Tanzania Photo Safari     Play Movie                                                                   Back to workshops Page

with Boyd Norton   February 15-28, 2007 

 also May 26 - June 8, 2007                    

This safari gives you an in-depth view of the natural history of East Africa, with a special emphasis on wildlife photography. The itinerary has proven very productive and popular over many years, allowing a maximum amount of game viewing and photography, with a minimum of time spent on the road.

* Intensive game viewing and photography at Serengeti National Park during migration time.

* Time to absorb and photograph the wonder of it all. Most safari companies rush from place to place. We take our time. We can spend hours watching and waiting for the action or just the right light.

* Extended exploration of Ngorongoro Crater and a chance to meet and photograph a Maasai chieftain and family.

* Visit to Olduvai Gorge and the Zinjanthropus Site.

* Photographic expertise and leadership of Boyd Norton. Boyd has made more than 35 trips to Africa and spent hundreds of days exploring out- of-the-way photographic places in Serengeti country. Three of Boyd’s thirteen acclaimed books are on African subjects. He’ll show you his secret places for best landscapes and wildlife.

* Limited to 14 participants. We will have 3 people per 7 passenger "stretch" Land Cruisers

This is Africa as you've always imagined it to be: the magic of a Serengeti sunset, the teeming wildlife of Ngorongoro Crater. A safari to Tanzania is a special adventure into the premier game-viewing country of Africa. Tanzania's great game parks and reserves are unsurpassed anywhere in the world. We'll see all of the major plains animals, zebras, giraffes, impalas, gazelles, and other herbivores. There will be baboons and monkeys, herds of elephant and buffalo, and some of the most wonderful bird life you will ever see. Not a serious photographer? Not a problem. You will enjoy the extra time we spend viewing and observing the wildlife and fabulous landscapes.

Boyd’s intimate knowledge of all these areas will assure you of the best photographic and game viewing opportunities.

We have planned this safari during this period for a special reason - the Serengeti migration, the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth. Our trip is timed to coincide with the annual migration of thousands of animals through the eastern Serengeti, and we will witness the herds as they travel across the plains on the way to the Maasai Mara in Kenya.

*Game Drives for Photographers and Naturalists

Early mornings and late afternoons, for the best wildlife photography and light. Long days in the field. Excellent driver-guides who are sensitive to the needs of photographic groups.

* Accommodations and Food

Most of the safari accommodations are in modern, deluxe lodges that are in harmony with their environment and are constructed of local materials. In the Serengeti you'll stay at deluxe tented camps, immersing you in the sights and sounds of Africa. Food at all locations is well prepared and delicious.

* Pre-departure Preparation

Extensive background readings and travel information will be supplied when you enroll.

We use the best safari outfitter in all of East Africa, a company that was started twelve years ago by two close friends of Boyd's and native Tanzanians. As a native owned company, this means that all income derived goes directly into the local economy, not to some foreign owned company office in Chicago or New York or London. This is  ecotourism in its finest form. Every year our participants have nothing but glowing praise for our safari outfitter, their driver guides (the best in the business), and the camp staff.

The safari begins this evening at your U.S. departure point, as you board the KLM flight to Amsterdam. We will have a short layover before continuing to Arusha. On arrival, we will be met at the airport and taken to the hotel. Overnight at the KIGONGONI LODGE. (meals on plane)

Note: Because of possible permit changes in Ngorongoro Crater, we may schedule a first day visit to Lake Manyara National Park, overnighting at Manyara Serena Hotel, before continuing on to Ngorongoro Crater. We would then have two nights, rather than three, at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.

After breakfast and photo ops at the lodge, we depart for Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most famous wildlife viewing areas in the world. We will check in and have lunch at the NGORONGORO SERENA LODGE. This newly built lodge is constructed of local stone, hidden within the forests of the west rim of the crater. It offers a stunning view of the crater, with close proximity to the access road for the descent. After lunch we will have an afternoon game drive in the crater. Overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge (all meals)

We will spend two days exploring the crater, leaving early in the morning, well before most tour vehicles depart. We will descend from the rim, at about 7,600 feet in elevation, to the floor of the crater some 2,000 feet below for the first game drive. This 102-square-mile crater is the world's largest, unflooded, unbroken caldera. Within its perimeter are thousands of wildebeest, many black rhino, cheetah, gazelle, giraffe, and a high density of lions, hyenas, and other predators. (Recommended reading: The Innocent Killers by Jane and Hugo Van Lawick-Goodall). Flamingos inhabit an alkaline lake in the center of the crater, and other bird life is abundant.

