NORTHERN TANZANIA – An extraordinary birding and mammal watching adventure

PRICE INFORMATION

Birdquest Inclusions: Our tour prices include surface transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

We also include all tipping for local guides, drivers and accommodation/restaurant staff.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price. Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

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This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.

NORTHERN TANZANIA BIRDING TOUR: DETAILED ITINERARY

Northern Tanzania: Day 1  Our Northern Tanzania birding tour begins this evening at Kilimanjaro airport. From Kilimanjaro airport, we will drive to the Arusha area for a two nights stay. Our hotel is delightfully situated amongst coffee plantations and vegetable gardens in the verdant country at the foot of Mount Meru (4565m).

(There are some intercontinental flights directly into Kilimanjaro or you can fly into Tanzania via such cities as Nairobi or Dar-es-Salaam. If your arrival flight is not convenient for the tour start, we can arrange overnight accommodation for you at a comfortable lodge immediately outside the airport. The same applies to your departure from Kilimanjaro.)

Northern Tanzania: Day 2  Today we will visit nearby Arusha National Park, where our main target will be the near-endemic Broad-ringed (or Kilimanjaro) White-eye, a species virtually restricted to Mount Kilimanjaro and the Mount Meru massif, occurring in a tiny sliver of Kenyan territory high on the flanks of Kilimanjaro. Other important birds here are the near-endemic Mountain and Stripe-faced Greenbuls, the spectacular, restricted-range Hartlaub’s Turaco and the patchily-distributed Waller’s Starling.

Arusha National Park is a relatively small but extremely beautiful sanctuary that includes the summit of Mount Meru as well as extensive montane forests. Large mammals are not as conspicuous here as in the more open national parks and reserves further west, but even so, we should see good numbers. Some large marshy clearings and areas of open grassland hold Cape (or African) Buffalo, Plains (or Burchell’s) Zebra, Common Warthog, Masai Giraffe, Cape Bushbuck, Ellipsen Waterbuck, Olive Baboon and Sykes’s Monkey, whilst in the forest, we are sure to come across fabulously shaggy Guereza Colobus monkeys with their long and wonderful tails and perhaps disturb the little Harvey’s Duiker.

Among the more widespread birds that we may well encounter in the park are Southern Pochard, Little Grebe, White-breasted and Reed Cormorants, African Sacred Ibis, the noisy Hadada Ibis, the striking Augur Buzzard, Common Buzzard, Black-winged Stilt, Blacksmith and Spur-winged Lapwings, Red-eyed Dove, African Palm Swift, Speckled Mousebird, Little, White-fronted and European Bee-eaters, Silvery-cheeked and Crowned Hornbills, White-eared Barbet, Black Saw-wing, Barn, Wire-tailed and Lesser Striped Swallows, Common House Martin, African Pied Wagtail, Black Cuckooshrike, Dark-capped Bulbul, the lovely Rüppell’s Robin-Chat, Cape Robin-Chat, Whinchat, African Stonechat, Willow Warbler, Singing and Trilling Cisticolas, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Yellow-breasted Apalis, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, African Dusky Flycatcher, Tropical Boubou, Northern Fiscal, Red-billed Oxpecker, Collared, Amethyst, Bronzy and Variable Sunbirds, the stout Thick-billed (or Grosbeak) Weaver, Village Weaver and Yellow Bishop.

We should also find one or two of the more uncommon residents of the montane forest, which include Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, the superb Crowned Eagle, Scaly Francolin, Scarce Swift, the lovely Bar-tailed Trogon, Placid Greenbul, Kenrick’s Starling, Black-fronted Bushshrike and Abyssinian Crimsonwing.

Later in the day, a visit to a lake and its adjacent forest should produce three restricted-range specialities; Taveta Weaver, Grey-olive Greenbul and Brown-breasted Barbet. More widespread species include Trumpeter Hornbill, African Paradise Flycatcher, Black-backed Puffback, Olive Sunbird and Spectacled Weaver, while uncommon possibilities include Brown-hooded and Giant Kingfishers and Little Greenbul.

