Classic Great Migration Adventure Safari
Destination
Kenya, Tanzania
Travel Period
January – March, June – December
Duration
10 days | 9 nights
Arusha is located at the foothills of Mount Meru on the eastern side of the Great Rift Valley. This is the gateway to the northern safari circuit, with easy access to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Meru. Its elevation of 1,400 m (4,600 ft) keeps temperatures relatively cool despite proximity to the equator; temperatures generally range between 10 and 30 C (50 and 86F), with little humidity due to the altitude.
Arusha is serviced by two airports, Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) on the eastern side, and Arusha Airport, which primarily services domestic travel. The two airports are connected by the main road, which is notorious for traffic. There is some good shopping available, including the impressive Cultural Heritage, with curio shops, a jewellery boutique, a Tanzanite and precious stone counter, a bargain center, and an art gallery.
Siringit Villa is a luxury 6 bedroom villa which can be booked exclusively or individual rooms. The spacious and elegant property, overlooking the green, is meant to give friends or families that unique experience that can only be rivaled by the most secluded and high end tented camps.
This spacious and elegant property has been carefully created to provide an unrivalled guest experience, and the rest of the villa is true to form: whether it be in the gorgeous living room, the private dining room, the lush gardens, the relaxing terraces, or the invigorating lap pool.
Siringit Villa is located within the confines of the superb Kilimanjaro Golf and Wildlife Estate on the edge of the 5th fairway of the 18 hole championship golf course just 30mins from Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Villa Suites
The six spacious rooms in Siringit Villa are designed to create peace of mind and tranquillity. The poolside rooms open up to breezy balconies overlooking the golf course and grazing impala. The front-facing rooms open up to balconies overlooking the manicured garden and the magnificent mountains. Small details have been taken into consideration to value your need for privacy, personal service and comfort.
The en-suite bathrooms are spacious, with a bathtub to fill with bubbles lit by candlelight, and steaming hot showers heated by solar heaters. His and her sinks have been designed for ultimate ease and comfort.
The golf course at Kilimanjaro Golf and Wildlife Estate is set amidst the natural beauty of Arusha with Mount Meru in the skyline and fairways manicured around streams and tended gardens. This is the first 18-hole championship golf course in Tanzania, and it is right on your doorstep when staying at Siringit Villa.
A veritable Garden of Eden, the Ngorongoro Crater is only 260 km2 (100mi2) in size yet has some of the highest densities of lion and spotted hyena found anywhere in the world. The view from the crater rim at 2,000 feet above the floor is nothing short of breathtaking. The thick mountain forests of the crater highlands strike a sharp contrast with the short grass plains of the crater floor with its yellow fever Acacia woodlands and streams. The soda lake Magadi in the center of the crater floor sometimes attracts lesser flamingos, and the area is known for very large tusked elephants, black rhino, and great predator action.
Easily accessible from Arusha, the three million year old Ngorongoro Crater was once a gigantic volcano that some suggest was even higher than Mt Kilimanjaro. It is the largest intact caldera in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Walks are available on the rim in certain areas, but game viewing on the crater floor is strictly by vehicle and on designated game drive routes. Local Maasai pastoralists and their villages surround the western side of the crater whilst the eastern side is heavily forested up to the farming town of Karatu.
Day 3 – Ngorongoro Crater
A veritable Garden of Eden, the Ngorongoro Crater is only 260 km2 (100mi2) in size yet has some of the highest densities of lion and spotted hyena found anywhere in the world. The view from the crater rim at 2,000 feet above the floor is nothing short of breathtaking. The thick mountain forests of the crater highlands strike a sharp contrast with the short grass plains of the crater floor with its yellow fever Acacia woodlands and streams. The soda lake Magadi in the center of the crater floor sometimes attracts lesser flamingos, and the area is known for very large tusked elephants, black rhino, and great predator action.
