Depart at 2000 from London's Heathrow Airport on Kenya Airways flight KQ101 to Nairobi, Kenya.
Over the next eight days you will be taken on a private safari adventure in a fully equipped four wheel drive vehicle with radio and a highly experienced driver/guide. You will have the luxury to go where you wish, when you wish, and can vary your activities to include walking where possible as well as game drives, while visiting some of Tanzania's most famous national parks and conservation areas (fully inclusive of meals and activities).
Arrive into Nairobi at 0635 and connect with a scheduled flight to Kilmanjaro. On arrival you will be met and taken for lunch at the Tarangire Safari Lodge before being transferred to Kikoti Camp where you stay for three nights.
Perched on a ridge overlooking Tarangire National Park, Kikoti Safari Camp offers ten private 'safari style' cottages, each with its own en-suite bathroom and viewing deck. There is an impressive thatched dining area which forms the focus of the camp. As well as a bar and comfortable sitting out area, there is also a traditional campfire around which guests gather in the evenings. The 'cottages' have canvas tented interiors and are well equipped with beautiful local fabrics and classic safari furniture.
Located on the eastern edge of Tarangire National Park, Kikoti benefits from easy access to Silale Swamp and the quieter southern reaches of the park, whilst being near enough to the main Tarangire River line with its abundant game. Being outside the park, there are opportunities for short bushwalks and sundowners as a contrast to game-driving within the park itself.
The Tarangire National Park is one of the richest and most diverse in northern Tanzania, covering 2600 square kms. There are hills, vast regions of undulating grassland with acacia, tamarind, sausage and mahogany trees, huge areas of wetland and, running north to south through the National Park, is the Tarangire River - a continual source of attraction to the wildlife.
Tarangire is quite strongly seasonal and during the dry season from June to end of October, thousands of animals migrate there from Manyara. Foremost among these are big herds of elephant which can be seen in large numbers throughout the park, while giraffe, lesser kudu and a wide range of other antelope, lion and leopard are also regularly seen.
In the wetland areas you can encounter herds in excess of a thousand huge buffalo and thousands of pelicans and marabou storks, while throughout the National Park the bird life is among the best in east Africa with many eagles, brilliantly coloured kingfishers, secretary birds and bee-eaters.
Another fascinating aspect of Tarangire is the enormous number of baobabs (sometimes called 'upside-down trees' because of their strange shape) - often a favourite resting place for sleepy leopards.
Today you will be taken up into the Ngorongoro Highlands where you will stay at Plantation Lodge for two nights.
Plantation Lodge is a small and comfortable lodge set at the foot of the Ngorongoro Highland Forest Reserve. It is set within its own farm, first established in 1927 and nowadays producing coffee and flower seeds as well as traditional corn crops. The 16 rooms are individually designed within a variety of different cottages in the beautiful gardens.
Frangipani trees and flowering shrubs of all kinds dominate and fill the evening air with their beautiful fragrance. All rooms have en suite bathrooms with modern plumbing and comfortable Zanzibari beds with mosquito nets and are filled with a wealth of local Tanzanian watercolours and artwork. The food must rate amongst the best in Tanzania and uses vegetable and dairy produce brought fresh from the farm. There is a swimming pool with a good-sized sitting out area that overlooks the surrounding farmland and a tennis court is due to be completed soon.
As well as great walking opportunities on the farm and along the forest edge, there is easy access to Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Eyasi and Lake Manyara.
After your morning activity you will be transferred by road to Lake Manyara airstrip where on arrival you will be taken for your safari at the Lake Manyara Tree Lodge to stay for three nights.
Set in the heart of a mahogany forest, the lodge is situated in Tanzania's unique Lake Manyara National Park. Designed to exert minimal impact on the environment, the lodge boasts ten spacious tree-houses cradled in the boughs of mahogany trees. It is situated about a kilometre from the lakeshore and offers guests intimacy and privacy in cool, leafy surroundings.
The rooms are spacious with comfortable lounging areas both on the decks and inside the rooms. Each tree house also has an outdoor shower, bath and double wash basins. The lodge also offers the chance to buy local community craftwork and there is a pool to cool off during the heat of the day.
Activities will include guided nature walks under the trees escorted by Maasai askaris and also along a perenial river down to the lakeshore, birding walks in the forest and game drives. Picnic lunches and breakfasts will also be arranged at the lakeshore and dinners can also be arranged on the private decks of the tree-houses.
You will be transferred to the airstrip for a scheduled one hour light aircraft flight via Arusha to Zanzibar. On arrival you will be transferred by scheduled light aircraft to Pole Pole where you stay for seven nights (full board with non motorised watersports).
Pole Pole Lodge is located in a beautiful position on a long white stretch of sandy beach with views across the turquoise Indian Ocean to Chole Island. The lodge is perfect for those seeking a romantic and peaceful coastal hideaway in idyllically beautifully surroundings, and for those who have a passion for diving and snorkelling. There are a number of superb dive sites in and around Chole Bay and the Mafia Island Marine Park where there are over four hundred species of fish and magnificent unspoilt coral reefs.
The Italian couple who built and run Pole Pole can also arrange for you to be taken on a variety of trips by boat to the series of other spectacularly beautiful spots such as the Fungo Marimbani sand bar, Chole island itself which has fascinating Arab ruins and Maweni, all three of which are perfect for snorkelling, diving and sea swimming. Other excursions further afield can be arranged.
Other activities you can enjoy from Pole Pole include sailing and excursions around Mafia Island by four wheel drive vehicle and on foot. The island is rich in history and nearby, there are baobabs, mangroves and fruit trees which are home to monkeys, antelopes, hippos and other creatures, as well as three hundred species of birds.
Pole Pole is intimate with just ten spacious bungalows set upon coconut trees, each with a good sized living area, en-suite, bathroom and a veranda with fine views across the bay. There is a dining lodge where you can enjoy high quality food from various culinary traditions including Italian and Swahili and there is also a bar and lounge, as well as a library with fascinating books about Mafia Island, wildlife and diving. Between activities, you can simply relax in the idyllic surroundings, wander along the endless beach or enjoy a relaxing massage. Tanzania combines fantastically with Zanizibar for perfect safari and beach locations.
You will be transferred by light aircraft to Zanzibar where you will connect with a scheduled flight departing at 1515 to Nairobi. On arrival at 1700 you will be met and taken for an early dinner before your evening transfer back to the airport. Depart at 2340 on flight KQ102 to London's Heathrow Airport.
Arrive at 0645 (local time).