Northern Tanzania: Day 3  Before dawn we may locate the attractive African Wood Owl and, if we are fortunate, the delightful Garnett’s Greater (or Small-eared) Galago (one of the bush babies) close to our lodge. Providing the weather is clear, we should see the majestic peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rising high above the plain.

Next, we head off to some open grassy plains not far from Arusha in search of the highly localized Beesley’s (or Pygmy Spike-heeled) Lark. This Tanzanian form is so geographically isolated from the range of the Spike-heeled Lark in Southern Africa that it is no surprise that genetic studies have shown it deserves specific status. This is wonderful lark habitat and we should also encounter the restricted-range Foxy, Athi Short-toed and Short-tailed Larks, and Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, as well as the widespread Rufous-naped and Red-capped Larks.

Also frequenting the area are Lanner Falcon, Crowned Lapwing, African Pipit, the interesting goodsoni form of the Plain-backed Pipit (which is sometimes included in Buffy Pipit, but which may represent a distinct species), Isabelline Wheatear and the smart Capped Wheatear. Careful searching should turn up Temminck’s Courser.

Nearby are extensive areas of thornbush where we could well find such species restricted to the drier parts of eastern Africa as Eastern Chanting Goshawk, White-headed Mousebird (uncommon), Spotted Palm Thrush, African Grey Flycatcher, Grey Wren-Warbler, Banded Parisoma, Kenya Rufous Sparrow, the smart Grey-capped Social Weaver and Blue-capped Cordon-bleu. The local form of the Beautiful Sunbird (melanogastra) is sometimes split as Gorgeous Sunbird.

More widespread denizens include Blue-naped Mousebird, Upcher’s Warbler, Rattling Cisticola, Red-faced Crombec, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Brubru, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Scarlet-chested Sunbird and White-browed Sparrow-Weaver.

Afterwards, we will bypass the bustling city of Arusha and then head westwards, first through rolling, partly cultivated landscapes and then through steadily drier bush country, until we reach Tarangire National Park. Here we will spend two nights at a comfortable game lodge.

Along the highways today, we should encounter Western Cattle Egret, Yellow-billed Kite, Speckled Pigeon and Pied Crow.

Northern Tanzania: Day 4  Tarangire National Park protects a huge swathe of acacia savanna and thornbush country in northern Tanzania. The gigantic baobab trees that tower above the thornbush are a very attractive feature of Tarangire and something that will be completely missing once we travel further west.

Tarangire has a rich and diverse avifauna, but the prime specialities here are two Tanzania endemics, Ashy Starling and Yellow-collared Lovebird, both of which are common, as well as species restricted to eastern Africa such as Hartlaub’s Bustard (which can be found both here and in central Serengeti), Black-faced Sandgrouse, Red-billed (or African Orange-bellied) Parrot, Bare-faced Go-away Bird (the local form is sometimes split as Black-faced Go-away-bird), the comical White-bellied Go-away Bird, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Red-and-yellow and D’Arnaud’s Barbets, Von der Decken’s Hornbill, Eastern Grey Woodpecker, Pangani Longclaw, Northern Pied Babbler, Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird, Swahili Sparrow, Golden-backed Weaver, the extraordinary Straw-tailed Whydah and Reichenow’s (or Kenya Yellow-rumped) Seed-eater. The restricted-range Sombre Nightjar can also be found here on occasion.

As we explore the national park, Common Ostriches stride across the open areas and noisy Helmeted Guineafowl, Coqui and Crested Francolins, and Red-necked and restricted-range Yellow-necked Spurfowls scuttle away from the roadsides. Raptors are numerous and may well include Black-winged Kite, White-backed, Rüppell’s and Lappet-faced Vultures, Black-chested and Brown Snake Eagles, the seemingly tailless, acrobatic Bateleur, Gabar Goshawk, Tawny, Steppe and Long-crested Eagles, African Hawk-Eagle and the small but fierce Pygmy Falcon. Lilac-breasted and European Rollers, Long-tailed Fiscals and Magpie Shrikes scan for insects from prominent perches and Northern Red-billed and African Grey Hornbills fly conspicuously between the trees.

