TANZANIA NATIONAL PARKS & GAME RESERVES GUIDE
Tanzania is one of Africa’s most dynamic and popular travel destinations – offering the best of both safari and sea.
Tanzania has more natural tourist attractions than most ofther countries on the contine – becoming known as the best safari destination in Africa. complemented by its magnificent beaches and Islands, Tanzania offers it all. the spectacullar country draws large numbers of travelers from all over the Earth.
There are 16 National Parks in Tanzania (Arusha National Park, Gombe Stream National Park, Katavi National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, Kitulo National Park, Mahale Mountains National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Mikumi National Park, Mkomazi National Park, Ruaha National Park, Rubondo National Park, Saadani National Park, Serengeti National Park, Tarangile National Park, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, and Ngorongoro Crater). Close to 40% of the land area of Tanzania is being reserved for future and for animals to continue to roam freely. National Parks are spread all over the country. Animals such as Lions, Elephants, Leopards, Buffaloes and Rhinoceros and many others can be seen in most of these Parks. One – quarter of Tanzania’s surface area has been set aside for conservation purposes. The 15 declared National Parks managed by Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), collectively harbour an estimated 20% of Africa’s large mammal population – creating a rich mosaic of protected areas.
The Four Primary Safari Circuits For Tanzania
Northern National Parks & Reserves In Tanzania
1. SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
The Serengeti National Park — was established nearly a hundred years ago as a colonial game reserve, made a National Park in 1951, and later endorsed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. One of the last remaining areas of untouched wilderness, it lies securely in the Serengeti ecosystem, an area that stretches from the woodlands, lakes and grassy plains of Ndutu in southern Serengeti to the northern verdant river expanse till Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. This ecosystem covers 25,000 square kilometers, within which the Serengeti National Park consists of almost 15,000 square kilometers of protected ecological treasures, to be discovered on a Kilimanjarotravels.com dream safari vacation to Tanzania. Any ecosystem is composed of interlinked and interdependent phenomena, including the topography, climate and situation, the wildlife and the effects of human usage. The climate of the Serengeti is defined by periods of rain and drought. The geography of the area ranges from apparently limitless grass plains in the south, fertilized by volcanic ash rich in life-giving phosphates, to wooded highlands in the east, crossed by rivers and studded with island outcrops or kopjes of eroded granite, home to hundreds of vulnerable inhabitants such as the rare black rhinoceros.
Across these vast plains range a fantastic cast of wild fauna including impressive numbers of hooved herbivores, predators and avi-fauna. Amongst them, the principal actors are blue wildebeest or gnu (a.k.a. white-bearded wildebeest), determining the nature of the ecosystem by their spectacular annual Great Migration, “The Greatest Show Of The Natural World”, during which they trek in circum-ambulation, in their millions, 3200 kilometers from northern Tanzania to south-western Kenya and back again, as the plains dry out seasonally, forcing them to seek fresh pastures. In turn, their odyssey affects other creatures. Lions, jackals, hyenas, leopards and cheetahs prey on the migrating and resident herds. Vultures subsist on the predators’ leavings. The herds leave tons of dung which enriches the grasslands, providing food and nurseries for many varieties of dung beetles. Serengeti National Park is a wonderland in which to experience the interwoven miracles of life and death on a wondrous East African safari adventure.
Experience The Serengeti & Its Migration – A Paradise Worth Seeing.
There is still a place on Earth where life was as in the beginning; a place where life still scintillates. To the Maasai tribe, a pastoralist people in the Ngorongoro and Serengeti, this is the place where the land runs on forever, a land suspended in time, a last refuge of the largest concentration of wildlife remaining on earth; an endless array of grassy plains, woodlands and hills dotted with glorious animals of every type and size. Long ago, before the age of man, mountains to the east of this natural wildlife refuge spurted their fury, laying a long and thick blanket of volcanic ash. Entire mountain ranges were buried, leaving only the mountain summits as lone markers of an ancient world, long lost. Over the course of four million years, ash turned to rich soil yielding vast grasslands, and today cradling some of the most important animal species on earth. Yet of this richly diverse habitat, one species stands out from all others, as it is the foundation of the wildlife ecosystem in the Serengeti. With herds reaching over one million, it is the wildebeest that affects many other species. Often called the Serengeti Clown, the wildebeests are magnificently endowed, ready for their endless search of rich grasslands and freshwater. Alongside this massive population of wildebeest, co-exist other herbivores, equally drawn by the rich and varied vegetation of the Serengeti. The Serengeti, ruled by simplest of life’s principles, where herbivores eat plant, and carnivores eat herbivores, thus resulting in the magnificently rich animal life diversification; a paradise, where lions and cheetah hunt with might and stealth, a great generosity offered by the enormous wildebeest herds, where nothing is left to waste here on the Serengeti plains.
The most traditionally popular activity on a photographic safari to Tanzania is the game viewing drive. With skilled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic KilimanjaroTravels.com guides, some in radio communication with trackers and other like-minded guides, you will be sure to see the most riveting events in your immediate environment. Your guides are proud of their ability to seek out the tracks and find the animals you most want to see. Your delight is their reward. In custom-designed open roof or side 4×4 vehicles, you will enjoy unimpeded panoramic views of the Great Migration of the wildebeests, zebras, gazelles and elands, or the Big Five, seeking out royal lion prides and pachyderms elephant herds on the plains, buffalo by the rivers, leopard in the woodlands and rhino around kopjes, shrublands and dense forests. Other sights include giraffe, cheetah, hippopotamus and scores of smaller mammals, hyrax, small cats and scaly pangolin that curl into armored balls at any threat, together with hundreds of colorful and unusual birds, including beautiful crowned cranes, bizarre ostrich and colorful rollers, sunbirds and bee-eaters. Game-viewing trips can be taken for around or over three hours in the early morning and later in the afternoon, or even extended full days to include meals in the bush as picnic lunches and others times as proper bush meals where food is cooked on a designated site and refrigerated drinks are served in style on tables laid out conveniently close to your vehicle. If you park by a kopje, you may even be joined by curious monkeys or distant zebras sharing your shade.
Available activities vary with location, whether inside or outside the actual boundaries of the Serengeti National Park and its private reserves and concessions. Not all accommodation offers guided walks or night drives, but some do, dependent on their location and license to operate, and it may even be possible to pre-book an early morning hot air balloon trip to appreciate the vastness of the landscape and the unbelievable extent of the migrating and resident herds along with its stalking predators. Sundowners on game drives and bush boma cooking around a campfire at your accommodation are offered on select East African tours of Tanzania while many accommodations have a mini-library, ethnic performances and the enlightening opportunity to inquire more about the Maasai people who are so intimately linked with the national park. Evening entertainments from nature talks to Maasai dances, day cultural visits may be available and sometimes special activities aimed at children, with bush skills workshops and even ceremonial visits to Maasai villages for blessings for honeymoon couples or to see the rites of passage for a young, handsome native warrior.
