Tanzania Up Close: Culture, Conservation, and Wildlife

Depart the U.S. on your flight to Tanzania.

Upon arrival to Kilimanjaro International Airport, a Holbrook representative will meet you outside the airport and take you to the hotel. Check in at Lake Duluti Lodge, situated on a 30-acre active coffee farm along the outskirts of Arusha. The African-style chalets are ideally positioned facing the coffee farm, and each has a private deck with an amazing view of the ancient indigenous trees found in large numbers on the farm. Please note: This is an arrival day and no meals are included.

Spend today exploring Arusha National Park. We make our first stop at the ranger post, where we'll receive an introduction to the park and its history. Learn about a section of the park known as "Little Serengeti," as well as nearby Mt. Meru, Africa's fourth highest mountain. Depart from the ranger post for a walk in the foothills of Mt. Meru accompanied by an armed ranger. Pass through Buffalo Swamp and arrive at a lookout point with views of the park and impressive Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance. Continue to a waterfall and then open grasslands dotted with giraffes, warthogs, antelopes, flamingos, and a variety of other bird species. Set out into a wooded area in search of colobus monkeys before returning to the ranger post. A boxed lunch will be provided in the park. Return to the lodge in the late afternoon.

Early this morning, take a walk on the lodge grounds. After breakfast, check out and visit a local market to view a variety of colorful handicrafts and observe daily life in Arusha. Next, visit Shanga Beads, a local project that was established in 2007 and is made up of a group of more than 70 disabled artisans who create a variety of products through weaving, glass blowing, beading, paper making, and metal work, using recycled materials wherever possible. Their philosophy is that "kindness is a language blind people see and deaf people hear." Learn about the birth of the project, visit the workshops, and stop in the gift shop to support this vital community initiative. Continue to Osupuko Lodge in Tarangire. The lodge overlooks Tarangire National Park, home to the highest density of elephants in Tanzania. Each of the lodge's cottage-like structures, known as rondavels, has its own veranda with fantastic views. Have some time to relax and enjoy the wildlife. Before dinner, attend a presentation on the park's elephants.

After breakfast, an armed park ranger will meet us at the lodge for an escorted nature walk through Tarangire National Park. Return to the lodge in time for lunch, followed by free time to rest and enjoy the lodge amenities. In the mid-afternoon, return to the park for a game drive aboard safari vehicles. The Tarangire River snakes through the park, and because it's the area's only permanent river, many types of wildlife travel long distances to reach it. The 1,096 square miles of protected lands are home to a large variety of game, such as wildebeests, elephants, zebras, gazelles, elands, gerenuks, lions, and leopards. Extensive grasslands, dotted with the occasional acacia or baobab tree, provide the optimum conditions for viewing wild animals. Bird enthusiasts will have the opportunity to see more than 500 avian species, including Yellow-collared Lovebirds, Rufous-tailed Weavers, Ashy Starlings, Stocking-thighed Ostriches, and Kori Bustards.

Early this morning, visit a local Maasai village to observe the community members in their daily morning rituals. Return to the lodge for breakfast, and then depart for Lake Eyasi, with a stop en route at the village of Mto wa Mbu. During our walk through the village, we'll be able to observe the way of life in this rural community. Enjoy lunch prepared by a local family with an explanation of the different culinary delights and how they are made. Arrive at Lake Eyasi in the mid-afternoon, check in, and get settled. As the day comes to a close, visit a nearby community to learn how they relax at the end of the day.

