Bush & People - 11 Days

This 11-day tour of northern Tanzania combines culture, wildlife, nature, and local life. On this trip, you go in search for the Big 5 in the Ngorongoro crater; you discover beautiful natural wonders like the pink Lake Natron; you meet local tribes like the Maasai and so much more! Travel is a great way to literally enlarge your world, but it’s even more amazing when the locals also benefit from it.

The focus of this trip is on community-based tourism. This means that the local population is involved as much as possible in tourism. The accommodations and activities included in this trip contribute to the local economy and development of the living environment. Together with a local English-speaking guide, who is also your driver, you will travel through Tanzania in a comfortable 4×4 car.

You will be introduced to the real life of the locals. Tanzania is home to more than 120 indigenous tribes, some of whom you will meet! The activities have been set up by the communities themselves. With this income, they can supplement their (livestock) farming and improve education and health care. After the safari you fly to the tropical island of Zanzibar for a cultural tour in magical Stone Town and a well-deserved rest at the white beaches of the Indian Ocean.

Day 1: Transfer from the airport to Arusha

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met by our transfer driver and transferred to your lodge where the remainder of the day is at leisure – rest in your room, relax in the manicured gardens, enjoy a refreshing swim in the pool or the surrounding areas, the choice is yours. Dinner and overnight.

Day 2: From bean to cup: history of coffee

On the slopes of Mount Meru, Tanzania’s second largest mountain, the best Arabica coffee is grown, probably the country’s most famous export product. 95% of coffee beans planted here grow on private farmland. The guide explains the entire procedure, from planting the cuttings, to harvesting and roasting the beans. Afterwards, a local lunch is served in a family home. The tour ends with a walk in the woods where different species of monkeys live.

Day 3: Lion in trees? Yes, for sure, in Manyara National Park!

The journey continues to the next destination: Lake Manyara. The car ride takes about 3 hours. Nestling at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara National Park is recognized for its incredible beauty and special inhabitants. Upon entering the park, you imagine yourself being in the jungle: this part is a green oasis with high trees and waterfalls, the ideal habitat for big groups of baboons, waterbuck, aardvark and blue meerkats. Deeper into the park this tropical rainforest converts into wide-open savannah, where you can see many game animals such as buffalo, elephant, giraffe, impala, hippo and others.

Enjoy an afternoon of game viewing in search of the famous but rare tree climbing lion. From a sea of pink flamingos as far as the eye can see to bull elephants at close range, Lake Manyara showcases a superb variety of herd animals and birdlife.

Day 4: A Day with the Maasai

Early in the morning you will visit the traditional Maasai tribe departing from the Isoitok Camp. Isoitok has a sustainable relationship with the Maasai of Esilalei. The visits are adapted to the traditional pattern of the tribe, so as not to disturb their daily rhythm. You will be warmly welcomed by a Maasai family in their “boma”. A boma consists of several huts made of mud and wood, grouped around the kraal for the cattle. Here you can discover how the Maasai really live, their customs and traditions. You can see how the women cook in the boma and how the men are busy with the cattle; the children proudly show you their little goats.

In the afternoon you take, together with a guide and a Maasai medicine man, a walk through the surroundings of the camp and village and learn how certain plants and herbs are used as medicines. Then you hike to the top of a nearby hill with stunning views, where you’ll enjoy a real “Bush Sundowner”: A drink and a snack with breath-taking views of Lake Manyara and the Rift Valley, and a beautiful African sunset! The proceeds from the activities from Isoitok Camp are used to improve the living environment of the Maasai.

Rates 2021/2022

From

$ 1980 per person

Included in the price:

All transport mentioned in the program
Game viewing in 4×4 Land Cruiser with pop-up roof, fridge, binoculars and charging points
Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
Accommodation and meals as per itinerary
Mineral water, coffee, and tea while on safari
All Park, village, and concession fees
Guided visit to a coffee plantation
Guided visit to a Maasai village, tour with a Masai medicine man and sundowner
Guided walk at Lake Natron and to the Ngare Sero waterfalls
Guided visits to the Iraqw, Hadzabe and Datoga tribes
Government taxes and levies
AMREF Flying Doctors evacuation insurance

Not included in the price:

Day 5: The isolated bizarre Lake Natron

The journey continues, on to Lake Natron! The car ride takes about 5 hours. Far from the touristic route, you visit this special area with breath-taking scenery and the stately Ol Doinyo Lengai. The landscape is bizarre and with the active volcano in the background very photogenic. Rough dirt roads right through the Great Rift Valley lead you to the Lake Natron Game Controlled Area, a desolate steppe, also a typical Maasai area, with the as centrepiece the impressive Ol Doinyo Lengai, “the mountain of God” in the language of the Maasai.

Lake Natron is one of Tanzania’s many alkaline lakes. It is home to many small crustaceans; for the lesser flamingo it is one of the most important breeding grounds in the world. Every year 2 1/2 million lesser flamingos hatc here their eggs; the lake therefore turns all pink at certain times of the year.

Once you arrive at the lake, a rock can be climbed from where you can enjoy stunning views of the Ol Doinyo Lengai and Lake Natron. The colours of ash, grass, soda, flamingos and alkaline water makes this place as a landscape completely different from the rest of Tanzania. Protect yourself from high temperatures!

