“Truly The experience of a lifetime”
By special arrangement with the owner of Kibo Guides and Tanganyika Wilderness Camps, we offer an extraordinary 12-day safari and cultural tour to help support the Olmoti community.
Itinerary, JUNE/July 2024
DAY 1 Arrival
Arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). Guests are met and driven to RIVERTREES COUNTRY INN, a beautiful hotel on the outskirts of Arusha.
DAY 2 OLMOTI COmmunity
Travel by Land Cruiser to KAMBI YA TEMBO LODGE, a small, luxury tented camp near Olmoti Village, with stunning views of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The camp consists of 14 tents with private en suite facilities. Visit the clinic and the new Health Center, where the staff will discuss the medical services offered to the community and lead a tour of the new surgical center. Proceed to the Lodge for lunch and relaxation. At 4:00, a game drive and a wildlife walking tour will be offered. Enjoy drinks and conversation, followed by a family-style dinner.
DAY 3 GAME DRIVE and OLMOTI SCHOOL
A morning game drive features a chance to see elephants, zebra, giraffes, and more. Enjoy brunch at the lodge, followed by a tour of the Maasai community. Visit the primary school, including a meeting with the head teacher and playful interactions with the students. Share the gifts and supplies you’ve brought for the children and play soccer, frisbee, and jump rope with the students. Visit several bomas to see the new smokeless cookstoves, a life-changing project initiated by the Maasai women. The women travelers will then meet with the village women’s groups to learn about on-going projects focused on women’s empowerment. Enjoy drinks around the fire pit before dinner.
DAY 4 TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
Depart with your naturalist guide for a spectacular game drive through Tarangire, Tanzania’s third largest national park and sanctuary for an unusually large elephant population. Majestic baobab trees are a unique feature of the park. After a box lunch and a daylong game drive, arrive at the marvelous MARAMBOI TENTED CAMP, where luxury tents include en suite facilities and private verandas. The infinity swimming pool is surrounded by rolling grassland where zebra and antelope graze close by.
DAY 5 TARANGIRE Plains
Plan for full-day game drives in Tarangire National Park and another enjoyable overnight at Maramboi Camp. Swim, relax and enjoy drinks around the pool before sharing the camp’s famous barbeque.
DAY 6 LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
Game drives continue through the Tarangire Plains and Lake Manyara National Park, which attract huge flocks of flamingos and other wading birds, often intermingled with wildebeest, elephants, and warthogs. Watch for tree-climbing lions, for which the park is famous. Enjoy a late lunch at KITELA LODGE, a luxury accommodation perched on the top of a hill overlooking a coffee plantation. Afternoon options include a tour of the plantation, a swim in the fabulous infinity pool, and/or a spa massage. Afterwards, gather for drinks and a buffet dinner.
DAY 7 NGORONGORO CRATER
Morning departure to the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater. Descend into the 102 square mile crater to view game on the vast grasslands of the crater floor. Spectacular animal life can be found throughout the year due to the permanent availability of grass and water. Approximately 25,000 large animals live in the crater, with one of the densest known populations of Maasai lions. This volcanic crater is one of the largest calderas in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and voted one of the seven Natural Wonders of Africa. After driving the wall of the crater in late afternoon, return for a relaxing evening at Kitela Lodge.
DAY 8 Kitela Lodge
Relax and decompress with a day of swimming, massage, and/or a walk to the local community of Karatu, home to the Iraqw tribe. A two-hour forest guided trek to explore the hidden Elephant Caves is also available. On your trek, you’ll see the mining project the area’s elephants have created to extract salt and minerals from the soil to strengthen their bones. At day’s end, dinner will be served on the balcony.
Day 9 SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
Take a 30-minute flight to the Serengeti National Park for spectacular views of the terrain and birds-eye perspectives of animals in their habitats. This World Heritage Site was named Africa's Leading National Park in 2021, calling the park “the most impressive sanctuary in the world. These seemingly unending plains are inhabited by great herds of zebra and wildebeest. Visitors often witness predator-prey interactions among the local lions, cheetahs, and leopards. A record ostrich population and more than 500 species of birds call this park home.
Toward evening, travel to KUBU KUBU TENTED CAMP, a 5-star lodge perched on a mountain slope, offering the most spectacular views in all of Serengeti. The swimming pool is a welcome sight at the end of your first day in Serengeti.
DAY 10 SAFARI ON THE SERENGETI
Enjoy a full day of game drives as you continue to view the incredible wildlife in Serengeti Park with a picnic lunch on the banks of the hippo pools. Return to Kubu Kubu Lodge to swim, have a massage, and enjoy the expansive views of the Serengeti plains. Drinks and dinner end a memorable day.
DAY 11 The Migration
Travel to central Serengeti to experience the migration—often called, “the greatest wildlife show on earth.” Each June and July, millions of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle gather to begin a round trip journey between Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara national park, traveling together for protection in search of water and green vegetation. Return to Kubu Kubu at day’s end, with cameras full of unforgettable photos, to prepare for departure the following day.
Day 12 Arusha
An early morning flight from Serengeti takes travelers to Arusha domestic airport. Enjoy lunch at KAHAWA HOUSE where you can relax and swim. A day room is available to all to prepare for your flights. According to your flight schedule, the guides will provide transportation to Kilimanjaro Airport.
Bid farewell to the adventure of a lifetime
Hakuna Matata (No worries)
Unforgettable wildlife and new friendships
The ideal safari: a mix of CLOSE cultural and animal encounters
Elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, baboons, gazelles, hyenas, and more than 1,100 bird species, give visitors a close-up, once-in-a-lifetime window into animal life. Equally memorable is our cultural interaction with the Maasai who embrace our travelers as friends. Receive a traditional welcome into this extended family, with dancing, song, and games with school children.
COST: The cost of the 12-day safari is $5,350.00 plus a required $3,000 tax deductible donation to Olmoti Clinic for a total of $8,350. A single room is an additional $1500. For children under 15 year old, the price is $3,600, plus donation.
The price includes accommodations for 12 days, meals and beverages, transportation, local airline costs, park fees, and professional guides, plus a private safari vehicle for five travelers. Private safaris are available for any date for five or more travelers at the same price.
RESERVATIONS: To hold reservations, please send a check made out to “Our One Community” for $1,000 per person, to Diane Raleigh, 1960 Centro West Street, Tiburon CA 94920. Read reviews from past Olmoti Safari attendees.