Wed 5 June:  Depart Auckland via Doha

Please note the due to the length of the flights and changing flight schedules dates may need to be adjusted.
We will depart this afternoon on our direct flight to Doha with Qatar Airways. We arrive in Qatar just before midnight on the same day. We will clear immigration and transfer to our hotel.

Thu 6 June: Doha

After our long travels the previous day we have time to rest and relax at our stopover hotel. Later on, we will meet for a tour to discover Qatar at night including the Museum of Islamic Art, Dhow Harbour, Katara Cultural Village and the Souq Waqif where we will enjoy a 3 course Arabic dinner. Later we will transfer back to the airport to check in for our flight to Tanzania, departing in the early hours of the following morning.

Fri 7 June: Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport – Drive to Ngabobo Maasailand

Welcome to Tanzania!  Arriving just before 8am, after clearing immigration we will be collected by the team from Amini Maasai Lodge and drive about 2 hours to Ngabobo Maasailand. With stunning views to Mt Kilimanjaro, this is a very special place to stay and recoup after a long journey.

With stunning views to Mt Kilimanjaro, this is a very special place to stay and recoup after a long journey.
Amini Maasai Lodge is a social enterprise success story founded by Dr Christine Waller and now led by her daughter Cornelia Wallner-Frisee. 100% of the profits of our stay return to the local community. Not only does the lodge provide employment for the local community, profits also help fund three primary schools, a secondary school and vocational training as well as the Africa Amini Hospital and their ‘driving doctors’ program to reach remote Maasai settlements. (B/L/D)

Sat 8 June: Ngabobo Maasailand

Today we spend a full day enjoying the hospitality of our Maasai hosts. Walking with a Maasai shaman you will have the chance to discover the surrounding areas. Meet the locals of Ngabobo who will share their extensive knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants and introduce you to the Maasai’s culture, which has stayed unchanged for centuries. For those that are interested (please indicate when booking) we can spend time with some of the local Maasai women. In the shade of an acacia tree, they will teach you some of their traditional beadwork techniques. It is also a chance to learn a bit more about the women’s lives in a culture that is incredibly different to our own. (B/L/D)

Sun 9 June: Ngabobo Maasailand – Tarangire National Park

This morning we will meet the guides that will be with us for the duration of our safari in Tanzania. If there are 10 of us then we will travel in two 4WD Safari Landscruisers, if the group is 11-14 then we will travel across three vehicles. After breakfast and our briefing, we will drive to Tarangire National Park. On entering the park, we will game drive to our tented camp inside the park set alongside a seasonal riverbed. We will enjoy our first lunch in the bush before heading out for afternoon game drive.
Return to camp for dinner and the night. (B/L/D)

Mon 10 June: Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park is a real gem and known for some of the best elephant viewing in Tanzania.  The park is incredibly scenic and home to some enormous Baobab trees. In terms of wildlife, in addition to elephant other herbivores that are resident year-round include mongoose, giraffe, bushbuck, rock hyrax, hartebeest, dik-dik, impala, waterbuck, warthog and reedbuck. Lions are abundant in Tarangire and are regularly encountered and leopard are often spotted. For birders the park is especially good for spotting raptors with bateleur eagle, tawny eagle, long-crested eagle, martial eagle, fish eagle and spotted eagle owl all regularly sighted.

We will spend a full day on a game drive with a picnic lunch. Returning to camp for dinner and the night. (B/L/D)

Tue 11 June: Tarangire National Park – Lake Manyara National Park – Ngorongoro

Breakfast at camp before driving to Lake Manyara National Park for a day exploring the park and its wildlife.  Set below the Rift Valley Escarpment Lake Manyara National Park encompasses a number of different habitats. The name “Manyara” comes from the Maasai word emanyara, which is a euphorbia species of plant that is grown into a hedge around a family homestead.
The park is best known for its tree-climbing lions, blue monkeys, huge troops of baboons and elephant herds as well as its dramatic views of the Rift Valley. The shallow alkaline lake can attract thousands of greater and lesser flamingos and the National Park itself is a hotspot for birders as over 300 species of resident and migratory birds have been recorded here.

Later we till drive to Ngorongoro Crater and check into our Lodge on the crater edge. (B/L/D)

Wed 12 June: Ngorongoro Crater

This morning we have a special surprise in store that will be revealed on the day before we descend into the Crater to spend 5 hours on a game drive in the crater floor. Time spent inside the crater is tightly controlled so we are unable to extend our time here.
A world heritage site, the Ngorongoro Crater world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and is often considered to be the 8th wonder of the world. The 2,000 feet high walls of the approximately 16km wide crater create natural amphitheatre and most of the animals are resident and remain year-round.
There are approximately 20,000 large mammals at any given time within the Crater walls. Species found in the Crater include Rhino, Lion, Hyena, Elephant, Warthog, Cheetah, Jackal, Eland, Serval Cat, Hippo and Flamingo.
We will then return to our lodge to relax and watch the sunset behind the crater rim before dinner. (B/L/D)

Thu 13 June: Ngorongoro – Serengeti

After breakfast we will drive to Serengeti National Park. On entering the gates our game drive will begin as we make our way to our lodge with a picnic lunch enroute.

