SimonBiologyTravel: Tanzania Safari with a Purpose
Overview
Tanzania calls to mind vast landscapes dotted with herds of wildlife, lions lounging on sun-drenched rocks, and mighty elephants trundling through tall grasses. This 10-day journey begins in Arusha, where you will oversee and accompany the transport of over 8 tons of local ingredients to two primary schools, providing them with six months of hot lunches. Learn about the Tanzanian secondary educational system and meet the remarkable students and teachers who are transforming lives through education. Culminate the experience with several days in Serengeti National Park and then at Ngorongoro Crater to witness the world-famous Great Migration. Observe the incredibly abundant wildlife including wildebeest, zebras, elephants, giraffes, hippos, baboons, and much more.
Highlights
- Visit two primary schools and learn about their curriculum, successes, and challenges.
- Meet school children, their parents, Maasai elders and chiefs, and local governmental and school officials.
- Descend into Ngorongoro Crater, a collapsed caldera sometimes called the “eighth wonder of the world,” where zebras, lions, and wildebeest can be seen.
- Observe the Great Migration in Serengeti National Park and spend four nights at a luxury tent camp observing incredibly abundant wildlife.
- Enjoy the chance to observe Africa’s “Big Five” up-close: lions, leopards, elephants, water buffaloes, and rhinos.
Meet your leader
Eric J. Simon
Eric J. Simon, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Biology and Health Science at New England College, in Henniker, New Hampshire. Dr. Simon has led over a dozen international trips to learn about biology and culture to such destinations as Belize, Patagonia, Galapagos, Tanzania, the Amazon, and Cuba. As a biology author, Dr. Simon has over 2 million books in print, translated into 7 languages, and used in over 40 countries.
Jul 14, 2025
Depart the US.
Arusha
Jul 15, 2025
Upon arrival in Kilimanjaro, you will be taken to your lodge in Arusha. You will be given a pre-safari briefing by your guide before dinner this evening.
Dinner included
Overnight at Under the Shade Safari Lodge
Jul 16, 2025
Start today with a visit to a local market to purchase six months of food for the schools. We will be buying enough maize, beans, cooking oil, sugar, tea leaves and salt to last from July to December. The food will be loaded onto a special hired truck and we will proceed to Losirwa and Lucas Mhina primary schools for delivering. Picnic lunches will be provided on the way.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Suricata Boma Lodge
Serengeti
Jul 17, 2025
This morning visit a secondary school before heading out for the six hour transfer to the Serengeti National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is home to the greatest concentration of large mammals on Earth, the migratory herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle roam widely in search of green grass and water.. Enjoy wildlife viewing and lunch en route. Before dinner, gather around the campfire and have a discussion with our group leader about the Great Migration.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Land of Nature Camp
Serengeti
Jul 18, 2025
Early in the morning, we'll board our vehicle in order to begin our morning wildlife-viewing drive of the day in Serengeti. Our wildlife-viewing drive experience will include breakfast out in the field. We will return to the camp late in the morning and have lunch at the camp. We'll enjoy some free time to rest and relax at the camp before heading out for our midafternoon wildlife-viewing drive. This area is the best for hippos, crocs, carnivores, elephants, and giraffes, to name a few!
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Land of Nature Camp
Jul 19, 2025
Morning and afternoon wildlife viewing.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Land of Nature Camp
Jul 20, 2025
Morning and afternoon wildlife viewing.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Land of Nature Camp
Karatu
Jul 21, 2025
Depart Serengeti with wildlife viewing along the way to Ngorongoro Crater. Stop en route for lunch. Ngorongoro crater is a World Heritage Site and often called the 8th Wonder of the World. It is a sunken caldera, 10 by 12 miles in diameter. Animals are found throughout the year due to the permanent availability of grass and water. Ngorongoro is one of the most spectacular wildlife haunts in Africa, and contains an impressive variety of wildlife including black mane lion, the highly endangered black rhino, herds of wildebeest, zebra, elephant, and hippo, as well as numerous bird species.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Eileen's Trees Inn
Karatu
Jul 22, 2025
This morning drive in the crater, exploring. Later return to the lodge for some free time and for dinner.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Eileen's Trees Inn
Arusha
Jul 23, 2025
After a leisurely morning, transfer to Arusha and pay a visit to a local home to enjoy a family hosted lunch. After lunch, check-in at a hotel for day room accommodations. Have time to rest, finish packing luggage, or freshen up before transferring to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your evening flight back to the U.S.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner included
Overnight at Mt Meru - Day Room