Easily accessible from Arusha, the three million year old Ngorongoro Crater was once a gigantic volcano that some suggest was even higher than Mt Kilimanjaro. It is the largest intact caldera in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Walks are available on the rim in certain areas, but game viewing on the crater floor is strictly by vehicle and on designated game drive routes. Local Maasai pastoralists and their villages surround the western side of the crater whilst the eastern side is heavily forested up to the farming town of Karatu.
Lemala Ngorongoro is intimately set in a delightful ancient Acacia forest close to the rim of the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater. As it is located next to the quiet Lemala crater access road on the eastern side, a key advantage of staying at Lemala Ngorongoro is the quick and easy drive down on to the crater floor in the morning.
Standard Tent
Nine spacious en-suite tents feature an outside deck offering beautiful views over the area and are fitted with two queen-size beds with warm duvets, a flush toilet, large safari-style shower, plentiful running water, wooden storage cabinets and wooden floors, 24-hour solar lighting and outside loungers. Triples available on request.
Game drives from camp may start as early as 6.15am and guests can be down among Ngorongoro’s abundant wildlife on the floor within 10-15 minutes – crucial for photographers who demand the best light conditions.
Sundowners, early morning walks and game drives in new custom-designed vehicles accompanied by Lemala’s highly-knowledgeable and experienced guides are some of the activities guests can look forward to during their stay.
Other activities offered on-site or nearby include massages, child-friendly activities, bird watching, and more.
Day 2 – Mto Wa Mbu Village Walk
Mto Wa Mbu, or “the river of mosquitoes” in Swahili, is a small village located on the road between Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Visit Mto Wa Mbu village for a great cultural experience with an experienced, English speaking guide who grew up in the village. The attraction of this village lies in its ethnic and cultural diversity with more than 20 different ethnic groups living together in harmony. As you walk along, guests will discover a local farms, food markets, rice paddies, banana beer bar and local activities.
This photographer’s paradise is one of the best places in Africa to view the big cats as well as an amazing array of plains game. The northern Serengeti has the classic big open plains of the African savannah, sprawling views, and consistently delivers excellent wildlife sightings. It is one of the best places in East Africa for leopards, and the kopje strewn hillsides that are home to these elusive creatures are in themselves stunningly beautiful. A few days here can be very action packed and there’s even chances to see black rhinos in some areas.
The Serengeti is perhaps the most famous African wilderness area, its name synonymous with the notion of safari for nearly a hundred years. This UNESCO World Heritage site covers 14,750 km2 (5,700 mi2) of premiere game viewing in Acacia woodlands, open grasslands, and undulating savannahs interspersed with seasonal rivers. The park on the northern side borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and, together with several other smaller reserves and conservation areas, forms the larger Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.
Set on the edge of a permanent marsh in the Ndutu region, the camp features a welcoming mess tent with lounge, dining, and bar areas styled in classic safari décor. Guests enjoy freshly prepared meals, complimentary wifi in communal areas, charging facilities, laundry services, and evening gatherings around the campfire. The mobile design ensures a low environmental impact while maintaining a high standard of comfort in a prime wildlife location.
Lemala Mara
Located in the remote northern Serengeti beneath shady trees, the camp includes a central mess tent with lounge, dining, and bar areas where guests can unwind after game drives. Facilities include complimentary wifi in communal spaces, charging stations, laundry services, and attentive, personalized service. The camp’s discreet setup allows guests to enjoy the surrounding wilderness with minimal impact on wildlife.
Tent
Lemala Mara offers 10 standard en-suite mobile tents, each thoughtfully designed to balance comfort with an authentic wilderness experience. The tents feature twin or double beds with warm duvets, solid wooden floors, generous storage, and reliable solar-powered lighting. En-suite bathrooms include flush toilets and spacious safari-style showers, while private decks allow guests to relax and enjoy uninterrupted views of the surrounding northern Serengeti landscape.