2. NGORONGORO CRATER
The Ngorongoro Crater — Sited in the Great East African Rift Valley in northern Tanzania, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes the wondrous Ngorongoro Crater, home to the densest concentration of wild animals in Africa. Within 260 sq. kilometers (100 sq. miles) of varied micro-climates, over 30,000 mammals, half of them rangy wildebeests and well-rounded zebras, together with their many predators, lordly lions, swift cheetahs, stealthy leopards, opportunist jackals, and skulking hyenas, with a vast cast of smaller mammals and birds, form a compelling destination for wildlife safaris in Tanzania. The caldera of a two million year old collapsed volcano forms an unbroken, 2000 feet (600 meters) high rim around a natural amphitheater within which the high drama of predator and prey is enacted on a grand canvas. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is also part of the Serengeti ecosystem but was separated from the Serengeti National Park in 1959, intending to enable the harmonious co-existence of man and his wildlife neighbors. Around 8300 sq. kilometers (3200 sq. miles) of prairie, bush and highland forests, including three spectacular volcanic craters, became the focus of the Tanzanian government’s imaginative solution to the problem of reconciling the needs of indigenous pastoralist tribesmen with the conservation of the area’s rich wildlife and the prospect of much-needed income from tourism. In 1979, it was announced as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is visited by enthusiastic adventurers on their KilimanjaroTravels.com photographic safaris every year.
It is possible to see all five of the star players of the “Out of Africa” action on a single day. Some scenes of the Oscar-winning film were actually shot here, where elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, lion and leopard are close neighbors. On your extended Ngorongoro adventurous trip with KilimanjaroTravels.com, you may also visit other volcanoes: Empakai, with its central lake set like an emerald in a jade green bowl; and Olmoti, with breathtaking waterfalls cascading 500 feet down its forested escarpment. For the more intrepid traveler, “The Mountain of God”, Ol Doinyo Lengai, challenges ascent of its precipitous slopes where evidence of its 2007 eruption can clearly be seen. Adjacent Lake Natron, saturated with volcanic ash over many millennia, provides one of the last safe havens for breeding lesser flamingos, protected by their toxic moat. Apart from ever-popular game-viewing Ngorongoro Crater floor safaris, the area offers unmatched historical and cultural riches. Prehistoric hominids emerged here, in the Olduvai Gorge, beginning the rise to today’s technological man. Proud, scarlet-clad Maasai pastoralists migrated to Tanzania in the 17th century, bringing their cattle with them. They live by and for their cattle, despising agriculture and hunting, and they have an impressive spiritual, artistic and cultural heritage which they are willing to share with visitors to their villages and bomas.
Ngorongoro safari experiences revolve simultaneously around unforgettable wildlife viewing opportunities and unique accommodations within a vast and varied ecosystem, rich with historical and cultural associations. Tanzania’s main attraction is its wilderness, populated with hundreds of thousands of assorted fauna, from the gigantic, lumbering elephant to its diminutive distant cousin, the cuddly hyrax, and from the haughty giraffe to the comical warthog. Many of the Ngorongoro lodgings afford close proximity to surrounding wildlife. Secretary birds stalk about coiffured lawns while nocturnal bush babies clamber in trees overhanging near the guest verandahs. Lions thunder in the expanse and hyenas laugh. Cicadas thrum. Crickets chirp. Tinker birds beat a rhythmic cadence. Night scented blossoms weight the air with swooning fragrance. You are part of a past time when campfires flicker, Maasai warriors chant, drum, leap and dance. Colonial standards of comfort, luxury, and service are available, as are authentic safari camping experiences, yet the modern world is not too far away (read more on where to stay in Ngorongoro Crater). Comfortable and convenient custom-built game-spotting vehicles have sturdy four-wheel drive and are manned by knowledgeable, native KilimanjaroTravels.com guides, versed in the lore of their people and reverently enthused by their animal neighbors. If dining outdoors, the on-board cold-boxes hold culinary delights and an international selection of drinks. Two-way radio contact ensures safety and up-to-the-minute reports on dynamic wildlife action. Pop-up roofs afford a platform to record your adventures on DSLR or bridge cameras and video recorders. Excursions to sites of historic and cultural interest could enrich every day of your authentic vacation in Tanzania.
3. TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania is not as well branded as a safari holiday destination in Africa as Serengeti or the Ngorongoro Crater, but the tributaries and swamps of the Tarangire River provide permanent water sources when surrounding shallow lakes dry up, thus attracting a migratory movement of up to 250,000 mammals during the dry season from June to October with a more varied mix of ungulates. In particular, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 of elephants are on the move, an epic event unrivalled in other areas. Hump-backed wildebeest, kongoni with long ears and short horns reminiscent of a samurai headdress, hulking buffalo, buxom zebra, delicate gazelles, watchful eland, ostrich outriders, fringe-eared oryx and an array of attendant predators move in and out of the park in different directions at different times. Spectacular are the season density wildlife populations undoubtedly, but the most astonishing features of a nature tour of Tarangire Park are its giants. Thousands of elephant gather in central riverbeds and marshes, and giant baobab trees, medusa-headed monoliths often thousands of years old, colonize this Northern circuit. The park itself comprises of 2850 sq kilometers (1096 sq. miles) of acacia wooded grassland, fronting the Great African Rift Valley escarpment.
On a Tanzanian experiential vacation in Tarangire, you can interact with local communities, learning about cultural and historical traditions, helping with local schools and development projects, visiting towns, villages, farms and small industries. You can dance and sing with Maasai warriors, or trek with them through the bush to search out cave painting sites. Swim, or have a relaxing herbal massage. Set out on a bush walk. You can at a safe, non-intrusive distance, view giraffe, buffalo, elephant, zebra, impala and even lion and more, accompanied by a skilled, armed ranger and your walking guide. Bush walks can take couple hours, half a day or even couple of days if you are hardy enough to enjoy a fly-camping bush walk expedition. You can breakfast or picnic in the bush, enjoy bush sundowners or a romantic bush dinner of traditional Tanzanian dishes prepared in an outback kitchen. Try an early morning take-off in a Tarangire hot-air balloon, floating soundlessly above the treetops for a unique perspective on herds of elephant, unmoved by your presence, and zebra, spooked by your looming shadow. Soar into the sunrise to see the Great Rift Valley highlands, pink in the morning light, or drift over jade swamps speckled with water-birds. The most popular tour activity in Tarangire is the game drive with your expert and experienced KilimanjaroTravels.com guide, in comfortable, custom-built 4WD vehicle, with all-round viewing – open sided or pop-up roof, two-way radio for current and reciprocal information on insider game tracks and sightings, and on-board refreshments.
You will see ungulates, rare as the Bohor reedbuck, or unusual as dry-land oryx, long-necked gerenuk and smaller rare mammals such as Banded mongoose and Cape hare, as well as lions, leopards, cheetahs, wildebeests, zebras to primates such monkeys and baboons. There are no rhinos in the Tarangire as they have been poached to extinction in this park few decades ago for their horns though you can see them in Ngorongoro Crater and with proper luck in Serengeti. Plans for reintroductions in Tarangire are unknown but would be welcomed by KilimanjaroTravels.com. Always let your guide go first into any new situation. A hollow baobab tree, such as the massive Poachers’ Hide, where primitive beekeepers kept their hives, yesteryear poachers hid and hunters sheltered before conservation was enforced, but today, may be the lair of a leopard, or at least a nocturnal Verreaux’s Eagle Owl with four-feet wing span, a light sleeper that wakens instantly to swoop in defiance at any intruder. Bat-eared foxes, hyena cubs and bats have all been encountered there. Northern Tanzania birding is an immense pleasure in Tarangire, with five species of gigantic raptors, three kinds of vultures, outsize ostriches, ponderous Kori bustards, and tiny weavers, bee-eaters, sunbirds and kingfishers, some of the smallest, brightest, and most beautiful birds in the world. Outside the national park boundaries, night drives give opportunities to spot many nocturnal animals, particularly Small-eared galago, Senegal bushbaby and Crested porcupine, as well as common White-tailed mongoose and rarer civet. Some licenses have been issued for night drives from trusted camp sites within the park.
4. LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
Lake Manyara National Park — is one of the smallest safari parks in Tanzania, but encloses within its numerous microclimates a diverse range of landscapes and animal populations which mirror those of many different parts of Tanzania in miniature. It is easily reached in 90 minutes from Arusha by road as a convenient stop-over between rival African wilderness destinations at Ngorongoro and Tarangire. Between the cliffs and the eponymous soda lake, which extends around 30 miles (50 kilometers) along the base of the 500 meter high East African Rift Valley escarpment, home to impudent rock-climbing klipspringer and diminutive dik-dik, there is a narrow belt of acacia woodland and area of grassland which changes seasonally from short, rich grazing lawns to golden, dry grass savannah. When green, it is colonized by wildebeests, warthogs, Cape buffaloes and zebras, and when it is dry, ostrich, elephant and giraffe can be seen, the latter so dark in coloring as to look almost black in the distance. Blue and vervet monkeys, giraffe, and elephant feed in the acacia and mahogany woodlands but wander out to the saltlicks around the receding lake. Lions also sleep in the forks of the acacia trees, an unusual behavior prompted by their environment. Elephants, researched in the park by Ian Hamilton as part of the earliest conservation projects from 1975, are more numerous here too. They travel in extended families with dozens of grandmothers and mothers, co-operatively protecting their offspring, the smallest of which actually walk under their mothers’ bellies, safe from predators and for a quick feed.
An adventurous Lake Manyara safari offers various activities to meet the interests of KilimanjaroTravels.com guests with differing objectives and levels of fitness. Young or very active visitors may enjoy mountain bike tours, long walking treks, fly camping and even abseiling from the red-brown rock walls of the escarpment. They may leap and dance with Maasai warriors at evening campfire performances. Others may prefer to exercise relaxed patience on bird-watching forays or gentle walks around Mto wa Mbu town, and attend lectures on local wildlife, culture and community projects in the area. On a full day or half day safari, there is always an opportunity to take game-spotting tours of Manyara in specially adapted people carriers with four-wheel drive, pop-up roof and comfortable window seats for all. On board coolers for refreshments and two-way radios to enable guides to keep in touch, ensure that you will not go hungry or thirsty, and you will be kept abreast of any unusual activity in Manyara Park. You will certainly pass herds of ungulates grazing in the cool of the morning. You could catch predators carrying home the bodies of their overnight victims. You may be surprised to see a baboon trailing the corpse of a small duiker or a leopard hoisting its prey onto its larder in the fork of an acacia tree amidst traversing opportune hyenas. Before it gets too hot, wildlife mating rituals are performed with often stylized battles in which the contestants are rarely seriously hurt. In elegant neck-twining and synchronized walks, losing giraffes simply concede their superiority and walk away.
Handsome black ostrich males wait in lordly disdain whilst their dowdy hens indulge in wing-arching and charging to frighten off would-be rivals, and elephants engage in lots of roaring and ear-flapping, waving their trunks and wisely digging their tusks into the ground, rather than into each other. The flora has similarly adapted to survive. Giant baobab trees can withstand the depredations of elephants feeding on their bark. Valuable monolithic mahogany trees are similarly invulnerable. Late afternoon and early evening safari drives follow hordes of mammals descending to drink before retiring for the night, trailed by hungry killers, such as lions, or even the African wild dogs have been seen in rarity, that also hunt in packs by distracting, separating out and heading off their prey, and may be foiled by the defensive tactics of determined buffalo males, forming sweeping ranks to contain and deter the marauders. Sundowner cocktails in the bush as the light turns amber and skies flame and die to black embers, lit by brightly scintillating stars, are followed on your drive back to the camp (read more on where to stay in Lake Manyara), catching the eyes of nocturnal porcupine, bush babies and even aardvark and bat-eared fox as your KilimanjaroTravels.com guide spots the sights you dreamed of when you planned to wondrously travel in Eastern Africa.
5. KILIMANJARO NATIONAL PARK
Kilimanjaro — the shining mountain, floats in a wreath of cloud above the vast South Amboseli plains – also part of Kilimanjaro National Park ecosystem. Although most beautifully distinct from Amboseli National Park in Kenya with the finest wildlife photo opportunities in the foreground, Mt. Kilimanjaro is actually in Tanzania because, when the boundary was drawn as a straight line between German and British Colonial Territories, Kilimanjaro was allocated to Germany, although this necessitated drawing a kink in the border. This was not, as popularly assumed, a whimsical gift from the English Queen Victoria to an indulged German nephew, but diplomatic compensation for the British claim to Mombasa. Although dense vegetation is sparse on the Amboseli plains both on the Tanzanian and Kenya border of the Kilimanjaro, with just primarily palm trees and acacias, the grass is richly nourishing due to volcanic ash. It is relished and sought after by herds of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and elephant. The arid Savannahs stretch away above an underground water table supplied by the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro which, at 5895 meters, is the highest mountain in Africa, and also the tallest free-standing mountain in the entire world. In 1995, J M Grimshaw from Oxford University, N J Codeiro from Moshi, C A Foley from Princeton University explored the Kilimanjaro wilderness and wrote a journal called “The mammals of Kilimanjaro” that documented a staggering presence of 154 mammals species. Varied terrestrial fauna are present to be seen on your KilimanjaroTravels.com game driving tour of the western sector of Kilimanjaro National Park, including warthogs, hippos, impalas, dik diks, zebras, elephants, buffalos and giraffes as well as less common elands and gazelles. Cheetahs, lions and leopard are much in evidence as well as jackals, hyenas, monkeys, baboons, and mongooses. But the ecosystem is fragile and vulnerable to overgrazing.
Each camp offers it own specialized activities, bird-watching safaris, nature walks, game drives including off-road and night safaris and visits to native villages. There is even a chance to go on speciality trout fishing, and for really hardy KilimanjaroTravels.com adventurers, to hike on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. The mountain is readily accessible, but preparation is essential and an attempt on the summit is a thoughtful undertaking necessitating months of foresight and many days and nights of sheer endurance, not to be taken lightly but attainable. Before the West knew of Kilimanjaro, Wachagga natives of the region and Swahili Arab storytellers related tales of a ferocious giant atop the mighty white mountain that formed a landmark on the major slave routes. This invisible being punished trespassers by mutilating their hands and feet and robbing them of feeling. Quite a graphic description of frost-bite, you will agree. Stick to the lower Kili slopes for fantastic bird and terrestrial game-spotting opportunities, or take a trip in South Amboseli in the western border of Kilimanjaro National Park for the best views of the elusive peak which reveals itself in the evening or early morning, floating on a sea of mist, a surreal multi-faceted diamond reflecting the sun.
