Wildlife Safari
Tanzania
Safari in Africa is an unforgettable experience
offering an exciting mix of wildlife adventure,
unique cultural encounters and spectacular scenery!
Our knowledgeable and experienced guides on our Safaris give you more insight into the movements and behavior of Africa's wild animals, as well as a deeper understanding of the cultures and sights you will visit on your travels, whilst you travel in style in our luxury safari jeeps
Get away from the hustle and bustle of daily living on an African Safari that gives you a complete change in scenery. Travel through Tanzania at a relaxed pace getting in touch with nature, far away from the stresses of modern life. A really great way to recharge your batteries and explore untamed places. See Africa's wild animals in the flesh, while you still can (many are endangered)! Our safaris give you the chance to glimpse rare and powerful creatures, immersing yourself in the wilderness of Africa and filling your senses with its raw beauty.
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Witness awe-inspiring scenery with plenty of stunning photographic opportunities for memorable photos of the places, people and wild animals you get up close to on your journey. Action packed itineraries ensure that you see as much of Africa as possible on your trip. Visit well-selected safari destinations and hidden wildlife gems en-route making for a more rewarding and smoother journey.
The great Serengeti wildebeest migration is the movement of vast numbers of the Serengeti's wildebeest, accompanied by large numbers of zebra, and smaller numbers of Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle, eland and impala. These move in an annual pattern which is fairly predictable. They migrate throughout the year, constantly seeking fresh grazing and, it's now thought, better quality water. The precise timing of the Serengeti wildebeest migration is entirely dependent upon the rainfall patterns each year
SAFARI DESTINATIONS
Serengeti National Park:
With its vast plains comprising 1.5 million hectares of savannah, the annual migration of two million wildebeests plus hundreds of thousands of gazelles and zebras - followed by their predators in their annual migration in search of pasture and water – is one of the most impressive nature spectacles in the world. The biological diversity of the park is very high with at least four globally threatened or endangered animal species: black rhinoceros, elephant, wild dog, and cheetah.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area:
Home to the vast, volcanic Ngorongoro Crater and “big 5” game - elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo & rhino. Huge herds of wildebeests and zebras traverse its plains during their annual migration. Livestock belonging to the semi-nomadic Maasai tribe graze alongside wild animals. Hominin fossils found in the Olduvai Gorge date back millions of years.
Tarangire National Park:
This is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania, and is located in Manyara Region. The Tarangire River is the primary source of fresh water for wild animals in the Tarangire Ecosystem during the annual dry season. The Tarangire Ecosystem is defined by the long-distance migration of wildebeest and zebras. During the dry season thousands of animals concentrate in Tarangire National Park from the surrounding wet-season dispersal and calving areas. It covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 square miles.) The landscape is composed of granitic ridges, river valley, and swamps. Vegetation is a mix of Acacia woodland, Commiphora-Combretum woodland, seasonally flooded grassland, and Baobab trees.
Lake Manyara National Park:
Known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake. During the wet season they inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands.
More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many remain throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara National Park is a good spot for bird watching. Visitors to the park can expect to see upwards of 100 different species of bird on any day. Leopards, Masai lions, cheetahs, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelles, hippopotami, Masai giraffe, impala, zebras and many more wild animals inhabit this park and many can be seen throughout the year. There is a hippo pond at one end of the park where visitors can get out of their cars and observe from a safe distance. The leopards and lions are both known to lounge in the trees while not hunting for prey.
Gombe Stream National Park:
Located in western Kigoma Region, Gombe is the smallest national park in Tanzania, with only 20 square miles (52 km2) of forest running along the hills of the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. The terrain is distinguished by steep valleys, and the forest vegetation ranges from grassland to alpine bamboo to tropical rainforest. Accessible only by boat, the park is most famous as the location where Jane Goodall pioneered her behavioral research conducted on the chimpanzee populations. The Kasakela chimpanzee community, featured in several books and documentaries, lives in Gombe Stream National Park.
Gombe Stream’s high levels of diversity make it an increasingly popular tourist destination. Besides chimpanzees, primates inhabiting Gombe Stream include beachcomber olive baboons, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys. Red-tailed monkeys and blue monkeys have also been known to hybridize in the area.
