Tanzania Fly-In Western Grumeti Serengeti

The journey begins in Arusha where you will be met and transferred to Arusha Airport to meet your scheduled charter plane. A two-hour scenic flight wings you over the endless, rolling plains known to the local Maasai as Siringitu, ‘the place where the land moves on forever’.

Arriving at Singita Sasakwa airstrip, your guide meets you for a game drive to Singita Sabora Tented Camp. The drive allows you in breathe in the untrammelled wildness of the region and whet your appetite for the wildlife experience that awaits you.

This one of the planet’s last remaining natural migration corridors and one of the oldest ecosystems on earth. The climate, vegetation and fauna have remained mostly unchanged over the past million years. Also unchanged is the natural instinct that drives the annual Great Migration of more than a million wildebeest, gazelle and zebra - an instinct so powerful that neither drought nor crocodile-infested rivers can halt it. Outside of the migration period, a host of wildlife remains to be seen. This is classic Big 5 country set in an epic landscape of vast proportions.

Arriving at Singita Sabora Tented Camp, you notice this intimate 1920s-style explorer’s camp is permeated by a sense of nostalgic adventure. With a unique character and atmosphere of opulence, the lodge stands in delightful contrast to the savannah plains that surround it. Wood, canvas, leather and detailed finishing touches are the dominant themes - you might feel as though you have just stepped into the pages of Karen Blixen’s “Out of Africa”.

Your luxurious suite is a welcome haven that you might not want to leave, but wander over to the lounge area where a sumptuous high tea awaits you. After a refreshing drink and a sample of the delicacies on offer, embark on your first afternoon game drive.

Game drives here are varied and exciting. With a vast wilderness available to explore with your expert guide, allow nature hold you enthralled as you take in this extraordinary landscape and the animals that inhabit it. As the sun lowers in the sky, lending a golden tinge to the landscape, your guide selects a scenic spot for a sundowner. With a chilled drink in hand and a nibble from the snack hamper, toast the setting sun as it slowly disappears over the far-flung hills beyond the great open plains before you. This is a magical time in the African bush, as the day gives way to the evening stars above you, and a fitting end to your first day on safari.

A spot-lit night drive back to the camp reveals lesser-seen nocturnal creatures emerging to forage and hunt. Their gleaming eyes reflect the light, giving their presence away to your observant guide.

Settle into the ancient rhythm of the land around you, an endless drama that unfolds in patterns as old as time itself. You rise with the sun, eager with the anticipation of what the morning’s game drive will bring. The dew glitters in the grass, the air is cool, and animals are still active. The tracks and spoor on the ground tell the tale of the night before. Your guide reveals the marvels that surround you, the myriad secrets of the bush that show themselves to the careful observer. A drag-mark in the grass leads you to the tree where a leopard hid his kill the night before. You revel in the thrill of knowing that he may be somewhere nearby. As you breathlessly take in the scene, the lazy flick of a tail suddenly reveals the majestic cat, supine on a branch, perfectly camouflaged by his beautifully spotted coat.

Just as the clear air sharpens your appetite, you return to the lodge from your morning drive to be greeted by a hearty and wholesome gourmet brunch. The siesta period during the heat of the day allows you to relax with a chilled drink at the pool, visit the spa or simply soak in the glorious atmosphere from your private viewing deck. This is when the cicadas thrum hypnotically, birds coo in the trees above, and everything is cloaked in a warm air of tranquillity.

After a few hours of rest, reading or relaxation, you find yourself eager to venture out again on a game drive or guided walk to see first-hand what nature has in store for you.

The evenings are spent reliving the day’s events; share the experiences, insights and anecdotes with your fellow safari companions around a campfire. Meals are a sumptuous culinary affair accompanied by fine wines at the convivial main table or in romantic, candlelit seclusion. Round off the evening with your favourite cognac at the fire, beneath a dazzling swathe of stars, immersed in the palpable pulse of the wild Serengeti.

Today you bid farewell to Singita Sabora Tented Camp and take a leisurely game drive across the concession to the banks of the Grumeti River.

Built on a gentle slope overlooking the river and a waterhole, multi award-winning Singita Faru Faru Lodge is your next accommodation and a place where you can quite literally expect the unexpected.

Sleek and modern but with an earthy touch, Faru Faru is quirkily informal yet styled with close attention to detail and practicality. Stone and canvas come together in an elegantly colonial manner while enormous glass picture windows allow stunning views over the landscape. Here the signature is similar, yet surprisingly different in aspect, as you observe the daily comings and goings of the wildlife at the water below.

Your personal attendant takes care of every detail, allowing you the space to soak up and enjoy the wonder and timelessness of the scenes around you.

Apart from the daily game drives and even horse-back safaris, an incredible way to see the Serengeti is from above: nothing can compare to silently drifting over the plains in the basket of a hot air balloon. From the vantage of a soaring bird of prey, gaze out over this vast and ancient landscape, dotted with wildlife wherever you look. On your return to earth, the fizz from a glass of champagne transports you back to those dizzying heights above.

Your final accommodation is Sasakwa Lodge, situated on the top of Sasakwa Hill. Taking in the majestic Serengeti plains below, the views from the lodge’s spacious veranda are stupendous.

The turn-of-the-century manor house and cottages have been designed with a sense of colonial grandeur, fused with European style and interspersed with East African touches. Here you encounter a refined splendour and comfort plus old-world elegance. From this superb vantage point, one can become absorbed in the marvel of this extraordinary scene. While exuding the grandness of a bygone age, the service is impeccable and facilities are state of the art.

What Sasakwa is most famous for however are its horse-back safaris. The in-house equestrian centre has a number of horses to choose from, depending on your ability. This is an unrivalled experience - the feeling of absolute freedom and unity with your mount as you approach game more closely than ever before. Gallop alongside a herd of zebra, revel in the wind in your hair, the pounding hooves below you.

After the excitement and thrills of a day in the saddle, return to your lodgings for a refreshing poolside cocktail at sunset. Enjoy a cordon bleu dinner in the grand surroundings of the dining room below crystal chandeliers, or share an intimate meal on your own private deck.

The blissful days are filled with game drives and safari walks, horse-back safaris and archery lessons. Perhaps you feel like a set of tennis or two before indulging yourself at the spa; this is the life of a colonial grandee lived out in splendour above the spectacular plains of the Serengeti.

After a leisurely breakfast you have time for a game drive as you make your way to the airstrip and your charter flight to Arusha and onwards. Relive the moment you encountered your first leopard, or the sound of a million thundering hooves, the low moan of a lion’s roar in the tapestry of colour woven by the African sunset. Remember moments by the fire below the dazzling Milky Way, the chortling of hippos as you drifted off to sleep. You keep with you treasured memories of this enchanting place, the sweeping plains where the land goes on forever.