Game drives in customized four wheel drive vehicles will permit you to visit a number of different terrains at different times. Early morning is best to visit the Amboseli – Western Kilimanjaro plains in search of elephant herds, whilst evening, after traditional sundowners in the bush, gives a privileged view of the nocturnal life of this amazing part of the natural world. Lovable, round-eyed bush babies cling to the stems of acacia trees. Aardvark and pangolin lurk around their bases, genet and mongoose hang out near conical red termite hills and leopard are elusively seen only when their green eyes reflect the glare of your headlights. Photography is also major lure for KilimanjaroTravels.com adventurers to the Kilimanjaro Amboseli plains. The birds, the terrestrial fauna, the distinctive landscape and speckled floral life, all offer images to excite the visual artist especially when you have the wildlife in the foreground and the clear majestic mountain in the background. The fabulous Maasai people, hardy warriors, herders and craftsmen par excellence, own this territory and contribute to its protection and conservation in return for income and assistance in areas like education, health and cultural preservation. They welcome guests to their villages and share their customs and cultural heritage with enthusiastic visitors who travel in East Africa for tribal enlightenment. They are a fun-loving people, fond of music and dancing, ever ready to share their knowledge, language and their laughter, especially with children. They are a proud and beautiful tribe, unfailingly courteous, and must be treated with respect. Some still believe that taking their photograph will trap their spirit, so never attempt this without permission.
6. ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK
Arusha National Park — Situated in northern Tanzania in between Arusha and Moshi township is the little-known treasure of Arusha National Park. Covering approximately 552 sq. km (212 sq. miles), the park features a variety of ecosystems, such as grasslands, swamps, crater lakes, highland forest and much more, and the three largest landmarks in the park are Momela Lakes, Mount Meru and Ngurdoto Crater. As you travel through the Arusha wilderness during your exploratory tour, you may find yourself winding along a road that is shaded by a canopy of trees overhead. The dense forest begins to open up and before you lies a large grassland that is dotted with small lakes and surrounded by mountains. In the distance, you may see the majestic Kilimanjaro but an up, close and personal view of the rugged Meru mountain. The other prominent features of the park are Ngongongare Springs, Lokie Swamp, Senato Pools, Lake Jembamba and Lake Longil. Some of the small pools are dry until the rains, at which time you may see waterfowl, as well as other animals coming to drink. Grazing herbivores are frequently seen at Lake Longil and the rich grasses make it a lovely place for a picnic. As you relax, you may even spot a fish eagle diving for Tilapia fish. The high forests of the mountains are home to black and white colobus, and on the open plains, you may see zebra, giraffe, warthog, bushbuck and other herbivores. These prey animals attract limited predators, and your guide may be able to help you spot these stealthy carnivores though the park is not predator concentrated.
With so much natural beauty surrounding you, the two most recommended activities in Arusha National Park are game drives and canoeing safaris. Each of these activities gives you a unique perspective of the park’s flora and fauna. If you are staying at Hatari Lodge, a walking safari activity is available with an experienced walking guide and an armed ranger. Optional trekking of Mount Meru is also a possibility. As you plan your safari vacation to Tanzania, you may imagine the thrill of being on a game drive, traveling in an open-roof 4×4 vehicle and seeing some of the unique mammals on the planet roam freely across the vast African plains. Arusha National Park is a unique location to make your Tanzania safari dreams come true with its varied activities. The park has fewer visitors than the other national parks in Tanzania, yet offers diverse terrestrial, aquatic and avi fauna viewing opportunities with its multi-activity options, due in part to the three distinct ecosystems that are found within the park boundaries and beyond. Some of the most common animals are reedbuck and waterbuck near the water sources and bushbuck and duiker in the dense forests, but you may also see some of the most sought-after herbivores during your game drive, such as woodland elephants, buffalos, hippos, zebras, giraffes and several other grass and foliage eaters. Around Mount Meru foothills, you may find elusive a leopard and hyena, with few other small carnivores found in other areas of the park. Lions and rhinos do not exist in the park. Game drives are presented in the morning and afternoon or on a full day, and your KilimanjaroTravels.com guide uses his experience and vast knowledge to take you where you are most likely to see the speckled wildlife and its behaviors, and also natural attractions that you desire, such as Momella Lakes, Ngurdoto Crater, Mount Meru and many other breathtaking sites.
7. RUBONDO ISLAND NATIONAL PARK
Rubondo Island National Park — Visit the only national park on Lake Victoria and the largest “island park in Africa” during your nature travels in northern Tanzania! Established in 1977, Rubondo Island National Park is located in the southwestern region of Lake Victoria – the largest in Africa, second largest lake in the world and the source of the Nile River. The park covers around 456 square kilometers (176 square miles) of land and water area, including 11 small islets, making it Tanzania’s only island park. The land mass of the park is primarily covered with dense forest, as well as savannah, open woodland, papyrus swamp and beautiful sandy beaches, and, of course, the beauty of Lake Victoria is ever-present while visiting the park. Rubondo sees fewer visitors than the larger, more well-known parks in Tanzania, giving KilimanjaroTravels.com adventurers a private island destination for walking safaris, canoeing, fishing, birdwatching or just watching the distinct lake fauna from the shaded comfort of your hammock. The protected status of the park makes it a prime breeding ground for migratory birds and native fish like the Tilapia and Nile perch. 300 speckled species of birds are found on the island, such as African Grey parrots, heron, stork, spoonbill, malachite kingfisher, paradise flycatcher and many other avi-fauna.
One of the most unique aspects of your adventurous tour of Rubondo Island National Park is the variety of activities by which you explore the land and water. A variety of walking safari is offered that range from general nature walks to more specialized walks, such as those for birding, chimpanzee viewing, hiking and even overnight treehouse stays in for dense forest. Short walks range from one to four hours and are excellent options for KilimanjaroTravels.com visitors of all ages. Longer walks of four or more hours are also offered for those who may desire a more strenuous trek. During your walks, you are escorted by an experienced and knowledgeable guide who enlightens you about more than just the ecosystem and wildlife! You learn about traditional tracking and survival techniques, methods for navigating, dung identification, medicinal uses of plants, native peoples and their traditions and so much more! These walks are not only informative, but also fascinating as you see Africa in a very different way. In contrast to the vast Rubondo landscapes that are explored with game drives, safari walks offer a leisurely pace that allows you to see vibrant butterflies gathering nectar from wildflowers, study the intricate design of orchids, watch insects scurry along the dirt and much more (read more on when is the best time to visit Rubondo). You will find a variety of plant species during your East African excursion at Rubondo Island Park, such as papyrus, tamarinds, wild palm, sycamore fig, trailing taproots and much more.
During your discerning Rubondo vacation in northern Tanzania, you may have the opportunity to observe some of the island’s highly elusive chimpanzees. These animals represent an interesting group as they are not native to the island, but are descendants of chimpanzees that were released by the Frankfurt Zoological Society after being rescued from zoos and circuses in Europe. The original chimpanzees were believed to be wild born and received no rehabilitation or pre-release training prior to their introduction on the island, and today this primate demonstrates many instinctual behaviors that have contributed to their survival on the island. With more than 300 resident and migratory bird species in the park, Rubondo Island is a bird lovers’ paradise. Whether you seek birds of prey, songbirds, waders or any other type of avi-fauna, the island is sure to keep your interest as you locate and identify the various species during your birding walks. The proximity to Lake Victoria also offers a range of activities from your accommodation (read more on where to stay in Rubondo Island). Boating and canoe safaris take you out on the lake where you have a unique perspective of the waterfowl and other animals that graze near the water. Children must be at least five years old for the boating safaris. Fishing rods and boats are available should you choose to enjoy some fishing (catch and release if you prefer not to eat your fish) during your lake holiday in this distinct wilderness in Africa, a delightful activity for KilimanjaroTravels.com guests of all ages. A visit to a local village shows you how significant the lake is to the native peoples e.g. Sukuma tribe around Lake Victoria and Mwanza.
