7 Day Private Camping Safari: Northern Circuit

Day 1: Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Breakfast in Arusha, then the farms drop behind you in about two hours. Baobabs show first, the park gate next, the river after that. This is not a transfer with a short game drive tacked on. Tarangire is where the safari starts, in a private Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof and a window seat that stays yours for the whole trip.

It is elephant country. In the dry months whole families walk the Tarangire River and the Silale swamp. Giraffe work the acacias. Lion take the shade of the same giants you came to photograph. We stay out for a picnic so you are still in the park when the light tilts and the herds move toward water.

Your Super Luxury Safaris’ Guide already knows which track is quiet that week. You are not following a convoy from a distant call centre. You travel with the Super Luxury Safaris Team that will still answer WhatsApp after dinner.

Overnight in a safari tent in the Karatu highlands, with a cook and a hot bucket shower.

Day 2: Karatu to Serengeti National Park

Once you climb through Iraqw farmland and pause at the Ngorongoro viewpoint, Naabi drops you onto the Serengeti and the horizon opens. The grassland is so wide it rearranges how you think about space. Afternoon sits on the Seronera River — kopjes for lion, sausage trees for leopard if the day is kind, open grass for zebra and gazelle.

This is what most guests have been holding in their heads since they booked, so we do not rush it. After a picnic or a late lodge lunch, a slower drive brings you to camp with the sun still on the plains.

Overnight in a safari tent in the Serengeti — hyena, not a hotel generator.

Day 3: Full day in Serengeti National Park

The point of sleeping in the Serengeti is today: no long transfer, no driving through. We leave in the cool with a picnic and stay with whatever the morning offers. A hunt. A crossing of resident herds. A kopje with a leopard on it if you sit still.

Riverine strips in the dry months. A lean south toward Ndutu from December to March when the calves are on the short grass. A balloon at first light if you want it, not hidden inside the base package. Your own vehicle for the rest of the day, and a Super Luxury Safaris’ Guide who would rather you see one pride well than ten animals from a traffic jam.

Overnight in a safari tent in the Serengeti — hyena, not a hotel generator.

Day 4: Second full day in Serengeti National Park

Sit with a cat. Skip covering kilometres for the sake of a checklist. A second full day on the plains is when the safari settles — either a corner you liked, or a little north or south if the herds have moved.

Simply a long picnic under a sausage tree is enough for some. Others choose a balloon or a walking safari where it is legal. The vehicle is still private. The radio is still your guide’s, not a loudspeaker in a packed truck.

Overnight in a safari tent in the Serengeti — hyena, not a hotel generator.

Day 5: Serengeti to Ngorongoro

You game-drive east toward the crater highlands after a last dawn on the plains. On the open slopes the conservation area still holds giraffe, eland and Maasai herds. The transfer is not empty tarmac.

Evening: rim or Karatu. Caldera below you if the lodge class you chose sits on the edge. Sleep early. The descent is tomorrow.

Overnight in a safari tent at Simba rim camp or a Karatu farm site.

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater

This is the morning that sells the northern circuit. We drop roughly 600 metres onto the crater floor while the grass is still cold. Zebra, wildebeest and buffalo pack the short grass. Hippo hold the pools. Lion are often in the open. Black rhino are never guaranteed — and we never pretend they are — but this closed caldera is the fairest chance you will have.

Picnic lunch is on the floor, not a rushed snack at the gate. We climb out with time to wash off the dust. You will talk about this day for years; we pace it so you are still looking, not watching the clock.

Overnight in a safari tent in the Karatu highlands, with a cook and a hot bucket shower.

Day 7: Lake Manyara National Park to Arusha

A personality of its own: that is Lake Manyara. Groundwater forest under the Rift escarpment. A soda lake that draws flamingos when the water is right. Woodland elephants that feed in the open. Some seasons, tree-climbing lion use the acacias. We look. We do not promise.

Not an optional extra on the way to the airport — a committed morning. After the game drive we continue to Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport as your ticket requires. If your flight is too early: we skip the park, we do not charge the fees, and we tell you that before you pay.