Luxury Safari Tanzania Tour - 10 Days

There’s a palpable buzz as you approach Kilimanjaro Airport: Africa’s highest mountain looms large outside. Once on the ground and whisked to your home for the night however, the buzz comes from the bushes: Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge sits in the foothills of Mount Meru, its suites sprinkled amid one of Tanzania’s largest working plantations. Retreat to your stylish room amid the bean-laden bushes, breathe in the heady java scent, dine in the glorious gardens and unwind in the spa. Soothing in the extreme, this is the perfect pre-safari stay.

You might say that Tarangire is the connoisseur’s choice. More than 3,000 elephants –one of the largest populations in East Africa – reside here while the swamps host 550 species of bird. During the dry season, the perennial Tarangire River becomes the sole water source for a marvellous menagerie: all you need do is sit on its banks and let the wildlife come to you. That said, the diversity of this ecosystem ensures wildlife-viewing is exceptional year-round. And it begins as soon as you touch down at Tarangire’s airstrip – the onward journey to your lodge, via bulbous baobabs and grassy plains, is a game drive, not a transfer.

By the time you reach Treetops, you’ll already have spotted a host of species. The magic continues: in a private conservancy bordering the national park, Elewana Treetops is like something from a fairytale, a scatter of suites teetering amongst the branches of the baobab and marula trees. Walk out with the Maasai for intimate bush encounters; join night drives to see the action after dark; relax in the lounge bar, watch over the waterhole below; and sit on Sunset Hill late afternoon, cocktail in hand, and watch the sun go down on the day.

Over 20km wide and 600m deep, Ngorongoro is a geological marvel and a festival of wildlife. This incredible caldera, lined with grasslands, acacia thickets, riverine forest and lakes, is home to over 30,000 animals: the highest density of wildlife in Africa. Your home is Elewana The Manor, quite possibly the most lavish address on the safari circuit.

From your elegant Cape Dutch-styled cottage, tucked into the Tanzanian highlands, you can make foray sthrough the surrounding coffee plantations and over the rim to explore the crater bottom: watch zebra and buffalo, lounging lions, spotted hyena and good numbers of black rhino, stopping for a gourmet picnic under the acacias. Lake Manyara is also nearby; join a game drive here to see hippos chortling in the shallows and baboons bounding amid the giant fig trees and a flamboyance of flamingo on the lake.

At 14,763 sqkm, The Serengeti is vast … and unmatched when it comes to wildlife viewing. Revel in the will-they-won’t-they tension of a lion pack on the hunt; the shock of a crocodile bursting from the river; the white-knuckle charge of an angry bull elephant; the dazzle of the sun subsiding into plains with no end. The Serengeti is abundant with game – from the Big Five and cheetah to huge plains herds. You might time your visit for the dramatic peak of the Great Migration, when more than a million animals cross the rivers in the Serengeti’s north. But the animals are always on the move: there is plenty to see, all over the park, year round. Your accommodation in the Serengeti depends on the season. Experience either the luxurious bygone-style tents of Elewana Serengeti Pioneer Camp perched on a rocky kopje, or the sophisticated stilted tents of Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp.

Eke out every last second: your drive to the airstrip gives you a final chance to soak up the sights and sounds of the bush. Once airborne, keep your eyes out the window, to see the Serengeti slide out of view and, perhaps, Kilimanjaro peeping through the clouds.

In Arusha, the choice is yours. Another restful night at the Coffee Lodge? Perhaps a hop offshore to scrunch your toes in Zanzibar’s sands? Or maybe it’s time to finally head home