Loose your sense of time and experience a world of simplistic beauty. Cut between the mountains of Kitumbeini and Gelai, view Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt. Meru and the volcano Oldonyo lengai (Mountain of God).
Here is your chance to experience a true unique African adventure safari, but on camelback instead of by jeep.
For 5-7 hours a day you can ride as the groups of giraffes passing by, or follow alongside herds of zebra, antelope, gazelle, and wildebeest, and from a safe distance watch the lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo.
You will ride between Mount Meru and Lake Natron, through savannahs, bush country, and swamps, and stay each night in safari camps.
Tanzania is a country famous for its wildlife and scenery - and for good reason. Here you find the greatest concentrations of wild animals left anywhere in the world, you see extremes of climate unknown in the western world, and you meet people with cultural backgrounds so distinct from your own that you are forced to question all your previous beliefs and way of life. This is wild Africa - this is true exploration, and on camelback!
This is a riding safari between Mt. Meru to the Lake Natron Game Controlled area.
Our route takes us to Lake Natron and the surrounding landscape. The area is unfenced and game moves freely. Expect to see a variety of plains animals including zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, thompson's and grant's gazelle, gerenuk, jackal etc. We often encounter sizeable herds of elephant and may be lucky to find some of the bigger cats and other predators. Other game species often seen include eland, Oryx and lesser kudu.
The local Maasai tribe forms an important aspect to the ride, adding a splash of color and providing an insight into the rich cultural diversity of Tanzania. This ride takes place away from other tourist attractions in unspoiled wilderness. It is unlikely you will meet other visitors during the ride.
Our camps, exclusive to our own group of guests, are comfortable with as many amenities as can be provided considering that the location is changed every day, and we try to limit ecological disturbance by taking only the number of vehicles strictly necessary.
Tents are twin accommodation insect proof, with mattresses and sleeping bags. Each has camp and chairs tables. We bring all water along on safari. This is used for the camels, for cooking, and for bathing. This means that water is limited, but usually enough for a splash in the morning.
Lunch is transported by Land cruiser and laid out in the shade of a tree ahead of the guests' arrival. Camp chairs and tables are provided at each lunch stop. The lunch vehicle has space to accommodate any light baggage riders may wish to use during the stop, e.g. toiletries and cameras.
ARRIVAL Pick up from Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer to Arusha town for dinner and overnight.
Day 1: ENGIKARET In the morning at 0800hrs drive from the hotel in Arusha town to Mkuru introduction about ecology and culture of Maasai populations at Mkuru Training Camp
area near mount Meru, you will take the camels, guide and all other equipment for the ride at Mkuru. Start the riding from Mkuru to Engikaret village. Dinner and Overnight at Engikaret campsite.
Day 2: KISELIAN In the morning after breakfast continue with the ride from Engikaret to Kiselian. Dinner and overnight at Kiselian campsite
Day 3: KITUMBAINE Today you will continue with the ride from Kiselian to Kitumbaine village. Dinner and overnight at Kitumbaine campsite.
Day 4: KITUMBAINE You will spend this day while exploring kitumbaine village, you will have a chance to learn about maasai culture. Dinner and overnight at Kitumbaine campsite.
Day 5: GILAI In the morning continue with the ride from Kitumbaine to Gelai. Dinner and overnight at Gilai.
Day 6: NATRON In the morning after breakfast continue with ride to lake Natron the soda lake. Dinner and overnight at Natron campsite.
Day 7: NATRON You will spend the whole day exploring lake Natron, you will have a chance to visit the waterfalls and then you will get back to the campsite for lunch. After lunch go for a bird watching at Lake Natron. Dinner and overnight at Lake Natron Campsite.
DEPARTURE In the morning transfer from Lake Natron, to Kilimanjaro international airport via Arusha town where you will have a stop for lunch.
Price Includes: - Camping fees - Accommodation based on 3 meals a day - Transfer from Lake Natron to Arusha town - Village fees - Activities as per itinerary above
Price Excludes: - International flights - Airport transfers - Items of personal nature/use - Accommodation on the first night upon your arrival - And all not mentioned in the itinerary above
Note: Anyone wishing to take a break from riding and also non-riding participants may travel in the car. Evenings are spent relaxing around the campfire with drinks (on request) and dinner.
Optional extensions include safaris to the Tanzania northern-circuit National Parks. It is also possible to extend your Safari to Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti or Zanzibar.
The wildebeest migration is after the rains and usually arrives southern Serengeti (Ndutu) April-June.
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This is a fantastic tour and a "must do" for any first time visitor to Dar, as I was.
It helps you understand more about the people who live in Dar and makes what can seem like a complex and intimidating place, accessible, friendly and understandable.
My customized 13-day trip in Tanzania was absolutely amazing!
From breathtaking Ngorongoro hiking to a taste of Kilimanjaro and local village visits, it was truly a life-changing experience.
