A holiday in the Serengeti is a holiday with nature in the wild. The focus of swag of wildlife documentaries, the Serengeti region is probably the largest of all the game protection areas in Africa. It covers a staggering 30,000 square km (half the size of Tasmania) and straddles the borders of Tanzania and Kenya taking in the Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Masai Mara National Reserve.
Travelers visit the Serengeti to explore the Africa of our imaginings; a vast, sweeping landscape of endless plains where ‘safari ‘is a fact of life, not a passing dream. Home of the largest natural migration ever known to man where, every year, massive herds of wildebeest and zebra rotate in a clockwise (and clockwork) migration between the short grass feeding plains of the Serengeti and the calving grounds of Kenya’s Masai Mara.
Tanzania’s prolific wildlife isn’t just the migrating wildebeest and zebra. While on safari in this spectacular landscape you’ll encounter herds of antelope, buffalo, giraffes and black rhinos, and trekkers can bump into huge herds of elephants and large prides of lions stalking their prey. You’ll have the chance to meet indigenous Masai people in their own domain and watch the sun set over the never-ending plains. And you can make a choice between hotel, lodge or tented accommodation on your escorted tour. Now THAT’s what we call a safari!
An ideal inclusion in a tailor made holiday, the Serengeti dovetails perfectly with other spectacular east Africa destinations. You must include a stopover in the 260 sq km Ngorongoro Crater, dubbed the Garden of Eden for the amount and diversity of wildlife it shelters. And don’t forget the unmistakable snow capped peak of Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest in Africa, for a mountain climbing adventure that will live in memory for a lifetime.
Cap your Serengeti safari off with a break in exotic Zanzibar to explore the spice bazaars and ancient slave markets or chill out on a tropical beach at a luxury spa resort in that tiny Indian Ocean holiday gem called Mauritius.
Serengeti fun facts
A giraffe can get by on only 5 minutes sleep per day
Each stripe on a Zebra is as individual as a human fingerprint.
Elephants flap their ears to cool down their body temperature.
MY AMAZING MOUNTAIN GORILLA EXPERIENCE IN UGANDA
Sunday 25th January 2009
Travel Counsellor: Heidi Winkley
This trip has got to go down in my travel diaries as one of the most memorable trips that I will cherish forever.
I had the most amazing experience in Uganda. I travelled through Uganda on a Geckos Tour and I loved it. Geckos was a great budget, adventure holiday with fun local guides that were always up for a laugh and really made the trip complete.
The highlight of my trip in Uganda would have to be our trek throughout the Uganda jungle in the Parc National des Volcans to meet the mountain gorillas. We were lucky enough to have trekked just over an hour to see these amazing mammals. We found a group with over 10 mountains gorillas and two silverbacks and got to sit with the whole group for almost an hour. It was the most amazing experience to be able to sit in the wild and watch these amazing creatures swing from the trees. I was able to sit just 2 metres away from the silver back for over thirty minutes while he was quite content, this will be an experience very hard to beat.
We... view full story
click a circle on the map to view a Travel Counsellor's Diary