13-Day Tanzania Wild North

On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, or any other arrival point, your safari driver-guide welcomes you to Tanzania with a romantic meet-and-greet and drives you comfortably to your lodge in Arusha, where you can shake off the exhaustion of a long journey.

After a briefing on the safari ahead, stroll through the lodge's serene grounds and look out for the rugged peaks of majestic Mount Meru.

Savour a delightful dinner and a wonderful first night in Tanzania.

After breakfast at around 08:00, your driver-guide collects you for the drive to Tarangire National Park, a 2,850 sq km wildlife sanctuary some 120 km south-west of Arusha town. It is famous for outstanding game viewing in the dry season, when animals gather along the great Tarangire River, the park's main source of water at that time of year.

The river runs for around 120 km from the Kondoa highlands in Dodoma Region, central Tanzania, meandering through the park before emptying into Lake Burunge. Along its banks you will see a wealth of wildlife living and behaving naturally in the wild. A hearty picnic lunch is served in the park, followed by a short, thrilling game drive.

Tonight you stay inside the park, with a memorable dinner and an amazing night at your lodge in the African bush.

After breakfast at around 08:00, head into the bush for a full day of game drives in Tarangire. With your trained 'search engine' guide, this is a golden chance to find the park's hidden treasures: rare small packs of African painted dogs, elusive kudu and the park's emblem, the African savanna elephant, among the enormous baobab trees.

Look out for large herds of buffalo, marauding lions, hyenas squabbling over carcasses and the tall, log-shaped termite mounds that shelter families of dwarf and banded mongooses. Lunch is served at a picnic site before a final afternoon drive.

In the evening, enjoy a memorable dinner and a bonfire beneath a starry sky – the perfect time to share stories, plan your life together and strengthen your bond over a hot or cold drink.

After breakfast at around 08:00, drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descend 610 m to the crater floor. This huge caldera was formed when a great volcano erupted and collapsed in on itself, and its permanent water supply supports a remarkable variety of wildlife.

Big-tusked elephants, dark-maned lions displaying their strength and health, huge herds of buffalo, pods of hippos, dazzles of zebra, wildebeest and warthogs all live here, along with the ostrich – Africa's largest, fastest and strongest flightless bird – and many other colourful birds. Enjoy the scenery and beauty of this grand sanctuary, with a hearty picnic lunch on the crater floor and a final game drive in the afternoon.

Tonight you stay up in the Ngorongoro highlands, with a memorable dinner and a wonderful night at your lodge.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is famous for its volcanic craters and calderas, and today you explore two of them on foot. After breakfast at around 08:00, your guide drives you to Olmoti, a sunken caldera near Nainokanoka village, about 30 km north of the Ngorongoro Crater by road. The crater can only be reached on foot: hike through montane forest to the rim to look down into this shallow, grassy bowl where the Maasai graze their cattle, and walk along the rim to a pretty waterfall where the Munge River leaves the crater.

Empakai, by contrast, is huge and deep – around 6 km across and 300 m deep, with three-quarters of its floor covered by an alkaline lake. On clear days the rim offers views of Ol Doinyo Lengai, Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Natron. Antelopes, buffalo and blue monkeys live in the area, and the emerald-to-turquoise waters of Lake Empakai are utterly bewitching. Enjoy an exciting hike down to the water's edge.

Return to your lodge in the evening for a delightful dinner and a wonderful night.

After breakfast at around 08:00, drive towards Serengeti National Park by way of Olduvai Gorge, the Cradle of Mankind. First explore the Kigeni shifting sands, a magnetic black volcanic dune around 9 m high and 100 m long that creeps westwards across the Conservation Area by about 17 m a year. Then visit the Olduvai Museum: these are among the world's most important archaeological sites, preserving evidence of prehistoric humans and other creatures that lived here millions of years ago.

Continue to a Maasai boma for a real cultural encounter. Experience the vibrant traditions and warm hospitality of the Maasai, learn about their way of life, join in traditional dances and taste local delicacies. After a picnic lunch, continue into the central Serengeti with game drives en route to camp.

