Kenya & Tanzania Game Tracker

An early departure from Nairobi and a scenic five-hour drive southwest through the Great Rift Valley — one of the world's most dramatic geological features. The escarpment drops away to reveal the vast Rift Valley floor, dotted with Maasai homesteads and distant cattle herds.

As you enter the Masai Mara National Reserve, the landscape opens completely — golden savannah in every direction, acacia trees on the horizon, and the first wildlife encounters of the trip. Afternoon game drive through the heart of the reserve.

A full day in the Mara — the reserve that defines African safari for millions of travellers. Dawn game drive when predators are most active, the light is golden, and the plains belong entirely to the animals. Lion prides returning from the night hunt, cheetah beginning to scan the grasslands, and hyena circling at a respectful distance.

Afternoon at the legendary Mara River — the crossing point of the Great Migration, where wildebeest plunge through crocodile-filled water in one of nature's great spectacles. An optional hot air balloon at sunrise provides an unforgettable perspective over the reserve ($450pp, champagne bush breakfast included).

One final early morning game drive in the Mara — a last scan of the riverine forest for leopard — before driving south toward the Kenya–Tanzania border crossing at Isibania. Your Asante guide handles all border formalities; the crossing is smooth and efficient.

As you cross into Tanzania the landscape barely changes — but the knowledge that you are now tracking wildlife across two countries adds a new dimension to the journey. Game driving begins immediately inside the Serengeti as you drive to your lodge. By the time you arrive, you will have seen wildlife on both sides of the border.

A full day on Africa's most famous plains. The Serengeti is the size of Ireland and supports the largest concentration of large mammals on earth — 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra, and the predators that follow them. Your expert Tanzanian guide reads the landscape and the animal behaviour with extraordinary skill.

An optional balloon safari at sunrise offers a completely different perspective — floating silently above the herds as the plains turn gold ($550pp). Full day of game driving with a bush picnic lunch in the field. Sundowner drinks poured beside the vehicle as the Serengeti sun drops to the horizon.

A morning game drive in the Serengeti before driving east through the ancient Ngorongoro highlands — dense montane forest giving way to open highland meadows dotted with Maasai cattle and the occasional distant volcano. The drive itself is one of the great scenic journeys in Tanzania.

As the road climbs toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the world below the rim disappears. At the top, your lodge sits on the very edge of the crater — 600 metres below, a self-contained wildlife world 20km across. Sundowners on the rim as the crater fills with evening shadow and mist.

Descend into the crater at dawn as mist rises from the floor 600 metres below. Ngorongoro is the most biodiverse place on earth for its area — a natural enclosure where approximately 30,000 animals live in a self-contained ecosystem within the ancient volcanic caldera.

This is the best single location in Africa to see all Big Five in one day — including the critically endangered black rhinoceros. Lake Magadi turns pink with thousands of flamingos. A bush picnic lunch on the crater floor, then an afternoon following the resident lion prides before the steep drive back to the rim as the sun sets behind the caldera wall.

A morning at leisure on the Ngorongoro rim — perhaps one final glance into the crater, now familiar and extraordinary in equal measure — before driving east toward Arusha through the Great Rift Valley foothills.

Arrive in Arusha — Tanzania's safari capital and a vibrant, cosmopolitan city set at the foot of Mount Meru. Settle into your lodge on a working coffee estate. The pace changes here: Arusha is a city with culture, craft markets, and excellent restaurants. Two days to explore, rest, and absorb the journey so far.

Two days based in Arusha with freedom to explore. The Cultural Heritage Centre is one of East Africa's finest galleries — Maasai jewellery, Makonde ebony carvings, Tingatinga paintings and Tanzanite direct from the mines. The local Maasai market is a riot of colour and commerce. A morning at Arusha National Park offers colobus monkeys, giraffe and, on clear days, Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru framing every game drive.

Optional one-day extension to Tarangire National Park — famous for its enormous elephant herds and ancient baobab trees — or a half-day excursion to flamingo-covered Lake Manyara. Both add remarkable wildlife encounters with minimal additional driving.

A final morning in Arusha — perhaps one last coffee from the estate or a stroll through the lodge gardens — before transferring to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward connection. Flights connect directly to many international hubs, or via Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Eleven days. Two countries. The Masai Mara at golden hour, the border crossing into Tanzania, the Serengeti's endless plains, the Ngorongoro Crater's ancient wildlife theatre, and Arusha's rich culture. Asante sana — thank you, East Africa.