On September 14 2010 Eco Travel Africa will be kicking off on a climb safari package with the best of the Northern Circuit of Tanzania added to a Lemosho Route climb of Kilimanjaro. Lemosho Route is one of the longest of Kilimanjaro's outfield routes, and is ideal for both beginners and second timers. The longer you allow your self to adjust to the altitude the better your chances of making it to the summit. With that under your belt it is hard to imagine a better way to spend the next 4 days than touring the great wildlife conservancies of Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater Reserve. 

Sept 14 - Day 1:

Londorossi Gate to Mti Mkumbwa (Big Tree) (2,650 m/8,692 ft)

Hike time: 3hrs

Elevation Change: + 650 M/+2,132

Estimation distance: 10 km

Final Elevation: 2,650 m/8,694 ft

• After the morning drive to the trailhead, it’s an easy hike thru the forest stopping at the Mti Mkumbwa Camp after only about 3 hours of climbing.

Sept 15 - Day 2:

Mti Mkumbwa (2,650 m/8,692 ft) to Shira One Camp (3,609 m/11,841 ft.)

Hike time: 5 – 6 hrs

Elevation change: + 950 M/+3116

Estimation distance: 12 km

Final Elevation: 3609 m/11,841 ft

• This day starts in the forest and gets considerably steeper as you go through the heather and moorland areas before camping at the Shira Plateau in a large, open, and scenic area at the Shira One Camp.

Sept 16 - Day 3:

Shira One Camp (3,609 m/11,841 ft.) to Shira Two Camp (3,849 m/12,628 ft.)

Hike time: 5 - 6 hrs

Elevation change: + 240 M/+787 ft

Elevation distance: 5 km

Final elevation: 3849 m/12,628 ft.

• This day takes you on a gentle walk across the plateau for some excellent scenery while your body continues to acclimatize.

Sept 17 - Day 4:

Shira Two Camp (3,849 m/12,628 ft.) to Barranco Hut (3,948 m/12,956 ft.)

Hike time: 5 hrs

Elevation change: +100 M/+328 ft

Estimated distance: 6 km

Final elevation: 3948 m/12,956 ft.

• The morning climb is somewhat steep on this day as you ascend to Lava Tower at 4,600 meters at midday before descending again on the scenic route to Barranco Camp. This is a great example of the climb high/sleep low rule that helps people acclimatize safely.

Sept 18 - Day 5:

Barranco Hut (3,900 m/12,800 ft) to Karanga Valley (3,963 m/13,000 ft)

Hike time: 3.5 hrs

Elevation change: +100 m/+328 ft

Estimated distance: 4km/2.5 miles

Final elevation: 3,963 m/13,000 ft

• You climb the Great Barranco Wall, which looks more intimidating than it really is, and down into the Karanga Valley. This day has many ups and downs and crosses many small streams before crossing the Karanga River.

Sept 19 - Day 6:

Karanga Valley (3,963 m/13,000 ft) to Barafu Hut (4,600 m/15,091 ft)

Hike time: 3.5 hrs

Elevation change: +600 m/+1,968 ft

Estimated distance: 4km/2.5 miles

Final elevation: 4,600 m/15,091 ft

• You climb through rocky and otherwise barren terrain on your way to Barafu Camp. The camp is in another cold and windy area, but you’ll only be sleeping from around 7 p.m. until 11: 30 p.m. or so because you’ll be starting the summit climb at midnight.

