10 Days Bush Baby Ride

The Elephant Motel is ideally situated along the Moshi – Dar es Salaam road, only half a kilometre from the Same Town. The hotel offers spectacular views of the South Pare Mountains and because of its location, it is the ideal gateway to Mkomazi National Park, the South Pare Mountains and Shengena Forest.

Mambo Village, is on the far northwestern rim of the Usambara’s, is perched on a cliff overlooking the Masaai plains and Mkomazi National Park. Authentic, easy going and a place to experience rural African life as it comes and goes. Rustic Mambo View Point Eco Lodge is in the middle of things and is also the home base for some unique community projects. The beautiful cottages, build in an authentic style, are comfortable and with a beautiful sunset view from your own terrace.

This full day stays at Mambo View Point will give you an opportunity to rest your muscles, Having a Cultural walk tour around the village which It will give you a unique insight view on the daily life in a small Usambara agricultural village. You can experience the daily problems and challenges that the local community has to cope with and talk with local people.

Down hills zigzag, loose gravels and tarmac (240 km - 7 hours)

The Maasai Steppe Conservancy is located between the Tarangire National Park and the Simanjiro Plains, within the Northern Safari Circuit. Safaris in the Maasai Steppe provide a wonderfully varied experience for people wanting a combination of wildlife viewing, walking, and authentic, ‘un-canned’ cultural experiences with the Maasai.

The Maasai Steppe is a vibrant and important ecological stronghold for the wildlife and people of northern Tanzania. Nearly 92% of this critical ecosystem is designated Maasai village lands where livestock husbandry represents the primary livelihood. Maintaining healthy rangelands is critical to both the Maasai people and the wildlife dependent on this arid environment.

This is a unique opportunity to experience and explore the Tarangire and Manyara ecosystem. Maramboi Tented Camp offers permanent camp facilities and endless vistas of rolling golden grasslands and palm lined desert between Tarangire and Manyara Lake. A visit to the area is essential for anyone interested in evolution and the origins of Mankind and an explanation of the Rift Valley and Africa’s big picture. It is a complete semi-desert experience focusing on game animals on their free range.

After breakfast we are going to leave the awesome lodge, riding on rift valley escarpment towards the Hadza community. Hunters and gatherers in the east and Southern Africa exist; we are going to hunt with them on their grounds.

The trip will take you East along winding dirt trails away from the lush area surrounding the mountain and out into the savannah scenery of the Maasai plains. You will ride towards the wall of the Great Rift Valley at the base of which stands the mighty volcano Ol Donyo Lengai. The Ol Donyo Lengai is an active volcano which last erupted in the 1970’s. It is revered by the Maasai as the home of ‘Ngai’, their god. It’s almost

perfect cone looms over an area of astonishing barren beauty. At the foot of the mountain, there is an area of rocky desert. Here we find the cones of small extinct volcano, and Lake Natron, a huge soda lake, which stretches up to the

Kenyan border. Flamingos come here to breed and in the late afternoon sun, the colourful flamingo colonies make a spectacular sight, adding a dash of colour against the shimmering water.

After a night under the incomparable star-filled African sky, you will wake up refreshed. First, enjoy a hearty breakfast, and then we set off to explore the gorge that houses our campsite. A trail leads over boulders, and through narrow chasms. In some places, we cross the torrent and scramble up rocky walls. In some spots, we find strange cactuses clinging to the hot rock, in others we see lush ferns and palms in the damp shady gorge bottom. We duck under waterfalls and pass bubbling Jacuzzi-like pools and chutes where the brave can ride the natural water slide. Eventually, we arrive at the head of the valley, a huge natural amphitheatre cut into the imposing cliff. Here we find the source of the waters where many springs gush from the cliff walls and form pools and streams. We can play in the pools, shower in the waterfalls and enjoy our packed lunch.

We can also have a chance to ride to the hot springs, footprints and around the Lakeshores for a closer view of the flamingos. We return to camp for an early BBQ and then off to bed.

We pack up camp and follow trails. Along the way, we will see Maasai in traditional dress tending their herds. There is a good chance of seeing game animals close to the track. Zebra and antelope are often in this area, perhaps we will even see a giraffe or if we are a very lucky elephant. We stop for a break at a huge crater and then push on to Engaruka for lunch.

After lunch, we will head back to Arusha, where a cold drink will be waiting for us, and we can tell stories from our safari.