The Great Ape Escape
Duffle & Compass Exclusive 2005 Safari
14 days/13 nights
This private safari with Francesco Pierre-Nina was done August 21 - September 3, 2005 and can be custom-tailored for you.
Begin your journey at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro before flying directly into the Serengeti where your professional guides will meet you up at the airstrip and begin your initial game drive enroute to your private campsite. You will drive through Maasai range country, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Cradle of Mankind. A night at a charming settler inn and then a private charter flight takes you across Tanzania to the shores of Lake Tanganika where you wade out to the waiting dhow and are helped aboard for your transfer to the intimate camp on the beach which will serve as your base for tracking chimps. Too soon, it’s time to fly back eastward to Tarangire and your private campsite on the river. Tanzania’s safe, political climate, friendly peaceful tribes and wildlife extravaganza is the ideal stage for your safari adventure of a lifetime.
Day 1
Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport. You will be met by your private safari guides and transferred to The Arusha Hotel where you will overnight.
Day 2 
Depart after breakfast for Arusha Airfield where you will board your charter flight to Seronera Airfield in the Serengeti National Park. You will be met by our professional safari guides and vehicles and depart for a short game drive en route to your first private tented camp located at Mareho between Seronera and the Western Corridor. We will enjoy lunch in camp and an afternoon game drive. We’ll discuss the next day’s adventure over sundowners around the campfire. Enjoy a late dinner before retiring to be lulled to sleep by the sounds of Africa.
Days 3-6
This area is very remote and is ideal habitat for elephant and lions and large crocodiles in the famous Grumeti River. Accommodations at your private tented camp at Mareho.
Day 7
Rise early to allow the crew to move the camp while you head east across the short grass plains for Olduvai Gorge (site of Leakey’s discovery of early man) and the Ngorongoro Crater. This cross country route will take you well into Maasai country and you’ll get an opportunity to see and visit with some of these pastoralists. This is spectacular open plain country that was used during the filming of “Out of Africa” and will be ideal for an opportunity to do some hiking and for a picnic with a view. From the Cradle of Mankind, Olduvai Gorge, we climb to 7,800 feet above sea level and to the Plantation Lodge. Dinner and overnight at the Plantation Lodge.
Day 8 
Depart after breakfast for Manyara airfield where you will depart for Mahale on the western edge of Tanzania. Upon arrival, we will board a dhow for the one hour boat ride to Greystoke Camp located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Mahale Mountains is one of the most remote and beautiful parks in the whole of Africa. The forested slopes plunge from the peaks to the shoreline. The park is located halfway down the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Accommodation for three nights at Greystoke Camp.
Days 9-10 
Mahale National Park is the best place in the world to view chimpanzees in their natural habitat. We will track the chimps concentrating on the “M” group. This troop inhabits all of Mahale Park. Swimming and snorkeling in Lake Tanganyika are welcome afternoon activities. Sunset cruises with fishing opportunities. Dinners on the beach under the stars.
Day 11 
Depart after breakfast on the one hour boat ride to Kigoma where you will board your charter flight to Tarangire National Park. You will be met by your safari vehicles and driven the short distance to your private tented camp which has been moved to Tarangire National Park. This park gets its name from the Tarangire River that works it way through the length of the Park. This baobab-studded park looks like no other in northern Tanzania. During the dry season, it is the place to be as seasonal migrations of elephant, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, eland and oryx come into the Park from southern Maasailand to the Tarangire River. Accommodations for three nights in your private campsite neat the Tarangire River.
Days 12-13
The game viewing is spectacular and we will track herds of elephant.
Day 14
Depart Tarangire after breakfast for the drive back to Arusha where dayrooms are reserved at The Arusha Hotel. You will have time for shopping in town, lunch, and swimming at the hotel pool or walking in the gardens before preparing for your evening departure from Kilimanjaro Airport.
Contact Duffle & Compass to custom-tailor this itinerary for you.
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