Lemala Ndutu
Lemala Ndutu is perfectly positioned between December and March to witness the Great Migration and the dramatic calving season, when vast herds attract a high concentration of predators. Guided game drives explore the open savannahs renowned for exceptional big cat sightings and expansive landscapes. Optional hot-air balloon safaris offer a breathtaking perspective on the migration and surrounding plains.
Lemala Mara
Operating between June and October, Lemala Mara offers exceptional access to the Great Migration’s dramatic Mara River crossings. Expertly guided game drives showcase massive herds, resident predators, and sweeping landscapes with very few other vehicles in the area. Guests can also enjoy extended game drives and optional hot-air balloon safaris, offering unforgettable views of the northern Serengeti at the height of the migration.
Day 6 – Optional Activity: Hot Air Balloon
A balloon flight over the Serengeti is widely considered a bucketlist activity that offers a serene and spectacular experience floating over the vast, lush, and game filled plains.
A lift off at dawn means you watch the sun rise as you head in a generally western direction. Flights usually last close to an hour and depending on the take off spot you float over riverine woodlands, watching hippos return to their daytime refuges and crocodiles basking on sandbanks. Sometimes predators and large antelope herds can be spotted below, pointed out by your experienced captain.
After the flight you will be met by the trailing transfer vehicles and taken to a pre-prepared picnic breakfast, beautifully set up in an idyllic spot on the plains.
The Mara (as it is affectionately known) covers 1510 km2 (583 mi2) and is widely considered to be Africa’s greatest reserve. The backdrop of the Siria escarpment in the west overlooks sweeping savannas, riverine woodlands, and forests on a deceptively flat landscape that extends eastwards towards the Sekenani Hills and northwards towards the Aitong Hills. The Mara is in essence the northern extension of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem and plays host to one of nature’s greatest phenomenons, the Great Wildebeest Migration.
Because of the quality of wildlife viewing, the Mara has for generations been the setting of hundreds of wildlife documentaries including Disney’s African Cats, and the BBC’s Big Cat Diaries and Planet Earth. It is haven for photography and every year visitors come to capture the spectacular wildlife. The reserve and its conservancies contain some of the highest densities of predators in Africa and this only increases as nomads and vagrants follow the huge herds back and forth through this ecosystem during the seasonal wildebeest migration.
The Great Wildebeest Migration
The Great Wildebeest Migration is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and sees around two million animals (including wildebeest, zebras and gazelles) make the annual pilgrimage between the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti. It is not as straightforward as a south to north and return movement, but dictated by the drive to the calving grounds in the southern Serengeti and rainfall patterns throughout the ecosystem as the animals seek fresh grazing grasses and standing water.
The journey is fraught with danger as the herds negotiate predators and crocodile infested rivers such as the Grumeti and the Mara. The sight of wildebeest plunging into the Mara River in huge numbers is one of the greatest spectacles to witness during the period of June to October.
Note: The Great Wildebeest Migration and other wildlife phenomena and sightings are natural events and therefore can never be guaranteed.
Naibor Camp is located deep in the heart of the world famous Maasai Mara National Reserve, hidden in a grove of riverine woodland on the banks of the Talek River. This is a superb location from which to explore the Maasai Mara habitat, host to a vast array of wildlife. Guests are able to enjoy fabulous wildlife viewing throughout the year and the camp is strategically placed for the wildebeest migration, being close to all the major wildebeest crossing sites along the Mara River.
Carefully designed to combine both style and comfort, the communal areas of the camp offer wonderful spaces to spend time and reflect on all you have experienced. Relax, be pampered or chat with friends and family, as you continue to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Mara from the gracious surroundings of Naibor Camps.
Main Naibor
Main Naibor has a total of seven luxury tents (5 doubles and 2 twins), all carefully positioned amongst the trees so that each can enjoy the surrounding woodland in complete privacy. Each tent is a private unit complete with shady verandah, ‘his-and-hers’ wash basins, en-suite bathroom with flush toilet, and safari shower.
Activities include game drives, bush meals and sundowners, bush walks (outside the reserve), as well as optional cultural visits and hot air ballooning.
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