One of the most impressive species of the area is the Southern Ground Hornbill and we are likely to see these huge, ground-feeding birds stalking along right beside the road or flying heavily up to a convenient tree branch.

Amongst the many more widespread species we should encounter in this part of Tanzania are Hamerkop, Marabou Stork, White-faced Whistling Duck, Egyptian Goose, Knob-billed Duck, Water Thick-knee, Senegal Lapwing, Three-banded Plover, Green and Common Sandpipers, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Namaqua, Mourning Collared, Ring-necked and Laughing Doves, Meyer’s (or Brown) Parrot, Common Cuckoo, White-browed Coucal, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Mottled Spinetail, Mottled and Little Swifts, Grey-headed and Striped Kingfishers, Rufous-crowned Roller, African Hoopoe, Green Wood Hoopoe, Flappet Lark (a bird that gives itself away by its far-carrying purring wing-beat sound), Red-rumped and Mosque Swallows, Arrow-marked Babbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Northern White-crowned Shrike, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Slate-coloured Boubou, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Black-headed Oriole, Superb, Wattled and Red-winged Starlings, White-headed and Red-billed Buffalo Weavers, Red-headed Weaver, the smart but decidedly localized Black Bishop, the fancy Pin-tailed Whydah, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, the showy Long-tailed Paradise Whydah and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting.

We should also come across one or more uncommon but widespread denizens of the park, which include Striated Heron, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Collared Palm Thrush, Rock Cisticola, Miombo Wren-Warbler and the strange Cuckoo-finch (or Parasitic Weaver).

Tarangire is a superb place for seeing African Savanna Elephants, often at very close range. We are likely to come across some standing quietly amongst the tall grass, motionless apart from the slow flapping of those huge ears and those slowly chomping jaws, as yet more grass disappears into those gigantic stomachs, while at other times a party may lumber across the road in front of us or make their way slowly across the glistening shallows of the Tarangire River. Yes, this is what Africa is all about!

At this time of year, the rains have turned Tarangire green and the lush growth of grass provides a bonanza for the local mammals. As well as many elephants, we can also expect to see Plains (or Burchell’s) Zebra, Cape (or African) Buffalo, Thomas’s Dik-Dik, Ellipsen Waterbuck, Grant’s Gazelle, the graceful Impala and Eastern White-bearded Wildebeest. Olive Baboons wander into the tracks, confident that they have the right of way, and cheeky Vervet Monkeys can be a hazard at any of the viewpoints where visitors can leave their vehicles – ever ready to leap down from the trees and run off with the best of the picnic. Other likely mammals include Unstriped Ground Squirrel and Dwarf Mongoose.

We may be able to make a night drive during our stay. Regular sightings include the strange Spring Hare and White-tailed Mongoose. There is even a very slim chance of sighting an Aardvark.

Northern Tanzania: Day 5  After some final exploration in Tarangire we will cross the Great Rift Valley to Lake Manyara National Park. Along the way, we will keep an eye open for Fire-fronted Bishop, an irruptive and irregularly seen species of restricted distribution that is very occasionally found in the area.

The unusual groundwater forest at Manyara holds Purple-crested Turaco and Ashy Flycatcher. Providing water levels are suitable, we will also be able to see a good selection of waterbirds and other water-associated species, including Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, Little, Great and Intermediate Egrets, the strange Black Heron, Squacco, Grey and Purple Herons, the huge Goliath Heron, the colourful Saddle-billed Stork, Yellow-billed Stork, Glossy Ibis, African Spoonbill, Spur-winged Goose, Red-billed and Hottentot Teals, African Fish Eagle, Common Moorhen, the beautiful Long-toed Lapwing, African Jacana, Little Stint, Ruff, Common Greenshank, Curlew, Marsh and Wood Sandpipers, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, Brown-throated Martin and Western Yellow Wagtails of a selection of forms. In the distance are vast numbers of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes.

After leaving Lake Manyara we shall climb up a spectacular escarpment, with wonderful views out across the vast shimmering expanse of the lake and its fringing groundwater forest. We will overnight at a comfortable lodge on the escarpment rim and we may see Montane Nightjar this evening.