8. LAKE EYASI
Lake Eyasi — In the southwest corner of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the beautiful Lake Eyasi, a soda lake that is fed by the Sibiti and Baray Rivers. Visiting the Eyasi lake is a different type of safari experience from those that you may be familiar with from your other Tanzania wilderness excursions with KilimanjaroTravels.com . The region around Eyasi is the home of the Hadzabe and Datoga communities who continue their ancient lifestyle of hunting-gathering and pastoralism respectively. The pace and experiences are much more tranquil, giving you plenty of time to absorb the natural setting of the 405-square mile (1050 sq. km) lake that is situated at 3400 feet above sea level. Located in one of the oldest sections of the Eastern Rift Valley, Lake Eyasi is near many of the region’s off-beat landmarks, such as Oldeani Mountain on the northeast Ngorongoro part of the lake, the swampy valley of Yaeda to the southeast and Serengeti just north. In contrast to the savannah and arid plains of other parts of northern Tanzania, Lake Eyasi offers tall palm trees along its shores and a variety of avi-fauna, such as Fischer’s lovebird, flamingo, pelican, spurfowl, stork, barbet, weaver and many others.
9. LAKE NATRON
Lake Natron — Located just seventy miles northwest of Arusha is the alkaline Lake Natron bordering Kenya. A small part of the lake is also accessible from the Shompole wilderness in southern Kenya. As you plan your Natron lake tour of northern Tanzania with KilimanjaroTravels.com, you may discover the great myth surrounding the lake — that it has the ability to turn animals into stone. Although the water of the lake does contain soda, magnesite and salt, the myth is untrue. Lake Natron is primarily fed by the southern Ewaso Nyiro River, as well as hot mineral springs. As the fresh water vaporizes, what remains is water with high concentrations of salt minerals. Special bacteria and blue-green algae thrive in the environment, producing an ideal breeding ground for avian life. The lake is, in fact, the primary breeding ground for lesser flamingo in East Africa, with more than two million individual birds flocking to the area every year with egg laying and hatching occurring between September and April, with an additional tens of thousands other waterfowl found near the lake, making Lake Natron a prime destination for bird lovers on an avian holiday in Africa. You may also spot the white-lipped tilapia that is endemic to the Great Rift lakes, as these fish are quite abundant, and the occasional giraffe or zebra. Since the lake is alkaline, the animals do not drink of it. Lake Natron also gives you a superb supplementary point for other destinations, such as the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands to the south and the Serengeti Plains to the west of the Natron. Ol Doinyo Lengai is a volcanic attraction here at Natron.
10. LAKE VICTORIA
Lake Victoria — The largest lake in Africa and the largest tropical lake in the world, offers you two thousand miles of beautiful coastline for your lake safari in northern Tanzania with KilimanjaroTravels.com. As also the second largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Victoria has a surface area of over 26,000 square miles (68,000 sq. km), being almost 210 miles at its longest point, 150 miles at its widest point and up to 270 feet deep. The lake itself is home to several archipelagos shared between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and its marine waters and reefs are home to more than 500 species of fish. At an altitude of 3720 feet, Lake Victoria is situated in a shallow depression between the Western and Eastern Rift Valley and is fed by the great Nile River. One of the most stunning islands within the lake is Rubondo, the “largest island park in Africa”, with grassland, dense forest and striking sandy shores (read more on when is the best time to visit Lake Victoria in Tanzania). The coastline is diverse, ranging from 300-foot high cliffs and papyrus swamps at the delta of the Kagera River, outlet to the Victoria Nile and flat, barren shores with a channel to the Gulf of Kavirondo or Winam Gulf. Other gulfs in the area are the Speke Gulf at the southeast bend and the Emin Pasha Gulf curving in the southwest. During your cultural holidays in East Africa, you discover that Lake Victoria supports many industries for the local peoples, such as fishing and agriculture for coffee, maize, tea and cotton. The area also serves as an economic center supporting primarily telecommunications and transportation.
Southern National Parks & Reserves In Tanzania
1. SELOUS GAME RESERVE
Selous Game Reserve — in Southern Tanzania has 55,000 square kilometers (over 21,000 square miles) of pristine wilderness designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. It has been recognized as an important wildlife sanctuary since 1905. Four game reserves in the area were conjoined in 1922 to form the Selous Reserve, named after an English hunter, naturalist and soldier, who died in action there in 1917. After Tanzanian independence, the reserve was expanded to include elephant migration routes and now boasts arguably having one of the largest elephant populations in Africa. No permanent human settlements are allowed within its boundaries although Tanzania cultural village tour activities are encouraged outside the Selous reserve boundary. Apart from its massive herds of thousands of elephants and Cape buffalos, the reserve boasts a varied population of large mammals including huge pods of hippos and prides of lions as well as packs of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus in Latin) and families of black rhinoceros, both fast disappearing in other parts of East Africa (read more on when is the best time to visit Selous with KilimanjaroTravels.com). The greater game reserve wilderness is centered within the 90,000 square kilometers of the Selous ecology which includes other conservation areas, notably Kilombero Game Controlled Area to the west and Mikumi National Park to the north. This is very varied terrain. Disdainful giraffes feed delicately on acacia trees in deciduous miombo woodlands. Herds of wildebeest and antelopes graze on the lightly wooded grasslands north of the majestic Rufiji River, ever alert for prides of lions snoozing in the sun.
2.RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania — is one of the most awe-inspiring and untouched East African safari destinations. It covers an area more than many small European countries like Cyprus, Malta, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg etc. with great variation in terrain from mountains to swamps and from forests to sand rivers. Its unspoiled character results from its inaccessibility which contributes to the tremendous range of wildlife to be found on an active-adventure tour in Ruaha, not in vast herds of single species, but in diverse and widespread fauna communities. Since the park straddles the convergence zone of lush highland riverine forest with ferns and orchids and dry, arid valley floor with palms, baobabs and miombo woodlands, an incredible total of 64 mammal species inhabit the park, including 17 species of antelope, 6 types of mongoose and 6 cat genera including prides of lions, families of cheetahs, well-camouflaged leopard, African wild cats, caracals and cervals, not to be confused with genets and civets which are also common. Many species, such as the African wild dog and greater kudu exist too but are threatened or absent from other parks and conservation areas. Ruaha boasts over of thousands of elephants in dissected herds, and also buffalos, hundreds of crocodiles and hippopotamus, diverse kinds of fish in the Great Ruaha River, and one of the largest bird checklists ever to delight any twitcher’s heart, with over 570 recorded species.
Burnished sable and stocky roan antelopes, Defassa waterbuck and stiff-maned greater kudu with soft beards and magnificent spiral horns are among the rarities to be found. Some Ruaha camps conduct authentic Tanzanian walking safaris with armed guards and guides to teach you to distinguish tracks, wildlife carcass, estimate the age of dung by beetle activity and identify useful herbs. You can also enjoy armchair safaris from the comfort of your verandah, lounge or bar, watching the varied wildlife that roams freely about the grounds, sand rivers and waterholes close by. Elegant zebras, stately giraffes, ponderous elephants, amusing warthogs and family orientated baboons all congregate fearlessly in sight. A few camps in Ruaha offer fly-camping expeditions for the more adventurous. You can accompany a guide and park ranger to immerse yourself in exciting awareness of the immediacy of African safari life, carrying your lightweight tent through pristine wilderness like earlier explorers who had only the transport of their own two feet. Such close contact with the wonder of Ruaha cannot fail to charge your soul and change your perception of authentic travel in Africa, teaching you invaluable lessons about yourself and about the world around you.
3. MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
Mikumi National Park is one of the oldest and fourth largest in Tanzania. It has not become a focus of mass tourism, despite its ease of access. Being part of the Selous ecosystem, adjacent to the Udzungwa Mountains and not far from Ruaha, Mikumi has been partly compared to the northern parks of Tanzania for its vast floodplain grassland, shrubland and forest areas, populated by herds of ponderous elephants, hump-backed wildebeests, aggressive buffalos, coquettish zebras, giant elands and graceful impalas, with their attendant predators, from lions, leopards, hyenas to the rarer wild dogs. Numbers are not as large as Serengeti because there are no migratory movements here, but you are not as crowded on an intimate Mikumi tour with KilimanjaroTravels.com by game-viewing jeeps as you would be if your Tanzanian wildlife vacations were based in the Ngorongoro Crater and central Seronera parts of Serengeti. Wild African painted dogs course their prey for great distances, working co-operatively and communicating by high, birdlike yelps. They rarely fail to bring down their selected victim. Threatened elsewhere in East Africa, few of them thrive on the Mkata flood plains despite the Tanzam Highway which transects the park. As at Selous, there is as wide a range of habitats for a great number of rare or endangered species, but here, you can track them better, since Mikumi is more easily accessible and crossed by many trails, which originated infamously as caravan tracks on slave routes and the paths of ivory traders, long before Burton and Speke explored them, to pronounce Mikumi one of the most beautiful places to be seen on journey in Africa.
In the dry, from June to October, the plains teem with ungulates and you may spot tree-climbing lions that have learned to get a higher vantage point as a hunting strategy, and also to keep away from tsetse flies. Grass-foraging elephants are smaller than those in other parks, probably because the larger males were repeatedly culled for their ivory at the peak of the yesteryear trade before than global ban. A possible subspecies of giraffe seldom seen on safari in Tanzania’s northern parks is also found here, distinguished from the Maasai and reticulated giraffes by its unusual markings. In the foothills to either side of the plain, miombo forest shelters many rare and endangered species, including the majestic, deep-chested sable antelope with its thick, burnished chestnut coat and great arcs of horn. Goat-like roan antelopes, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, with the rear-end of a horse and the horns of a cow, and the greater kudu, stiff-maned and softly bearded with striped haunches to camouflage it in sun-dappled shrubland are all to be found on an outback safari (read more on when is the best time to visit Mikumi). In the wet season, driving is difficult on the saturated black cotton soil of the plain, but in the north of the park, hippo pools are fringed with hundreds of wading birds. In the south, families of yellow baboons groom each other on the murram roads and vervet monkeys’ swing and play in the undergrowth.
At Mikumi, game is more varied, but not as densely congregated as it is in the Serengeti. Because of the distances involved in moving from one of interest to another, the usual way to make the most of a wildlife safari in Mikumi is to set out from your camp in the early morning on a game viewing drive (read more on where to stay in Mikumi). An experienced and knowledgeable guide will take you in a specially built safari vehicle which affords maximum visibility from tiered seats protected by a sunshade canopy. On board refreshments and two-way radio ensure your comfort and maximal reciprocal sharing of wildlife tracking intelligence as you excursion this part of southern Tanzania. Four-wheel drive is essential for authentic African explorations in Tanzania. The terrain can be challenging in the wet season, but there is a circuit of paved roads leading from the central Mkata floodplain with its herds of elephants, buffalos, impalas and zebras, to the pool of grunting hippos, crocodiles and birder’s paradise towards Mwanamboga waterhole dam in the north, and to Kikoboga in the south, haunt of yellow baboon and unforgettable but rare wild dogs with their black, white and tan coloring and their huge, rounded, erect ears that catch the slightest crunch in the vegetation. Some of the plains animals seen on game-spotting tour have similarly outsize ears. The rare bat-eared fox which may be seen on termite mounds in the early evening can detect insect movements more than a foot underground.
4. UDZUNGWA NATIONAL PARK
Udzungwa Mountains National Park — Known as “The Galapagos of Africa,” in southern Tanzania covers more than 770 square miles (1990 sq. km). The incredible diversity of tropical flora and fauna species has earned the park recognition as an Ecoregion of Global Critical Importance by World Wildlife Fund, as well as a World Biodiversity Hotspot, and the park is part of the Eastern Arc Mountains that extend from the Taita Hills in Kenya to Pare, Usambara, Nguru, Ukaguru, Uluguru, Rubeho and Udzungwa Mountains. The landscape is primarily mountain ranges interspersed with rainforest and arid savannah (read more on the best time to visit Udzungwa). Dense, rich vegetation thrives here because of the significant rainfall that forms as a result of humidity from the Indian Ocean that condenses at the elevations that range from 820 feet to more than 8,450 feet at Luhomero, the highest peak in the park. Spending time in a rainforest during your East African equatorial safari is an unexpected treat, and with 30% to 40% of Tanzania’s plant and animal life, you are sure to have many chances to observe diverse animals that are found within the park. Udzungwa Mountains National Park is the only park in Tanzania with eleven primate species, with five of those species living only within the park boundaries, such as diurnal sanje crested mangabey, rungwecebus kipunji, endangered iringa red colobus, matandu dwarf galago and mountain dwarf galago. Primates that are found in other parts of Tanzania that are also found within the park are black and white colobus, yellow baboon, blue monkey and vervet monkey.
Western National Parks & Reserves In Tanzania
1. MAHALE NATIONAL PARK
Mahale Mountains National Park in western Tanzania — is an outstanding African travel wilderness on many counts. It is inaccessible by road and must be reached by boat along the coast of Lake Tanganyika, the longest, deepest, oldest in Africa, and second largest freshwater lake in the world. The park comprises of 623 square miles (1613 sq. km), and begins with an idyllic coastal strip of silver sand approached through a shallow lagoon where the lake ferry, 100 year old MV Liemba, cannot venture but must transfer passengers and cargo to smaller boats to land. Behind the beach, the Mahale Mountains range rises to a dramatic peak at Mount Nkungwe, almost 2500 meters above sea level. Above the cliffs stretch high altitude plains carpeted with wild flowers at first seasonal rainfalls. Cold air at the summit meets warm, moist air rising from the lake. Beautiful waterfalls tumble from the heights, cutting deep ravines filled with lush flora, stunning butterflies and rich avian life. This produces a complex range of eco-zones which accounts for its great diversity of mammalian life. Amongst these are tropical rain forest dwellers: Giant forest squirrels, scaly giant pangolin, shaggy red and the other black and white Colobus monkeys, brush-tailed porcupines and Sharpe’s grysbok. The park is justly famous for over 800 wild chimpanzees, more than any other East or Southern African park including the famed sister Gombe. Apart from the wild chimps, there is the M group of 60 or more who have been comfortable to human presence by Japanese researchers headed by the late Dr. Toshisada Nishida since the 1960s. These can often be seen on a Mahale chimpanzee tour with KilimanjaroTravels.com, but since they are vulnerable to many human diseases, strict rules are in place for the safe conduct of primate safaris in Tanzania.
