Days 4, 5 & 6 - River Camps and Ngorongoro Crater

There are many places in Tanzania you could go after the Masai Mara. Grumeti River Camp, located right at the river’s edge in the western Serengeti, also features luxury tents and excellent game viewing.

Klein’s Camp in the northern Serengeti features rock, wood and thatch cottages with year-round lion, leopard and cheetah sightings.

Nearly three million years old, the Ngorongoro Crater, on the eastern edge of the Serengeti was once an enormous volcano said to rival Mt Kilimanjaro in height, and is now the largest intact caldera in the world.

A new program CC Africa is offering is called Tanzania Under Canvas. The portable tents move along with the animals for peak game viewing without crowds. While a butler attends to your every need and the same level of service of top lodges is offered, the drawback is the tents are less luxurious and the shower is a bucket of hot water.

For something truly unique, I recommend going to Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact volcanic depression in the world and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Getting to Ngorongoro Crater:

Fly from the Mara airstrip nearest your lodge to Wilson Airport in Nairobi and connect onto a flight to Kilimanjaro. You will most likely have to overnight in nearby Arusha, the gateway to Tanzanian safari camps and a 10-minute charter flight from Kilimanjaro.

There isn’t much to do, but I recommend staying at Arusha Coffee Lodge, set on a working coffee plantation. Its location right near the Arusha airstrip, nicely appointed private ‘chalets’, views of Mt Meru and swimming pool, make it an enjoyable stopover.

In the morning, take a charter to Manyara airstrip where you will be met and driven 1 hour to the lodge.

Nearly three million years old, the Ngorongoro Crater, on the eastern edge of the Serengeti was once an enormous volcano said to rival Mt Kilimanjaro in height, and is now the largest intact caldera in the world.

Where to Stay in Ngorongoro Crater:

There are a few options in Ngorongoro but the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is world-renown and for good reason. Each visually stunning mud and thatch suite, inspired by Masai homes, is adorned with antiques, chandeliers, a claw-foot tub, raw silk curtains and a fireplace, all tended to by a personal butler. Sumptuous and romantic, this lodge is the place to splurge if you can.

What to Do in Ngorongoro Crater:

Game drives to the 2000-ft deep crater floor to track the usual suspects along with hopes of spotting the endangered and elusive black rhino.

Picnic lunches on the crater floor and sundowners overlooking Lake Eyasi complete the experience.

Here too you will see the Masai in their scarlet robes and a visit to a village is possible.

Take an excursion to the Olduvai Gorge, oftentimes called ‘The Cradle of Mankind’ as it is one of the most prominent prehistoric sites in the world.

In the late 1950s Louis and Mary Leakey discovered a part-man/part-ape skull dating back 1.75 million years, and 3.7-million-year-old hominid footprints fossilized in volcanic ash. You can take a guided tour of the gorge and explore the museum founded by Mary Leakey, now housing local archaeological finds and a photography exhibit of the excavations in the area.