Northern Tanzania: Day 6  Today we will ascend through the rich agricultural lands and forests of the Crater Highlands until we will reach the Ngorongoro Crater itself, where we will stay for two nights.

The beautifully constructed, luxurious game lodge where we will stay is carefully built into the rim of the crater and offers awesome views. Gazing down from the observation areas, one can see the entire crater laid out below one like a map, and even make out distant elephants, rhinos and herds of antelopes and buffalos!

Many interesting birds, including a number of montane forest species, can be seen in the lodge grounds or elsewhere on the largely forested rim and outer flanks of the Ngorongoro Crater, including such restricted-range species as Hildebrant’s Francolin, Nyanza Swift, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Moustached Tinkerbird, Hunter’s and Lynes’s Cisticolas, Grey-capped Warbler, the near-endemic Mbulu White-eye, the gorgeous Eastern Double-collared, Tacazze and Golden-winged  Sunbirds, Speke’s Weaver, Jackson’s Widowbird (with its fascinating and distinctly amusing bouncing display), Southern (or East African) Citril and Streaky Seedeater.

More widespread species include Olive Pigeon, Tambourine Dove, Red-chested Cuckoo, Schalow’s Turaco, African Cuckoo, African Black Swift, Common Scimitarbill, Tree Pipit, Abyssinian Thrush, the skulking Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Red-faced Cisticola, Brown-headed and Bar-throated Apalises, Brown Parisoma, African Dusky Flycatcher, Black-crowned Tchagra, Malachite Sunbird, the striking Yellow Bishop,  the impressive Red-collared Widowbird, Yellow-bellied Waxbill and Yellow-crowned Canary.

We should also see two or three of the more difficult species, which include Mountain Buzzard, the superb African Emerald Cuckoo, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Brown Woodland Warbler, the restricted-range Mountain Yellow Warbler, the dainty White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, the colourful Black-fronted Bushshrike (a bird with a truly extraordinarily ‘song’) and the attractive Oriole-Finch.

Mammals are rather hard to find, for a change, but we should come across the attractive Blue Monkey.

Northern Tanzania: Day 7  Even without its extraordinary wildlife, Ngorongoro Crater would be a very special place, for this is one of the scenic wonders of the world. The immense caldera is over 16 kilometres across, covers over 260 square kilometres and is over 600m deep!

Some 30,000 large mammals are resident in the area and they can be seen speckling the grasslands from the crater rim. Montane forest covers the rim, but the floor is predominantly grassland, although there are patches of woodland, lakes, swamps and rivers. The sides of the caldera are steep, with precipitous cliffs in places, restricting the flow of large mammals into and out of the area.

This morning we shall descend from the rim by way of a tortuous mountain road. Early in the morning, there is often a sea of mist covering the crater floor, with just the rim catching the first rays of the sun – an incredibly beautiful sight. And down there, below that cotton wool blanket, so much wonder awaits us! The commonest and most conspicuous large mammals are Serengeti White-bearded Wildebeest, Plains (or Burchell’s) Zebra, Grant’s and Serengeti Thomson’s Gazelles, the ugly but amusing Common Warthog, Cape (or African) Buffalo and African Savanna Elephant, indeed most of these are hard to get away from as big herds of zebras, wildebeest (or gnus), gazelles and buffalos are constantly meandering across the crater floor as they feast on the bountiful grass of the long rains.

Ngorongoro is one of the most reliable places in the world for seeing the endangered Black (or Browse) Rhinoceros, mainly because they have nowhere they can easily hide (and neither do poachers!), and we shall enjoy some marvellous views of these magnificent leviathans, perhaps at close range. The crater also has a high predator population. Spotted Hyaenas and Black-backed Jackals are quite common, whilst the local Lions are often both approachable and highly photogenic.

Towards the southern end of the crater is Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake with glistening salt flats at its periphery. Here, if conditions are right, thousands of Greater and Lesser Flamingoes slowly sift for brine shrimps in the shallow water and the lake’s margins provide a resting place for flocks of White Storks and feeding places for Cape Teal, Kittlitz’s Plover, Grey-headed Gull and Gull-billed Tern.

