Firefinch safari: In full

On arrival, transfer to a smaller aircraft for your flight over Mount Kilimanjaro to Arusha. When you land, your private superior guide will meet you with a 4WD safari vehicle. Your first drive takes roughly 2½ hours to the lovely Plantation Lodge. Plantation Lodge is perfectly located to explore both the Ngorongoro Crater and also Lake Manyara National Park. Spend one full day on safari in Manyara – which is a small yet wonderfully diverse park where you often find good numbers of game including elephant, buffalo and even tree climbing lions. On your second full day you'll drive to the Ngorongoro Crater.

Leaving the agricultural landscapes behind, you'll drive through the Ngorongoro forests before reaching drier environs. Maasai tribespeople reside here and you'll pass herders in traditional dress and small homesteads on your way to the vast Serengeti Plains. These grasslands are alive with the migration during the months of late-November to April. Stay at Dunia Camp for two nights. Making the most of travelling with a superior guide in your own safari vehicle with a pop top roof, you'll explore this game rich area at your own pace. You can even head out for the entire day – stopping somewhere shady for a bush picnic.

Drive deeper into the Serengeti. Your destination is the Western Corridor where, during the months of May through to July, the migrating herds of wildebeest congregate. At this time you might be fortunate enough to experience the exciting and electric sight of herds running the gauntlet of crocodiles as they cross the Grumeti River. Whilst here, you'll stay at Grumeti River Camp. You'll be guided by the camp's own guides, game viewing from open-sided, covered 4WD vehicles. Even without the migration, this is a fascinating area and there's the chance to see the rare and beautiful colobus monkey or take a day trip to Lake Victoria (at extra cost).