Experience the thrill of walking on the wild side!

There's nothing like heading out into the expanses of the African bush on a guided walking safari, connecting directly to the wilderness around you and discovering a wealth of fascinating life that is so often passed by on a game drive... We're fortunate to be able to offer this amazing activity at Nimali Tarangire, so let's find out more about it and why walking in a pristine wilderness is such a privilege!

Nimali Tarangire is located on an unfenced private reserve on the edge of Tarangire National Park which allows us to offer walking safaris to our guests, unlike our lodges in the Serengeti where walking is sadly not allowed due to the high occurrence of predators in the areas we are located in. So, combining Nimali Tarangire with one or both of our Serengeti properties - Nimali Mara and Nimali Serengeti - means that you will get to enjoy the best of everything and give your walking boots some exercise in the process!

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What's it like to walk on the wild side? Simply put, it's perhaps the most authentic form of safari, heading out into the wilderness on foot with your armed guide and feeling the incredible sense of awe at becoming part of the environment around you and immersed completely in its raw energy. This is how the Victorian pioneers of old explored Africa, putting one foot in front of the other, sharing their adventures with a world that was fascinated by the "Dark Continent" as it was known in those bygone days.

Walking safaris don't just exercise your muscles, they also clear the cobwebs from your brain and make you feel truly alive as you feel your senses heighten to everything around you. Suddenly you seem to see more clearly, hear more intently, feel the energy of the wilderness vibrating in the air around you as you move... Walking is absolutely a Safari for the Senses in the truest sense of the phrase!

Most importantly, walking gives you a complete picture of how eco-systems work by allowing you to see nature inaction. Your guide will explain how everything in the African bush is connected, be it a blade of grass, a tiny grasshopper, the smallest bird or a towering baobab tree.

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Learning about this interconnectedness is a revelation par excellence as you begin to understand the infinite relationships between all life on our planet, how geology plays its part, how climate really works and how life adapts to constant change, evolving to cope with the challenges of survival.

You can discover a whole new world you didn't know existed in a few short steps, finding out about ant lions, termites, the resilience of grasses and how life literally finds a way, even in the most daunting circumstances and conditions that would most likely not be survivable for the average human.

It's a humbling experience and one that changes the way you see the world around you, not just while you are on vacation, but also once you return home and realise just how separated we've become from the environments that shaped our evolution and moulded our intelligence. So, prepare to have your mind blown!  

Walking at Nimali Tarangire usually takes place in the early morning to escape the heat of the day and because of the largely flat geography is not too strenuous. We generally drive a short distance from the lodge, parking in the shade before getting off to walk in a circuitous route, exploring on foot for a couple of hours before returning to the vehicle.

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A day pack is a good idea, and your guide will have lots of water to keep you hydrated. Sunscreen is essential, as is a good sun hat, sunglasses and a good pair of walking shoes that are both comfortable and light, but rugged enough to withstand the odd thorn! You can choose to wear long pants if you like, but shorts are also fine. Just make sure that you're cool and comfy, with room to bend down and examine the minute lifeforms that you never knew existed!

You'll also be exposed to tracks and signs on your walking safari, learning all about the art of tracking and reading the wilderness around you to discover what's passed by and what may lay ahead! In this respect the bush is like a newspaper waiting to be read, telling your guide about things that happened during the night, animals that have been in the area recently and where they were headed.

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Of course, there is always the chance you will come across wild animals while walking, so you can expect to see plains game like zebra, antelope and giraffe, and perhaps even elephant! Your guide is exceptionally experienced and will assess levels of safety throughout your walk, steering well clear of wildlife that may present a threat.

The excitement of what you might see is something that also makes walking such a thrill, along with the adrenaline rush of being out in a remote wilderness discovering what makes it so incredible and feeling part of it, rather than apart from it.

So, don't miss the opportunity to come with us into the wilderness on foot and experience the purity of a real "Safari for the Senses"!

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