The Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, Tanzania
Plantation Lodge offers a perfect foil to the exertion and exhilaration of a Tanzanian safari. The 16 guest suites and cottages fan out around the original coffee lodge, which has an authentic ‘Out of Africa' feel - polished parquet floors, high garden-facing French windows, Planter-style furniture, whirling overhead fans and African memorabilia.
The mood at Plantation Lodge is cool and measured, one of respite and retreat. Plantation Lodge offers just 15 elegant, ensuite rooms. Every room has its own style wherein African safari-antiques and Tanzanian arts and crafts are fused with graceful modern amenities.
The Plantation Lodge accommodation is presented in the form of individual self-contained houses, each with their own dining room, sitting room, fireplace and verandah. Garden House offers four double bedrooms in a two-storey home with lounge, fireplaces, dining room and timbered terrace. There is a swimming pool with stunning views of the valleys, set in the extensive, park-like gardens.
The Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area
Often referred to as ‘the eighth wonder of the world' the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa's best-known wildlife arenas. A World Heritage Site, the Ngorongoro Crater is also one of the largest volcanic craters in the world (almost 20 kilometres wide, 610-760 metres deep and covering a total area of 264 square kilometres).
Due to the high concentration of wildlife in the Ngorongoro Crater, close-range viewing opportunities and striking scenery the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Tanzania's most visited sites (400,000 visitors in 2007). The Ngorongoro Crater is part of the larger Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area.
Tanzania luxury safari lodge: location
Plantation Lodge is located on the outskirts of Karatu on the lower slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater - a two or three-hour drive from Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport and a 45 minute drive from Lake Manyara Airfield. Plantation Lodge is a 20 minute drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Ngorongoro Crater, which lie south-east of the Serengeti National Park, 165 kms from Arusha.
Your Tanzania lodge safari
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) was established in 1959, most of it having previously belonged to the now contiguous Serengeti National Park. The Ngorongoro Crater is only one of many natural attractions that are contained within the vast boundaries (8,300 sq km) of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. These include both dormant and active volcanoes, soaring mountains, archaeological treasures, rolling plains, rivers, forests, lakes and shifting sand dunes whilst almost half of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is made up of vast tracts of open grassland, which swing in a vast arc stretching from the Serengeti in the northwest through the Gol Mountains to the Salei Plain in the northeast.
Olduvai Gorge
Close (20kms) to the centre of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is Olduvai Gorge, the ‘Cradle of Mankind', where the remains of our earliest ancestors, the hominids, were found.
Ngorongoro Crater wildlife safari highlights
The Ngorongoro Crater hosts a large population of ungulates and high numbers of predators, particularly lion. The only absentees from the usual East African large mammals are the giraffe, impala and female and young elephants.
Tanzania luxury safari lodge: accommodation
Plantation Lodge offers just 15 elegant, en-suite rooms. Every room has its own style wherein African safari-antiques and Tanzanian arts and crafts are fused with graceful modern amenities. The Plantation Lodge accommodation is presented in the form of individual self-contained houses, each with their own dining room, sitting room, fireplace and verandah.
Garden House offers four double bedrooms in a two-storey home with lounge, fireplaces, dining room and timbered terrace. The rooms lie generously distributed throughout the flowering garden, some with verandas and direct access to the garden. Individuality is a major feature of Plantation Lodge, where each room has its own style, choice accessories and bouquets of fresh flowers from the garden.
Tanzania luxury safari lodge: dining and bars
At Plantation Lodge meals are served in the private dining rooms of the cottages and major on fresh produce grown locally - often from the lodge's own 45 acre grounds. Plantation Lodge maintains an excellent wine cellar. Lunch can also be served on the terrace or in the garden.
Conference and event facilities at Plantation Lodge
Plantation Lodge does not offer specific conference facilities but will be happy to quote for small meetings and social gatherings. Tanzania lodge incentives can also be arranged within the Ngorongoro Crater or the larger Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Weddings and honeymoons at Plantation Lodge
Plantation Lodge is surrounded by coffee plantations and the famous ‘green hills of Africa' that Hemingway found so inspiring. Its romantic setting and high standards of accommodation, food and service have made it a popular location for weddings.
This Tanzania lodge makes an ideal Tanzania wedding destination. The lodge also offers wedding and honeymoon packages.
Child-friendly facilities at Plantation Lodge
Plantation Lodge welcomes children and will be pleased to supply additional beds.
What to see and do at Plantation Lodge
There is a swimming pool with stunning views of the valleys, set in the extensive, park-like gardens. Guests can walk beneath the avocado and eucalyptus trees and listen to the calls of over 40 different kinds of domestic birds. The lodge also offers
• Coffee plantation tours
• Farm tours
• Massage
Safari lodge experiences in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Typical Tanzania safari experiences at Plantation Lodge include: morning or afternoon tours of the Ngorongoro Crater, safari game drives in especially adapted 4WD safari vehicles (with professionally trained Tanzania safari guides) around the crater rim, safari bush breakfasts, lunches and dinners; cocktails around the lodge safari campfire and guided safari walks around the crater rim, visits to view ancient rock art. Plantation Lodge also offers ornithological tours, cultural performances and visits to the local Maasai people of Tanzania.
Tanzania safari lodge experiences around the Ngorongoro Crater
Wildlife and cultural venues in the vicinity of the lodge and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area include:
• Ol Duvai Gorge - world renowned paleolithic site
• The Serengeti National Park
• Lake Manyara National Park
• The nearby Empaki volcanic crater
• Tarangire National Park
Plantation Lodge - Ngorongoro • Tanzania Wildlife Safari Lodges
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