Advice please on finalising itinerary
 

Hi guys. We are in the final planning stages for out 10 week trip to South and Eastern Africa. We are leaving one of our overland tours early for an 8 day safari into Ngorongogoro and the Serengeti.

We really want to have the best chance of viewing the migration in the Southern Serengeti. Personally I also want to be able to see as many different antelope and the various predators as well.

Currently we have two options available to us which I have outlined below.

Itinerary 1
DEC 24: Meet your guide in the early afternoon for a game drive in
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, overnight at Simba Camp (BLD)

DEC 25: Morning game drive Ngorongoro Drive to Ndutu via Olduvai gorge in afternoon (BLD)

DEC 26: Ndutu full day game drive, overnight at Ndutu Campsite
(BLD)

DEC 27: Game drive en route to Serengeti in morning and afternoon game drive. Overnight at Seronera Campsite
(BLD)

DEC 28: Full day game drive Serengeti. Overnight Seronera campsite (BLD)

DEC 29: Full day game drive Serengeti. Overnight Seronera campsite (BLD)

DEC 30: Drive from the Serengeti to Ndutu with game drive en route,
overnight at Ndutu campsite (BLD)

Dec 31: Morning game drive Ndutu. Travel to Lake Manyara. Stay overnight in lodge

Jan 1st: Morning game drive. Drive back to Arusha.

Itinerary Two
DEC 24: Meet your guide at Simba Camp after your Crater game drive with Intrepid is over, you will determine the afternoon activity based on how much time you have, overnight Simba Camp (D)

DEC 25: Ngorongoro Crater game drive, overnight at Simba Camp (BLD)

DEC 26: Drive to Serengeti with a game drive en route, afternoon game drive, overnight at Seronera Camp (BLD)

DEC 27: Serengeti full day game drive, overnight at Seronera Campsite
(BLD)

DEC 28: Serengeti, full day game drive, overnight at Seronera Campsite
(BLD)

DEC 29: Drive to Ndutu with game drive en route, overnight at Ndutu Lodge (BLD)

DEC 30: Ndutu full day game drive, overnight at Ndutu Lodge (BLD)

DEC 31: Drive to Lake Manyara, afternoon game drive, overnight Twiga Camp (BLD) option: morning Ndutu game drive, afternoon drive to Twiga

JAN 1: Tarangire National Park morning game drive, afternoon drive to Arusha, overnight Jacaranda Hotel or similar (BL)

With regard to itinerary 1, is there a public area for camping around Ndutu?

With itinerary 2, isn't Tangarire a little devoid of wildlife in December/January?

I know no-one has crystal ball for where the migration will be at that time of year but would it be best to concentrate on the Ndutu area of the Ngorongoro park rather than the Serengeti due to the "likely" location of the herds and because you can go off-road in that area?

Which itinerary would those that know prefer?

Cheers,


Geoff

Itin 1
Dec 25--Is your o/nt in Ndutu? At Ndutu Campspite? I'll assume yes.
1 nt Crater area
3 nts Central Serengeti
3 nts Southern Serengeti
1 nt Manyara, better than TZ in Dec
1 nt back to Arusha

Itin 2
2 nt Crater area
3 nts Central Serengeti
2 nts Southern Serengeti
1 nt Manyara
1 nt Tarangire

It looks like you'll do a crater drive with your overland, then visit the crater again with either Itin 1 or 2.

Are Itins 1 & 2 group trips that are set and cannot be changed?

I like #1 better, especially in light of your goals.

Thank you for your quick response!! They can still be changed because it is a private tour. We (and the tour operator) are keen to get it finalised so we can book any lodges we might have to stay at.

Yes we were planning on staying around Ndutu on that night, preferably camping if possible. The tour operator said there is no public camping around Ndutu which may be right. I had someone (I thought on this forum) who said that you could camp down that way.

We will have done a crater trip and 1 day in the Serengeti with the overland trip. Not sure where we will be in the Serengeti with them but I imagine it will be the Seronera campsite.

Hi moovet

you are right - during your stay, the larger concentrations of game ('migration') will not be in Tarangire. But <b>Tarangire</b> has its special beauty with Baobabs (esp. on the horizon during dusk &amp; dawn), wintering palaearctic birds, and of course the statistics which [on a 1 visit sample] cannot be predicted.
{God is playing dice - A.E. said - and in Africa very intensively...}

otherwise they're not really distinguishable IMO - pure coincidence plays a much much greater role here than site planning

Anyway it's gonna be an overwhelming joy

aby

I lean slightly toward #1 but think aby is essentially correct. These itins are very similar--and it <i>will</i> be a joy!

Do I read this right that you will do a crater visit with the overland and then another crater visit with the private trip on the 25th? It looks like either private option goes into the crater on 12-25. Just checking.

Did you want 2 crater visits? It is worthy of 2 visits, but 1 is more common. If you did only 1 crater visit, you may have more time for the Serengeti. The crater does have its own migration and it is easier to find. The wildebeest are also more habituated to vehicles in the crater and you can get much closer than the Serengeti. Sometimes the wildes would even remain sitting as our vehicle approached.

One thing you might want to check. When in Ndutu, could you drive up north towards Seronera, if that's where migration is? When in Seronera, could you drive south towards Ndutu if that where migration is? Do your park fees give you wider access so you have a greater shot at the migration?

Yes, it will be a super trip.

Yeah we will be going into the crater on the 24th with our original tour company and then again on the 25th with our new company.
We may not need the second crater trip but I am assuming we will get a better experience in the vehicle with just the two of us rather than every man and his dog on the overland trip. (Mind you I realise every man and his dog will be in ohter vehicles on both days!!)
Maybe we can concentrate on things we didn't see on the first day with the second trip eg Black Rhino

I am not sure about the driving distance between Ndutu and Seronera. One of the other experts here will probably have a better idea. I would probably want to avoid paying park fees for two different parks on the same day though. I am sure that even if the migration is based around Ndutu there would still be game and scenery within the Seronera area of the Serengeti.

2 days in the crater will likely be entirely different and not just in the vehicle, but outside. With nature it's never the same. It looks like you have a reason for the 2 trips, but wanted to be sure. You are right about Seronera having resident game due to available water.

Should be a fantastic trip.

Are you a veterinarian for cows or other farm animals?

Your name prompts that question.

Yes I am. Another reason why I am looking forward to going. Love the big animals and especially the rarer species of antelope!!