Tanzania's Nature Walk & Driving Safari

Hidden between Amboseli National Park and the Kenyan border is Kambi ya Tembo, a classic tented camp that is renowned for its sensational views of both Mounts Kilimanjaro and Meru. After driving from Arusha, you will be warmly welcomed to one of 14 extremely comfortable tents at Kambi ya Tembo, your home for two nights.

On your second day, it is time to get better acquainted with one of those astonishing views: accompanied by a highly knowledgeable Maasai guide, you will set out to walk to the base of glacier-capped Kili, the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free-standing peak in the world. Soak up the warm sunshine, fresh air and be on the lookout for gentle plains game.

Today you head back to Arusha by vehicle to catch your short flight to the Kuro airstrip, ending your journey at Oliver’s Camp, which is situated in the quiet south-eastern region of Tarangire National Park. Once again, you will be accommodated in very comfortable and spacious tents that have outdoor showers – the ultimate way to ‘become one’ with nature!

Tarangire is known for its thriving populations of elephants, predators and birds, which are all encountered on morning and evening game drives. Walking safaris are also a speciality here and you will spend many happy and peaceful hours hiking Tarangire’s vast plains under the watchful eye of a trained guide.

Driving through Tarangire’s main gate, you bid farewell to this beautiful park as your driver sets out for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Gibb’s Farm, a lush coffee plantation just a half hour’s drive from the crater. In addition to the freshest coffee you are likely to ever taste, the kitchen at Gibb’s Farm is also supplied with fresh fruit and vegetables straight from the garden, making every dish healthy and tasty. And, while your body is being nourished, your soul can be too at the African Living Spa – any aches and pains from your hikes around Kilimanjaro and Tarangire can be worked out with traditional Maasai remedies and treatments.

On your second day at Gibb’s Farm, lace up your boots again for an exciting guided walk from the lodge to the rim of Ngorongoro Crater: a wildlife paradise where it is not unusual to see all of the Big 5 in a single day’s game viewing. Once again, breathe in clean air and take in the incredible views as you break to enjoy your supplied snacks en route.

Having experienced the splendours of the Ngorongoro Crater, it is off to the Lake Manyara airstrip for the short flight to Ndutu in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania’s premier reserve. Your destination is Serian’s Serengeti Mobile camp, which is always positioned to catch the best of the annual Wildebeest Migration. From December to May, camp is pitched at Kusini in the southern Serengeti to observe the birth of hundreds of thousands of baby wildebeest, as well as the rut and mating seasons, when males compete for the right to copulate with females. The babies thrive on the thick, short grasses but, like everything in nature, there is a bittersweet edge: the predators take advantage of the vulnerable gnu to get their fill.

If you visit between June and November, the camp will be at Lamai in the north, a perfect position to enjoy classic Migration scenes of thousands of wildebeest crossing major rivers, crocodiles lying in wait. Some of the Migration’s most dramatic scenes play out at this time of year.

There are only four tents here, making for a very exclusive and private experience.

It is time to move to another Serian camp for another, this time near the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the southern Serengeti. Expect the same hospitality and sense of being close to the land as you prepare for one of life’s great adventures: fly-camping out in the bush.

One of the most exciting days of your itinerary have arrived: the day you leave ‘civilisation’ behind and, with your private guide, make your way to a remote location for two nights of fly-camping. Your Meru-style tents will be swapped for dome tents and you definitely will not have an Internet connection but living ‘wild’ in the open is an energising experience. There will be nothing between you and the sights and sounds of Africa, a true privilege. Spend your days walking with your guide and the nights warming yourself at the campfire before falling asleep to the far-off hooting of an owl.

After two days of fly-camping, you make your way back to Serian Serengeti South for a final night on safari. You have the soil of Africa on your boots and its sunshine on your skin after a great combination of game drives and walking safaris. On your final morning, you will be flown by light aircraft from Mwiba back to where it all began nearly two weeks ago – Arusha – for your onward flight home.