Your first intimation of their nearness is a growing chorus of pant-hoots, one of a variety of signals exchanged by the “mock men” as they were known to the earlier natives. As you round a bend, you may suddenly find yourself in a playground where a community of up to 60 individuals swing through the tree canopy, sit grooming each other against tree boles, or nurse and suckle their young. Infant chimpanzees are carried and suckled for their first five years, protected by their mothers from attack by other adults, jealous alpha males or dominant females. The community is no utopia, but rather like a human housing project where many inhabitants are peaceful and mutually supportive, but a few ambitious males fight for supremacy and a number of raucous youngsters get up to all kinds of mischief. Remember to keep your distance, move slowly and back away if any approach you. Morning or afternoon activities on an adventure tour in Mahale could include a kayak or dhow trip on Lake Tanganyika, or even fishing by regulated authorization outside the protected shallow coastal zone of the park where 400 species of fish, including varied cichlids, well-known aquarium favorites, 96% of which are found nowhere else in the world, swim in the shallow and deep waters. Snorkeling to view them is permitted unless there is danger from crocodiles or hippopotami. Liability waivers need to be signed on arrival!
2. KATAVI NATIONAL PARK
Katavi National Park — Only a few hundred privileged and seasoned African safari enthusiasts can visit Katavi National Park each year. Arguably the most remote and unspoiled wildlife haven in Tanzania, at 4471 square kilometers (1727 square miles) in extent, this is the third largest wilderness area dedicated to the conservation of spectacular concentrations of indigenous mammals, including thousands of Cape buffalo, various antelopes, zebras, elephants, hippos, crocodiles and predators such as leopards, lions, cheetahs, hyenas and jackals. The endangered African wild dogs are also found here as well as many smaller felines, including the golden and wild cats, servals, caracals and civets. Smaller mammals include mongooses, hyrax, nocturnal bush babies and armored pangolins, as well as a rich diversity of lizards, snakes and frogs (read more on when is the best time to visit Katavi with KilimanjaroTravels.com). Accessible only with great difficulty by road from Arusha, a journey of over 15-18 hours spanning over two days of driving, or conveniently by air from Arusha, a three-hour trip in a light charter aircraft, only the most determined and intrepid explorers make it to this last remnant of East Africa as it was known to our ancestors hundreds and thousands of years ago. At the end of an arm of the Great African Rift Valley, Katavi consists of linked flood plains of the meandering Katuma River and its fragile network of seasonal lakes and streams, contained within a tangled barrier of brachystegia miombo and acacia thorn trees to the east of Lake Tanganyika.
A dramatic change in conditions from the wet season to dry results in the disappearance of lakes and marshes, and the gathering of water-dependent wildlife close to vanishing water sources. The ecosystem that in the early rains is lush and gentle, rich with flowers, birds, insects, reptiles and graceful ungulates, gradually changes to a harsh, raw battleground where tiny streams, that are all that remain of the wide-spread waters, heave with pods of hundreds of grunting hippo and nests of slithering crocodiles up to five meters in length, all competing viciously for a cool dip in the life-giving wallows. In the heat of the midday sun, mud encrusted elephant step between boulders like tumbles of dormant prehistoric behemoths while lionesses sprawl on the cracked earth as if dropped from a great height. In the early morning and late evening, vast herds of grazing animals trek from their day-time forage grounds to brave waiting predators in a death-defying bid to find a sip of water to sustain them, making for spectacular photo safari opportunities as the daily drama unfolds. Because it is so remote, many more activities are permitted on an adventurous trip to Katavi than in other national parks in Tanzania. Off–road game driving, night drives, guided walks and fly-camping are all distinct ways to explore this fantastic, timeless Tanzanian dream tour destination.
3. GOMBE STREAM NATIONAL PARK
Gombe Stream National Park — is legendary for the Kasakela community of wild chimpanzees which were studied by Dr. Jane Goodall for over 50 years, contributing to the drive to combine the preservation of primate wildlife habitats with the development of eco-tourism and the beneficial involvement of indigenous human communities in Tanzania. Set in a fringe of tropical rainforest on the fringes of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania, Gombe is a dream KilimanjaroTravels.com chimpanzee tour destination pioneered by the works of Dame Goodall, where it is possible to take guided forest treks to watch the chimps both at play and interacting socially. During her research time at Gombe, Jane made many new discoveries about chimpanzees, detailing their social hierarchy, their calls and previously unsuspected behavior. They hunted other primates such as red colobus monkeys for meat, communicated purposefully with one another and made and used simple tools. In 1960, when she was 26 years old, she observed one male she had named David Greybeard prodding in a termite mound with few straws of grass, to retrieve it laden with termites which he proceeded to eat. Later she saw him with another male, preparing twigs to use as tools to ‘fish’ for termites. Apart from the chimps, Gombe Park boasts many other attractions. The tanned sandy beaches of Lake Tanganyika, one of Africa’s oldest, largest and deepest lakes, at the end of an arm of the Great African Rift Valley, is one of the most stunning places to relax and enjoy sailing, snorkeling, fishing and simply chilling in the ambience of this incredibly beautiful East African holiday wilderness venue.
On the steeply forested Rift Valley escarpment, incredibly lovely Gombe waterfalls tumble hundreds of feet down lushly carpeted rock faces. The small park at 56 square kilometers (22 sq. m) is home to two other chimpanzee communities and many other primates and mammals, as well as over 200 and 250 species of birds and butterflies respectively. After a long, tough, road drive taking several days or a small aircraft flight of three to five hours from Dar-es-Salaam or Arusha, the park must finally be reached by boat, a distance of 10 miles (16 km) from Kigoma which can sometimes be a choppy aquatic journey lasting two hours by private speedboat or more on water taxis. Ujiji close to Kigoma was the place where Stanley met Dr. Livingstone and is said to have uttered his historical greeting. Explorers Richard Burton and John Speke have also set their foot there. The area was also notorious as a 19th-century route for ivory and slave traders. It takes a great deal of money and effort to make a Tanzania chimpanzee safari, but it is something you will never forget or regret. As Jane Goodall explained in her research, books and endless talks including TED, the time she spent with the chimps (mankind’s nearest cousin, sharing 98% of our genetic coding), enriched both her personal life and her understanding of our own behavior and our place in our speck of natural world amidst a wider boundless universe.
Although best known as a superb place for an exploratory African primate safari, Gombe Stream National Park is a photographer’s delight for its birds and butterflies, its magnificent scenery and its quintessentially unspoiled beaches. You can spend many hours simply absorbing its tranquil ambience from a beach hammock or a traditional dhow on the cobalt clears inland sea. You can fish with a rod, snorkel amongst scintillating shoals of cichlids: larger versions of the living neon jewels familiar from childhood aquaria. You can walk to awe-inspiring falls of lacy spume cascading hundreds of feet through rainforest from Rift Valley escarpments, or you can visit the Gombe Stream Research Base (prior arrangement required), local villages, community projects and places of historical interest. Chimpanzee communities co-operate in hunting, keeping watch, recognizing danger or food and communicating their feelings to others. They can also transmit more personal information to significant individuals by means of barks, whimpers, howls, screeches and a repertoire of 15 distinct sounds, from warnings of specific threats, such as snakes, to queries, challenges and expressions of enjoyment and frustrations. After a two-hour trek or more to find the chimps, choruses of breathy hoots from the forest canopy announce that you have been spotted. You may watch for no more than an hour as the community you have found performs its daily rituals of mutual grooming, aggression, fondling, deference, feeding and boisterous play.