At this time of year, we may find the intra-African migrant Abdim’s Stork feeding amongst the incredibly green, wildflower-spattered grasslands, while other birds in this habitat or amongst the beautiful, yellow-barked ‘fever trees’ (a kind of Acacia) include Black-headed Heron, the huge Martial Eagle, the lovely Grey Crowned Crane, the huge Kori Bustard (often to be seen in full display), Black-winged Lapwing, Dusky Turtle Dove, Bearded Woodpecker, Banded Martin, Northern Anteater Chat, Winding, Desert and Pectoral-patch Cisticolas, White-necked Raven and Cape Rook.

Marshy areas hold Black-crowned Night Heron, the uncommon Black Stork, Yellow-billed Duck, Northern Shoveler, Southern Pochard and Lesser Swamp Warbler. If we keep on checking the Western Marsh Harriers we may come across the attractive African Marsh Harrier.

For the photographer, the crater is a true paradise, for not only are both mammals and large birds very used to vehicles and people, allowing amazingly close approach (almost touching distance at times, which creates quite an impression!), but the wonderful skyscapes and the constantly moving shadows of the clouds on the dappled crater walls produce an incomparable backdrop. No wonder so many of the world’s greatest wildlife photographs and films have been made here!

Northern Tanzania: Day 8  After some final birding at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, we will drop down from the Crater Highlands into the shortgrass plains that form the western part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, keeping a lookout for new birds, such as the restricted-range Taita Fiscal, along the way. This is Masai country and from time to time we will encounter these proud cattle herders with their traditional red cloaks and spears (and no doubt some of the young men who nowadays like to dress up and pose for photographs – in return for a consideration!). If some of the great herds are present in the area, which very much depends on the distribution of rain, we could be treated to a first incredible introduction to the Serengeti plains.

We will make a stop at the famous Oldupai (or Olduvai) Gorge, where the Leakey family have discovered so much about our earliest ancestors. Here, at the scenic rim of the gorge, we have a good chance of finding the hulking, near-endemic Southern Grosbeak-Canary and also Red-fronted Tinkerbird. We could also encounter a lingering wintering White-throated Robin.

Eventually, we will enter the Serengeti National Park the pride of Tanzania, as we head for the south-central sector of the park for a three nights stay at another wonderfully situated and very comfortable game lodge.

As we leave the shortgrass plains behind the landscape changes and we can gaze out over a sea of tall grassland, peppered with acacias along the watercourses and punctuated by hills and kopjes of huge rounded granitic boulders, that stretches away to the far horizon. At this season the cloudscapes are often dramatic, making for some incredibly beautiful sunsets.

Northern Tanzania: Days 9-10  At dawn a low mist often hangs over the Serengeti grasslands, the trees and kopjes projecting above a white blanket, providing us with yet another incredible wilderness scene. In this region of Serengeti, there are great expanses of tall, moist grasslands haunted by Harlequin Quail and attractive White-bellied, Black-bellied and sometimes Hartlaub’s Bustards and quartered by migrant harriers – Montagu’s, Pallid and Western Marsh, as well as migrating Lesser Kestrels. Here we should also find the beautiful little Double-banded (or Two-banded) Courser, Black Coucal, Plain-backed and Red-throated Pipits, strikingly-patterned Yellow-throated and Rosy-throated (or Rosy-breasted) Longclaws, Fan-tailed and White-winged Widowbirds, the minuscule, whirring Quailfinch and a confusing array of cisticolas including Croaking and Zitting. If we are in luck we will find the secretive Fan-tailed Grassbird.

The miombo woodlands in this area hold two very special birds, Tanzanian (or Ruaha) Red-billed Hornbill, a central Tanzanian endemic that just reaches this southern part of the Serengeti, and the highly localized Grey-crested Helmetshrike, a species restricted to a few areas in northern Tanzania and adjacent Kenya. We should have no problem finding the hornbill and with a little luck, a noisy and inquisitive flock of helmetshrikes will come in to investigate our recording. Another very special restricted-range but rather uncommon speciality of the open country here is Karamoja Apalis, which we will try hard to locate.

