Game Gems is a wildlife thrilling 11 nights / 12 days fly-in fly-out safari experience that entrusts you with the ultimate taste of western Tanzania, with tours of the Katavi National Park and the Mahale National Park before you end your tour in the vast plains of the Serengeti. This wondrous journey takes you to place that have been the backdrop to life-altering experiences for countless travelers, and, when the time is right, its landscapes and wildlife will welcome their eager return We call it and all-rounder, for you get to experience the classic game drive safari through the Kitavi National Park, encounter the bone chilling predator hunts of the Serengeti plains and a take a look back in time at what we believe to be an earlier presentation of civilization from the wild chimpanzees of Mahale.
3:00pm -Arrive into Kilimanjaro Airport where you will be met by your guide who will accompany you to your hotel.
3:30- Depart on a private transfer, to your hotel in Arusha where you will be checked-in for the night, expected duration for the transfer is one hour
4:30: Check in at Legendary Lodge
Set in lush tropical gardens on a working coffee farm just outside Arusha, Legendary Lodge features ten beautiful garden cottages and two family cottages, each with its own private veranda. Designed with a unique blend of African arts and crafts, combined with old, colonial-style luxury, the cottages offer king sized beds, a separate lounge with fireplace and ensuite bathrooms with deep tubs and refreshing showers.
Mouth-watering gourmet meals are served in the gracious environment of the main house, surrounded by a lush tropical garden. Meals can be taken in the more formal dining room, or on the open air veranda. The Spa at Legendary Lodge offers rejuvenating treatments in the elegant therapy room or in the privacy of the guest cottages. A selection of fascinating coffee farm tours, shopping expeditions and interesting day tours are available at the lodge.
06:30am: Check out- After an early morning breakfast, at Legendary Lodge your guide will once again, meet you at your hotel lounge for your safari briefing. Afterwards you will be accompanied to the Arusha Airport where you will board a flight for the Serengeti National Park.
07:30 am - Depart from Arusha to Serengeti National Park
This is not a direct flight. It might have 1-2 stops before getting to the destination with about 20 minutes of ground time per stop
12:00- Arrival at Serengeti
Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the most famous wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its great concentration of plains game. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the east and the Kenyan border to the northwest. In addition to its vast herds of wildebeest, zebra, Thomson’s gazelle and other plains game, the Serengeti is renowned for its lion and other predators, including wild dog, spotted hyena and jackal. Leopard may often be seen along the Seronera River. The wealth of bird life is of special interest. During May and June, or sometimes earlier, the famous Serengeti migration begins, as nearly two million wildebeest and a quarter million zebra move toward the Masai Mara to the northwest.
13:00 - Check-in at Lamai Serengeti for a 2 nights 3 days stay
On your 3 days stay at the Serengeti, wander around the wonders of the majestic Serengeti plains and get to experience a variety of activities including game drives, walking safaris, hot air balloon safaris, photographic safaris, birding, night sky star gazing and picnics among others.
Lamai Sernegeti lodge is located in the northern Serengeti, a couple of km from the Mara River, wrapped around the iconic Kogakuria kopjes with views out over the northern Serengeti and Lamai Wedge.
12 open-fronted rooms, split between two separate lodges: the Main Lodge of 8 rooms, and the smaller Private Lodge of 4 rooms all the rooms have their own private & roomy verandas spread within the rocks and all have been sited with spectacular views. Each lodge has its own private bar and dining area, with adjoining library / map room and its own natural rock swimming pool. All rooms have 24hr power and en-suite bathrooms with hot & cold running water, flush toilets and powerful showers.
The best location in the northern Serengeti, close to the Mara River crossings, open-fronted rooms, excellent resident guides, walking opportunities in some seasons. Plenty of year-round resident game. Great combo with mobile Serengeti Safari Camp and Nduara Loliondo.
Serengeti National Park
Lamai Serengeti
With a journey that resets your soul, immersing you in nature at its most raw and giving you the space to detach from everyday life it is time to say goodbye to Serengeti National park as you embark onto your shared chartered flight to cocoon in the embrace of the Katavi National Park. This is not a direct flight. It might have 1-3 stops before getting to the destination with about 20 minutes of ground time per stop
Katavi National Park
Situated in southwest Tanzania, Katavi is one of the biggest yet one of the least visited national parks in the country. A true gem due to its remote location which makes it difficult to access by road, Katavi offers some of the most pristine wildlife experiences for anyone lucky enough to visit. The national park is literally Africa at its wildest form. Its biodiversity is one of the highest in the continent and its sheer number of animals on show is mindboggling, in quantity and variety. The park is primarily fed by the Katuma River, which transforms the grass plains to flood wetlands during the rainy season around April and May. Her seasonal lakes, Katavi and Chada provide a spectacle during the dry season when most other water sources are dry. It is not unusual to spot vast numbers of elephant, buffalo and Zebra concentrate around these crocodile and hippo infested water spots for drink during the dry season.
