Nineteen nights link the northern Tanzanian parks on foot, then finish on the coast. You begin at Arusha below Mount Meru, then reach Lake Manyara’s forest, floodplain and soda lake. Walking days cross the Great Rift Valley to Lake Natron under the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai, before the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti plains and five nights on Zanzibar.
Much of the trip is spent walking, with armed guides leading outings and mobile camps set close to the herds. Game drives run alongside, with night drives, canoeing and gorge climbs where the terrain allows. The camps are comfortable rather than showy, from tented suites on the crater rim to coral-walled villas on the beach at Dongwe.
You land at Kilimanjaro International after dark and wake below Mount Meru, at 1,400 metres on the mountain's southern slopes, where northern circuit safaris begin. A single night here settles you before the drives to the parks, and you can walk the estate, watch the beans pulped and dried, then taste the roast. Set on the century-old Selian Coffee Estate, the lodge has twelve garden cottages among tropical gardens and coffee rows, each with an open fireplace below and a king bedroom above. Dik-dik wander the grounds and the airport is fifteen minutes away.
In the quiet southern half of the park, days run to morning and afternoon game drives, night drives and walks that range from shore tracking to routes climbing the escarpment. Elephants and buffalo come down to the Endabash River to drink in the dry months, the treetop walkway carries you eighteen metres above the forest floor, and you can canoe on the lake when levels allow. Standing on the riverbank beneath the Endabash Waterfall, the camp has eight tents on raised wooden decks along the riverbed, each opening to the gorge through gauze walls.
The two days between Lake Manyara and Lake Natron are spent walking, covering the ground through the Great Rift Valley on foot rather than by vehicle. You move at a walking pace and camp where the day ends. This is a lightweight mobile camp rather than a permanent property, set up along the route and taken down again, so the accommodation is simple and moves with you.
There are no game drives here; you walk, climb and wade through a landscape of red and orange soda water crusted with white salt. Ol Doinyo Lengai, the volcano the Maasai call the Mountain of God, is climbed at night to reach the summit for sunrise, one of the hardest one-day hikes in East Africa. Closer to camp you wade up the Ngare Sero gorge to waterfalls where you can swim, and at dawn walk the flats where lesser flamingos feed. On a private Maasai concession, the camp has nine tented suites on elevated decking, with a spring-fed pool at its centre against the constant heat.
The day is built around one early descent onto the crater floor, so you are among the first vehicles down in soft first light, while lions still move and rhino feed in the open. Below the rim some 25,000 large animals live on water that never quite runs dry; wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and eland graze while lions, hyenas and cheetahs work the herds, and this is one of the more reliable places in Tanzania to see black rhino. On the wooded rim at around 2,300 metres, the camp has ten tented suites, and evenings turn cold enough that a hot-water bottle comes with the bed.
A day on foot near Seronera on the edge of a Wilderness Zone that stays closed to general game-viewing vehicles, where armed, trained guides lead half-day and full-day walks straight from camp, reading tracks at ground level. The central Serengeti holds a dense population of predators; lions rest on the nearby kopjes, elephants move through the surrounding country, and the gorge beside camp draws resident game. The camp is comfortable and capably run, with canvas tents on proper wooden beds under duvets, en-suite bucket showers and solar power throughout.
Four days with a mobile camp positioned within a few hours of the wildebeest, on the southern short-grass plains near Nabi Hill from December to March, or north near Kogatende within range of the Mara River crossings from around July to October. Walking is the reason the camp exists; armed guides accompanied by a park ranger lead outings from a couple of hours to a full day, with morning and afternoon game drives as standard. Ten canvas tents stand across the grass, each opening onto the plains from the bed, their interiors drawn from Tanzanian craft.
Five nights on a palm-fringed beach at Dongwe, on the Michamvi Peninsula on Unguja's southeast coast, the beach running for miles as the tide pulls the water out and back across the day. There are no set meal times and no main dining room; a resident team of international and local chefs cooks to your preferences and meals appear in the villa, on the beach, in the garden or beside the central pool. Each of the nine coral-walled villas, built from reclaimed dhow timber, has its own plunge pool and a dedicated butler, and much of what reaches the plate grows in the organic shamba nearby.
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.