At Seronera, the location of the park headquarters and one of the original lodges, one of the kopjes has an educational boardwalk snaking amongst the boulders and trees, complete with interesting and unusual metal sculptures of Serengeti creatures. It is a great place for a walk, with many tame birds and Yellow-spotted Hyraxes and Black-necked Rock Hyraxes. Here we should find Buff-bellied and Eastern Olivaceous Warblers, Red-throated Tit, Marico Sunbird, Green-winged Pytilia and Black-faced Waxbill, amongst others.

Other birds we should find during our time in the south-central Serengeti include African Harrier-Hawk, Grey Kestrel, Spotted Thick-knee, African Green Pigeon, White-rumped Swift, Woodland Kingfisher, Spot-flanked Barbet, Cardinal Woodpecker, the restricted-range and localized White-tailed Lark, Grey-rumped Swallow, Red-backed Shrike, Grey-backed Fiscal, Black Cuckooshrike, Vitelline Masked and Village Weavers, Red-billed Firefinch, Village Indigobird and big flocks of Red-billed Queleas. Other interesting birds of the miombo woodlands where the Gre-crested Helmetshrikes occur are Ross’s Turaco, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater and Black-headed Gonolek.

This is by far the best area in the Serengeti to look for Leopards and, with patient searching, we should be rewarded with great views of one or more individuals resting in a tree in the thin gallery woodland alongside one of the rivers. There is something special about Leopards – maybe it is those cold eyes looking at one, or those beautiful spots, or that feline grace mixed with sheer power, or how seldom seen they are compared with the diurnal large cats, or all these factors combined!

We may also come across a group of Banded Mongooses living in a termite mound and watch both Wild Cat and the beautiful, lanky Serval Cat stealthily stalking through the grass, while antelopes in this area include Bohor Reedbuck, Kongoni and the even more awkward-looking Serengeti Topi. Small lakes and river pools in the area are home to groups of Hippopotamus and we shall enjoy spending some time watching these huge animals watching us, waggling their ears or rearing up and opening those huge mouths. The noise as they fight, or simply object to being buffeted by their neighbours, is quite indescribable and is something redolent of the African wilds.

As regards the great herds of migratory Serengeti White-bearded Wildebeest and Plains (or Burchell’s) Zebras, we could strike lucky during our time in the south-central region of Serengeti National Park or they could just as likely be largely absent. (Although ‘largely absent’ in this context means present in just thousands rather than tens or hundreds of thousands!) The large herds tend to avoid the tallgrass areas until the shortgrass plains further east are grazed to the limit, for the cover makes life easy for Lions and other predators, but if it is drier than usual they move westwards earlier in the season.

Northern Tanzania: Day 11  After spending part of the day in Serengeti National Park we will cross back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area on our way to Lake Ndutu, where we will stay for the next three nights.

After dinner, one can sit around the campfire and chat away under a crystal clear African sky ablaze with stars. Indeed this is the kind of primaeval night sky that is now just a distant memory in ‘developed’ countries but almost unchanged from the one which our earliest ancestors gazed upon and began to wonder about. We may well hear the throaty roaring of Lions in the distance – a reminder that here we are not the masters.

Northern Tanzania: Days 12-13  Lake Ndutu is situated right on the border between the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park. At this time of year, the Ndutu area can be the most exciting place in the Serengeti and thus in Tanzania. Over one million grazing mammals stream into the shortgrass plains, providing there is enough rain to cause the grass to grow, occurring at a density of many thousand per square kilometre in places, or even tens of thousands! If there is a drought in the area most move elsewhere, but if conditions are right these plains literally seethe with ungulates – mainly Serengeti White-bearded Wildebeest (which will have calved earlier in the year, and so will now be accompanied by numerous youngsters), but also huge numbers of Plains (or Burchell’s) Zebras and Serengeti Thomson’s Gazelles.

