8 Days Wildebeest Migration Camping Safari

Are you ready to begin your Wildebeest Migration Camping Safari? When your plane touches down at Arusha’s Kilimanjaro International Airport, you’ll soon start to feel the sense of adventure and anticipation that characterizes an authentic Tanzanian safari. After you clear customs, one of the friendly representatives from Chalema Tanzania Safaris will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the Mambo Arusha Hostel. This charming bed and breakfast is a traveler’s paradise, with comfortable rooms, friendly lounges, great local food, and—of course—welcoming staff ready to greet you with Tanzania’s famous hospitality.

You’ve come to see the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra, but our country’s classic northern safari circuit includes a number of additional world-class wildlife reserves you won’t want to miss. We’ll make a few stops along the way to the Serengeti so you can better experience Tanzania’s jaw-dropping diversity; today’s agenda will bring us to the forests and rolling hills of Tarangire National Park. This is a vast wilderness where elephants travel in huge herds, tawny lions hunt in tall green grass, baboons and vervet monkeys clamber about in the treetops of enormous baobabs, and more than 500 species of birds hop, flap, and soar through the bush. After enjoying a game drive here in the park, we’ll pitch our tents at the nearby Migombani Camp to enjoy our first night under canvas on the Wildebeest Migration Camping Safari.

Ancient geological forces have shaped the very ground beneath our feet here in Tanzania, and our Wildebeest Migration Camping Safari will introduce you to the country’s unique volcanic past. This morning, we’ll pack our bags and continue traveling towards the Serengeti National Park—but first we’ll stop at the incredible Ngorongoro Crater. This one-of-a-kind volcanic caldera was formed more than two million years ago when a massive volcano collapsed upon itself in truly cataclysmic fashion. Today, the lush savanna, sparkling lakes, and thriving wildlife in the crater make it one of Tanzania’s premier wildlife reserves. We’ll take the winding road into the crater to discover abundant prides of well-fed lions, roving bands of highly social hyenas, and the occasional black rhinoceros. After exploring the crater, we’ll move on to enter the Serengeti National Park at last, enjoying our first game drive through the park on the way to our campsite in the central Seronera region.

As the sun rises over the acacia woodlands and sprawling plains of the Serengeti, we’ll embark upon a half-day game drive to discover what countless researchers and visitors already know: the Seronera is an incredibly rewarding part of the park. Predators are especially abundant here, and you can expect to find lions lounging atop massive rocks known as kopjes, leopards draped over the low-hanging branches of sausage trees, and cheetahs waiting out the heat of the day beneath the shade of an umbrella thorn. After lunch, we’ll move north across the savanna to reach the hills and thick bush of the reserve’s Lobo region. If you’re visiting during the recommended months between August and October, you’ll quickly understand how this region serves as an important wildlife corridor for the Great Migration. We’ll set up camp this afternoon at Lobo’s scenic public campsite, where you may even be lucky enough to spot wildebeest from your own tent.

The sheer size of the Serengeti National Park almost defies comprehension, and today’s portion of our Wildebeest Migration Camping Safari will introduce you to another defining feature of this extraordinary wilderness. We’ll take a day trip to the northernmost fringes of the Serengeti. It’s here that we’ll find the Mara River, where migrating wildebeest and zebra must negotiate a treacherous river crossing in order to access the green grass and fresh grazing opportunities which lie on the opposite bank. To complicate matters, half-submerged crocodiles lie in wait here—exploding from the water with deadly force when they have a chance to snag an unwary antelope. River crossings are never guaranteed, of course, but our sojourn into the northern Serengeti is sure to be a rewarding excursion with plenty of wildlife sightings. This evening, we’ll return to our campsite in the Lobo region for our last night in the park.

This morning, we’ll depart the Serengeti with unforgettable memories—and a few hundred photographs—of the park’s world-famous wildebeest migration. The next destination on our Wildebeest Migration Camping Safari is something completely different, and it represents an exceptional opportunity to combine the natural beauty of Tanzania with the fascinating culture of the people who live here. We’ll travel for several hours across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to reach Lake Natron, where we’ll be pitching our tents at a campsite owned by the Maasai Giraffe Eco Lodge. The camp operates in cooperation with the nearby village of Engaresero to offer unique cultural experiences in conjunction with visits to natural attractions of surpassing beauty, including Lake Natron itself. After dinner, we’ll enjoy a drink around the fire before retiring to our tents; we’ll have the whole day tomorrow to explore this outstanding region.

Lake Natron is another of Tanzania’s geological marvels: its waters run deep red in the shallows, and the country’s population of lesser flamingoes depends upon the lake as a breeding habitat. But this part of the country is also an ideal destination for travelers who want to learn more about Maasai culture. The Maasai Giraffe Eco Lodge can arrange visits to a local Maasai village, participation in a Maasai barbecue, and guided walks to a nearby waterfall or the lake itself. There’s no better way to acquaint yourself with the long-standing traditions of these semi-nomadic people while simultaneously experiencing some of the very best scenery in the entire Great Rift Valley. This evening, you may even have the opportunity to watch a traditional Maasai dance around the campfire.

This morning, we’ll pack up our tents and begin the return journey to Arusha and the Kilimanjaro International Airport. The trip should take approximately six hours, and we’ll get to the airport in plenty of time for your outgoing flight. If you’re staying on in Tanzania, we’d also be happy to help you with any further travel arrangements you’d like to make. We hope that your time on our Wildebeest Migration Camping Safari has given you a spectacular look at the natural, cultural, and scenic wonders of Tanzania. Thank you for choosing Chalema Tanzania Safaris!