Safari
A third of Tanzania is under some form of protection — more than almost any country on earth. The question is never whether there is wildlife. It is which month, which circuit, and how long you have.
Six of twenty-three. The rest — the western chimpanzee parks, the vast southern reserves, the island parks on Lake Victoria and Zanzibar's Jozani — are all on the full parks index.
Nothing about it is on a timetable. It follows the grass, and the grass follows the rain.
Dec – Mar
Ndutu & the southern plains
Calving. Around half a million wildebeest are born in a few weeks on the short grass, and every predator in the ecosystem is there for it.
Apr – Jun
The western corridor
The herds move north and west through the long rains, gathering at the Grumeti River. Fewer vehicles, greener country, softer roads.
Jul – Oct
The northern Serengeti & Mara River
The crossings. Dramatic and entirely unschedulable — the herds go when they go, and waiting is most of the day.
Nov
Returning south
The short rains pull the herds back down towards Ndutu. A quiet, cheap, underrated month to travel.
Five thousand, eight hundred and ninety-five metres
Roughly half of everyone who attempts the mountain on a five-day itinerary fails to summit; on eight days, most succeed. The difference is not fitness. It is time spent between three and four thousand metres, and there is no way to buy your way past it.