Sept 20 - Day 7:

Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,091 ft) to The Summit (5,896 m/19,343 ft) and then to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft)

Summit time: 7 hrs

Elevation change: +1,300 m/+4,265 ft

Estimated distance: 5km/3.2 miles

Final elevation: 5,896 m/19,343 ft

Descent time: 5 hrs

Elevation change: -2,800 m/-9,186 ft

Estimated distance: 12km/7.5 miles

Final elevation: 3,100 m, 10,170 ft

• We start at midnight with the most challenging 6-hour section of the entire climb. We will reach Stella Point around sunrise. Another 60 minutes up a gentle slope and you greet the day at Uhuru Peak! After enjoying the moment for pictures and high fives, you’ll begin your descent to the Mweka Camp. We will stop at Barufu for a short rest. At Mweka, it’s a celebration with a cold Kilimanjaro or two known to be served

September 21 - Day 8:

Mweka Hut (3,100 m/10,170 ft) to Mweka Gate (1,828 m/6,000 ft)

Descent time: 4 hrs

Elevation change: -1,250 m/-4,101 ft

Estimated distance: 10km/6.21

Final elevation: 1,828 m/6,000 ft

• After the previous day you’ll deserve this short and very scenic descent of about 4 hours down to the Mweka Gate, where you’ll sign the register to make your climb official

Safari

September 22 - Day 9:

Transfer from Moshi to Tarangire National Park

Tarangire Camp

Located 120km from Arusha, Tarangire is the sixth largest park in Tanzania. With baobab and acacia trees, much like the Serengeti, Tarangire is home to legions of elephants, which inhabit this park in large herds. In the park you also find other game such as rhino, buffalo, eland, warthog, the fringe-eared oryx, lesser and greater kudu, gerenuk and a large number of impala.

The rains scatter the seasonal visitors over a 20,000 square kilometre (about 12,500 sq miles) range until they exhaust the green plains an -- -Sd the river calls once more. But Tarangire mobs of elephant are easily encountered, wet or dry. The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 50 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. On drier ground you find Koori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking sighed ostrich, the world largest bird; and ground hornbills that blust er like turkeys. Tarangire pythons climb trees, as do this lions and leopards, lounging in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree disguises the twitch of a tail.

September 23 - day 10:

Tarangire National Park – Serengeti National Park

Seronera Serengeti Camping

More than 6 million hooves pound the legendary plains of the Serengeti. Every year, triggered by the rains, more than a million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle gather to undertake the long trek to new grazing lands. Tanzania's first and most famous park, the Serengeti is renowned for its wealth of leopard and lion. The vast reaches of the park help the black rhino to fight extinction and provide a protected breeding ground for the vulnerable cheetah. Witness predator versus pray and the fundamental independence of the Serengeti's abundant species, from more than 500 varieties of bird to 100 types of dung beetle.

September 24 - day 11:

Serengeti National Park – Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which lies between the Serengeti and the Lake Manyara National Parks boasts the largest unbroken, inactive, and unflooded caldera in the world. Perhaps having once been about the same size as Mount Kilimanjaro, when the volcanic activity subsided, it collapsed inward resulting in a crater 18 kilometers (11 miles) across. Surrounded by very steep walls 610 meters (2000 feet) deep, this natural amphitheatre covers an area of about 260 square kilometers (100 square miles) and is home for up to 25,000 larger mammals. Nearly half of those being zebra and wildebeest while other species found are buffalo, gazelle, eland, hartebeest, warthog, and the elusive black rhino. Lion, hyena, cheetah, and leopard are among the predators within the crater.

Given the new regulations about the Crater, we will wait until the following morning to enter the Crater. Most of the animals are abundant during the early hours of the day when the weather is cool.

September 25 - Day 12:

Ngorongoro Crater – Kilimanjaro International Airport

After breakfast, we begin with a sunrise game drive into the bottom of the Ngorongoro Crater, which is always rewarding to watch the animals eating early in the morning. We have a half day of game drive. After lunch in the crater, we journey back to the Kilimanjaro airport for your flight to Zanzibar.

We will stop at some of the abundant craft markets as we return. We should return to the airport by 5:00 p.m., as all of the international flights leave around 8:00 p.m.

Package includes:

• All Airport Transfers
• Hotel accommodation for 2-nights
• All costs and fees pertaining to the climb package
• All food, expedition gear, guide & support personnel and support while engaged in the expedition
• Full sales support and back-up