A Four Day Adventure Fly Camping and Walking Safari in Kakesio, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area borders the great Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. It is untamed wilderness with an added advantage of having fewer park regulations. Walking Safaris and Adventure Fly Camping are permitted in this spectacular wildlife area. Kakesio, bordering the Serengeti National Park and The Great Rift Valley, is an exclusive wildlife sanctuary. Walking Safaris take place between Serian’s Serengeti South tented camp and Lake Eyasi. You will have exclusive use of 250,000 acres and access to 1,500,000 acres. Your will be guided by Maasai Warriors or Hadza Tribesmen through Acacia scattered woodlands, to the rocky outcrops approaching the edge of the Great Rift Valley. This is a unique and wild four-day experience that will take you back to your roots.
Kakesio belongs to the Maasai tribesmen who freely graze their cattle in the conservation area. These warriors have lived in harmony with wildlife for years. Their neighbors, the Hadza, live in the area surrounding Lake Eyasi. The lake is seasonal and lies in the basin of the Great Rift Valley. It borders Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti Plateau. During the dry season the lake dries to become a salt encrusted plateau. During the wet season Lake Eyasi may flood its banks attracting wandering Hippos from the Serengeti. Migrating Flamingos gather on the lakeshore to feed on the flourishing algae. The Hadza are indigenous inhabitants of the lake. They are hunter – gatherers and the last remaining tribe in Tanzania to depend entirely on nature and their environment for survival.
The four-day adventure fly camp is a romantic, exclusive “Out of Africa” adventure through the rugged landscape of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Lake Eyasi Region. You will walk an average of four to six hours a day depending on your fitness and your walking abilities. You will learn from the masters, Mzee Nyuki and Saibul, the true art of hunter gathering and foraging. Each plant along the way may be the cure for an ailment or provide you with enough energy to continue on your journey. Mzee Nyuki is renowned in the area as the master of bees and honey. His tuned ears will detect the sound of a honey guide, a small bird, used by the Maasai and Hadza as a guide to the beehives. Mzee Nyuki guided by the honeyguide will lead you to the beehives. Remember to leave some honey for the honey guide as an offering of thanks for its hard work.
You will learn the art of bow hunting, how to track an animal, the differences between a buffalo track and a cow track. You will be taught how to distinguish between poisonous and edible berries. You will dig up plants and shave the bulbs to extract the drinkable water from their roots. You will learn the wonders of medicinal medicine, replacing your aspirin for the bark of an Acacia tree. After a hard days walk, you will reach your fly camp by a fresh flowing river in the rocks. Your camp will be ready for you on your arrival. You can relax under the shade of a Tortillas Acacia with a cold beer or a gin and tonic whilst the evening meal is being prepared. This is an experience that will be engrained in you memory for life as we take you back to your roots for another days adventure and many more lessons of the wild.
Your thrilling adventure can be combined with two to three days game viewing in the Serengeti National Park or a trip to Ngorongoro Crater. Our choice of accommodation here is Serian’s Serengeti South, a classic “Out of Africa” tented camp shaded by spectacular Acacia Tortillas trees and overlooking the legendary short grass plains famous for hosting the Wildebeest calving season. Your fly camp will be a slightly smaller version of the main camp. The position of the fly camp will move each day as you walk towards the edge of the Great Rift Valley. The best time of year to visit Serengeti South is during the calving season between December and April when the Wildebeest scatter the short grass plains during the rains. An alternative accommodation we highly recommend is Ubuntu Camp, an intimate tented camp on the southern plains.
