Ndutu Migration & Ngorongoro Tanzania Safari

07:30 Your African Vulture Safaris guide will come by your Arusha area hotel, airport, or residence with your 4 x 4 land cruiser safari Jeep. We’ll take off for the very special Ndutu Area.

The Ndutu region comprises a large area of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, over 8,000 sq. km (3,088 sq. mi), which includes the crater, plus Olduvai Gorge, and immense plains, forests, and mountains.

There are always great troves of wildlife to discover at Ndutu whatever time of year you arrive.

If you should be here from December through May, you’ll be immersed in a vital aspect of the Great Migration – that of the calving season, when thousands of newborns drop onto Ndutu’s rich green fields.

We’ll be on our first of three days of game drives over these plains and into the forests looking for grazers like wildebeests, gazelle, giraffe, and zebra. And all the big cats as well.

We will spend the first of three nights at our Ndutu safari lodge or tented camp.

Today is the first of two full days of game drives on these grasslands and acacia forests.

During the migration season, you won’t have to look long or hard to spot the uncountable wildebeests and their young populating these savannahs.

The same is true for the big cats that prowl these fields – lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, caracal, serval, and African wildcats. They too are attracted to the vulnerable newborns as prey for themselves and for their own newly born young.

What follows is a life-and-death struggle between the animal mothers protecting their young and the predators seeking their own survival.

The emotions that can arise during this wildlife drama add to this unforgettable spectacle.

We will spend our second evening at our Ndutu Area accommodation.

Even during the dry season, you can expect to find plenty of wildlife in the Ndutu region, as many animals make this their home here year-round, especially in the forests.

Along with the Big Cats, we will be looking for elephants, giraffes, antelope, hyenas, monkeys, baboons, and a startling canopy of birdlife.

If you wish, we can leave our 4 x 4 Jeep for a guided walking safari and get a closer perspective on the land and its flora and fauna.

We will spend our third evening at our Ndutu Area accommodation.

Now we’ll turn south to Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. But on our way, we’ll stop at Olduvai Gorge, a dramatic ravine and a significant anthropological site. Here were discovered 3 million-year-old fossilized human remains and tools, an unmatched chronicle of our physical and cultural development.

Then, we will soon arrive at the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater rim, taking in the vast lush bowl, carved into the earth below. This discrete habitat is alive with wildlife, though virtually cut off from the rest of Africa.

We’ll carefully descend the steep crater walls in our safari vehicle, landing in a lush world of over 25,000 animals. – Lions, elephants, buffalo, hippos, and even pink flamingoes.

The day is ours to explore this special UNESCO World Heritage Site whose plains, woods, and marshes vibrate with the density of their wildlife.

Toward late afternoon, we’ll head back up the crater wall in time to catch one of Ngorongoro’s signature blazing sunsets.

We will spend the evening at our Ngorongoro safari lodge or tented camp.

It’s our last day on safari and if we get up early enough, we can enjoy a bursting sunrise at the crater’s rim.

And then it’s time to head back to Arusha. We’ll take an easy drive, stopping to relax and have lunch on our way to town.

We will have you back at your Arusha hotel, the airport, or another place of your choosing in the afternoon.

We said this would be an immersive tour of the Ndutu Area and we hope you enjoyed the sights and spectacle of its incredible wildlife. No one who visits the Ngorongoro Crater ever forgets the experience of that special world.

This was just a taste of the wonders of Tanzania. We’ll show you even more on your next African Safari with us. From everyone at African Vulture Safaris, a big heartfelt thanks for your time, your commitment, and your love.