Arusha to Lake Eyasi

Lake Eyasi - Depart from Arusha at 8:00 am heading to Lake Eyasi, with a brief stopover in Karatu town, near the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Karatu serves as the urban center for the agricultural Iraqw indigenous people. Arrive at Lake Eyasi in time for lunch. After lunch, enjoy a tour of Lake Eyasi, including an afternoon canoe ride across the lake to observe various bird species such as pelicans and flamingos. You may also witness fishing activities along the lake shores. Overnight stay at a campsite or lodge.

Lake Eyasi - Hadzabe, Datoga, and Maasai

Lake Eyasi - Start the day with an early breakfast at 6:00 am, followed by a morning tour to visit the Hadza people. The Hadza are among the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in Africa, with a population of fewer than 1,000 people, of which only 300-400 still live traditionally. Experience making a fire using the hand-twirling method. Join the women and children around a campfire as they discuss domestic matters and prepare food and drink. Explore a makeshift grass hut to learn about their survival techniques and lifestyle. Spend an hour or two hunting with the Hadza using bows, arrows, and hunting dogs. Return to their camp to participate in a dance. Before leaving, enjoy a lesson in archery using the Hadzabe’s handcrafted bows and arrows.

Return to camp or lodge for brunch, then depart for a tour of the Blacksmiths, a sub-tribe of the Datoga. The Blacksmiths craft brass and aluminum into bracelets, necklaces, and other intricate items, trading them with the Datoga and Maasai. Experience igniting a fire on the forge using air bags made from cowhide before proceeding to tour the Datoga.

Visit a Datoga homestead (gheid). The Datoga are semi-nomadic Cushitic pastoralists similar to the Maasai. The women wear traditional garments made from rust-colored cowhide covered in red ochre, with skirts featuring long fringes and colorful beads, along with brass bracelets and necklaces. The men wear blue or red striped or checked blankets (shuka) wrapped around their bodies. Enter the Datoga hut to learn about their lifestyle, including their sleeping and living quarters. Visit the cattle corral where livestock are kept. Like the Maasai, the Datoga prioritize cattle, which are central to their subsistence and social structures. After the tour, return to your lodgings. Spend the afternoon relaxing, then visit a local school or take a short walk to the onion plantations (farm activities), and stroll to the village to see local maize-made alcohol. Walk to the lake and climb a large rock near the lodges or campsite for sunset or sundown around 6:00 pm, then return to the lodge or camp for dinner and a shower.

On the following day, you will be transferred to Arusha.

Lake Eyasi - Arusha

Lake Eyasi - You will be transferred to Arusha to continue to your next destination or to the airport for your flight home.

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner

• International and Local flights

Situated on the basin floor of the Great Rift Valley, beneath the Serengeti Plateau, Lake Eyasi is a periodic, shallow, saline body of water with no outlet at the southern border of the Serengeti National Park and just southwest of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania’s Crater Highlands. The lake, stretching from southwest to northeast, resides within the Eyasi-Wembere segment of the Great Rift Valley.

The indigenous Hadzabe bushmen, along with the Datoga and Mbulu groups, inhabit this area. Spending time with the bushmen can be rewarding; they’re keen to demonstrate their lifestyle and hunting methods. Relying fully on the wilderness and skilled in archery, they create all their necessities from naturally available resources. Their weaponry includes bows strung with giraffe sinew and poison-tipped arrows. The clicks present in their speech are reminiscent of the sound patterns found in the language of the Kalahari bushmen, famously depicted in the 1980 movie ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.