Tanzania Safari Photography by Christian Del Rosario

WILD AFRICA - SERENGETI

JULY, August & SEPTEMBER 2024

An amazing 9 day PHOTO-SAFARI HOLIDAY

WITH CHRISTIAN DEL ROSARIO  

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA & WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA BASED TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER/ARTIST

THIS IS A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE africa THROUGH THE LENS OF PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER CHRISTIAN DEL ROSARIO, WHOSE UNIQUE EYE AND SPECIAL TALENT FOR FINDING THE PERFECT PHOTO MEANs YOU WILL TAKE HOME AMAZING PHOTOS OF YOUR VACATION, EXPERIENCE A NEW CULTURE, AND OF COURSE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN PRACTICAL SAFARI PHOTOGRAPHY FROM CHRISTIAN HIMSELF! Not interested in learning photography? not a problem, You'll come home with super amazing photos of YOU on your vacation taken by christian himself! please read the daily itinerary below. We will take care of everything from the moment you arrive at the KILIMANJARO airport, impressive accommodations, curated meals, and best daily safari tours Christian picked himself! ALL PHOTOS YOU SEE ON THIS PAGE WERE TAKEN BY CHRISTIAN ON THE ACTUAL LOCATIONS YOU WILL SEE DURING THIS TRIP. 

THIS TOUR IS OPEN TO 10-15 PARTICIPANTS ONLY PER GROUP. SO RESERVE QUICKLY.

CURRENT ITINERARY

( MAYBE SUBJECT TO MINOR CHANGES )

DAY 1 - GUEST arrivals

Your Safari begins at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania. Upon arrival, you will proceed and go through the friendly Tanzania customs and immigrations clearance, then you will be met by Christian and our tour representative upon immigration exit and help transfer you to your hotel for check in. Enjoy the Mountain Lodge facilities and grounds and use this day to rest and recover from your flight. YOU ARE NOW IN AFRICA !!!!

You will be staying tonight at Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge ( 1 night ).

Photography by Christian Del Rosario 2019

DAY 2 - ARUSHA & NGORONGORO HIGHLAND

Start the day with the delicious breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast, you will have an orientation with Christian and have the chance to meet your safari guides for the whole week.

This will be followed by your first Photography learning session with Christian.

For non-photographers, take advantage of this time to continue to enjoy the hotel grounds and facilities.

Following the Photography learning session is a visit to a local school where you will have a chance to interact with the school kids. Interacting with the local kids will give you a taste and sense of Tanzanian culture and give appreciation for being in their beautiful country.

Lunch will be served back at the lodge.

After lunch, we will drive south of Arusha to Ngorongoro Highland where you will have a first glimpse of some wildlife and a view of the Ngorongoro basin. We will arrive at our next safari lodge for dinner and overnight. On this night we will stay at Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw Camp (1 night).

Photography by Christian Del Rosario 2019

DAY 3-4 - EXPLORING THE NGORONGORO CRATER

DAY 3 - After an early breakfast at the lodge, we will drive and  descend into the crater for an in-depth exploration of this distinctive eco-system. Enjoy abundant wildlife viewing set against the impressive backdrop of the Ngorongoro Crater, the heart of the conservation area. These drives provide one of the best opportunities in Africa to view the Black Rhino, which tend to spend their time on the crater floor. Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles; its magical setting and abundant wildlife never fail to enthrall visitors. Another big draw card to this picturesque Caldera is it's dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, and if lucky enough you will have chance to see the small cats like the Rare Caracal, Serval Cat, and as well as the African Wild Cat which requires a trained eye to spot.

After our picnic lunch somewhere on the crater floor, we will continue our game viewing visiting the hippo pool near the Mandusi Swamp and Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. We will also visit the Lerai forest as well as other parts of the crater searching for different wildlife interactions at the area. We will end the day with a nice dinner back at the lodge where we will watch the beautiful sunset above the Ngorongoro crater.

DAY 4 - After an early breakfast at the lodge, we will drive and  descend again into the crater for a continued in-depth exploration of the crater floor. We will have another picnic lunch. This will be followed by our drive to the Central east plain of Serengeti via the Gol Kopjes.

