Splendid Pursuit of Tanzania

Once at your Eyasi pitched tented camp, you can enjoy a walk around the local area in anticipation of your search for the Hadzabe Bushmen, true hunter-gatherers. Small groups of Hadzabe Bushmen live around Lake Eyasi. Their language resembles the click languages of other bushmen thousands of miles to the south in the Kalahari. A few hours spent with the bushmen makes the apparently inhospitable bush country come to life and to watch them hunt is a unique experience as they stealthily track, spot, then kill their prey. Their small population was seriously threatened, particularly during the period when Julius Nyere tried to introduce his Ujuma policy. The tribe resisted the forcible settlement policies and nowadays most of their children have never seen a doctor or attended school. The bush provides for all their needs and is a classroom for their offspring. They are often willing to have visitors come and see their simple bush homes where the tree canopy alone or a cave provides them with shelter. They live entirely off the bush and from hunting, generally small antelopes and baboons, although in rainy seasons gazelles and antelopes come down from the Ngorongoro or Serengeti to their then lush bushlands offering them richer pickings. Lake Eyasi is a mildly alkaline lake stretching for about 30 miles to the southwest of the Great Rift Valley. The meadows along the shores of the lake and forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife including leopards, hippos, a variety of monkeys, various birds, greater and lesser flamingos, storks, and pelicans.

Drive down the 1900-foot crater wall from the rim of this spectacular extinct volcano. Here you will find Africa’s largest permanent concentration of wildlife. Ngorongoro has been referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Ngorongoro towers above the Northern Serengeti Plain and it is celebrated as containing some of the most magnificent scenery in the world. Ngorongoro’s 105-square-mile crater is the largest unbroken crater on Earth and is packed with just about every species of wildlife found in East Africa. It is possible that we will see the Big Five—all of them—in one day. Large plains game permanently inhabit the area and the scenery is sensational. Some 30,000 animals live in the crater and, because the grasses are short, game is easily spotted and can often be approached quite closely. It is also one of the few parks in Africa where rhinos are relatively easy to locate. Enjoy the awe-inspiring views from your lodge of the crater below (weather permitting), spying herds of buffaloes and wildebeests that look like ants from the distance.

The true African road is the footpath. Enjoy three days of hiking in remote areas guided by a Maasai Guide. Donkeys carry your gear so you can thoroughly enjoy the breathtaking landscapes and remoteness of the experience. Empakaai Crater, standing one thousand feet high and over three miles in width, is a dramatic volcano in which the caldera is surrounded by a steep, forested wall. You can view water birds such as flamingos by the lakeshore. You will see blue monkeys and ample birdlife. The night sky is dreamlike as you camp under the stars with the southern cross as your guide (and of course the Maasai).

Serengeti is perhaps the most impressive wildlife sanctuary in the world. The park has more large animals than any other protected area on earth. On the Serengeti Plain lives an estimated 2,500 lions and there are more cheetahs here than anywhere else in Africa. Hyenas, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, ostriches, hippos, and other animals can be seen in abundance. Covering more than 5,700 square miles, the Serengeti is breathtaking terrain composed of acacia savannah, grass plains, and dense woodland grouped around kopje rock formations standing in a sea of grass. The kopjes provide shelter to a great variety of plants and animals, from the elusive leopard to the tiny dik-dik. It is estimated that one million animals live in the area with more than one-third of them being wildebeests. Back at your luxury tented camp—where relaxation and romance dance together in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable—soak up all of the wide-open breathing space that is often lost in our usual day-to-day existence back home.

The 9-day experience is focused on wildlife, mostly. The 11-day is a different kind of experience as there is a focus on movement through ancient lands. It is a great combination as you also go to the famed Serengeti and majestic Ngorongoro Crater.