* Special feature: depending upon his availability, Boyd’s Maasai friend, Edward Sindato Ngobei, may accompany us one of the days in the crater. Edward is a university graduate, a young chief of the local Maasai and works for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Edward has been featured in two U.S. nationally broadcast television programs (in one he was Anthony Hopkins’ guide) and he will take us to his own home boma on the east rim of the crater for an incredible photo experience. Edward is very articulate and well educated and is pleased to answer any questions about the Maasai culture, one of the few relatively unchanged cultures in Africa. 

We'll spend full days in the crater with picnic lunches, maximizing the time there, and returning as late as possible in order to get the last golden rays of light. Overnights at the NGORONGORO SERENA LODGE. (all meals)

From Ngorongoro we'll drive to the Serengeti, via Ol Karien Gorge, or Olduvai Gorge, the world-renowned site of discoveries of early hominids made by archaeologists Mary and Louis Leakey.

* Special Feature: Boyd’s old friend, John Pareso, is the director of the Olduvai Museum and worked for Mary Leakey for a number of years. If he is available, John will accompany us to the Zinjanthropus Site (site of Mary Leakey’s discovery of the first hominid skull -1.9 million years old) and give a short talk about the fascinating discoveries here.

The Serengeti is one of the most famous wildlife areas in the world. The park's 5,700 square miles are part of the 9,600-square-mile Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, home to incredible herds of wildebeest and other grazing animals. This vast area consists of treeless central plains, savannah dotted with acacias and granite outcroppings called kopjes, and riparian bush and forest in the north. We have timed the trip to coincide with the great Serengeti migration. Although there are never guarantees in the natural world, we will normally be able to see huge herds of wildebeest and other plains animals grazing on the savannah. The herds follow the rains and feed on the new grass, so what we will actually see depends upon the weather pattern. If past years are any indication, we have positioned ourselves to be in the right location at the right time.

In the Serengeti, we will stay in a tented camp located in the southeastern part of the Serengeti. The camp will be set up in advance for the private use of the tour group. It has a commanding view of the surrounding plains, which should be filled with herds of wildebeest and zebra at this time of year.

This is not roughing it - the camp is quite comfortable, with a staff and a cook to do all the chores. Accommodations are spacious tents, large enough to stand up in. With just two people per tent, there is plenty of room for luggage and camera gear. Each tent is equipped with a small table and a camp bed with a foam mattress, sheets, pillow and a blanket. There is a verandah attached to each tent with two camp chairs and a canvas washbasin that is filled with hot water in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. In addition, each tent has attached to it a separate room with chemical toilet that is cleaned daily and a room with a shower.

    The dining tent        Spacious tents with attached toilets & shower

Delicious meals, complete with homemade bread, are prepared over an open fire. Meals are served in a separate, screened dining tent that has an awning at the front. Soft drinks and bottled water are included. Beer, wine, and spirits are available at an extra cost.

Day 7 - 11 (6 nights total in Serengeti)

Camping near the herds, away from the tourist lodges, will provide you with unforgettable memories. As you sit around the campfire at night, sounds of wildebeest, hyenas, and lions fill the air. (all meals)

Each morning we are up before dawn, awakened by our camp staff calling softly "Jambo, habari ya ahsabuhi." After breakfast we are on our way as the sun comes up over the Ngorongoro Highlands. Every day is different here and filled with incredible photographic opportunities. Because we are camped away from the tourist lodges, we often drive for hours cross country without seeing another vehicle. The great masses of wildebeest and zebras are generally in these eastern short grass plains at this time of year. It is, without doubt, the greatest wildlife spectacle left on earth - hundreds of thousands of animals spread from horizon to horizon. This is also time of wildebeest calving.

We will say farewell to the Serengeti plains and drive back past Ngorongoro to a lovely inn, The Plantation Lodge. The inn is situated on an old coffee farm. It has beautiful gardens and exceptional rooms, with en-suite full bathrooms. You will immediately notice the care and attention that went into creating this lodge. Overnight at Plantation Lodge. (all meals)

Day 13 Arusha – Amsterdam

This morning we will drive back to Arusha. The remainder of the day will be free. We'll have a dayroom and farewell dinner at the KIGONGONI LODGE before departing for the airport in the evening. (all meals)

We arrive in Amsterdam this morning and have a short layover before connecting with the

KLM flight back to the USA. (meals on plane)

Cost: Feb 15 - 28.  $6895 pp

         May 26 - June 8.  $6195pp

Price includes all meals, accommodations, park and camping fees, all local travel including transfers, all activities listed, all soft drinks, driver/guides and vehicles, temporary membership in the Flying Doctors Society.

Not included: international airfare, air taxes and foreign airport taxes, excess baggage charges, passport visa fees, alcoholic beverages at lodges and camp, tips.gratuities for driver guides and camp staff.

Note: we often arrange for our participants optional extensions to visit Lake Manyara National Park or Tarangire National Park.

For reservations or more information: Andean & Rainforest Expeditions

Or email Boyd Norton

Check out our newest website celebrating 40 years of wilderness photography.