9 Day Tanzania Marathon & Serengeti/Ngorongoro

    Highlights    Itinerary    Route    About Operator    Dates / Prices
    Tips and Hints    Client Comments    Questions / Answers
    Conditions    Inclusions / Exclusions     Book Now

Itinerary:

Day 1: Saturday
When travelling (flying) they strongly suggest you wear / carry on you your running shoes - these are crucial for your race, and you do not want to risk losing them in the hold. Make sure you have your yellow fever certificate with you - whilst it probably won't be asked for on arrival in Tanzania, when you return home it may be requested.

Check in at the Air Tanzania counter, Johannesburg International Airport at 10:15 latest. Depart on flight TC 7913 at 12:15, arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport at 17:00 (local time).

On arrival you will be met and transferred to the Keys Hotel or similar, Moshi (+-1 hour/1 hour 30 minute drive). Stay here for 2 nights on a bed and continental breakfast basis.

The Keys Hotel is located in Moshi, at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. The hotel is privately run, and has a pool, lively pub and dining area, as well as a covered patio. There are approximately 20 rooms. The New Keys Hotel is slightly smaller, and also has private garden, pool and bar/restaurant area.

Tonight there will be a Marathon briefing.

Day 2: Sunday
Kilimanjaro Marathon - Race Day.

Overnight at the Keys Hotel on a bed and continental breakfast basis.

Day 3: Monday
You will be collected from the hotel early this morning and transferred to Arusha (+-1 hour 30 minutes drive) for the start of your safari. Depart at 09:30 with your driver/guide to Lake Manyara. The drive is approximately 3 hours on a combination of tar and gravel roads.

On your camping safari you will be travelling in a comfortable, 4x4 safari vehicle driven by a guide and accompanied by his assistant. Insect proof 3mx3m walk-in canvas dome tents (very spacious), mattresses, bedding and all camping equipment are provided. You make use of National Park's facilities at the campsites.

Meals usually consist of a cooked breakfast, light lunch and a three-course dinner. They regret they are unable to provide drinking water and/or other beverages but your guide will show you where best to purchase these prior to departure and at convenient points along the way.

They request that clients erect their own tents on arrival at camp and dismantle their tents on departure - this is very simple and takes about 5 minutes. The cook/assistant takes care of the balance of the chores.

It is important to note that they offer a quality camping product and not a luxury mobile camp. Please refer to your information sheet when booking for a suggested list of items to bring on safari.

On arrival at Manyara you will have lunch, set up camp and then go into the park for an afternoon game drive.

Lake Manyara is a shallow alkaline lake at the base of a cliff face that is part of the western Rift Valley wall, popular for its tree-climbing lions and famous for large flocks of flamingos often seen along the lakeshore. In the tall trees of the ground water forest you may see monkeys leaping from branch to branch and on the slope of the escarpment elephants may stand in the shade of baobab. In the acacia woodland lions have bee spotted lying draped along the branches of umbrella trees and hippos wallow in the pools along the lake shore. The large variety of mammals, reptiles and birds in the Park and the different types of vegetation, all within a small area make Lake Manyara a diverse and particularly memorable place to visit.

Day 4: Tuesday
A full day's game viewing as you wind your way up through the bustling town of Karatu and into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. From here you make your way through to the great plains of the Serengeti beyond. Depending on the number of animals and magnificent bird life you stop to observe more closely along the way, you should reach camp by late afternoon.

The Serengeti is unequalled for its beauty and contains more than three million large mammals spread over the vast endless plains. It is here, at certain times of the year, that you may encounter the breathtaking spectacle of the annual wildebeest migration, where one and a quarter million wildebeest trek in columns of up to forty kilometres long in search of grazing, drawing with them their predators and numerous other species of game. From January to March the herds can largely be found in the southern area, proceeding north through the Western Corridor during June and July before entering Kenya's Masai Mara. They return south in November to repeat this amazing instinctive procession all over again.

Overnight camping: Seronera National Parks Campsite.

Day 5: Wednesday
A full day's excursion through the Serengeti plains, during which your guide will make every effort to locate the migration if it is at all possible. If not, you won't be disappointed with a veritable feast of other fascinating wildlife to observe in this central Serengeti zone.

Overnight camping: Seronera National Parks Campsite.

Day 6: Thursday
You drive to Ngorongoro Crater via Olduvia Gorge where, in 1959. Mary Leakey made her groundbreaking discovery of a hominid (human-like) skull dating back 1.8 million years. Since then other hominid species, possibly your early ancestors, have been found in the area dating as far back as 3.7 million years. The whole area is often referred to as the 'cradle of mankind'.

Ngorongoro Crater is one of the natural wonders of the world. A large volcanic caldera, with an area of 259 square kilometres, it contains a huge variety of game and birds and is often referred to as a microcosm of Africa with its dramatic weather changes and varied terrains consisting of forest, grasslands and both freshwater and soda lakes.

You will descend steadily down the steep 610 metre sides of the crater from your campsite perched on the crater rim. A day's game viewing in the crater is almost guaranteed to turn up four the Big Five, as well as zebra, gazelle, warthog and a rich variety of birds, all viewed against the backdrop of the thickly forested crater walls.

Overnight camping: Simba National Parks Campsite on the crater rim.

Day 7: Friday
You spend another full day exploring the floor of the crater and enjoy a picnic lunch by one of the caldera's lakes.

Overnight camping: Simba National Parks Campsite on the crater rim.

Day 8: Saturday
Return to Arusha and transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport. Depart Kilimanjaro on Air Tanzania at 14:20, arriving in Dar es Salaam at 15:20.

On arrival in Dar es Salaam you will be transferred to the Holiday Inn for overnight accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis.

Day 9: Sunday
Transfer from the Holiday Inn to Dar es Salaam International Airport for your return flight on Air Tanzania departing at 10:50 to Johannesburg, arriving at 14:35.