My driver and tour manager went out of their way to accommodate my whims and made sure that my stay in Tanzania was a pleasant one. Unfortunately I fractured my ankle during one of the hikes I took, but I was taken to the hospital immediately, and taken a great care of.
I would definitely recommend this operator to anyone who's looking for a tour that's much more than just game drives.'
We went on a two day walking – canoeing trip in Arusha National Park. The tour operator also made hotel arrangements for the first three days we were in Arusha.
They stayed in contact for 11 months via email. The person I was in contact with Elifasi and our guide, Apolo Kihwil, meet us at the airport took us to our hotel. On our rest day we visited a school at our request and not part of the paid itinerary this was on their time.
Our guide Apolo was the best we had on our entire trip. He was informative, friendly and had a great sense of humor, we were rewarded with a dream trip my favorite giraffe and several at a time the last bunch we counted eleven, baboons, wart hogs, black and white monkeys, hundreds of thousand of lesser and greater flamingos on big Momella Lake he provide delicious lunches and was infinitely patient while we took photographs.
I would not hesitate to use them on my next trip to Tanzania and would request Apolo as our guide.
We had a most wonderful holiday in Kenya and Tanzania.
They looked after us very well and we were very satisfied with their service. The service provided value for money. The only comment we would make is that the email from them gave us the impression that we would be staying in a lodge but when we arrived we were in a tent. We were satisfied with the tented accomodation, however it could have been made clearer in the original email that it was tented accomodation.
The staff were very kind and helpful.
Tour Operators Reply:
Thank you for the client's feedback and contructive comment/suggestion. We are glad that they were very satisfied with the service we provided to them, despite their impression that they would be staying in a lodge instead of tent.
As per the first enquiry which the clients sent into our company, she stated that she will prefer to stay in Camping “Accommodation Preference: Camping” and the price given to them was based on Camping accommodation, and these was stated in the itinerary that “Dinner and overnight at the camp”
However, there was typing error at the end of the itinerary which indicates Lodge accommodation instead of Camping accommodation.
We will try our level best to make sure that this mistake will not happen again.
After having a wonderful safari in southern Africa organised through your webiste, we decided to return again to Tanzania after 45 years.
We booked a 19 day safari to visit six game parks...Selous, Mikumi, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangari.
Our guide/driver, Hurumu, met us at the Dar airport and drove us to a hotel for our day of jet lag recovery. We drove to Selous first. We're not strangers to East Africa, having first arrived in 1963. By far, Hurumu is the best guide that we've ever had. He was extremely knowledgeable of wildlife, has great game eyes, a good conversationalist, and was very caring for all our needs. He understood our physical age limitations (74) but was not at all solicitous. Cool water was always available. Hurumu had the ability to always get the Toyota into position for the best photograph.
We made our initial contact the operator in 2009. Elifasi, in the office, worked with me to create the itinerary. He also was most helpful. While at Selous we requested an itinerary change. Elifasi made the changes without a problem.
The entire safari was most enjoyable and problem free.
The best of Kenya & Tanzania and they made that experience a reality. They were always on time, concerned about our well being and would without any reservations recommend them! The scenery and game viewing were all memorable and expectations met. Organizing the tour was also without any hassle
I went solo, a 50 something white woman, and me and _______ (I forget his name), rode around for 5 hours. It was a unbelievable experience.
He was a wonderful guide, I called him the "Mayor" because everybody knew him! He was so popular everywhere we went that I felt completely comfortable, safe, and like an invited family friend.
He showed me 3 or 4 neighborhoods, I met coffee makers, chapati breakfast cooks (had breakfast there with a Masaai family who stopped by!), a traditional herbalist (where I learned the treatment for meconium aspiration, I'm a perinatal pathologist!), herbal pharmacist (where I saw that fenugreek seed is used to facilitate delivery with prolonged labor), local market, fabric seller, and had a delicious lunch at an outside Swahili restaurant. I played with kids, talked with everyone, and really got a great sense of the community.
My guide also is very active in local projects and inspired me to help with a bridge rebuilding project he is spear heading. The bicycle riding was easy and really the only way to get around in these neighborhoods. It was by far the best experience I had in Dar, and one of the best I have had in my many travels in East Africa!
We could not have asked for abetter way to end our incredible adventures in Tanzania. We saw everything and did everything we could have ever imagined. From the big game watching in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara, to ascending the highly active volcano next to Lake Natron, it was all so unbelievably incredible. A total dream come true!
Our guide Huruma had he most expansive breadth of knowledge of the natural environment, he was a pleasure to talk to. He was also extremely flexible with us as lans often changed for various reasons, but ALWAYS for the better. Huruma made us feel safe and comfortable the whole time. Alex our cook as wonderful as well making sure we had the best quality meals possiblemade from the freshest ingredients.
Choosing a safari operator is tough, but I will just say that I will always recommend these guys. They are very professional and will do everything to make sure you have the best trip possible. Thanks again for our lifetime memories. We will be back, so you will hear from us again.
Thanks Elfasi for all your time, flexibility and support in orchestrating this dream trip.
