Modern Arusha unfolds before you, its green parks and buildings shadowed by the gentle slopes of Mount Meru. Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, we’ll ferry you to the Arusha Hotel, where you can indulge in some of the region’s tastiest cuisine as you acclimate to the sights of northern Tanzania.

Dinner and overnight at the Arusha Hotel.

Your heart races and your breath exhales hot, but it is neither the drive nor the weather that causes your exhilaration: it is the incredible sights that surround. This morning, we beat a path south from contemporary Arusha into the wild surrounds of Tarangire National Park, a paradise for bird and animal watchers.

We’ll explore the park in depth on an afternoon game drive. It’s hard to identify what has spiked your heart rate; almost everything about Tarangire National Park has the potential to excite. Perhaps you’ve just spotted a rare tree-climbing lion or caught sight of a leopard as it races across the savannah. Maybe it’s the iconic and fantastical baobab trees, immortalized in ink and in verse by The Little Prince, that tickle your childhood memory. Or it could also be the dancing zig-zag of running zebras and the pounding hooves of wildebeest. Hundreds of animals and at least 550 bird species populate the park, thanks to the abundant Tarangire River – an inescapable draw for these thirsty nomads.

Dinner and overnight at Tarangire Sopa Lodge.

Today we swap the savannah’s scrub brush for the lush plains and sapphire waters of Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Ngorongoro Crater, the massive epicentre of a collapsed volcano and the world’s largest inactive and intact volcanic caldera. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this incredible reserve promises unequalled access to 25,000 animals, including the elusive Big Five.

This picturesque crater is often called “Africa’s Garden of Eden,” and for good reason: almost every species of wildlife present in East Africa can be found here. An afternoon tour takes you into the heart of the conservation area, in search of African elephants, troops of playful monkeys, and the critically endangered black rhinoceros. Scan the savannah for lions stalking their prey or train your eyes on Lake Magadi, home to thousands of lesser flamingos.

Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.

A hearty breakfast prepares you for a voyage back in time, to the Olduvai Gorge and the prehistoric site of one of mankind’s most important discoveries. Here, Dr Louis Leakey famously discovered the remains of Homo habilis, our ancient ancestor and the first step on the path of human evolution.

Our journey through our own beginnings brings us to the Serengeti, diverse land that welcomed beast long before human. This spectacular park is one of the world’s most famous wildlife sanctuaries, and is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa and one of the Ten Natural Travel Wonders of the World. The scenic Serengeti, Maasai for “Endless Plains” is home to three million large mammals – the largest and highest concentration of wildlife in the world – as well as vibrant habitats, as we discover on our afternoon game drive.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge.

We bump over the plains of the Serengeti, a spectacular wonderland of nature’s most incredible sights. Your hands grip the seat, knuckles white with effort and anticipation, as we search the rippling grasses and towering acacia for cheetah, gazelle, African elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, and African buffalo. For two days, we’ll trek over these endless acres – everyday, you’re treated to a morning game drive and full-day game viewing – in search of Tanzania’s most famous and most elusive animals.

And if you’ve timed your visit right, you’re about to witness one of the planet’s most inspiring sights: the Great Migration, the world’s largest terrestrial mammal migration. Every year over several months, 750,000 zebra and millions of wildebeest (gnu) thunder over the Serengeti and into Kenya’s Maasai Mara, in search of shelter and sustenance.

Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge.

We chase the sun into the Serengeti with one goal in mind: Africa’s Big Five. These five imposing animals – the African buffalo, African elephant, black rhino, leopard, and lion –were once considered the toughest and most dangerous game on the continent. Today, they are among the most sought-after sights on an African safari, and today, we do our best to check each species off your list.

Mid-morning takes us out of the Serengeti and into a land populated not only by tall grasses and boundless plains but by a sparkling lake so thick with flamingos it appears pink at a distance… A place where toothy hippos wade into blue waters and dichromatic zebras weave in and out of the dense bush and sun-dried savannah. Welcome to Lake Manyara National Park, a birdwatcher’s paradise and your second chance to spot Africa’s elusive and rare tree-climbing lions.

Dinner and overnight at Kirurumu Manyara Lodge.

Bid “Kwa Heri” (that’s Swahili for goodbye) to Lake Manyara with a final morning game drive into the park. Look left and right, up and down – every new sight seems more incredible than the last. The Big Five stalk the plains, joined by 400 bird species, blue monkeys, impala and giraffes. Again, you find it difficult to take your eyes off the lake, which glints fuchsia and rose in the early morning light, reflecting off the thousands of flamingos that line the lake’s shores.

After lunch at the lodge, we return to Arusha in time for late afternoon flights or overnight in the city.