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Simba Pride Safaris

Ndutu · Southern Serengeti · Ngorongoro · 7 days

the calving seasonSafari

Four nights in a mobile camp on the short-grass plains around Ndutu, where the wildebeest gather to give birth between January and March, and the lions, cheetahs and hyenas follow. A night on the crater rim and a dawn descent to finish.

  • 7days
  • 6nights
  • 4nights at Ndutu
  • Private4×4 & guide
01 · Overview

Stay where the calves are born

In the first months of the year the herds leave the woodland and spread across the southern plains. Rather than visit them from a lodge hours away, this trip puts you in a mobile camp among them for four nights.

From Arusha you cross the Ngorongoro Highlands and turn off towards Ndutu, on the border between the conservation area and the Serengeti. Three full days follow on the plains and around the Ndutu woodland and lakes, with your guide choosing each morning where to go from the latest movement of the herds. On the way back you stop at Olduvai Gorge, sleep on the crater rim and go down to the crater floor at first light before the drive to Arusha.

Starts

Arusha or Kilimanjaro airport

We meet you at Kilimanjaro International (JRO) or your Arusha hotel.

Ends

Arusha or JRO, day 7

Back in the late afternoon, in time for most evening flights home.

Style

Private, mobile camp

Your own 4×4 and guide, four nights in a seasonal tented camp and a lodge on the rim.

Pace

One long drive, then slow

Day 2 is a full road day. Days 3 to 5 are spent entirely with the herds.

01

Arrival · Dinner

Karibu to Arusha

Your guide meets you in arrivals at Kilimanjaro International and drives you the hour west to Arusha, past coffee farms on the lower slopes of Mount Meru. Land early and there is time for lunch in town; land late, and it is dinner and bed.

Over dinner your guide explains how the week works: where the herds were last seen, what a mobile camp is like, and why the mornings start so early. Tomorrow is the longest drive of the trip, so it is an early night.

Meals
Dinner
Highlight
Meeting your guide
Sleep
Garden lodge, Arusha named when you book
02

Road day · game drive · B L D

Over the highlands to the southern plains

The longest drive of the trip. You drop into the Rift Valley at Mto wa Mbu, climb to Karatu and cross the forested Ngorongoro Highlands, stopping at the crater viewpoint, before the road falls away to the open plains.

After a picnic lunch you turn off towards Ndutu and drive the last stretch as a game drive, often through the first herds. The camp is set up for the season only, and you arrive in time for a sundowner before dinner.

Meals
Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Highlight
The plains opening up
Sleep
Mobile tented camp, Ndutu named when you book
03

Full game drive day · B L D

A day with the calving herds

Out at first light, when births are most often seen and the predators are still active. On the short grass the herds stretch to the horizon, and a newborn calf is usually on its feet within minutes.

Your guide follows the herds rather than a fixed loop, with a packed lunch so there is no need to turn back at noon. The afternoon light on the plains is soft and long, and you are back at camp as it fades.

Meals
Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner
Highlight
Calves on their feet
Sleep
Mobile tented camp, Ndutu named when you book
04

Full game drive day · B L D

The predators that follow

With so many young animals about, the cats are busy. Cheetahs hunt on the open plains in daylight, lion prides work the edge of the herds, and hyenas are never far behind.

In the heat of the day your guide may head for the acacia woodland around the Ndutu lakes, where elephants, giraffes and leopards spend the middle hours in the shade. It is a day for patience: staying with one sighting often shows you more than chasing ten.

Meals
Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner
Highlight
Cheetah on the hunt
Add-on
Photographic day
05

Full game drive day · B L D

Out onto the open plains

Today goes wherever the herds have moved. When the rains fall well, they spread north across the short grass towards Naabi Hill, and you follow with a picnic and a full tank.

The scale of the plains is the point of the day: huge skies, afternoon storms building in the distance and very few other vehicles. You return to camp in the evening for a last night under canvas.