Check in: 13:00; Chada Katavi for 3 nights
Chada Katavi Camp is set deep in the heart of the Katavi National Park, in remote Western Tanzania. The camp sits under a shady canopy of acacia and tamarind trees overlooking the wide Chada Plain and is a hub of wildlife activity, particularly elephants in the dry season.
A classic expeditionary outpost with just six spacious safari tents with large shade net windows to let in lots of light and cool breezes. En-suite bathrooms with traditional safari style bucket showers, and eco- flush toilets. Hot and cold water available on demand.
The Chada plains are characterized by unbelievable game, with vast herds of buffalo roaming the plains; also elephant, lion, leopard, crocodiles and hippo and rare antelope like sable and roan. Katavi is known for hundreds of hippo gathering in limited water sources in the dry season, and aestivating crocodiles in river bank caves.
07:30 Check out from Chada Katavi
Start the day with an early breakfast in the mythical enchantment of Katavi’s vast unblemished expanse before catching your shared chartered flight to your next shrouded paradise, the Mahale Mountains National Park.
12:00- Depart for Mohale Mountain National Park
13:15 – Arrival at Mahale Mountain National Park
"The air is scented with jasmine, the forest rich, the water of the lake gin-clear and lightly chilled.” The Irish adventurer Roland Purcell put it lightly while describing this natural paradise at the heart of Africa.Mahale Mountains National Park is a relatively unknown national park that lies in the far west of Tanzania. A true paradise that would definitely claim stake as one o the most exceptional and unique safari destinations on the continent, Mahale offers genuine tranquil experiences that very few destinations in Africa can match. From the clear waters of Lake Tanganyika that provide life for a wide variety of aquatic flora and fauna to the lush misty Mahale Mountains that harbor around 600 chimps. One clan, the Mimikire clan, has been habituated by researchers since 1965. The chimps are free to move wherever and whenever they like but are relaxed around people, giving you the chance to observe these magnificent creatures up close. The park also harbors a large population of other primates like yellow baboon, red colobus monkey, blue, red tailed and vervet monkeys. This is probably the only national park in Tanzania where you get to swim, snorkel or dive after a long day of game tracking. Mahale will most certainly leave an imprint so genuinely unique that you will proudly hold dear for years to come.
Enjoy your 4 days stay in what we believe is one of Tanzania's most serene hidden paradise where the majestic Mahale mountains gracefully root into the crystal-clear waters of the outrageously gorgeous Lake Tanganyika that hosts some of the most unique fish species, resident only to the lake's waters. Home to some of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees among other primates, Mahale offers a unique unrivaled escapade with a lone blend of activities to engage in including chimpanzee tracking, nature walks, hiking the Mahale Mountains, kayaking and deep water swimming, among others
14:00 Check-in at Greystoke Mahale for 4 nights
The iconic Greystoke Mahale camp is strung along the Kangwena Beach on the edge of Lake Tanganyika in the Mahale Mountains National Park, with the forested peaks rising dramatically behind camp. This is as remote as you can get in Western Tanzania.
The six open fronted double bandas are set the edge of the forest and base of the mountains, looking out over the beach and lake. The bandas have been built using reclaimed dhows from the lake shore and each has its own unique character and outlook. There is a mezzanine top floor level which can accommodate a child over 8 - but please see rules on chimping for children. En-suite bathrooms with hot and cold running water and flush loos.
The magical forests of the Mahale Mountains are beyond the imagination. Occupied by many animals including a myriad of primates, bushbuck, bush pig, leopard, and amazing birdlife. Hiking into the forest in search of the chimpanzees is unforgettable and a true highlight. Starlit dinners on the beach, and sundowners on the dhow. Kayaking in the gin clear waters of the lake.
10:00- Check out
12:00 – Depart from Mahale Mountains National Park
While the future holds the promise of more life-changing safaris, it is time to bid farewell to these wild scapes and settle town to life as we know it but taking the memories too to share with the rest of the world. Board a shared chartered flight to Kilimanjaro international Airport and catch your flight back home.
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