Valden Tours, Inc. TANZANIA SAFARI March 3 14, 2017 From the shadows of Mt.Kilimanjaro to Serengeti Tarangire National Park to Lake Manyara...and the Ngorongoro Crater Join us for this incredible journey to the home of Africa s largest collection of mammals
THE ULTIMATE TANZANIA SAFARI The postponement of OLLI s Tanzania s safari originally scheduled for July, 2016 was disappointing, but a new date has been established, and the original itinerary will be followed with a few adjustments and enhancements. The new dates, from March 3 to 14, 2017, will provide for ample planning by OLLI members and friends to participate in this exciting safari experience. We have designed this safari to provide incredibly diverse opportunities for close-up viewing of African animals...all within the safety of pop-up vehicles. Each vehicle holds a maximum of six individuals so everyone is guaranteed an up-front view. Overnight accommodations are either comfortable lodges or tented facilities. OUR ITINERARY Day 1, March 3: Our flights will originate at Omaha s Eppley Airport. If our travel group is sufficiently large, a motorcoach transfer from Lincoln to Omaha will be arranged. All flights will be scheduled through Delta and KLM. Our confirmed flight schedule will depart Omaha at 7:00 a.m. for Atlanta. We will transfer to a KLM non-stop flight to Amsterdam s Schiphol Airport which will arrive early the next morning. Day 2, March 4: We depart Amsterdam mid-morning for our non-stop KLM flight to Tanzania s Kilimanjaro airport, arriving that evening. Our flight will be met by Trails of Africa guides who will transport our group to Planet Lodge, our hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. Enjoy a restful overnight in a welcome bed following our lengthy travel. Day 3, March 5: You can sleep in this morning, although an included breakfast will be available at the hotel. You can hangout this morning, then enjoy lunch at Planet Lodge. This afternoon our Trails of Africa guides will lead us on a city tour of Arusha, which will include a visit to Ngiresi Cultural Center where you will learn about the Maasi, a seminomadic group who live in Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the Maasi and their culture. We will stop at the Khanga shop (sarongs) and learn how to wear them. We will stop at the museum near Via Via to see the history of the origins of mankind, along with the history of Tanzania. And, there will be an opportunity to shop and become acquainted with various souvenirs. Dinner will be provided at our hotel.
Day 4, March 6: (Note: all meals are included during the safari as part of the safari price) Following breakfast we will drive via safari vehicle to Tarangire National Park. This park has an abundant variety of game and bird-life. Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while Wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. This park has the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem. Our overnight is at the Tarangire Roika Tented Lodge. Day 5, March 7: Our entire day will be spent within Tarangire National Park with both morning and afternoon game drives. Tarangire s large concentrations of elephants are easily encountered. The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. On drier ground you will find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world s largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys. We overnight again at Tarangire Roika Tented Lodge Day 6, March 8: After breakfast we spend the morning driving to Lake Manyara National Park. We will enjoy an afternoon game drive. Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as the loveliest I had seen in Africa. The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience. From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy. Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance. Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favored haunt of Manyara s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk s dik-dik forages in their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park. Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks. Our overnight is at Migunga Tented Camp.
Day 7, March 9: Following breakfast, we depart for Serengeti National Park. Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th world wide wonder. The Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant s gazelle. The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat. But there is more to Serengeti than large mammals. Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park s isolated granite koppies. A full 100 varieties of dung beetle have been recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland, to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills. As enduring as the game-viewing is the liberating sense of space that characterizes the Serengeti Plains, stretching across sunburnt savannah to a shimmering golden horizon at the end of the earth. Yet, after the rains, this golden expanse of grass is transformed into an endless green carpet flecked with wildflowers. And there are also wooded hills and towering termite mounds, rivers lined with fig trees and acacia woodland stained orange by dust. We overnight at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge. Day 8, March 10: Following breakfast, our entire day is spent in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania s greatest park. We again overnight at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge. Day 9, March 11: This morning depart Serengeti National Park and drive via the Rift Valley Escarpment to the village of Karatu. Karatu is an area of fertile coffee and arable farms on the south eastern slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater. The area sits at about 7500 ft above sea level, often with its head in the clouds, and feels lush, green and in stark contrast to the dry floor of the Rift Valley a short distance to the east. The town of Karatu itself lies on the Ngorongoro - Manyara road. You can spend the afternoon at leisure, enjoying the magnificent scenery of the area. Our overnight accommodations are at the Bougainvillea Safari Lodge.