Kopjes are stacks of ancient rocks that jut out of the more recent soil. The soils of the Serengeti consist of volcanic rock and ash. Below it you’ll find an even older layer of metamorphic rock. If you have watched the “Lion King”, you have seen Pride Rock. Pride Rock is basically a huge kopje that sticks out majestically from the surrounding flat grassland.

This area linking the Southern plain of Serengeti and Central Serengeti is a fragile habitat consisting of ethereal Kopjes and short grass plains. Driving through the Gol Kopjes is always a breathtaking experience with a vision of vast open plains and amazing wildlife. This is gazelle country -- and where there are gazelles -- there are always Cheetahs!

We will continue our game viewing through the Gol Kopjes searching for different wildlife interactions at the area. Late in the afternoon we will proceed to drive to Sametu Tented Camp where we will stay for two nights.

Photography by Christian Del Rosario 2019

DAY 5 - EXPLORING THE CENTRAL & EASTERN PLAIN OF SERENGETI

We will spend this whole day game viewing around the Central Serengeti plains.

We will depart the lodge before sunrise with a picnic breakfast for a big day in search of the biggest herds of the great Wildebeest migrations. The early morning drive through the Central Serengeti will soak you in the beautiful golden light of an African sunrise.

Among the areas we will visit are the Retima Hippo pool, Maasai and Sametu Kopjes and plains as well as Moru and Gol Kopjes, where we will search for special wildlife interactions and photographic opportunities.

The Central Serengeti and Seronera River valley is home to a great diversity of wildlife due to its unique ecological niches as a transition zone to two distinctly different habitats, where the plain and the woodlands merge and various species of wildlife from both habitats actually coexist.

DAY 6, , and 8 - EXPLORING THE NORTHERN SERENGETI

These next three days and nights will be spent at the beautiful Mara Lodge Camp. Brace yourself for what would be the pinnacle of our safari trip. We are now in the northern part of the Serengeti which  is home to a huge number of resident animals including Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, Elephants, Buffalos, Elands, Black Rhinos and where occasionally African Wild Dogs are even spotted.

After breakfast each day , we will drive through and around Northern Serengeti searching for wildlife interactions.

We will explore the Lobo Valley Kopjes as well as the Bologonja area before getting to Kogatende where the Mara River is situated. This is also a wonderful time of year to witness one of three significant events that happens during the Wildebeest Great Migrations – the annual river crossings! This is one of the top highlights of this trip.

Our days will be made up of a combination of looking for good river crossings and other wildlife interactions along the Mara River, Wogakuria Kopjes as well as the Lamai triangle (A triangular shaped area just north of the Mara River).

We will end each day back at the Mara River lodge/camp in time for our delicious dinner and optional camp fire gatherings.

DAY 9 - BUSH FLIGHT FROM KOGATENDE TO ARUSHA-FLY BACK HOME

Early breakfast at the camp and then leave the camp for Kogatende Airstrip with game drives en-route. Bush flight from Kogatende to Arusha.

Stop at cultural heritage for lunch and an optional shopping, and then drive to Ngaresero Mountain Lodge for a day room.

You will have an early dinner at Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge before driving to Kilimanjaro Airport for your flight back.

Photography by Christian Del Rosario 2019

Photography by Christian Del Rosario 2019

Photography by Christian Del Rosario 2019

Photography by Christian Del Rosario 2019

DETAILS

TRIP Price: $9000 per person (based on double occupancy)

w/ optional $1000 Single Supplement ( Single room of your own )

Admin fee (when paying by credit card) $293

Tour Price Includes

• Hotel Accommodation - 8 nights room accommodations are provided at the hotels and lodges indicated on this itinerary. Accommodations are per person, based on two persons sharing a twin-bedded room or king room with private bath

• Tours and Sightseeing - by private, safari windowed vehicles (4×4 Extended Toyota Land Cruiser).

• Private airport transfers and transfers between hotels and lodges.

• All breakfasts, lunches, and dinners

• Professional photos taken by led by Christian. A private gallery web page will be available for all guests where all high-resolution digital copies of the photos from the trip will be available for download and use of all guests. Photos will be in digital format. Prints are not included.

• Hands-On Photography coaching throughout the tour by Christian and his assistants.

• Shared and limited use of some of Christian’s camera equipment so you can take some super awesome photos!

