12-Day Predators & Prey Safari

We meet you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and drive you to The Scenery Residence for your first night. The rest of the day is for getting over the flight. In the evening there's a welcome dinner and a safari briefing, where your guide runs through the plan for the days ahead and answers questions about the flight to Ndutu, luggage and the calving plains. Repack tonight with light aircraft limits in mind: a soft duffel bag works far better than a hard suitcase. Dinner is included.

Today you take a scenic flight to the Ndutu plains, where the migration herds gather to give birth. Flying saves a long day on the road and puts you straight into the calving area. Your first game drive starts on arrival, among wildebeest and their newborn calves. In the calving season thousands are born each day, and the predators know it. Then you check into Savannah Ndutu Camp, a tented camp on the calving plains and your base for the next four nights. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

A full day on the Ndutu plains during calving, when the predators are at their busiest. Lions, cheetahs and hyenas follow the herds closely, and the short grass gives you a clear view of what happens. Your guide follows predator activity rather than a fixed route, so you can stay with a sighting for as long as it's worth staying. Some days bring a chase or a kill. Some don't, and that's the nature of it. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, with the night at Savannah Ndutu Camp.

Another full day in Ndutu, this time tracking different predator species and watching how each one hunts. A cheetah in the open works very differently from a lion pride or a group of hyenas, and with several days on the plains you start to see the patterns for yourself. Away from the hunters there's the other half of the story: newborn calves finding their feet, and mothers doing what they can to protect them. All meals are included, and you spend another night at Savannah Ndutu Camp.

Your last full day in Ndutu is kept flexible. You can return to favourite spots, wait for behaviour you haven't seen yet, or focus on one predator and its habits. If you're photographing, it's a good day to fill the gaps in your shots, since the open short-grass plains give clean backgrounds for predator and newborn action. Tell your guide what matters most to you and the day is planned around it. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, and it's your fourth and final night at Savannah Ndutu Camp.

Today you leave Ndutu by road for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Your base for the next three nights is the EWA Private Mobile Camp, our own mobile camp, set up for a small, private stay. Because the camp is ours, the timing of the coming days can bend around what your group wants to do. In the afternoon you head out on a game drive in the highlands, where nights are noticeably colder than on the plains, so keep a warm fleece handy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

Today you descend into Ngorongoro Crater for a full day on the crater floor. The crater is home to over 25,000 animals, and its steep walls hold a whole ecosystem in one place, predators and prey together. That makes for good predator-prey viewing, and a very different feel from the open Ndutu plains. Your guide plans the drive around where the animals are active that day. The crater descent fee is included. You return to the EWA Private Mobile Camp in the evening, with all meals included.

A day to explore the wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area beyond the crater, including remote corners that few visitors reach. Part of the day is on foot. Walking, you notice tracks, plants and smaller creatures that are easy to miss from a vehicle, and your guide sets the pace to suit the group. You also visit a Maasai community and learn how families live and keep cattle alongside wildlife in the highlands. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, with a last night at the EWA Private Mobile Camp.

Today you drive to Tarangire National Park, known for its big elephant herds and ancient baobab trees. After the open plains of Ndutu and the Ngorongoro highlands, it's a different landscape with a different mix of predators. The drive is part of the safari, so keep your binoculars out. You check into Kati Kati Tarangire Camp, a tented camp and your base for the last three nights, then start exploring the park on your first game drive here. All meals are included.

A full day given over to Tarangire's predators. The park is known for its lions, leopards and cheetahs, and your guide works through different habitats to look for them, from riverine forest to open savanna. Each habitat supports different wildlife, so the day has variety even when the cats are quiet. No sighting can be promised, and patience usually pays here. Elephants among the baobabs are rarely far away. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, with the night at Kati Kati Tarangire Camp.

Your last full day on safari is yours to shape. Go back for sightings you missed, spend more time with the elephant herds among the baobabs, or keep tracking predators through the river forest. It's also a good day for final photographs of Tarangire's landscape. Three nights here keep the pace relaxed at the end of a long trip, so there's no pressure to cover ground. All meals are included, and you spend a final night at Kati Kati Tarangire Camp.

After breakfast in Tarangire, we drive you back through Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your departure. Because the day starts in the park, an afternoon or evening flight home works best. Tell us your flight times when you book and we'll plan the transfer around them. Breakfast is included today, and no accommodation is booked for tonight. If you'd like to add a night in Arusha before flying out, or carry on to the coast, ask our team when you enquire.