Safari Day 1,
Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport where you will be met and transferred around 30 minutes to the lodge for the first night, a comfortable lodge situated beautifully on a golf, polo and wildlife estate. Meet up with the rest of the group, followed by sundowner and dinner. If there is a polo game on, sundowner will be at the polo club house.
Safari Day 2,
Wake up calls with tea and coffee, breakfast is served anytime from early hours. After breakfast at around 1100AM, we drive for about twenty minutes to Arusha National park gate. Here the horses will be waiting, ready to be mounted and shortly after we will ride into one of the most beautiful parks in East Africa. Here the vegetation will change dramatically, from open grassland to rainforest.
With good chances of seeing elephants, buffaloes, all your plains game, leopards and rare species such as Suni, Red Duiker, the magnificent Hartlaub's turaco and so much more.
The feeling is magical as you enter into the big canopy forests. Lunch will be set on route, with time for a small siesta. After lunch the ride continues through leopard country and as we head towards our night stop, we will pass by Margarete Trappe’s old house. The legendary lady known and remembered as the Iron lady from the first world war. “If, as children, we were thrilled by Buffalo Bill we should have been still more spellbound by Mrs. Trappe’s adventures, the adventures of the fearless woman with her two legendary horses, Comet and Diamond, and her two inseparable Alsatians. Like a phantom she would suddenly appear, like a phantom she would vanish; as intimate with wild beasts as though they were tame.” These are some of the tales about Margarete who’s old riding paths this horse safari follows through the holy forests of the park. Arrive to camp, based on the foot of Mt Meru in time for showers and sundowners then dinner under the stars.
Safari Day 3,
This morning you will hopefully wake up to the very talkative Colobus monkeys. Breakfast is served and shortly thereafter we mount and directions are taken towards the area where the film Hatari was filmed, starring John Wayne. Thereafter half way into the morning ride we start the climb (on horseback), aiming to reach the “Fig Tree Arch”, a massive fig tree arch, big enough to fit five horses underneath the arch. The ride continues until we reach lunch, beautifully located in the rain forest next to a waterfall. We are now on about 2000 meters above sea level. After lunch we start heading back towards camp, passing by another 30-meter high waterfall on route back. After returning to camp, there will be an option to jump into the vehicles and go visit the Momella lakes, hoping to see some hippos and beautiful water birds. Sundowners at the lakes before heading back to camp for showers and dinner.
Safari Day 4,
You wake up with the sun and a big breakfast is served, thereafter it is time to get on your horse. Today we ride out of Arusha National Park. The directions are eastbound heading towards Mount Kilimanjaro and leaving Mount Meru behind us like a shadow. The day’s ride is long and amongst Tanzanian farmland and the Massai steppe, its scenic with many cultural interactions as the rides goes along. We make use of the cooler hours in the morning and try to cover as much ground as possible. The lunch is served under a big acacia, sometimes near to a dam where the Massai’s water their cattle and we our horses. You will have a good 3- hour’s stop for lunch, with time for a siesta to regain some strength. The afternoon enters into wildlife areas again, continues across opened plains, making sure to reach our night stop before the sun hits the horizon.
Safari Day 5,
Early wake up with coffee and tea before a bush breakfast is served. The day will be spent tracking the biggest land living mammal, the elephants. The terrain differs from thick scrublands to acacia woodland. Today we will return to camp for lunch and head out for another ride in the afternoon. Before sunset, we return to camp to enjoy another night in this remote and remarkable place on earth.
Safari Day 6,
Early wake up calls followed by an English breakfast. Everyone mounts their companion and the safari starts heading towards the so-called Seven Sisters. After have crossed the seven hills (seven sisters) we ride through Sinya Village and continue towards lunch, served under a shady tree. The terrain varies from opened grassland to beautiful canopy forests. The day offers good chance of seeing plains game such as zebras, giraffes and wildebeests but most important is the presence of the shy antelope, the Gerenuk that we will keep an eye for as we ride along. The night is spent at an astonishing place, hopefully the night is clear and you will get the feeling being watched by four powerful mountains, Mt Meru, Namanga, Longido and the most legendary of all, Mt Kilimanjaro.
Safari Day 7,
Wake up with the sun, taking directions for the Kenyan border. This day will be spent tracking the footsteps of the biggest land living mammal, the elephant. Hopefully we have good luck tracking and get the chance to see these giants from the back of a horse. The night will be spent overlooking the pans with its plains game on constant alert for predators. Hopefully this night is clear, as apart from the view of the mountains within this area, the night sky is a mind-blowing site.
Safari Day 8,
The last morning has arisen and the safari has come to its end, enjoy a big breakfast before directions are taken towards civilization, depending on road conditions about 3 hours journey back to the airport. We will arrive back to the lodge and have a last lunch together. There will be an option for a shower for everyone however for those who fly out late please let us know if you would like to book a dayroom.
The adventure has come to its end and reality is waiting around the corner. Safari ends...for this time