As long as conditions are suitable (and they do vary from year to year), we should enjoy some amazing experiences here as our vehicles drive right amongst these vast gatherings of large animals until we are surrounded and look out over a sea of large mammals that may even stretch away to the horizon – a truly awesome sight. The constant grunting of the gnus and the braying of the zebras, and the constant motion of the accompanying Western Cattle Egrets and Wattled Starlings as they try to keep up with the herds, add something special to this most African of experiences.

Predators are of course attracted to such a wealth of potential food and we should encounter Lions, perhaps a whole pride trotting along on the edge of a herd, which will part to let them through, or lolling around with full bellies like huge domestic cats. Ungainly but powerful Spotted Hyaenas, less lovely but curiously impressive nonetheless, will also be seen regularly, and both they and the Lions typically allow one to get amazingly close. Here also, feeding on carrion or small mammals, are Common Jackals and delightful Bat-eared Foxes, while Cape Hares and sometimes even a Honey Badger may be disturbed amongst the sea of grass.

One of the best of all our experiences in this fantastic place will be a hunt for the glory of the Serengeti plains, the incomparable Cheetah. For the best chance of success, we will set off early and drive far from the nearest road. Here the grass is long enough to give some cover to predators, but not much. By careful scanning, we should locate Cheetahs hunting in this area and we will try to spend some time with them, perhaps watching them stalking gazelles or even witnessing a kill. The sheer speed with which the chase begins and ends, for it is all over in about 15 seconds, is breathtaking and, harsh as it seems to us, all part of the natural pattern of life here on the plains. These graceful animals are quite fearless of vehicles and so we may enjoy some extraordinary close encounters and with a bit of luck, we will be entirely alone as we follow these marvellous creatures across their ancestral lands. The lodges in the Serengeti plains are so widely spaced that, although in some popular areas one regularly encounters other vehicles, it is possible to escape into more rarely visited places where we shall feel as if we are in the midst of our own immense private game reserve.

If we can leave early enough, we may well see the wallaby-like, nocturnal Spring Hare bounding across the dry grassland in the pre-dawn while Common (or Small-spotted) Genet may also be encountered. In the woodland, Cavendish’s (or Naivasha) Dik-Diks (surely one of the most endearing little antelopes in Africa) and Scrub Hares are quite common, while the diminutive Steinbuck can also be found.

Birdlife is also rich and varied in the Ndutu area, due to the juxtaposition of grasslands, woodland and two saline lakes, Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek.

Amongst the woodland and scrub the endemic Grey-breasted Spurfowl and the pretty little endemic Fischer’s Lovebird are common, while the endemic Rufous-tailed Weaver is straightforward to find, as are the near-endemic Usambiro Barbet and the restricted-range Black-lored Babbler and Hildebrandt’s Starling.

We should also find Dark Chanting Goshawk, Greater Kestrel, Black-and-white, Great Spotted and Diederik Cuckoos, the impressive Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Slender-tailed Nightjar, Nubian Woodpecker, White-browed Scrub Robin, Silverbird, Chin-spot Batis, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, the beautiful Purple Grenadier and White-bellied Canary.

At this time of year, when Lesser Masked and Rufous-tailed Weavers will be noisily constructing their nests, many birds are in full breeding plumage, including the star amongst the local seedeaters, the striking but uncommon and restricted-range Steel-blue Whydah.

At the lakes, we can drive close to thousands of flamingos and many other waterbirds, including Pied Avocet and Common Ringed and Chestnut-banded Plovers. A visit to a large marsh may turn up Greater Painted-snipe, as well as some Common Snipe.

Out on the shortgrass plains, the avifauna is quite different, and here we will be looking in particular for the very attractive Yellow-throated Sandgrouse (wonderfully common in Serengeti), as well as the aptly-named but bizarre-looking Secretarybird, Hooded and White-headed Vultures, Collared Pratincole and Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse.

Northern Tanzania: Day 14  Today we will leave the Serengeti plains behind, feeling both happy and sad. Happy to have seen so much, sad to be leaving it all behind!

We will make our way to Kilimanjaro airport and the conclusion of our Northern Tanzania birding tour. Here, in the late afternoon or early evening, our extraordinary African journey will finally have come to an end and it will be time for some fond farewells to the driver-guide who has looked after us so well and indeed become our friend.