Tanzania Art Safari 2026.
This wasn’t my first visit to Tanzania’s Ndutu game reserve. But this was the first time I had led one of my art safari tours from this stunning destination. Ndutu borders the world famous Serengeti and offers a quieter, less crowded safari experience at the end of the season. It turned out to be the perfect location for my Tanzania Art Safari 2026.
En route to Ndutu we spent a couple of nights at Ngare Sari Mountain Lodge near Arusha, Tanzania’s capital. This provided our first wildlife encounter in the form of the theatrical black and white colobus monkeys. These large primates, distinguished by their flowing black and white fringed capes, entertained us as they harvested fruit from the surrounding trees. We took the opportunity to take a leisurely boat ride around the lake. Here we discovered some fascinating bird life, including weaver birds hard at work weaving nests in the reeds, a giant kingfisher and a Sykes monkey.
Our next stop was the Ngorongoro Crater. We stopped at a viewing point as we approached the Crater. It just so happened this was my birthday, and Tanzania had a special treat for me. No less than nine critically endangered black rhinos were waiting to greet us. This was a thrilling encounter, and we were filled with excitement on reaching the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge.
An unusual feature of game drives in the Crater is the way wildlife is really not at all bothered by vehicles. We came across zebra, lion and other animals just lying in the road, entirely unfazed by our approach. Later in the day we caught up with the nine black rhino, and then a bachelor group of four lions sprawled dramatically out across a fallen tree to catch the breeze. Huge batchelor groups of elephant grazed right by our vehicles.
After two full days in the Crater we made our way towards the Serengeti and Ndutu game reserve. We stopped on the way to visit a traditional Masai community. The villagers kindly sang and danced for us. It was a fascinating insight the traditional Masai way of life.
Ndutu Lodge is a relaxing place to stay, with friendly staff and a keen focus on wildlife. This would be our base for our animal sculpture workshop, which I would run between game drives in a quiet room on the edge of the lodge. The landscape is flat with wide areas of grassland. Perfect conditions for cheetah, who were to feature heavily in our sightings over the coming week.
It’s common to see lions up trees in this area. But it’s always a very exciting spectacle We spotted a lioness stretched out on a branch, a herd of giraffe staring back from the other side of the track. When she climbed down to resume her patrol, the giraffe ran off in their unique slow-motion gait. Later we found a leopard with a large wildebeest kill cached up a tree. He was eating it at his leisure. As he jumped down and circled our vehicle, the excitement was palpable.
Meanwhile, our animal sculpture workshop was progressing with a demonstration of my easy slab-building method, using the special clay I bring with me for workshops. I asked my clients what animal they would like to see me sculpt. I was pleased when they chose a black rhino. My students then began work on their own animal sculptures. We have the opportunity to sculpt for 2½ hours a day for six days. This gives everyone plenty of time to complete a sculpture. Observing our subjects at close quarters in the wild provides the detailed information - and inspiration - we need to bring our sculptures to life, drawing on a solid foundation of anatomy, movement and body language.
A wonderful highlight on the trip was a balloon flight with Balloon Safaris. As the sun rises, the balloon lifts from the ground and gently drifts over the plains below. Freed from the narrow confines of a ground vehicle, the dramatic perspective across the African savannah is truly a sight to behold, and gives a whole new perspective to the safari experience.
Perhaps my favourite encounter involved a cheetah with four young cubs. We spotted them hiding in the thicket. But the cubs soon emerged to play in the open, even chasing each other under our safari vehicle. At one point they were so close I could have reached down to stroke a fluffy head - although for obvious reasons this isn’t to be recommended!
On our last day word came through of a cheetah on the hunt. We found her stalking a small group of Thompson gazelle, her cubs just behind copying her every move. Slowly, she crept closer, her cubs following her lead. We watched from a safe and respectful distance, tension mounting as she approached to within striking distance. Moments later she sprang into action. The chase zigzagged in front of our eyes but suddenly the gazelle veered off and the cheetah spun to a halt. She had missed her chance. But a few seconds later the two cubs jumped out from the side and pounced. It was all over in a few seconds.
As you can see, Ndutu proved to be a spectacular wildlife destination, providing us with some truly unforgettable experiences. Why not join us for the trip of a lifetime?
