Overview

A Dream of Wild Africa

The Serengeti ecosystem supports the largest concentration of animals on the planet! This itinerary puts us in the heart of that living, breathing, moving…… sea of beasts! –Roy Toft

Roy Toft and Justin Black have selected three of the very finest safari destinations in all of Africa – Tanzania’s Tarangire and Serengeti National Parks and little-known Grumeti Reserve – to offer a world-class, all-inclusive safari experience that features superb opportunities to capture stunning wildlife behavior, generous and effective photographic instruction, luxury amenities, excellent photographer support, a lack of crowds, and a ton of fun! Roy and Justin are both renowned for the lengths they go to to ensure safari participants have an exceptional experience that exceeds expectations, all within a good-humored atmosphere of camaraderie and mutually supportive exploration and learning. We promise a superb safari experience and a great time had by all.

Itinerary and Locations

June 8, 2015: Upon arrival at Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met by our representative who will assist with your private vehicle transfer to Onsea House. Accommodation: Onsea House Private Room – This tranquil boutique hotel works hard to maintain its status as the best luxury bed and breakfast in Arusha.

June 9: Today you will transfer from Onsea House to the Arusha airstrip for your light aircraft flight to Oliver’s Camp. Accommodation: Oliver’s Camp Luxury Tent – A lovely, friendly, remote, and rustic tented camp that has by far the best location at Tarangire, within the best game viewing area in the park.

June 9 – 13: Spend your days exploring all that Tarangire National Park has to offer. Roy, Justin, and our naturalist will lead morning and evening wildlife photography excursions, with time mid-day for image review and critique, and presentations including wildlife photography technique, composition, and digital workflow and processing.

Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park is famous for its tree climbing lions, stout baobab trees, massive elephant herds, and, importantly, a lack of crowds (particularly compared to tourist-mobbed Ngorongoro crater). Our safari coincides with the beginning of the dry season when animal numbers and concentrations are at their peak. The Tarangire River is a trickle when compared with the wet season, but it throbs with wildlife. Herds of up to 300 elephants wallow in the river bed, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest, and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It is the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem proper, and this is the only place in Tanzania where the stately fringe-eared oryx and elegant long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed. Sausage trees in Tarangire are home to leopard, where they are often seen waiting for prey.

Click “read more” below right to continue…

For bird photographers, around 550 bird species have been recorded, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world! Regularly seen are Bateleur eagles, Lilac-breasted rollers, various Bee eaters, massive Lappet-faced vultures, Kori-bustard (the heaviest flying bird), strutting Ostriches, and groups of Ground hornbills. And then there are the screeching flocks of the dazzling Yellow-collared lovebird, groups of Rufous-tailed weavers, and pairs of Red-and-yellow barbet. All are endemic to the dry savanna of north-central Tanzania.

June 13: We transfer by air aboard a private Cessna Grand Caravan from Oliver’s Camp to Sayari Camp. Accommodation: Sayari Camp Luxury Tent – Situated with views over spectacularly beautiful landscape, and close to the wildlife concentrations of the Mara River, this tented camp offers splendidly stylish luxury.

June 13 – 16: Spend your days exploring all that the Serengeti has to offer! Morning and evening wildlife photography excursions, with time mid-day for image review and critique, and presentations including wildlife photography technique, composition, and digital workflow and processing.

Stretching from northern Tanzania to southwestern Kenya are the plains of the legendary Serengeti. In the native Maasai language, Serengeti aptly means “Endless Plains.”

As host to the largest mammal migration in the world, the Serengeti’s diverse ecosystems are today home to more than just great herds of blue wildebeest. Innumerable gazelle, zebra, and buffalo also graze the grasslands, along with notable numbers of elephant and giraffe. Not far behind the migrating herds are the Serengeti’s predators, most notably African lion but also including leopard, cheetah, jackal, hyaena, aardwolf, and serval cat.

We will be there at the height of the seasonal migrations, with over one million wildebeest on the move, joined by hundreds of thousands of zebra, buffalo, and gazelle. Just a few months before our arrival, the wildebeest will have given birth to over 500,000 new calves.

June 16: Light aircraft transfer from Sayari Camp to Faru Faru Lodge. Accommodation: Faru Faru Lodge Suite – Widely considered to be the best safari lodge in Tanzania, Faru Faru is a modern interpretation of the classic safari accommodation, with intimacy, luxury, and excellent guiding in spades.

June 16 – 19: Spend your days exploring all that the Grumeti Reserve has to offer. Morning and evening wildlife photography excursions, with time mid-day for image review and critique, and presentations including wildlife photography technique, composition, and digital workflow and processing.

Grumeti Reserve is a little-known but exceptional wildlife conservancy that is a contiguous and integral part of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem. The reserve was created by the Tanzanian government in 1994 in order to protect the path of the annual wildebeest migration and the indigenous biodiversity of this vast and important ecosystem. In 2002, the not-for-profit Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund, in partnership with conservation organizations and community groups, was granted the right to manage and conserve these 350,000 acres for the benefit of Tanzania, Africa and the world, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the reserve through low-impact eco-tourism.

June 19: Light aircraft transfer from Faru Faru Lodge to the Arusha airstrip, followed by a private vehicle transfer to Onsea House. As appropriate, you will transfer from Onsea House to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) to catch your departing international flights. Accommodation: Onsea House Day Room

Cost: $16,995 per person based on double-occupancy (single supplement: $1,255)

Inclusive of:

• Generous expert photographic guiding and instruction throughout by Roy Toft and Justin Black
• All safari excursions featuring custom-built safari vehicles with expert game drivers and a full row dedicated to each photographer
• Luxury accommodations throughout, carefully selected for optimal location, photographic opportunities, and overall quality of experience
• All meals and associated beverages (local beer, fine wine, standard cocktails, soft drinks, bottled water)
• Four group flights within Tanzania (four total), all ground transfers

Not included:

• International flights
• Travel insurance (required – we recommend Chartis’ TravelGuard.com)
• Personal items
• “Top-shelf” brand alcoholic beverages

Payment schedule: A 25% deposit is due with registration. A further 50% is due by October 31st, 2014, and the full balance is payable by March 9th, 2015.