Tanzania Helicopter Safari
Days 1, 2 and 3 – Chem Chem Wildlife Reserve
You will be met at the airport in Arusha for the start of your helicopter safari to Tanzania. From Arusha you head to Chem Chem for the start of your safari. Chem Chem is located in a private concession between Lake Manyara and Tarangire offering a natural wildlife corridor.
Today you head by helicopter to explore some of the crater lakes and remote tribes of Tanzania. Having a helicopter gives you the freedom to explore further off the beaten track and Tanzania has some incredible vistas and tribes that are way off the track and only accessible by helicopter. One of the most incredible sights is to fly over Lake Natron which has a bright pink hue caused by the high evaporation rate of the alkaline lake of the Great Rift Valley. The lake is one of the breeding grounds for lesser flamingos that can number over 2.5 million.
Chem Chem is the perfect location for a Tanzania Safari and so today you enjoy time on the reserve doing game drives, bush walks with Masai warriors and sundowners. The concession is home to some of Africa’s last remaining big tuskers. Large elephant bulls with huge tusks move between Lake Manyara and Tarangire, through the Chem Chem Concession.
Days 4, 5 and 6 – Mwiba Wildlife Reserve
From Chem Chem you continue your Tanzania helicopter safari to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater where a vehicle will be waiting to take you into the Crater for a game drive. Once you have enjoyed your game drive you head back to the helicopter to fly to the Mwiba Private Reserve along the southern part of the Serengeti National Park.
Over the next 3-days you have the chance to explore the private Mwiba Reserve by helicopter where you get to fly along some of the Great Rift Valley’s steep mountain sides, landing along the way to explore waterfalls, rivers and vistas that go on forever. The reserve is also one of the best in Tanzania for game drives. Being a private concession means guests are guaranteed exclusivity at sightings away from the crowds. One of the highlights of a stay at Mwiba is the opportunity to meet and learn more about the incredible Hadzabe. You get the chance to head out with these hunter-gathers as they collect wild honey or go out gathering.
A real highlight of your Tanzania Helicopter Safari is the chance to explore remote areas of this vast wildlife reserve and explore the unexplored areas on a walking safari, sleeping in rustic fly-camps under the stars. This is a real adventure safari and very special experience as there are no roads and definitely no other tourists. This is the beauty about a helicopter safari.3
Days 7, 8 and 9 – Serengeti National Park
From Mwiba you fly by plane into the heart of the Serengeti National Park to a camp that is best located to access the great migration as it moves clockwise through the grasslands of the Serengeti. Being in a national park has restrictions on helicopter flights and so your time here is spent on the ground exploring in a vehicle on game drives.
Renowned for forming part of the great wildebeest migration that moves between the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Masai Mara in Kenya. The herds follow the rains and are constantly on the move in search of fresh grasses that sprout after the rains, so your location will depend on the time of the year you travel. Typically, the herds are the in the south to give birth around December time and then start moving north through the western corridor, making it to the northern part of the Serengeti around June or July time. They then move between the Serengeti and Masai Mara between July and October when they start to move back south through the eastern corridor.
The Serengeti is large open grassland with rocky outcrops and a few forested areas along the rivers. These huge open grasslands are the perfect habitat for cheetah, making this one of the best places in Africa to see these spotted cats. Lion, leopard and hyena make up the rest of the large carnivores while elephants, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, topi and other antelopes make up the majority of the herbivores. Spend your days on morning and afternoon game drives in search of the migration as well as the other plentiful game.