Enjoy a delightful dinner and a wonderful night in the African bush.

After breakfast at around 08:00, venture deep into the great Serengeti for the first of two full days of game drives. Famous for its green carpet in the wet season and its golden carpet in the dry, the park offers serene surroundings and superb wildlife viewing.

Depending on the season, you may find yourselves surrounded by millions of wildebeest and zebra making their annual attempts to cross the deadly 395 km Mara River, which rises in central Kenya and flows into Lake Victoria. Its murky waters are home to a dense population of huge Nile crocodiles, lying silent and unseen, waiting to strike.

Enjoy a picnic lunch out on the plains and return to your camp for dinner and a peaceful night.

A second full day of game drives lets you go further and stay longer wherever the action is. When the migrating herds reach a river, they plunge in, knowing exactly what awaits them but driven on by the inescapable cycle of life, while predators bring down the weak.

The Serengeti is home to the Big Five and to the famous 'ugly five', and your guide will be on the lookout for lions, leopards, cheetahs and elephants as well as the smaller creatures that make each drive special.

Enjoy every moment in one of the world's finest wildlife sanctuaries, with a delightful dinner and another wonderful night at your camp.

Today is yours to spend exactly as you please. After so many exciting game drives, take a full day to relax together at your camp in the heart of the Serengeti.

Linger over breakfast, read, rest, or simply watch the plains from the comfort of camp as animals pass by. It is a rare luxury to stay still in such a beautiful place, and a perfect way to share some quiet time on your honeymoon.

Enjoy your meals at leisure and a final peaceful night in the Serengeti.

After breakfast at around 08:00, your driver-guide collects you for the journey to Lake Natron, a vast caustic soda lake some 57 km long and 22 km wide, covering around 1,040 sq km.

Lake Natron is famous for its remarkable landscapes and as the place where more than 75% of the world's lesser flamingos are born. Its striking deep-red colour comes from the cyanobacteria that thrive in its waters, and its shores make a wild, otherworldly setting.

Lunch is served at a picnic site, and tonight you enjoy a hearty dinner and an overnight stay at your tented camp by Lake Natron.

After breakfast, continue to shallow Lake Eyasi, on the remote southern border of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area at the foot of the 800 m Eyasi escarpment. The lake is strikingly beautiful in the early morning and late evening, although it can look rather desolate in the heat of the day. There is little resident wildlife, but birdlife is rich, with lesser flamingos in abundance alongside other waders and waterfowl.

Then head into the Hadzabe homeland and join the Hadzabe, among the last hunter-gatherers in Africa, on a hunt in the bush. Learn how to shoot arrows and discover their way of life – an unforgettable cocktail of experiences.

Lunch is served at a picnic site, followed by a hearty dinner and a wonderful night at your lodge or camp near Lake Eyasi.

After breakfast at around 08:00, drive to Lake Manyara National Park, a small but magnificent sanctuary around the saline Lake Manyara, which spans over 200 sq km although its size varies greatly with the seasons. Large numbers of pink flamingos gather on the water and big pods of hippos crowd the hippo pool viewpoint.

The Great Rift Valley escarpment rises 600 m above the park, hot springs reach 60°C, and tree-climbing lions are among the park's many other residents. Lake Manyara lies close to the diverse market town of Mto wa Mbu, where many other activities can be arranged to make your safari unforgettable.

After a hearty picnic lunch, drive back to your lodge in Arusha for a delightful dinner and a wonderful night.

After breakfast at around 08:00, choose how to spend your last day: take a tour of Arusha town, or visit Meserani Snake Park, just outside the city, to see reptiles up close.

At Meserani you can also enjoy a comfortable camel ride across the sun-baked Maasai plains, followed by a hearty lunch at the park's atmospheric bar.

In the afternoon your safari driver-guide drives you comfortably by road to Kilimanjaro International Airport in time for your onward international flight home (transfer timing depends on your flight schedule).

Everyone at Gip Adventure Tours & Safaris wishes you a safe journey home, carrying memories of your honeymoon that will last a lifetime.