Day 10, March 12: Some people might argue that we saved the best for last as we head to the Ngorongoro crater with a packed lunch. We spend the day in the crater. In geological terms, it covers the world s largest unbroken caldera and is where Dr. Louis Leaky discovered the origin of early man by unearthing jaws of the Zinjanthropus man. Today we are focusing on the animals that can be seen from both the crater rim and within the crater floor. There is a huge range of animal species represented year round in the crater, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, elephants, hippos and rhinos, plus a vast array of bird-life, including the flamingoes out on the sodorous central lake. The crater also offers opportunities to see some species which are either absent or difficult to find elsewhere, including rhinos, large bull elephants, servals and bush-pigs. The only major animals not present are giraffes, which are not able to negotiate the steep trails down the crater wall. This is one location where you should not be surprised by the amount of traffic. But, you will still see plenty of animal life. We return this evening to the Bougainvillea Safari Lodge. Day 11, March 13: Following breakfast we will depart the crater area and drive to Arusha for lunch, then travel to Kilimanjaro airport for check-in and our evening flight to Amsterdam s Schiphol Airport. Our flight departs at 9:50 p.m., arriving in Dar Es Salaam an hour later. It then departs for Schiphol about midnight. Day 12, March 14: We will arrive at Schiphol airport by 7:30 a.m. We transfer to a KLM flight for Atlanta, departing at 9:30 a.m. arriving in Atlanta at 2:05 p.m. Our return flight to Omaha departs Atlanta at 3:40 p.m. and it arrives in Omaha at 5:10 p.m. SAFARI PRICING AND NOTES The total cost for this safari is $4,995 per person for shared accommodations and $5,380 for single accommodations. These prices include airfare between Omaha and Kilimanjaro airport, all safari costs (including transportation, gratuities, lodging and meals),and a visit to a Maasai cultural village as part of the safari. Final total cost might vary some due to any airfare adjustments. Items not included are a Tanzania tourist visa ($100), passport, inoculations (generally typhoid, rabies, Hepatitis A), anti-malaria medication, souvenirs, and items of a personal nature. Any Tanzania airport exit fee (currently $38) must be paid in cash by each individual when departing the country. All lodging while on safari will either be in comfortable lodges or tented facilities. Each tented facility is equipped with its own toilet and shower. Final payment is due November 30, 2016. The reservation deadline is also November 30, 2016. Any cancellations after that date will only receive fees that are refunded by suppliers. Participants are encouraged to purchase travel insurance as a protection for any cancellation. Any questions concerning this safari should be sent to Lee Rockwell, Valden Tours, 2101 South 66th Street, Lincoln, NE 68506. He can also be reached via email at lrockwell@windstream.net and telephone 402-486-0900
TANZANIA SAFARI RESERVATION Name(s) Address City State Zip Code email address Telephone Cell phone Shared accommodations, $4,995 per person. Sharing with: Single accommodations, $5,380 Individuals requesting assistance under the American Disabilities Act (ADA) should contact Valden Tours at the time this reservation is made. NOTE: A deposit of $500 per person should accompany this reservation. Final payment is due November 30, 2016. The cancellation deadline for a full refund is also November 30. Checks should be made payable to Valden Tours, Inc. and mailed to Valden Tours, 2101 South 66 th Street, Lincoln, NE 68506. Contact Lee Rockwell at 402-486-0900 or email lrockwell@windstream.net with any questions.