camp by afternoon. When you head out again, there’s a chance to rest a little and the light begins to shift to that long golden angle which is treasured by photographers, and always lies out of reach of fully capturing it.
With no rush, the evening game drive allows you to spot giraffes ambling about in loose groups, or a cluster of wildebeest surrounding each other, moving together as if directed to do so without any reason. As it begins to get dark, you go back to camp. By this point, you are somewhat exhausted but unsure how to put into words the monumental sights you have just taken in.
Accommodations
There is a soft glow in the predawn light that can be quite beautiful to behold. Morning will find you awake either directly after or just before breakfast, depending on how the day is set to pan out.
You might spot predators like leopards and hyenas during game drives in early hours, but everything is in a state of balance out in the wild, making it impossible to predict or depend on anything.
Lunch breaks bring people together to enjoy a meal in the shade, while discussing their hopes and expectations. In quieter moments, it’s clear that participants are at some level, comfortable with silence.
After lunch, the drive towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area begins. Gradual elevation and shifting air temp mark its approach. The sight of grass gives way to the first signs of highland forest and the change in scenery is rather welcome.
By evening you will have arrived in Karatu. Unlike the Serengeti, which feels untamed, Karatu has gardens, coffee trees, and the relaxed comfort of sturdy walls. This place feels civilized, but I still can’t forget about the plains of savana.
Accommodation
You will leave Karatu early morning and take the road that spirals up to the top of the Ngorongoro Crater. Here the light is different, softer, more elusive. It is quite enough that there is a chance you may begin to whisper without understanding the reason why.
The view is breathtaking as you make your slow way down the crater’s steep track. You catch glimpses of the floor through the trees and when you finally reach it, it is an impossibly vivid green expanse. Down there, in this miniature ecosystem, you could possibly glimpse everything within mere hours: some buffaloes, submerged hippos in small ponds, and if you’re lucky, a rare glimpse of a black rhino.
The region has its unique blend of game-drive rhythm within the crater. The walls seem to preserve the sound in a holding way which feels cozy. There are times when everything seems to slow down, like the moments you observe lions lazily lounging around.
During the trip, lunch is had at a designated picnic spot, usually paired with stunning views of the water and wading birds. It often consists of a cold chicken leg, some fruit, or even tea served in a thermos. It is far from lavish, but it suffices.
After lunch, lunch, you set off from the picnic spot towards Ol Doinyo in a loop to finally head towards Arusha. Curiously, driving back doesn’t only feel longer, but rather, the moments are fixed in time, evading from you grasping onto reality.
While driving through the villages and farmlands, the Serengeti Safari starts feeling very dreamlike. This is a common sentiment, the idea that such grand moments can be encapsulated into a singular concrete memory is rather enticing.
Step into the heart of Africa. Witness Tanzania’s wild wonders up close. Your soul-stirring safari begins here.
Address: 7th Floor, Market Street, Arusha – Tanzania
Phone: +255 767-837-026
Email: book@ngorongorocratersafaris.com