Meals
Breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Highlight
Plains without other vehicles
Sleep
Mobile tented camp, Ndutu named when you book
06

Game drive · road day · B L D

Olduvai Gorge and up to the rim

A last early drive among the herds, then east out of the plains to Olduvai Gorge, the cradle of mankind. A small museum stands above the gorge where some of the earliest human remains were found.

In the afternoon you climb into the highlands, where Maasai families graze cattle beside the wildlife. Tonight is on the crater rim at about 2,300 metres, where nights drop to around 8 C, so keep a fleece to hand.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Highlight
Olduvai Gorge museum
Sleep
Lodge on the crater rim named when you book
07

Crater descent · departure · B L

The crater floor, then home

You are at the gate when it opens at 6 am and on the floor before most vehicles arrive. In the green season the crater is at its most lush, with lion, buffalo, hippo, flamingos and, with patience, one of its black rhino.

After a picnic at a designated site you climb out and drive back through Karatu and Mto wa Mbu to Arusha. Your guide drops you at your hotel or carries on to Kilimanjaro International for an evening flight.

Meals
Breakfast, picnic lunch
Ends
Arusha hotel or JRO
Next
Zanzibar is a short flight away

When to go

Where are the herds?

Two million wildebeest and zebra walk a year-long loop through the Serengeti, following the rain. Choose a season to see where they will be, and what that means for your week.

  • Best for this trip
  • Good
  • Green season, fewer vehicles

Herd positions follow the rains and shift a little from year to year. We tell you where they are likely to be before you book.

What it costs

Fill the vehicle, pay less each

Game drives, park, conservation and crater fees, six nights of accommodation, transport and your private guide, priced per person. The more of you share the vehicle, the less each of you pays. No booking fees.

Mid-range fromUS$1,890per person sharing

Important information

All prices are per person and exclude international flights. Final rates depend on your travel dates, seasonal park fees and availability; we confirm them in writing with your quote.

Your selection · click a group size2 guests · Mid-range1 double

Get the exact price

Travelling with children

Children are welcome on this trip, and a private vehicle makes it easy to travel at their pace. Ask us for child rates and family rooms for your dates; they depend on each lodge’s own policy.

in the price

  • Private 4×4 with pop-up roof, your group only
  • Professional English-speaking guide, all 7 days
  • Six nights as described, full board on safari
  • Park, conservation and crater service fees
  • Bottled water in the vehicle
  • Kilimanjaro airport transfers

not in the price

  • International flights and visa
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Tips for your guide and camp staff
  • Drinks at the camps and lodge
  • Optional activities

Join a group departure

Travelling solo or as two? Share the vehicle

Fixed dates, a shared 4×4 and a maximum of 6 guests. Travelling solo or as a couple? A joining safari gives you the full itinerary on a fixed date, with good company along the way.

  • Newborn wildebeest
  • Big-cat action
  • Mobile camp nights
  • Fixed dates, a shared 4×4

Next departure20–26 Jan 2027

Seats
6 of 6 seats left
Group
Maximum 6 guests
Joining price
From US$1,890 per person
Reserve a seat

Seat numbers change as people book; we confirm yours when you enquire. All group departures

Make it yours

Add to the week

Tick anything you like the sound of. It goes straight into your enquiry, and we will price it with the trip.

Send my enquiry →

Before you go

The practical part

Questions

Often, but never on demand. In the peak weeks, usually February, patient mornings with the herds show most guests newborns taking their first steps, and sometimes a birth. We do not promise it.

Yes. The vehicle and guide are yours alone for all seven days, on any dates you choose between January and March. There are also fixed group dates for this trip, shown on this page, if you would rather join other travellers.

Walk-in tents with proper beds and en-suite bathrooms, set up for the season and taken down when the herds leave. It is unfenced, and staff walk you to your tent after dark.

Warm, with short afternoon storms that keep the plains green. Tracks around Ndutu can be slow after rain, and your guide plans the day around the weather.

Easily. January to March is the hot, calm season on the coast, and flights to Zanzibar leave Arusha most afternoons.

ready when you are

Seven days with the newborn herds

Tell us when you would like to travel and who is coming. We reply with a day-by-day plan and an exact price, with a camp placed as close to the herds as we can for your dates.

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