The Tanzania Survival Expedition

By Tom Williams, winner of Channel 4’s Alone

Live with the Hadza hunter-gatherers, learn ancient bushcraft, and finish with a luxury safari.

From:

£3,990

Duration:

10 days

Date:

VARIOUS

Max People:

12

Min Age:

18+

★★★★★ 4.9 on Google · 1,000+ adventurers

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Only £490 deposit

Step Into the Adventure

Our adventures follow a simple arc:
Learn → Survive → Celebrate.

Learn

70,000 years ago, humanity first walked out of Africa. Some remained. and still live as true hunter-gatherers today. The Hadza tribe of northern Tanzania are one of the last to follow this ancient way of life, and you’ll live with them.

Survive

For six days, you’ll join the Hadza in their daily rhythms: hunting with handmade bows, foraging wild roots and berries, collecting honey with the help of the Greater Honeyguide bird, and learning bushcraft skills passed down for millennia. Around the campfire, you’ll share meals, laughter, and stories in a click-based language older than history itself.

Celebrate

Then, after raw experience, you’ll shift into safari comfort. A luxury lodge with a pool, gourmet meals, and game drives through Tarangire National Park. spotting elephants, lions, giraffes, and leopards. Finally, you’ll stand on the rim of Ngorongoro crater, the largest unbroken volcanic caldera in the world, teeming with wildlife.

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Key Facts

Location

Lake Eyasi + Tarangire + Ngorongoro, northern Tanzania.

Length

10 days / 9 nights. tribal experience + safari finale.

Group Size

8–12 people. small and respectful experience.

Who It’s For

Adventurers seeking cultural depth, ancient bushcraft, and wildlife spectacle in one trip.

Remarkable Moments

Hunt with bows alongside the Hadza tribe.

Learn fire-starting, shelter-building, and bushcraft from true hunter-gatherers.

Go on safari in Tarangire. elephants, lions, leopards, giraffes, buffalo.

Visit Ngorongoro Crater. the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera.

Relax at a luxury safari lodge with pool after the wild.

The Day-by-Day

Day 1: Arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport, transfer to your Arusha lodge, meet the group, and enjoy a welcome dinner and briefing.
Day 2: Drive to Lake Eyasi, meet the Hadzabe tribe, set up camp, and share dinner together.
Day 3: Join the Hadzabe on an early morning hunt, or forage with the women of the tribe before returning to camp.
Day 4: Learn survival skills, including fire-starting, shelter building, and finding and purifying water.
Day 5: Weather permitting, join a traditional honey-hunting expedition guided by the Greater Honeyguide bird.
Day 6: Continue life with the Hadza and learn further bushcraft skills from the tribe and instructors.
Day 7: After a final hunt and breakfast, return to Karatu for showers, rest, lunch, and a relaxed lodge evening.
Day 8: Explore Ngorongoro Crater, then continue to your lodge inside Tarangire National Park.
Day 9: Spend the day on safari in Tarangire, then return to Arusha for a farewell dinner.
Day 10: Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before your airport transfer and onward flight.

This is the shape of the expedition, not a fixed timetable. The exact training days flex with the weather and conditions, that’s part of the adventure.

Is This For You? Is It Safe?

NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED

The first five days are survival-light, building your skills and confidence before the real test. It is a genuine challenge, and that is exactly the point: most people call it a reset like nothing else.

YOUR SAFETY COMES FIRST

Sites are handpicked to avoid real hazards, every instructor is wilderness-first-aid certified, we run on a system of informed consent, and you stay in contact with the team throughout.

CHANGED YOUR MIND?

A 7-day cool-off with a full refund, flexible rescheduling up to 90 days before departure, and our safety promise.

What’s Included

All activities mentioned
Safari in Tarangire National Park
2 nights in a luxury lodge (twin rooms – shared)
2 nights in Arusha (twin rooms – shared)
All meals and drinks

What’s Not Included

International flights
Visas, if required
Personal travel insurance
Personal kit. We will be sending you a more detailled version after booking.
Personal expenses

More Info

Trip Summary

Live with the Hadza tribe, one of the last true hunter-gatherer bands on Earth. Deep in the Tanzanian savannah, you’ll hunt, forage, laugh, and learn bushcraft in full tribal experience, finishing with a luxury safari.

70,000 years ago, your ancestors first walked out of Africa and adapted to different climates. Some stayed and maintained their traditional life and still do today. Meet the Hadza, some of the last remaining hunter-gatherers on Earth and you are going to live with them.

You will set out on a rare and genuine 10-day adventure deep into the Tanzanian savannah, where you’ll spend six hands-on days living alongside the Hadzabe tribe, learning bushcraft skills like fire-starting, foraging, shelter-building, and traditional bow hunting, honey collecting and much more all while sharing stories, meals, and laughter around the campfire. With no roads, running water, or electricity, this is authentic, raw, and respectful cultural travel that directly supports the Hadzabe. To round off the adventure, unwind in style with a two-day stay at a luxury safari lodge complete with a pool, incredible meals, and picturesque game drives through one of Tanzania’s iconic Tarangire park. Spotting elephants, lions, leopards, and buffalo. We finish with a trip to the stunning Ngorongoro crater, the world’s biggest intact (unbroken) volcanic caldera on Earth, packed with diverse wildlife.