Early this morning, depart from the lodge to visit a Hadza community. A local expert will serve as interpreter while we interact with members of the community to learn about their culture and witness their daily routines, including building a fire and preparing arrows for hunting game. The Hadza people have lived in the area around Lake Eyasi in Tanzania's eastern Rift Valley for thousands of years. Their unique language includes the use of clicks (similar to the languages of the Khoisan peoples of southern Africa, though they are not thought to be related). The Hadza maintain a traditional way of life despite the pressures of encroachment from outsiders. They are one of the few hunter-gatherer societies remaining in Africa, living off the berries, roots, honey, and tubers they can forage and any game they are able to kill. Men hunt with bows and poisoned arrows, and the meat is shared with the whole community. The Hadza move their homes depending on the seasons and where food is most plentiful. During the dry season, they live in huts made from branches, grasses, and other natural materials, but once the heavy rains arrive they move into the shelter of local cave systems. After spending time with the Hadza people, return to the lodge for brunch, and then depart for your accommodations near Ngorongoro Crater. Have some free time to relax and take in the spectacular views.

This morning, descend into Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive among one of the most unique concentrations of wildlife on earth. Vast grasslands cover most of the crater floor and provide ample grazing for resident zebras, gazelles, wildebeest, elephants, warthogs, and rhinos. With a large number of prey species contained within the crater, it is not surprising that Ngorongoro is also home to a dense population of lions. In the late morning, begin the drive to Serengeti National Park, looking for wildlife and enjoying a picnic-style lunch along the way. If the program is between December and March, we will be staying at a mobile tented camp in Southern Serengeti. The rest of the year will be at a semi-permanent camp in Central Serengeti.

Early this morning, begin the first game drive of the day. Serengeti is Tanzania's first national park and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site where over a million wildebeest famously migrate each year. The park's high concentration of wildlife also includes the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, black rhino, and buffalo), as well as cheetah, zebras, giraffes, gazelle, monkeys, and over 500 bird species. This morning's game drive will include breakfast out in the field. Return to the camp late in the morning and have lunch. Enjoy some free time to rest and relax before heading out for the mid-afternoon game drive. In the evening, gather around the campfire and have a discussion with your guide about the Great Migration in Tanzania.

From the camp, we embark on a walking safari in the Serengeti, accompanied by our guide and an armed ranger (December through March - Southern Serengeti only). Bush walks offer a completely new safari experience compared to standard game drives. Being outside on foot makes it possible to be at eye level with wildlife and more in tune with your surroundings. Observe the smells, sounds, textures, and colors of the environment; small details such as hoof prints, animal dung, vegetation, and insects that are more easily overlooked during a game drive will reveal tantalizing bits of information that help us to better understand this complex habitat. After lunch, have free time to rest at the camp before a mid-afternoon game drive in the plains.

After breakfast, depart from Serengeti and start the journey to Karatu. En route, stop at Olduvai Gorge, where the museum curator will accompany us through the on-site museum and on a walk to the Leakey Camp. Learn about archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey, who began their first excavations of this area in the 1930s as they searched for clues to the origin of mankind. The Leakey team's discovery of primitive tools and, later, fossilized hominid remains (Australopithecus boisei and Homo habilis) at this site helped lay the foundation for present-day theories on human evolution. After a picnic lunch, continue to Karatu. Upon arrival to the lodge, embark on a short exploratory walk around the lodge's farm/coffee plantation.

Set out early this morning and drive to a local school to learn what a typical school day in Tanzania is like. Interact with teachers and students, sit in on classes, and have lunch at the school. After the classes are done for the day, join a couple of schoolchildren on their walk home to a nearby village. Learn from the children what it takes for them to get to and from school every day. As we reach the village, we will have the opportunity to see how the kids live and meet some members of the community. Walk back to the school and return to the lodge, where there will be free time to enjoy the swimming pool and relax before a farewell dinner. Please note: It is not mandatory to bring donations to the school and/or the children. However, anyone who wishes to do so might consider bringing a few basic school supplies such as pencils, erasers, pens, colored markers, etc. to donate during the visit.

After a leisurely morning, return to Arusha. Before arriving at the hotel, pay a visit to a local home to enjoy a family-hosted lunch. Day room accommodations have been arranged at the hotel, where we'll be able to rest, finish packing luggage, or freshen up before catching the overnight flight back to the U.S. Enjoy a light snack at the hotel before departing for Kilimanjaro International Airport. Check-out is at 6 pm.

Arrive in the U.S.