Tanzania Safari Adventure: Camping with the Big 5

There’s something special about Africa. Something that’s hard to put into words and something that can only truly be felt. To experience a trip to Africa is a once in a lifetime for many. A Tanzanian safari, a visit to Maasai villages, being the heart of curiosity amongst the local children and walking along the dusty streets, chatting to the local food sellers. Africa is the ultimate adventure.

Tanzania is a popular country for an African safari as it’s the home of the Serengeti National Park, one of the best places for wildlife viewing in the world. Here you will see the big 5- lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. Aside from these incredible animals there’s an abundance of wildlife from birds, cheetahs, zebra, impala, baboons, crocodiles and hippos. It literally is like being in a David Attenborough documentary!

I booked myself on a Tanzania & Zanzibar tour with GAdventures, which included visiting a Maasai village, a 4 day Tanzania safari and ended in the beautiful Zanzibar. This is a great trip if you want to combine paradise beaches with safari! (Pssstt…I will post a separate post on Zanzibar next week!)

Here is what you can expect from a 4 day camping safari in Tanzania. It is a budget option as opposed to the luxury lodges but I actually believe that camping out in the middle of the Serengeti, with no barriers or gates between you and the wild animals is an INCREDIBLE experience. We actually had an elephant walk directly into our camp as we were eating dinner, just a few feet away! More on that below…

 

So lets get started with our Tanzania safari tour shall we?!

 

Lunch at Mto wa Mbu Village

The day before our Serengeti safari, my tour GAdventures tour group visiting the local Mto wa Mbu village, where we learnt about local life. We were shown around the fields, told how they build their huts and grow their own food, seeing many banana trees around!

We also went to the markets where the locals sell paintings and crafts, mainly for the tourists I think. Although I’m usually dubious about the ‘local stalls with the same reproduced souvenirs you see everywhere’, I have to say that these handmade mixed media paintings and sculptures were actually very good, resulting in me purchasing several items!

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Later on we ate a traditional lunch of meat and plantains from the village, very delicious and great to try some local food.

Visit to a Maasai Village

Close to Mto wa Mbu village, we visited a local Maasai tribe, all dressed in the traditional clothing and jewellery, full with textures and bright colours (predominantly red). The colour red is believed by the Maasai people that it can warn off lions and so is a symbol of their culture.

The woman and children were there to greet us, singing and jumping. I was overwhelmed by their huge smiles and welcoming nature. What a fantastic experience. They even put the white necklaces around us and we joined them jumping up and down whilst they sang.

We were then shown around the village and spoken to about the Planeterra project that is working on installing clean cook stoves in these huts. This removes the harmful smoke (that is linked to numerous deaths) and in place removes 90% of the pollution. For the women these stoves are a God send and they were proudly speaking of how it has helped their families.

After our tour it was time to say goodbye to the village and it seemed all of the kids ran out to wave goodbye, full of energy. I remember feeling so happy to have had this experience and looked forward to the Tanzania safari to come. And what better way to end the day, sitting by the campsites pool whilst a delicious meal was being cooked up for us by our guide.

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OK and now for the safari…

 

Tanzania Safari: Day 1 (Arusha to Serengeti National Park)

My tour group woke early for a lovely breakfast made by our guide. Preparing for an 8 hour drive from Arusha, Tanzania into the Serengeti National Park, we eagerly jumped on the huge over-landing vehicle. The group was fairly small so we each got 2 seats to ourselves- what a bonus.

We drove past local villages, shops and food stalls before heading into the savannah. We actually saw a lot of wildlife before even reaching the Serengeti, where you will find one of the largest populations of lions in the world.

Once we arrived at the Serengeti National Park entrance, we stopped for some photos and were basically glued to the windows for the next few hours. I remember when we first saw some zebra, everyone was so excited, we wanted to stop every 5 minutes. Our tour guide told us “don’t worry, we will see plenty more zebra”. And we definitely did.

After a long day of driving, we had to set up our tents at the basic bush camp. I actually couldn’t believe that there was no gates or anything- animals could walk past our tents of they wanted. Our guide told us of times when they had seen lions footprints close to the tents- pretty scary though but it just makes it more exciting!

We sat by the fire for a while after dinner but all got an early night, ready for day 2 of our African safari. Can’t even tell you how exciting I was for the morning at this point!

