OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

IN Ethiopia

Discover the inhabitants of Mto Wa Mbu, Lake Manyara region (about 2h per tour)

Farming tour: Starting from the market, where you visit a Chagga family producing banana beer, you walk northwards passing many different farms. We see a local Chagga woman brewing banana beer, and we take a taste. On your way you get explanation about the various fruits and vegetables growing in the area.

Miwaleni waterfalls / Papyrus lake tour: This walk starts 5 km north of Mto wa Mbu, where the Miwaleni waterfall that falls down from the Rift Valley has created a green oasis. Passing some small streams you walk in the direction of the Papyrus lake, from where the Rangi people collect the materials for the mats and baskets they make. On the way you can see rice farming and visit Sandawe families who still make the traditional bows and arrows for hunting.

Balaa Hill tour: Starting from the center you walk in the northern direction. The farmers mainly grow bananas (30 varieties) and the big leaves provide a pleasant shade. On your way you can visit some farms and get explanations about the irrigation methods in the area. Finally, you can climb Balaa Hill, “the hill of misfortune”, in about 20 minutes, and enjoy the beautiful view over the green oasis over Mto wa Mbu.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Babati, Katesh and Hanang (1 to 3 days)

Here you can walk and see a mixture of tribal cultures and rural life as lived by ordinary Tanzanians off the well trodden Tourist Circuits.

Babati and Hanang districts are located south of Lake Manyara Park and west from Tarangire. The towns boasts Lake Babati where floating hippos can be seen and which is rich in fish, both tilapia and Nile perch. Here commercial and farming tribes co-exist with conservative cattle herding tribes to provide a distinguished cultural contrast. In Hanang District close by the beautiful Mount Hanang (3418m), live the Barbaig people whose traditional culture is still unchanged and unspoiled. Activities:  cultural insight hike, Mount Hanang climb, fishing adventure with local canoes on Lake Babati while viewing hippos, local brick and pottery making and beer brewing, visit to development projects like cattle, dairy farming, piped water projects.

The profit will be used to improve the primary school in the villages.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Lunch at the farm

An old English Farm in the Ngorongoro region, Gibbs Farm, welcomes you to its restaurant, for a delicious lunch with products from the farm. All around you will find a fabulous landscape with coffee plantations.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

KONDOA ROCK-Art sites (about 2h)

On the eastern slopes of the Masai escarpment bordering the Great Rift Valley are natural rock shelters, overhanging slabs of sedimentary rocks fragmented by rift faults, whose vertical planes have been used for rock paintings for at least two millennia. The spectacular collection of images from over 150 shelters over 2,336 km2, many with high artistic value, displays sequences that provide a unique testimony to the changing socio-economic base of the area from hunter-gatherer to agro-pastoralist, and the beliefs and ideas associated with the different societies. Some of the shelters are still considered to have ritual associations with the people who live nearby, reflecting their beliefs, rituals and cosmological traditions.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

MAASAI WISDOM in the Crater Highlands – Additional half day

Mathayo, spiritual guide Maasai, invites you to a moment of initiation rites and thoughts of Maasai wisdom.
The meeting will begin in his village of Empackaï region, east of Ngorongoro Crater. Mathayo will tell you about the legendary songs of his people, whose meaning and spirituality will be explained.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Hike to Empackaï, Ngorongoro region (one additional day)

This tour will take you to explore the Crater Highlands. Empackai is the one of beautiful small crater with green vegetation, wildlife and fantastic scenery view from the top of crater rim. Bushbuck, buffalo and blue monkey are likely to be seen on the rim, which also boasts good views across to Mount Lengaï and on clear days Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Natron.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Balloon safari in the Serengeti (about 1h30)

Launching at dawn, rising as the sun rises, you gently float over the plains of the magnificent Serengeti with its enchanting scenery and amazing wildlife. There are no power lines, fences and few roads

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Datoga tribe – LAKE EYASI – Additional half day

The Datoga (Mangati in Swahili) are agro-pastoral nomadic people living in the areas around the Rift Valley.
Traditionally, young men had to prove themselves by killing an “enemy of the people,” defined as any human being not a Datoga, or one of the dangerous wild animals, such as elephant, lion or buffalo.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Walking and hunting with the Hadza tribe (1 to 2h)

You will meet a people that have survived by hunting and fishing through tens of thousands of years of human evolution right up to the present day. They have kept their traditions with minimal influence from the outside world.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Meet the tribes (30 mn to 1h)

At Longoku Masaï village, outside Ngorongoro crater, you will meet the Masaï, one of the region’s most colourful tribes. The Maasaï had a reputation as fearsome warriors and are now pastoral nomads. Their culture centres on their cattle which provide many of their needs.

Iraqw tribe is the largest ethnic group living in the area of Karatu, 20 mn from the Ngorongoro Crater. Their native language could be the peoples of Ethiopia, which they have fine lines. They will present their way of life with great passion and will share with you their universe.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Walking safari with an armed ranger (about 2h)

Around Ngorongoro, outside the crater, accompanied by an armed ranger, you will be able to see animals in their natural habitat. A fantastic moment which gives a whole new perspective after several hours of safari in a vehicle.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Night game drive inside the park – Lake Manyara (about 2h)

A nocturnal view of the wild animals! As the sun sinks over Lake Manyara, the African bush comes to life with predators and other nocturnal creatures. You may have the opportunity to encounter fascinating species not normally seen in daylight.
Enjoy this special experience of a night game drive inside the park.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

Mountain Biking at Lake Manyara (2 to 3 hours)

The Great Rift Valley escarpment is an impressive setting for your mountain biking adventure. At a relaxed and easy going pace, your guide will take you on a bike ride that lasts between two to three hours. You’ll cycle down the Great Rift Valley escarpment, through the village of Mto Wa Mbu, past farmlands and acacia forests all the way to the border of Manyara National Park

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

CANOE – Arusha National Park (about 2h)

Enjoy a peaceful and scenic canoeing safari following the shorelines of small Momella Lake, inside Arusha National Park. View buffaloes, bushbuck, giraffes, hippos and many water birds living in and close to the water.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

HORSEBACK SAFARI IN THE BUSH – SOUTH ARUSHA (ABOUT 2H)

About an hour south of Arusha, the equestrian center Kaskazi takes you riding off the beaten tracks. Each safari is driven by qualified guides, for you to experience the adventures of its own! You leave in the middle of the local tribes and wildlife, a real discovery in stunning scenery.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

ONE DAY TREK ON MARANGU ROUTE (ABOUT 4 TO 5H)

Discover the first step of the easiest route to climb Kilimanjaro. You start from Marangu, a small village situated at an altitude of 1800 m, where you will meet your guide and porters before departing for Mandara Hut at 2750 m (3 -4 hours). You will trek across coffee plantations before entering a dense and humid forest where you will see giant ferns, many birds and primates, including the black and white Colobus monkey. Overnight at the refuge, or descent to Marangu village.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com

HIKE AROUND VILLAGES AND PLANTATIONS AROUND MOUNT KILIMANJARO (ABOUT 2H)

After the breakfast, transfer to the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro (1h). The frozen peak of a continent crushed with heat, Mount Kilimanjaro, 5895 m, symbolizes Africa in the minds of westerners. This unique ecosystem encompasses all climates. You will go for a hike around the villages and plantations in a tropical climate where coffee and banana plantations can be found. You can spend one day trek on the Marangu route, with a night in a hut, on request.

Price on request: infos@wild-spirit-safari.com