Destinations: Serengeti Lake Manyara Tarangire Ngorongoro Consevation Area Empakai Crater Oldoinyo Lengai

Serengeti national park is the biggest among the national parks of East Africa. The name Serengeti arised from the word "Siringet", a maasai term meaning "endless plains." The Serengeti plains support the life of more than 200 different speicies year round. It is the refuge of 1.5 million wildebeest during the wet season, where the animals bear their calves in the vast nutritious pasture. Zebra and Gazelles number as many as the stars and with all the herds you have great chances to see the infamous predators like lion, cheetah, leaopard, and hyena.

Lake Manyara National Park is in the great rift valley. Flamingos, elephants, girrafes, and many other speicies are common to Manyara. The rim of the rift valley, offers amazing views of the lake; you can spot animals like elephants, buffalos, and zebras with or without binoculars. The most famous thing about Manyara is its tree climbing lions, which are rare to see anywhere else.

Tarangire National Park is also within the rift valley; unlike other parks it supports the migrating animals during the dry season because of the permanent water sources amid the park. It is famous for giant pythons that climb the trees to avoid being knocked down by bulky elephants which are found here in big numbers....up to 2000 per group!

Ngorongoro Consevation Area, is a unique park in Tanzania, which is kown as a multiple land use park. Their efforts are to balance the consevation of nature like in other parks with the interests of human beings who live within the park. The major group of people in the park are pastoralists from the Maasai tribe. Ngorongoro is also famous for its volcanic geology. It is made up of huge calderas, such as Ngorngoro Crater, Empakai Crater, and Olmoti Crater. Ngorongoro crater is often dubbed the eighth wonder of the world because it has the largest unbroken crater/caldera in the world...260 sq.km area and about 19km across. There are many animals inside and outside the caldera, including the last of Tanzanias remaing Black Rhino population, which are found on the crater floor.

Empakai Crater is a bit smaller than Ngorongoro, but it is a very beautiful bowl of nature that supports about 3 million flamingos when other soda lakes dry out. The 18 by 6 km crater floor also supports abundant cape buffalo in its forested inner walls.

Very close to Empakai, in the rift valley, is the active volcanic peak Oldoinyo Lengai. This mountain is recognized by the maasai as the mountain of god. Its 2800 meters make for challenging but fascinating climb. On the top, you are treated to close up views of its looner shaped crater and central vent that steams, bubbles, and oozes out magma!