Tanzania Africa Safari Review: Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Central & Northern Serengeti National Parks, Village

We could fill this space with each individual bird and mammal sighting, all of which were amazing.  However there were several outstanding experiences.  The first was the proximity and sheer number of giraffe literally right outside our Nomads Safaris tent overlooking the Ngorongoro Crater. Our excellent guide repeatedly put us in just the right spot in the Crater for perfect viewing, and got us into the park as soon as the gates opened each morning. He also arranged a memorable hike/visit with a Massai guide to a village, and a sunset picnic overlooking the giraffe. Second was our exemplary guide at Elewana Camp in Central Serengetti, and the food and accommodations there.  Our private sunrise breakfast the last morning on the kopje and the individualized attention given by a guide at the Camp, alone with our planner's rapport with us made this our favorite among four excellent homes away from home. We can't stress enough how "tuned in" and responsive our planner was, which really took our experience to uncharted territory.  In terms of mammal sightings and experiences, our two favorite were at the Nomads mobile camp in the Northern Serengetti.  We saw two separate exciting wildebeest crossings of the river, each timed perfectly by our guide.  The penultimate experience was encountering two female lions and their five cubs at sunset.  One of the females had just killed a wildebeest and was calling the others to join her.  We watched in amazement as the two females embraced and groomed each other and the cubs frolicked around the wildebeest, not really knowing what to do but filled with excitement. This memory stands out, but there were so many which will stay with us the rest of our lives.