Undoubtedly, Africa’s most famous national park, the name “Serengeti” is derived from the word used by the Maasai to describe the area, siringet, which means “the place where the land runs on forever. The park is massive and covers 14,750 square kilometres (5,700 sq mi) and with a variety of habitats including grassland plains, savanna, riverine forest, and woodlands. The park lies in north-western Tanzania, bordered to the north Kenya, where it is continues as the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Stunningly beautiful, the Serengeti offers amazing year-round game viewing boasting the highest density of large predators, including lions, leopards and cheetahs in the world. It is also home to the Great Migration where over 2 million wildebeest follow their instincts and the smell of rain on a never-ending circular route to seek out the best grasses to graze on. (B/L/D)

Fri 14, Sat 15 June:  Serengeti Two Full Days Game Viewing

Typically, in June the Great Migration is in the Western area of the park, however our guides intimate knowledge of wildlife movements will give us the best possible chance of some outstanding sightings. We will spend two full days game driving in the park returning to camp late in the day for dinner and the night. (B/L/D)

Sun 16 June:  Serengeti – Zanzibar

After breakfast at camp we will transfer to the Seronera Airstrip and depart on a scheduled flight to Zanzibar, arriving mid-afternoon (max 20kg luggage per person including hand luggage). We will have a packed lunch to take with us.
On arrival in Zanzibar, we will transfer to Stone Town and our accommodation on the waters edge at Tembo House. Dinner tonight will be at Emerson on Hurumzi’s rooftop Tea House which boasts 360 degree views over Stone Town and the Indian Ocean. Seating is Swahili Style, cushions, thick Persian rugs with low tables and live music during dinner. The set menu comprises delicious authentic Zanzibari cuisine, fused with Omani and Persian influences. (B/L/D)

Mon 17 June: Stone Town & Swahili Kitchen

Breakfast at the hotel. Later this morning we will make our way the family home of local guide and friend Yahya for a Swahili Kitchen experience with his family. You will learn how to cook and prepare some everyday traditional dishes which we will enjoy for lunch. Partly for cultural reasons (most Zanzibaris are Muslim) outside of Stone Town most staff at hotels are from mainland Tanzania or further afield so this is an opportunity to learn more about everyday Zanzibari life.
Afterwards we will go on a walking tour of the narrow lanes of Stone Town before transferring to the beach. (B/L)

Tue 18 June: Jambiani Zanzibar

Jambiani is located on the southeast coast of the Unguja Island about an hour’s drive from Stone Town. It is an idyllic 7km long white sand beach lined with palm trees well away from party atmosphere of the northern beaches of Nungwi and Kendwa.

You can walk and bike along the beach and at low tide you will see people from the local village collecting seaweed and fishing. There are a number of different small beach resorts along the beach that offer a great variety of venues for lunches and dinners.

Relax on the beach, by the pool or we can organise any of activities from Spice Tours to Diving that are available. (B)

Wed 19 June: Jambiani Zanzibar

Full day at leisure. For those are interested you can join Natasha on a visit to Mwani Zanzibar – The Seaweed Centre. Seaweed is cultivated and harvested from the tidal lagoon waters along the coast of Zanzibar primarily for use as an ingredient in cosmetics. Mwani offers local women the option to earn more from their labours as they grow, harvest and create a range of luxury soaps and other goods for supply to luxury resorts and retailers. The seaweed farms also have an ecological benefit as they provide a physical barrier to uncontrolled dragnet fishing. (B)

Thu 20 June: Jambiani Zanzibar

Full day at leisure (B)

Fri 21 June: Jambiani Zanzibar – Doha

Enjoy breakfast at our resort. Check out time is 10.00am we will be able to relax or enjoy a last walk along the beach before we depart for Zanzibar’s International Airport for our flight to Doha. (B)

Sat 22 June: Doha Stopover

Arriving at around 5am we stop over in Doha for a break at a local hotel before returning late evening to check in for our early am flight the next day to Auckland

Sun 23 June: Depart Doha

Depart Doha at approximately 3am to fly to Auckland.

Mon 24 June: Arrive Auckland

We arrive in Auckland just before 4am.  Welcome home if Auckland is your final destination or transfer to the domestic terminal for your next flight. Airport hotels can be booked (additional cost) for those wanting to rest and refresh before heading onwards to their domestic destinations.