Tanzania Photo Safari    

with author/photographer Boyd Norton

 January 24 - February 5, 2010 (Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti migration) Spaces available

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* Intensive game viewing and photography at Serengeti National Park during migration time.

* Time to absorb and photograph the wonder of it all. Most safari companies rush from place to place. We take our time. We can spend hours watching and waiting for the action or just the right light.

* Exploration of Ngorongoro Crater and a chance to photograph a Maasai boma.

* Visit to Olduvai Gorge and the Zinjanthropus Site.

* Limited to 12 participants. As a compromise between providing ample space and reducing our carbon footprint, we will have 4 people per 7 passenger "stretch" Land Cruisers. Since we started this practice five years ago we have had overwhelming approval from our participants.

This is Africa as you've always imagined it to be: the magic of a Serengeti sunset, the teeming wildlife of Ngorongoro Crater. A safari to Tanzania is a special adventure into the premier game-viewing country of Africa. Tanzania's great game parks and reserves are unsurpassed anywhere in the world. We'll see all of the major plains animals, zebras, giraffes, impalas, gazelles, and other herbivores. There will be baboons and monkeys, herds of elephant and buffalo, and some of the most wonderful bird life you will ever see. Not a serious photographer? Not a problem. You will enjoy the extra time we spend viewing and observing the wildlife and fabulous landscapes.

Boyd’s intimate knowledge of all these areas will assure you of the best photographic and game viewing opportunities.

We have planned these safaris during this period for a special reason - the Serengeti migration, the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth. Our trip is timed to coincide with the annual migration of thousands of animals through the eastern Serengeti, and we will witness the herds as they travel across the plains on the way to the Maasai Mara in Kenya.

Early mornings and late afternoons, for the best wildlife photography and light. Long days in the field. Excellent driver-guides who are sensitive to the needs of photographic groups.

* Accommodations and Food

Some of the safari accommodations are in modern, deluxe lodges that are in harmony with their environment and are constructed of local materials. In the Serengeti  you'll stay at a deluxe tented camp, immersing you in the sights and sounds of Africa. Food at all locations is well prepared and delicious.

* Pre-departure Preparation

Extensive background readings and travel information will be supplied when you enroll. Plus, you will receive a copy of Boyd's latest book, Safari Journal.

We use the best safari outfitter in all of East Africa, a company that was started eighteen years ago by two close friends of Boyd's and native Tanzanians. As a native owned company, this means that all income derived goes directly into the local economy, not to some foreign owned company office in Chicago or New York or London. This is  ecotourism in its best form. Every year our participants have nothing but glowing praise for our safari outfitter, their driver guides (the best in the business), and the camp staff.

The safari begins this evening at your U.S. departure point, as you board the Northwest overnight flight to Amsterdam, arriving the next morning. We will have a short layover before continuing to Kilimanjaro International Airport.

On arrival in the evening of January 25, we will be met at the airport and taken to the lodge. Overnight at the Arumeru River Lodge.

* Special feature: depending upon his availability, Boyd’s Maasai friend, Edward Sindato Ngobei, may accompany us one of the days in the crater. Edward is a university graduate with a master's degree in wildlife management, a young chief of the local Maasai and works for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Edward has been featured in two U.S. nationally broadcast television programs (in one he was Anthony Hopkins’ guide) and he will take us to a boma on the east rim of the crater for an incredible photo experience. Edward is very articulate and well educated and is pleased to answer any questions about the Maasai culture, one of the few relatively unchanged cultures in Africa. 

From Ngorongoro we'll drive to the Serengeti, via Olduvai (Oldupai) Gorge, the world-renowned site of discoveries of early hominids made by archaeologists Mary and Louis Leakey.

* Special Feature: Boyd’s friends, John Pareso and Godfrey Ole Moita, work for the Olduvai Museum and worked for Mary Leakey for a number of years. If one of them is available, they will accompany us to the Zinjanthropus Site (site of Mary Leakey’s discovery of the first hominid skull -1.9 million years old) and give a short talk about the fascinating discoveries here. A great photo op.

