The Calving Season

Eight days in northern Tanzania, timed to the calving on the southern short-grass plains.

Between January and March the migration herds gather on the short-grass plains around Ndutu to calve. The plains sit on a calcareous hardpan under a shallow layer of soil, which holds rainwater near the surface and produces the high-nutrition grazing the wildebeest need while they give birth and nurse their young. Several hundred thousand animals concentrate in a small area, and the predators work the edges of the herds.

You spend three nights at Ndutu, inside the calving country, with Tarangire before it and the Ngorongoro Crater after.

From £4,495 per person, based on two sharing, excluding international flights.

Private guide and vehicle throughout. Fly-in options and Zanzibar beach extensions available.

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A vast herd of wildebeest and zebra grazing on the grasslands of the African savannah with a few scattered trees in the background.
A cheetah running across a grassy plain with mountains and a blue sky in the background.
A lion cub hiding partially behind a tree branch and green foliage in a natural outdoor setting with sunlight.
People sitting in an open-sided vehicle, traveling through a flat landscape with a few clouds in the sky, one person looking through binoculars.

  • Your guide meets you at Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfers you to your lodge on the edge of Usa River. The afternoon is free to rest, with dinner and a briefing on the days ahead.


    Accommodation: Mount Meru Game Lodge, or similar


    Meals: Dinner

  • Day 2: Tarangire National Park

    A full day in Tarangire. The park's landscape is defined by baobab and the Tarangire River, which draws resident elephant, buffalo and giraffe through the day. Lion are the main predator here, with the plains between the river and the woodland holding zebra, impala, waterbuck and warthog, and good numbers of dry-country birds along the watercourses. Lunch is taken in the park.


    Accommodation: Korongo Luxury Camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • You leave Tarangire and climb through the Ngorongoro highlands, descending onto the southern plains toward Ndutu. This is the northern edge of the calving grounds, and game builds as you cross into the short-grass country, with wildebeest and zebra spread across the plains and gazelle in the open ground between.


    Accommodation: Ndutu camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A full day on the short-grass plains around Ndutu. In the calving season the plains hold dense concentrations of wildebeest and zebra, with Thomson's and Grant's gazelle throughout and eland at the margins. The open ground and high prey density draw cheetah, lion, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal and bat-eared fox, and the woodland fringes and alkaline shores around Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek add elephant, giraffe and flamingo. Lunch is taken as a picnic in the field.


    Accommodation: Ndutu camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A second full day in the calving country. Your guide plans the day around the herds and the predators working them, with the peak of the calving seeing large numbers of births across the plains. The concentration of newborn animals makes this the most active period of the year for predators, and alongside the cheetah and lion you may find serval hunting the longer grass, and golden and black-backed jackal moving through the herds. Ostrich, kori bustard and secretary bird work the open plains.


    Accommodation: Ndutu camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • You move north from the calving grounds into the central Seronera region. Standing pools and a high water table hold water year-round here, sustaining resident lion, leopard and cheetah after the migration has passed. Along the river lines you find hippo, elephant and buffalo, with giraffe and topi in the woodland and on the grassland between, and baboon and vervet along the watercourses. A game drive on the way and on arrival.


    Accommodation: Tukaone Serengeti Camp, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A morning drive in the Seronera region, working the granite kopjes for lion and the valley woodland for leopard, then you continue to the Ngorongoro rim. The crater is a caldera roughly 19 kilometres across, formed when the original volcano collapsed inward on its magma chamber. It holds all of the Big Five, including resident black rhino, alongside dense lion, wildebeest, zebra and buffalo, with flamingo on the soda lake at its centre. An afternoon on the crater floor, then up to the highlands.


    Accommodation: Marera Valley Lodge, or similar


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  • A final morning in the highlands, then the descent toward Arusha. You can stop at Mto wa Mbu for lunch, with the option to visit a tanzanite workshop or browse the craft markets along the way. From Arusha, a scheduled flight connects to Zanzibar for those adding the coast.


    Accommodation: None, or first night on Zanzibar if the beach extension is booked


    Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

What's Included

  • Private guide and 4x4 vehicle for the duration of the safari

  • All accommodation as listed, or similar

  • All meals as specified, full board throughout the safari

  • All national park entry fees and Ngorongoro Conservation Area fees

  • Ngorongoro Crater descent fee

  • Government taxes and levies on the safari

  • Airport transfer on arrival, and transfer to Arusha for the onward flight on departure

  • Unlimited bottled water and on-board refreshments in the vehicle

  • Fresh fruits as you pass through Mto wa Mbu

What's Not Included

  • International flights to and from Tanzania

  • Tanzania tourist e-visa, around USD 50, arranged online before travel

  • Personal Travel insurance

  • Gratuities for your guide and lodge staff

  • Alcoholic and soft drinks at lodges

Want to extend your trip?

Learn about our Fly-In Safaris or add a Zanzibar Beach Extension

Enquire About This Trip