Going to the Lake

Malawi Lake Mbeya Ngozi crater Ruaha National Park Ruaha National Park Ruaha National Park Ngozi Crater Isimila Stone Age Kalenga Museum

Description

Exploring the country from see to mountains and from parks to lakes.

Amazing experience to have a real picture of Tanzania.

Infants on requests

Program

Day 1:
DAR > MIKUMI - 5h 57min 305,0 km
Arrival at Nyerere International Airport, where you will meet you guide who is there to assist you with the last formalities and to escort you to your first destination.
Accommodation with Dinner and Breakfast: Simbamwenni Lodge and Camping

Day 2:
MOROGORO > IRINGA - 4 h 54 min (305,0 km)
After breakfast you will leave toward south.
You will cross the Mikumi National Park where in addition to sighting various species of animals, with a little luck, you will be forced to give way to a herd of Elephants or Lions crossiing the road.
You will travel along a road where plains and mountains intertwine creating suggestive and characteristic colors, so much so that sometimes you will forget that you are in Africa.
Together with the driver, you will have fun noticing the trucks and buses overtaking where they shouldn't, and you will be intrigued by the street vendors that offer a myriad of different things.
You will stop in a scenic area for a picnic and then arrive at your destination: Iringa, a small town in central Tanzania.
It is located on a high hill overlooking the Ruaha River valley.
The center has German colonial buildings and a colorful popular market. The Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery commemorates soldiers who died in battles that took place during WWI and WWII.
You can decide to rest or take a nice walk up to Gangilonga Rock, which was once an important meeting place for chieftains, and from where you can enjoy a view that extends over the city. An aperitif at sunset on the terrace of the Iringa Sunset hotel is recommended to capture all the colors of African evenings.
Overnight Lunch and Breakfast: Mama Iringa (or similar)

Day 3:
IRINGA > RUAHA NATIONAL PARK - 2 h 50 min (136 km)
After breakfast, you will start your journey toward the Ruaha National Park.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of the Hehe tribe and its leader Mkwawa, ask the guide to let you visit the Kalenga Museum that you will find on your way.
Although the structure would need careful maintenance, it houses a number of interesting findings and anecdotes about the Chief Tribe, who is famous for the strenuous resistance he opposed to the German invaders. Colonel Freiherr Friedrich von Schele managed to conquer the fortress of Mkawawa, located in the village of Kalenga, only on October 28, 1894 and then he had to wait until the month of July 1898 to definitively eradicate the bloody guerrilla organized by the heroic leader. The Chief preferred to commit suicide, rather than fall prisoner of his enemy.
At the entrance of the park you will complete the formalities relating to entrance permits and then you will immerse yourself in an enchanted panorama. The guide of the lodge, who is waiting for you on board a safari vehicle, will accompany you to the camp. You will find yourself surrounded by a natural and uncontaminated habitat populated by wild animals: Elephants, Giraffes, Lions, Leopards, Hippos, Antelopes, and many others no less amazing than their older brothers, including thousands of bird species.
The camp staff is waiting for you to give you a warm welcome and all kinds of information necessary to make you appreciate this exciting experience and to experience it in complete safety.
If conditions allow, you will also have the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic dinner under the stars.
Accommodation - Lunch Dinner and Breakfast: Mwagusi Safari Camp (or similar)

Day 4:
RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
After the alarm clock rings at dawn and after breakfast, you will leave to explore other areas of the park.
You will appreciate the "silence" of nature and the full contact with the natural elements. You will drive along dusty paths, trying to see the animals before the guide shows them to you. You will enrich your collection of breath-taking panoramas that will remain forever in your eyes and heart.
In the most natural darkness of the night you can admire a starry sky that only tropical areas are able to display
Accommodation - Lunch, Dinner and Breakfast: Mwagusi Safari Camp (or similar)

Day 5:
RUAHA NATIONAL PARK > IRINGA - 2 h 50 min (136 km)
With a little regret, you will depart after breakfast to leave the park.
During the safari you will have the opportunity to meet those animals that you have not yet seen. You will enjoy the last glimpses of the bush before leaving at the same time you entered.
After lunch, if you are interested, you could go to Isimila Stone Age and visit an area where some archaeologists brought to light, in the late 1950s, very significant findings dating back to the Stone Age.
Among these, worth to be mentioned are the bones of extinct mammals, such as an ancestor of the current hippopotamus or a giraffe with a much shorter neck than the current one.
As confirmed by the tools found, this area was a hunting area for hominids who lived between 300,000 and 600,000 years ago. The study of the conformation of the site, allows to get a fairly precise idea of what the area was like before erosion originated the current large canyons, where the hardest rocks, resisting over time, formed pillars that are even 30m tall.
Accommodation - Lunch, Dinner and Breakfast: Kisolanza Old Farm House

Day 6:
IRINGA > MBEYA - 6 h 7 min (354 km)
After breakfast you will leave towards Mbeya along the auto way that goes to the south. Although the road is in good condition, it runs across many local villages and therefore speed must be limited. This will give you the chance to admire breath-taking landscapes.
You will cross mountains and planes full of all those amazing colors that only nature can create.
Before reaching your lodge located in a wonderful coffee plantation, you will stop for lunch,
You have time for rest and then you can learn all the secrets of coffee in a very interesting tour that will show you every step taken by the bean from the plant to your cup.
Accommodation - Lunch, Dinner and Breakfast: Utengule Coffee lodge (or similar)

Day 7:
MBEYA > MATEMA - via Ngozi 1 h 25 min (39,6 km) + 2 h 39 min (140 km)
After a very early breakfast you will depart towards Lake Nogozi. It is the second biggest crater lake in Africa. It is situated near Tukuyo, a small town on the hill of Rungwe, in the region of Mbeya.
Reaching the crater where the lake has formed is a medium difficult trekking which is worth the effort because of its great view.
You will then direct towards the beach for a deserved relaxing time.
Very simple lodge on the beach will accomodate you a deserted place where you can feel like a Robinson Crusoe
Accommodation - Dinner and Breakfast: Matema Lake Shore Resort (or similar)

Day 8:
MATEMA
Full day dedicated to relax. You can swim in the crystal clear waters of the lake that have nothing to envy to the ocean water, you can do some canoe or walking around the beach discovering hidden corners.
Accommodation -Lunch, Dinner and Breakfast: Blue Canoe (or similar)

Day 9:
MATEMA > MBEYA - 3 h 2 min (142 km)
After breakfast you will slowly take the road toward Mbeya.
You will finish your afternoon relaxing in the lodge or, if you wish, with interesting walks around and a bit of trekking in the forest.
Accommodation Dinner and Breakfast: Utengule Coffee Lodge (or similar)

Day 10:
MBEYA AIRPORT
According to your flight schedule you will be escorted to the airport, where you can take your flight to DAR and find your connection bringing you home or to your next destination.

Price includes

All transfers indicated in the program (except air or ferry transfers)
All park entrances and guide fees
The complete safari package
All meals indicated in the program L = Lunch, D = Dinner, BB = Breakfast and Overnight

Price does not include

International flights
Internal flights
Gratuities
Drinks
Meals not listed in the program
Personal expenses

Itinerary

Accommodations provided in each place