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Tanzania Safari: Day 2 (full day Serengeti safari)

So I slept well the previous night after a full day previously, plus there’s something about camping out on the ground, wrapped up in a warm sleeping bag that just sends you right off. We were also delighted to see a group of zebras close to our tents to say good morning to us.

After waking up in the dark, I was soon thankful for the early wake up call as, the most beautiful sunrise slowly lit up the savannah. We headed out early and it didn’t take long to spot an African elephant wandering through the trees.

After this we saw herds of zebra and impala, a group of female lions (very exciting!), hippos, giraffes, birds and a crocodile. I couldn’t believe the amount of wildlife we were seeing.

We were also very privileged to see a leopard attending to her cubs. They are very rare to see and she was hidden away really well but I could feel my heart beating faster as she popped her head over the rock.

We then stopped at a coffee shop- yes, you read right. A small cafe selling coffee and snacks right in the heart of the Serengeti! There were these little creatures walking round that I have now discovered to be called rock hyrax’s and they are seriously cute.

After a coffee break we headed back to camp for some lunch, before heading out again in the afternoon. We spotted ostriches, hyenas, elephants, giraffes, a huge lake full of hippos and at the end of the day, a cheetah walking into the sunset. Yep, that was an adventurous day of safari!

Back at camp we were treated by a gorgeous sunset (cant beat an African sunset) and a beer by the campfire, where our guide told us spooky ghost stories.

Read more of my adventures in Tanzania: Making Jewellery at the Orphanage: Arusha, Tanzania

Tanzania Safari: Day 3 (Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Crater rim)

Geared up for another morning of safari, today the group had one last wildlife tour in the Serengeti, before heading to the campsite overlooking the Ngorongoro Crater (known for the best wildlife viewings). Yet more wildlife to be seen from baboons, lions, zebras playing in the mud and a cheetah eating a kill. This was incredible to see in person after having watched so many nature documentaries showing this.

Later that day we drove the our campsite on the Ngorongoro Crater’s rim. This was my favourite campsite as the views were out of this world incredible. This is the campsite where a male elephant just walked right past where we were eating, only a few feet away. They really weren’t joking when they said we were out in the wild!

What a heart pumping experience! He ended up walking to some trash by the camp and so we just sat back out by our fire, eating dinner and keeping one eye open on the elephant that was next door- madness!

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Tanzania Safari: Day 4 (Ngorongoro Crater)

We woke up to another stunning sunrise, the sun reflecting off the morning mist that was rising up into the sky. Today was when we explored the Ngorongoro Crater, where there is always lots of wildlife due to there being a permanent water supply here. We drove down into the crater in big jeeps with open roofs.

The Ngorongoro Crater looked a lot more green than the Serengeti and the stunning backdrop of the mountains and cloud formations were beautiful. The wildlife were everywhere- we literally drove through herd of zebra and wildebeest.

Again we saw numerous wildlife like lions and another cheetah. It felt lively with herds of zebra and wildebeest stampeding around running after each other. The photo opportunities are just everywhere here.

There’s a swamp section where we saw hippos and an area covered with trees, where we saw elephants roaming. We even saw a rhino in the distance. The whole safari experience was completely incredible and what a fantastic way to end this adventure.

Best time to visit the Serengeti?

The good news is that you can go on safari any time of the year. I went in March during rainy season which is sometimes not recommended but we had perfect weather. If you are looking to see the best of the great wildebeest migration then go in June to September. January and February are when the wildebeest give birth to their calves. March to May is considered low season due to the rains. But really every season has something different to offer. P.S- The migration happens throughout the year, track it here with this helpful map.

What to wear on safari?

Many safari’s, especially camping safaris will have a luggage restriction so try not to over pack. Finding clothing that mix’s and matches well is a great idea. You also need to make sure you pack neutral, earthy toned clothing and avoid bright colours (which may scare off the animals). Try to avoid darker colours, particularly anything blue as this attracts the tsetse fly (a disease carrying insect). Anything white will be likely to get dirty as safari’s get very dusty!

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Where can I stay in the Serengeti?

There is an abundance of accommodation types suited for most budgets. Basic camping is the most budget friendly and then the permanent tents or glamping is the next step up. From there you have hotels to luxury lodges. The list is endless!

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Hope you enjoyed this post on what to expect on a Tanzanian safari, it really is a bucket list experience and I would thoroughly recommend Tanzania as a whole. There’s plenty more to see and do from visiting coffee plantations in the mountains or lazing around on a tropical beach in Zanzibar (more on that to come).

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