After breakfast, proceed to Serengeti National Park for a game drive with picnic lunches. A million wildebeest, each one driven by the same ancient rhythm, fulfilling its instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life. They go on a frenzied three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating. It's survival of the fittest as 40km (25 miles) long columns plunge through crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus north. The replenish the species in a brief population explosion that produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km (600 miles) pilgrimage begins again.

After breakfast this morning, enjoy an amazing game drive. The great diversity of Serengeti wildlife is evident here—look for buffalo, hippopotamus, elephant, giraffe, antelope, Thompson’s, Grant’s gazelle and lions. We’ll fill the day with game drives to explore the immense space and unlimited wildlife in this park that is larger than the state of Connecticut! Besides, lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino, all sorts of creatures fill these savannahs. Look for honey badger, mongoose, otter, wild dog, monkey, baboon, and unlimited wildebeest and zebra. Besides the sprawling grasslands, the park also features areas of forest and dense bush where we may find hippo and crocodile.

We’ll arise with the sun and birdsong to another beautiful day on the grassy plains of the Serengeti. After a hearty breakfast at your lodge or tented camp, we’ll hit the road coming to one of the most unique anthropological sites on the planet, Oldupai Gorge. It was at this site discoveries were made of early man’s habitat, including tools and other artifacts. We’ll continue to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, at the crest of the crater rim. From this vantage point, you’ll be able to look down upon the verdant 264 sq. km (101 sq. mi) caldera stretched out before you. Grasslands, swamps, and acacia woodland all appear as a colourful palette – another world waiting to be discovered. If you wish, you can take advantage of an optional visit to a local Maasai boma. Meet these indigenous herders in their village and learn first-hand about their centuries-old lifestyle and culture.

Let’s have a big breakfast to get ready for a day of non-stop safari action. Secure in our 4 x 4 Jeep, we’ll descend the 400m (1312 ft) crater walls down to the rich habitat supporting over 25,000 animals with the highest density of predators in Africa. We’ll travel through springs, forest, and grasslands spying wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, and the big cats that stalk them. The Ngorongoro is also home to the very endangered black rhino where they continue to breed in the wild. Here in this land of the lion and leopard, you may also find flamingoes at the alkaline waters of Lake Magadi. We’ll pause our safari for a mid-day picnic lunch amongst all this abundance and then continue with an afternoon game drive, before ascending the steep crater walls toward evening.

Sunrise is a perfect time to appreciate this spectacular region and enjoy breakfast at your lodge or tented camp. Then it’s time for our final drive back to Arusha. Along the way, we’ll stop for lunch and consider all we’ve seen and encountered over the last 6 days.