The Hadza Tribe

The Hadza, or Hadzabe, are one of the last true hunter-gatherer tribes on Earth, living wild and free in the remote savannahs near Lake Eyasi, Tanzania. With a way of life virtually unchanged for over 10,000 years, they hunt with handmade bows, forage wild roots and berries, and follow ancient trails known only to them. They speak a unique click-based language and share an almost mythical bond with the Greater Honeyguide bird, which leads them to hidden honey deep in the bush. To spend time with the Hadza is to step back into humanity’s origins. a rare and powerful glimpse into a world few ever see, and even fewer truly understand.

A Typical Day with the Hadzabe

6:00 Wake up and morning hunting
9:00 Breakfast
10:00 Learn about Hadzabe culture and bushcraft skills including fire-making and building shelter
12:00 Lunch and rest
15:00 Cultural Bushcraft Skills: Hunting techniques and bow & arrow poisons
17:00 Foraging with Hadza women: digging eatable roots and collecting honey and berries
20:00 Bush dinner
21:00 Campfire & story-telling time

Getting here

If you’re travelling from Europe, getting to Tanzania is surprisingly straightforward. There are direct flights from several major European cities to Kilimanjaro International Airport, which is the closest hub to Arusha. Tanzania is also well-connected to the Middle East and other parts of Africa, making it accessible from most global regions.

From the airport, it’s about a one-hour drive to Arusha, the bustling gateway to northern Tanzania’s wild landscapes. That’s where we meet. at a hotel in Arusha.

Google flights is our favourite flight search engine; however, we always recommend booking directly with the airline once you have found your flights as you will have a preferential cancellation policy and better upgrade potential.

Only 5-Star Reviews

“Every single person in the crew is amazing. The experience itself is the best adventure that you can have. You will come back a different person.”
Diogo Barardo
“An absolutely incredible experience, so amazing to switch off from the world and go back to basics, with an amazing group of people and fantastic instructors.”
Jenny Bomers
“A great way to get away from our daily lives and connect to nature, oneself and with great people!”
Peter Larg

All upcoming departures

7-Day Cool Off

Flexibility

Safety

FAQs

With the Hadza, you’ll sleep in your own tent with a comfy mattress. If you’d like, you’re also welcome to build and sleep in your own bushcraft shelter. You’ll share a twin room with another guest during the safari portion unless you select the single-room supplement.

Yes, we do cater for vegans. However, it’s essential to understand that the Hadza will continue hunting as part of their daily life which can be distressing to some guests. While we often share food with them, our accompanying chef prepares three delicious African meals a day over the fire. You’ll also join the Hadza on their hunts, and they may offer fresh meat from the day’s catch which we encourage guests to only eat at thier own discretion as we can not guarantee cooking standards.

In June, mosquito levels around the Hadza territory near Lake Eyasi are generally low. It’s the beginning of the dry season, so there’s less standing water for mosquitoes to breed in, which reduces bite risk and lowers the chance of malaria. However, as a precaution, antimalarials are recommended.

You will need to fly to Kilimanjaro (JRO) international airport with direct flights from Paris, Amsterdam and Qatar, amongst others.

During the safari portion of your adventure, you will see massive elephant herds, often seen wandering among ancient baobab trees. You may also spot lions, leopards, giraffes, zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, ostriches, and baboons. Tarangire is also a birdwatcher’s paradise, with over 500 bird species, including colourful lovebirds and massive kori bustards. If you’re lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of elusive animals like cheetahs or caracals.

During your time with the Hadzabe, you’ll learn essential bushcraft and survival skills from friction fire-starting (bow and hand drill), building natural shelters, sourcing and purifying water in the wild, and mastering foraging, animal tracking and hunting techniques using handmade bows and arrows. You’ll also gain insight into tracking wildlife, identifying edible plants, and understanding the Hadza’s deep, instinctive connection to the land. knowledge that’s as ancient as it is practical.

During dry season, when we go, daytime temperatures stay comfortably warm, between 24–28°C (75–82°F), perfect for exploring without overheating.

Nights, especially around Lake Eyasi, can cool down quickly to 10–15°C (50–59°F), so you’ll definitely feel the difference once the sun drops. Humidity is low, and rain is very unlikely during this time.

Tip: Bring layers. Breathable clothing for the warm days, and something warmer. like a fleece or light jacket. for the evenings. It’s all about adapting as the temperature shifts.

The level of the excursion and pace of the trip depends on the activities you want to be involved in, plenty of the expedition will be slower around the camp. However at sunrise we will join the Hadza for a hunt which can be hard to keep up even for the fittest of us. we will also take a few hikes. To make the most of your trip. We feel the fitter you are, the better (as with life as a whole.). So, several months before you leave, we will send you a few exercises you might choose to do to strengthen your lower back and legs.

Your guide for this adventure will be Tom Williams, the founder of Desert Island Survival and the winner of the TV series Alone UK. Learn more about Tom here. He will be joined by 4 local guides who will help as interpreters, cooks and all round super heros.

Not ready to commit to 10 days? Start with the free 72hr Challenge, the smallest version of the idea.

Try the 72hr Challenge (free)

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