The Serengeti is one of the most famous wildlife areas in the world. The park's 5,700 square miles are part of the 9,600-square-mile Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, home to incredible herds of wildebeest and other grazing animals. This vast area consists of treeless central plains, savannah dotted with acacias and granite outcroppings called kopjes, and riparian bush and forest in the north. We have timed the trip to coincide with the great Serengeti migration. Although there are never guarantees in the natural world, we will normally be able to see huge herds of wildebeest and other plains animals grazing on the savannah. The herds follow the rains and feed on the new grass, so what we will actually see depends upon the weather pattern. If past years are any indication, we have positioned ourselves to be in the right location at the right time.

In the Serengeti, we will stay in a tented camp located in the southeastern part of the Serengeti. The camp will be set up in advance for the private use of the tour group. It has a commanding view of the surrounding plains, which should be filled with herds of wildebeest and zebra at this time of year.

This is not roughing it - the camp is quite comfortable, with a staff and a cook to do all the chores. Accommodations are spacious tents, large enough to stand up in. With just two people per tent, there is plenty of room for luggage and camera gear. Each tent is equipped with tables and comfortable beds with foam mattresses, sheets, pillows and blankets. There is a verandah attached to each tent with camp chairs and canvas washbasins that are filled with hot water in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. In addition, each tent has attached to it a separate room with chemical toilet that is cleaned daily and a room with a shower.

 The dining tent  

   Spacious tents with attached toilets & shower

Delicious meals, complete with homemade bread, are prepared over an open fire. Meals are served in a separate, screened dining tent that has an awning at the front. Soft drinks and bottled water are included. Beer, wine, and spirits are available at an extra cost.

January 30 - February 2  Serengeti

Camping near the herds, away from the tourist lodges, will provide you with unforgettable memories. As you sit around the campfire at night, sounds of wildebeest, hyenas, and lions fill the air.

We will say farewell to the Serengeti plains and drive back past Ngorongoro to a lovely inn, The Plantation Lodge. The inn is situated on an old coffee farm. It has beautiful gardens and exceptional rooms, with en-suite full bathrooms. You will immediately notice the care and attention that went into creating this lodge. In the afternoon and evening there will be opportunity to meet with Dr. Frank Artress and his wife Susan, both remarkable people who are providing much needed medical care to the rural areas here. (Read their amazing story in the San Francisco Chronicle HERE. Or check out their website HERE.) We ask our participants to bring such things as vitamins, children's aspirin and other needed medical supplies to help their small clinic. Overnight at Plantation Lodge.

February 4 Arusha – Amsterdam

This morning we will drive back to Arusha where you will have opportunity for shopping. We'll have a dayroom and farewell dinner at the Arumeru River Lodge before departing for the airport in the evening.

We arrive in Amsterdam this morning and have a short layover before connecting with the

KLM flight back to the USA.

Cost: $8395 for 6-7 people; $8095 for 8 or more; based on double occupancy.  Minimum of 6 participants (the trip will not be run with less). Maximum of 12 participants.  

Price includes all meals, accommodations, park and camping fees, all local travel including transfers, all activities listed, all soft drinks, driver/guides and vehicles, temporary membership in the Flying Doctors Society.

Not included: international airfare, air taxes and foreign airport taxes, excess baggage charges, passport visa fees, alcoholic beverages at lodges and camp, gratuities for driver guides and camp staff.

Please Note: For those who wish to extend their stay, we can arrange extensions to this trip. Contact us to discuss various options. It is important to contact us very early if you wish to extend - Tanzania has become a very popular destination and lodges book up very far in advance.

Additional Contact and Questions: 303-674-3009         Or email Boyd Norton

All photos © Boyd Norton; all rights reserved