• Bottled water on hotels/lodges and our vehicle daily.

• Snacks (both healthy and not so healthy but super yummy!) on vehicle during our safari game drives daily.

• Taxes - all local taxes and hotel taxes are included in the cost of the tour

• All National Park Fees, Concession fee & Reserve Entrance Fees

• All Fuel Costs

• Unlimited Game Drive & Mileage

• Unlimited Beverages such as drinking bottled-water, soft drinks, domestic beer, tea & coffee provided in the mini-refrigerator installed in safari vehicle

• Safari Wildlife & Birding Books provided in the vehicle

• Full-time Support from our ground operation team in Tanzania.

• Professional, Certified, Fluent-English Speaking Naturalist Guide with 8 to 15 years of experience

• Internal Airfare / Bush flight from Southern Serengeti to Arusha

• Temporary Flying Doctors Membership Card for Emergency Evacuation.

Tour Price Does Not Include

• Gratuities to local guides are not included. Guide tips of $300 in cash per guest will be added. To be collected by Christian while in Tanzania.

• Documentation costs (if any)

• Travel insurance

• Excess baggage charges

• Beverages, except water, unless noted

• Laundry or any other item of a personal nature not specifically mentioned herein.

 • Roundtrip Airfare to Tanzania (Kilimanjaro Airport)

PAYMENTS & Cancellation

• AN INITIAL DEPOSIT OF $2500 IS REQUIRED TO IMMEDIATELY RESERVE AND SECURE A SPOT . THERE ARE ONLY 10-15 SPOTS AVAILABLE.

• THIS DEPOSIT IS FULLY REFUNDABLE IF CANCELLED ON OR BEFORE DEC 31, 2023. AFTER DEC 31, 2023, THIS DEPOSIT IS NOT REFUNDABLE.

• FULL PAYMENT IS REQUIRED ON OR BEFORE JAN 31, 2024. Plus $293 admin fee if paying by credit card.

• PREFERRED PAYMENT METHOD IS DIRECT BANK TRANSFER TO CHRISTIAN’S BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT.

• GUESTS CANCELING PRIOR TO FEB 28, 2024 WILL RECEIVE A FULL REFUND LESS THE INITIAL $2500 DEPOSIT

• GUESTS CANCELING PRIOR TO MAR 31, 2024 WILL RECEIVE A 50% REFUND OF ALL MONIES ABOVE THE INITIAL DEPOSIT

• NO REFUND ON OR AFTER MARCH 31, 2024 ( EXCEPT IF TRAVEL BANS due to disasters like Covid 19 are put in place. In this case, all monies paid will be 100% refundable. Such was the case in 2020 when all monies were returned to all guests.)

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

All travelers need a passport valid for at least six months AFTER the date of entering the country.

Your passport MUST BE VALID through at least MARCH 2025 or you must renew before travel. Please note that this rule is enforced by TANZANIA.

A visa on arrival can be obtained at the airport upon arrival in Tanzania for US Citizens. Cost is $100. However, we strongly suggest that an e-visa ($150 with processing fee) is obtained prior to flying to Tanzania to ensure a quick and smoother immigration process. We will assist with this e-visa process for all participants at no additional charge.

Got a question?

Please contact Christian via FB Messenger or via email at tripswithxtian@gmail.com

ABOVE: Actual Camps/Lodges photos we have used during our safari. Actual accommodations during your tour may be different but will be very similar in quality.

Christian’s commitment to giving back to help animals

As many of you know, I am very passionate about animals. This opportunity to bring my friends to Africa and experience the joy that animals can bring to our lives brings so much joy to my heart. As my way of giving back to what Africa has given me, I have committed to give back 10% of any profits made from this tour to my chosen animal conservation causes all over Africa. This will include but not limited to donations to Elephant and Rhino protection programs to help stop poaching and killing of these animals. I will also donate to help educational programs around Africa that aid in helping educate African communities to promote harmonious existence between their communities and the animals. By being a participant in these tours, you are also in turn a participant in helping me protect these beautiful animals and the people that live amongst them. So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

I can’t wait to share with you this amazing experience!!! See you in Africa!!!

THIS TOUR IS OPEN TO 12 PARTICIPANTS ONLY PER GROUP. SO RESERVE QUICKLY.