JUNE 28- JULY 11 2019

october 30-november 12 2019

Day One and two We fly from Chicago (or your gateway city) to the capital of the country with the greatest concentration of big game in the world--Tanzania. This is a trip where you will chalk up over 100 species of the wildest wildlife in the World.

Day Three  We tour the capital city of Dar es Salaam today.  Dar is a great city with incredible religious shrines, unbelievable markets( one dedicated just to shells) and wonderful people. The National Museum houses the ancient hominids that the Leakey’s found (you've seen their pictures in your history books). This is a remarkable city. 

Day four We fly to the northwestern part of the country which is literally loaded with vast game parks. We head to our first--Lake Manyara National Park.   This park exemplifies the Great Rift Valley more than any other with in tall cliffs creating an area where the earth is literally tearing itself apart. In this game rich park, be prepared to photograph Buffalo, giraffes, hippos, Impala, giant monitor lizards, warthogs, leopards and the most unusual-- tree climbing Lions. This is where many of the Tarzan movies were filmed. 

Day Five No time to waste!!  We had straight to the Serengeti in the largest herds of animals anywhere.  It is the prime wildebeest migration time and thousands of these awkward looking, but strong, animals along with zebra and gazelle move across the Plains. They are closely followed by lions, leopards, cheetah and hyenas. There will not be many minutes that you are not clicking your camera. 

 day six  This tour unique in many respects, but the biggest extra is the included balloon ride over the Serengeti. This morning you will float above the Savannah watching Lions prowl below, cheetah dash across and big game run through the bush.  This is a once in a lifetime experience not to be missed. Upon landing, you will have a champagne breakfast in the bush! Wow! In the afternoon, it's off on safari again looking for elephants, kudu, jackals, some 900 plus bird species and eland-- the biggest antelope in the world. 

Day seven One more day in the Serengeti to raise that species count even higher. We will be looking for both big and not so big game like hyrax, mongoose and crocodiles. We will also shadow the migration to get great close-ups of the predators that  follow the wildebeest. 

Day eight We leave the Serengeti today, but don't fret-- we are going to enter a crater loaded with big game.  Ngorongoro Crater has more buffalo, elephants, lions, hyaena and zebra per acre than even the Serengeti!!  Big bonus here is the huge, and I mean HUGE Flamingo population in the crater’s lake. This is a very special treat for animal lovers.  

Day Nine   To really get our species count up, we have to visit different ecozones, so from the plains we venture to the forested mountains of Arusha National Park.  All different birds and antelope are found p but the coolest special animal here is the Colobus monkey. These black and white tree dwellers were used as cloaks for rulers due to their beauty.

Day ten We head to the park that is home to one of our largest populations of elephants on earth--Tarangire. This park has a huge grassy marsh in the center of it creating a mammoth food source for really big game like elephants, giraffes, hippos, Buffalo and several species of antelope.

Day Eleven We begin the day with a morning safari to capture elephants and their behavior on camera. Make sure you have extra memory cards, the elephants have no fear of people here and will parade their young up close. We will also be on the lookout for the large lion prides that called this park home. Birders will get additions to their list here too, since it has many waterways and aquatic avians are abundant. We will start the afternoon visiting a local tribe and learning how they have integrated their life with the wildlife. Later in the afternoon we will be on the hunt for buffalo, kudu and the elusive leopard. 

 

Day Twelve Another day in Tarangire  looking for both King and small game. From the roving packs of tiny, but ferocious, Mongoose to the Giants of Africa--the elephant. The park has at all. We will see mother elephants care for their babies, lionesses is feeding their young and dozens of bird species nesting in the park.

Day Thirteen  We begin our trip home today, but not before venturing into the park one more time for one more set of precious pictures.

 

Day Fourteen We arrive home today with memories of our encounters with Lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffe, leopard, cheetah, antelope and zebra. What, though, really sticks in our thoughts is the huge herd of wildebeest migrating across the Plains that we could see on land and from a balloon. 

 

Optional extension MALAWI

Day one We fly this morning to another country and another wildlife paradise, Malawi. We arrive in the capital city of Lilongwe, and tour this emerging city. Here you can see the transition from tribal to modern in real time. 

Day Two The biggest attraction in Malawi and one of the biggest in Africa is the namesake lake,  Lake Malawi . It has the largest number of freshwater fish species in it anywhere on earth. Many are members of the cichlid family that is so famous among aquarium lovers. Also homes to crocs, hippos and the giant fish eagle, this National Park will amaze you with its beauty and very colorful fish. We will explore by boat and you'll have a chance to feed these wild marvels of nature. We may even have a chance for snorkeling if you wish.

Day Three We venture south to onr of the biggest newest Big 5 parks in Africa. Majete National Park had been poached out in the 1980s but it innovative program two years ago has re-populated the wildlife, so you can again see wild Lions, leopard, buffalo, elephants and rhinos. This is a great example of what nature and man can do when they work together.  You will be one of the first safari goers to visit this newly restored wildlife Haven.

Day Four A  morning drive in Majete will get you closer to some of the hippos, crocs, antelope and other African rarities before we depart in the afternoon for our last wildlife park--Llwonde.

Day Five  Llwonde National Park gives us one more chance to see the big and little game of Africa as well as more birds and a reptile or 2. This is also one of the more scenic parks.

Day Six One last safari and  a few more species and some great pictures are waiting for us before we get on the plane to start our trip home.

Day Seven We arrive home today was astounding memories of the people, culture, wildlife and magnificent scenery that is Africa.