Day 6: An active day at Lake Natron

The first activity of today is an easy guided walk to the southern part of Lake Natron to explore the ecological diversity and discover the magnificent breeding sites of flamingos. Around two million of these large birds migrate here each year to nest on the salty pack ice, forming in the dry season huge colonies in the middle of the Lake Natron. Your guide will explain you about the flora and fauna of the lake but also the culture, rituals and customs of the Maasai people, living in a semi nomadic way around the Lake shores. Your walk will then be extended to admire one of the oldest footprints of Homo Sapiens believed to date back almost 120,000 years. During this walk you will cross a forest where you will have the pleasure of meeting giraffes.

In the afternoon you hike through a gorge to the Ngare Sero waterfalls. It is an adventurous walk as there are no clear footpaths and sometimes the river must be crossed. After some climbing and scrambling you arrive at the waterfalls where a refreshing dip can be taken in the ‘natural pool’

Day 7: Karatu and surroundings

After visiting Lake Natron it’s time to move on to Rhotia. The car ride takes about 5 hours and along the way there is a visit to the Iraqw tribe on the program. Tanzania counts more than 120 different tribes, including the Iraqw, an ethnic group of about half a million people! The Iraqw mainly live of agriculture. Many members of the tribe live in the area around Karatu, now mostly in more modern cottages, but some still live in the traditional huts of mud, branches and straw.

During the visit to the Iraqw village, a lot of information is given about the lifestyle of this ethnic group and their history, such as the battle with the hostile Maasai, which is still sensitive. The residents like to show their simple houses and talk about their agriculture. Chickens, goats and other animals often roam the villages and the country roads. The population is generally very welcoming and often invite guests for a cup of tea or coffee.

Each day between 5 and 6 p.m., the Rhotia Valley Children’s Home can be visited. It’s nice to play football with the kids or help with their homework. The orphanage was founded in 2005 by the Dutch medical couple Marise and Joris Koch. The orphanage currently houses 38 children between the ages of 3 and 18. The goal is to support the orphans in Rhotia Valley with education, shelter and work in order to give these children a safe place to stay so that they can face a happier future. Staying at the Rhotia lodge is a contribution to the children’s home.

Day 8: Big Five in the Ngorongoro Crater

With a diameter of 18 kilometres, an area of 260 km² and a 600-meter-high crater wall, the Ngorongoro Crater is the largest still intact crater in the world. From the edge you look out over this amphitheatre with impressive and breath-taking beauty. Green vast plains, rivers, forests, marshes and the often-white Lake Magadi form a home for about 30,000 animals. A lot of people want to witness this. As a result, it is no longer allowed to make a game drive longer than 6 hours per day. But this is enough to discover the whole crater. This Noah’s Ark is an ideal breeding ground for this unique ecosystem teeming with wildlife. Predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs but also elephants, monkeys, zebras, gazelles, rhinos, buffaloes, wildebeest, and hippos live here. Most of these animals, whenever they want, can walk in and out of the crater through the steep crater walls as they please.

Day 9: Off the beaten track to the Eyasi plains

In the beginning the landscape is still green and hilly, but after a while the land is becoming drier and flatter. Lake Eyasi borders the south side of the Serengeti and gives an exotic view with the many palm trees along the banks. The soda lake has many birds as residents. It is possible to see flamingos, pelicans, storks and many other bird species here. However, the main reason to go here is to visit the still very primitive Hadzabe and Datoga tribes. These nomadic tribes live in the surrounding forests of the lake and are like the bushmen in southern Africa: they speak a similar click language and still live of hunting and everything else nature offers them. Mid-afternoon you arrive at Lake Eyasi. After checking into your accommodation, you can take a walk through the beautiful nature around the lake.

Day 10: The Hadzabe and Datoga, 2 primitive tribes

The day begins with a visit to the Hadzabe who have lived here for over 10,000 years. The tribe communicates through click sounds and still lives in a traditional way; they still hunt for their meat, milk their cows, and eat the wild fruits from the forests around the lake. Today you will experience how the Hadzabe spend their days. The men hunt with bow and arrow for their daily meals, which consists mainly of poultry and baboon meat. The women grow vegetables and milk the cows. You join them on their morning hunt and who knows taste their catch. A local guide explains you the customs and habits of this unique tribe.

Upon arrival at the Datoga tribe in the afternoon, the women are already waiting. They all have the same husband and live together in a boma: several huts on a small property surrounded by branches. Take a look inside the huts and find out how it is decorated and how the Datoga live. The men still practice professions they have done for a few hundred years; you will see how they forge arrowheads on a fire, which they sell to the Hadza in exchange for honey.

Day 11: Back to Arusha

Time to head back towards Arusha. On the way you visit Mto wa Mbu, a melting pot of Tanzanian tribes with a vibrant atmosphere. The village is famous for its rare exotic red bananas. A visit Mto Wa Mbu is a great cultural experience, busy markets with all kinds of handcrafts, Tinga Tinga artists, women who sell bananas at the side of the roads, small shops, terraces… Then you proceed towards the for your flight departure flight or an extension to one of the islands in the Indian Ocean.