Lake Natron:
One of the most serene lakes in Africa, but it's also the source of some of the most phantasmagorical photographs ever captured — images that look as though living animals had instantly turned to stone. The alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH as high as 10.5 and is so caustic it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that aren't adapted to it. The water's alkalinity comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. And deposits of sodium carbonate — which was once used in Egyptian mummification — also acts as a fantastic type of preservative for those animals unlucky enough to die in the waters of Lake Natron.
Mwanza:
Located on the southern shores of the second largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria. With a population of more than 700,000, Mwanza is also considered the second largest city in Tanzania and thanks to its location it is a major port city. Home to the largest tribe in the country, Mwanza and the region around it are the heart of the Wasukuma tribe who have lived in and around the area for centuries. The other tribes calling this area home include the Wakarewe, Wazinza and Wakara.
SERENGETI WILDEBEEST MIGRATION
The short rains begin around early November. A little after this, in late November and December, the herds of the wildebeest migration arrive on the short-grass plains of the Serengeti. These are south and east of Seronera, around Ndutu and include the north of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Dispersed across these plains, wildebeest and zebra are everywhere – feeding on the fresh, nutritious grasses. They stay here through January, February and March, with most wildebeest calves born in a short window around February. Gradually they spread west across these plains, then around April they start their great migration north.
By May the Serengeti's wildebeest all seem to be moving north, migrating to seek fresh grazing and water. The area around Moru Kopjes and west of Seronera is then hectic with a series of moving columns, often containing hundreds of thousands of animals – joined by many zebra, and a scattering of Thomson's and Grant's gazelles.
Some of the migration then head due north of Seronera, but most are usually further west. Around June the wildebeest migration is often halted on the south side of the Grumeti River, which has some channels which block or slow their migration north.
The wildebeest then congregate there, in the Western Corridor, often building up to a high density before crossing the river.
The river here is normally a series of pools and channels, but it's not continuous – and so whilst they always represent an annual feast for the Grumeti River's large crocodiles, these aren't usually quite as spectacular as the crossings of the Mara River, further north.
The wildebeest migration continues moving northwards during July and August, often spreading out across a broad front: some heading through Grumeti Reserve and Ikorongo, others north through the heart of the Serengeti National Park. September sees the herds spread out across the northern Serengeti, where the Mara River provides the migration with its most serious obstacle. This river gushes through the northern Serengeti from Kenya's adjacent Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Watching the frantic herds of the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River can be very spectacular; there are often scenes of great panic and confusion. It's common to see herds cross the Mara River north on one day, and then back south a few days later. By October the wildebeest herds are migrating again with more accord: all are heading south, through western Loliondo and the Serengeti National Park's Lobo area, returning to the green shoots which follow the rains on the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti in November. Then the whole Serengeti Wildebeest migration starts again …
ITINERARIES
2 Day Wildlife Safaris to Lake Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
2 Day Wildlife Safaris to Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
3 Day wildlife Safaris to Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park
4 Day Wildlife Safaris to Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
4 Day Wildlife Safaris to Lake Manyara National Park , Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
4 Day Wildlife Safaris to Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
5 Day Wildlife Safaris to Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
5 Day Wildlife Safaris to Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
6 Day Wildlife Safari to Tarangire National Park, Lake Natron, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
6 Day Wildlife safaris to Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Natron, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
11 Day Wildlife Safaris to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Natron, Serengeti National Park, Mwanza in Lake Victoria and Gombe Stream National Park
7 Day Wildlife Safaris to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Natron, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
8 Day Wildlife Safaris to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Natrion Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
ACCOMMODATION
PJS Challenges offers two levels of Safari accommodation. Any of the following levels of accommodation can be chosen for all our Safaris.
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Camping:
Basic budget camping safari guests sleep in private tents in designated campsites in or near national parks. Our safari crew sets up the camp and prepares all the meals. Whenever possible, we use more remote campsites to make your camping experience more private. There are permanent toilet and shower facilities at almost all the campsites. We heat water for showers at more remote sites.
Luxury Tented Camps:
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Luxury tented camps are permanent or semi-permanent camps sited in areas of excellent game viewing. These provide all the comforts of a lodge within private spacious canvas tents on a solid permanent base with beds and private baths, and gourmet meals. Tented camps are luxurious and intimate with a high level of professional service, they generally accommodate 12 to 20 guests.
For more information regarding private group Safari
Please contact us below!