The chimps are vulnerable to human influence. They are curious enough to handle anything left lying around, and they are sufficiently like us to incubate our germs. Therefore, there are strict rules for human and chimp viewing interactions. Parties of no more than six KilimanjaroTravels.com guests must not approach within ten meters of the primate community, and only if in good health prior to the start of the activity. Even so, you may be required to breathe through a mask that covers your nose and mouth. Only children over the age of 15 years are allowed on chimp treks and must be accompanied by an adult guardian. This may seem unduly restrictive, but the magic of Gombe will soon exert its influence and you will be moved by the emotions demonstrated by these “mock men” as they were christened by natives. Mothers nurse their babies. Siblings groom one another, tumbling and chasing round their elders, sometimes cuffed if they become too venturesome. Theirs is a strict social hierarchy evoked by their patterns of communication. For example, pant-hoots are only addressed to their betters, never their inferiors, and ritual submission is performed by females and beta males towards alpha males and senior matriarchs. No-one comes to intimately tour Gombe without a fascination for its most famous denizens, the equivocal chimps which at once endear and repel as we realize how like ourselves these primitive near cousins actually are (read more on when is the best time to visit Gombe).
4. LAKE TANGANYIKA
Lake Tanganyika — is arguably the most beautiful Great Lake in Africa, formed in the Great African Rift Valley, with long, deserted beaches of silver sand backed by tropical forest on blue mountain ridges down which lacy waterfalls cascade hundreds of meters through lush ravines, home to many primates including Gombe and Mahale wild chimpanzees and a rich variety of mammals, birds and butterflies. It is the ultimate destination for an off-beat, alternate beach holiday in Africa. Lake Tanganyika is filled from the Ruzizi River, Kalambo River, and the Malagarasi River. The latter flowed directly into the Congo River millions of years ago before Lake Tanganyika was formed as part of the Great African Rift Valley. Steep escarpments surrounding the lake rise to almost 2000 meters, falling sharply into the lake to an equal depth, making it the deepest lake in Africa and also the second largest freshwater lake in the world, three quarters of which is filled with undisturbed anoxic silt below 500 meters of blue waters. Above the silt are found jellyfish, crabs and sardines which convinced scientists that the lake was once connected to the sea. But later it was proved that a parallel evolution had occurred during more than 10 million years since the lake was formed.
During your tour of the lake, you will be told of many unsolved mysteries about the lake, which has indeed had a notoriously unstable geological career. Due to its high altitude and great depth, its location in a mountainous volcanic area, its high rate of evaporation, the unreliability of water flow from the rivers that supplied it and the climate changes it has survived, it has changed its character many times throughout the ages. Sometimes linked with other Great Lakes in the Rift Valley area and sometimes cut off from them; sometimes having a riverine outlet to the sea and at other times being completely landlocked, it depended on lava blockages diverting the inflow from the Nile less than 12000 years ago to allow it to build up from a level 300 meters below the present shoreline, spilling out through the Congo towards the sea. This outlet is still intermittent. When the British explorers Richard Burton and John Speke found it in 1858, they were actually searching for the source of the River Nile. Because of all these changes in currents and flow, the lifeless fossil silt has stayed in the lake for over 12,000 years and the water change rate is estimated at 6000 years. No wonder there are legends of Nessie type monsters in the lake, such as Gustave – the giant crocodile, Pamba, the lake monster, or Chipekwe, otherwise Emela ntouka, the “killer of elephants”. Recent research has been aimed at establishing a lake basin management authority to protect the lake and its contents, since it is a world treasure, a magical place where magnificent creatures, many still unknown to science, may be encountered by anyone on safari in this expanse of Africa (read more on when is the best time to visit Lake Tanganyika).
Eastern National Parks & Reserves In Tanzania
1. SAADANI NATIONAL PARK
Saadani National Park — is the only Tanzanian Park with a coastal boundary, offering a radically different African safari experience by reason of the variety of habitats to be found in this 1100 square kilometers (425 square miles) of unspoiled wilderness situated on the East Coast of Tanzania. The climate is humid and hot. The terrain ranges from tropical forest to swamp, lake, river, long and short grassland, black cotton soil, salt flats, mangrove forest, shallow lagoons, sandbanks and coral reefs. Zaraninge Forest is listed under the Coastal Forest Biodiversity Hotspot of Tanzania, with a vast range of flora and a population of small and mid-size mammals including elephant shrews, dormice, mongooses, bush squirrels, primates, wildebeests, zebras and wide-ranging antelopes which eat the grass, plants, worms and insects which form the base of a food chain supplying snakes, birds of prey such as kites and eagles, and carnivores, particularly lion and leopard. Short grasslands, studded with spiny acacia trees and baobabs support ostriches, buffaloes and the gawky giraffes, emblem of Tanzania. Tall grass and tropical forest shelter huge elands and the extraordinary white bearded wildebeests. Note that eland, wildebeest and zebra were reinstated in Saadani. It is planned to add rhinos and impalas to the conserved population to attract more discerning visitors on a nature and seaside tour in eastern Tanzania (read more on when is the best time to visit Saadani with KilimanjaroTravels.com). Nocturnal animals that often visit human settlements include cat-like civets, genets and bushbabies. Crested porcupines and honey badgers are sometimes seen.
The Wami River is home to hippopotamus and to crocodiles up to five meters long, attended by fearless, tooth-picking egrets. Hundreds of water-birds, including goliath herons and pink lesser flamingos, present a treasure trove for birders together with scarlet-beaked mangrove kingfisher, Pel’s fishing owl and the raucous, omnipresent African fish eagle. In brackish water, where rivers meet the Indian Ocean, forests of mangroves, with air roots to enable them to survive in salt water, retain rich river-borne soil. They provide nurseries for succulent giant prawns and other shellfish as well as shelter for birds, bats and reptiles. Many fish species breed in the coral reefs close to Mafui sandbanks. Dolphins play and humpbacked whales have been seen out to sea. Air breathing green turtles, named for the color of their fat rather than their carapaces, swim in the clear lagoons and emerge to lay their eggs in the sun-warmed, silver sand. The stunning beaches, strewn with fantastic natural sculptures of bleached driftwood, are uncovered at low tide, forming a night-time highway for elephants, varied antelopes, lions, warthogs and vervet monkeys. You may see their footprints on the sand or salt pans in your early morning game-spotting safari in Saadani. There is also a chance of finding newly hatched turtles flippering their way towards the sea.
There are so many things to do and to see on a Saadani exploratory safari that you will have to return to cover the things you missed on a shorter stay or to simply re-experience it. Opportunities to relax include sandbank picnics, bush dinners, campfire sundowners, in-spa massages, yoga and meditation or simply dreaming in a hammock as the sun sparkles on the azure sea. More active souls might swim in the warm, shallow lagoons or snorkel amongst the bright denizens of fantastic coral reefs. The culturally minded can vary their Africa experiential tour with visits to historical sites, cultural villages, attend ethnic dances and consult a witch doctor! Guided beach walking quests teach you to read the events of the night in tracks in the sand, where elephants have walked in the moonlight or antelopes have fled from pursuing predators. Boat safaris in canoes, motor boats or dhows on sea or river are piloted by experienced guides who will sail you down the palm-forested coast, introduce you safely to the riverside haunts of hippos and crocodile, take you for bird-watching forays through an enchanted forest, rich with rainbow painted parrots, jewel-like weaver birds and prehistoric hornbills, or punt you through mangrove swamps alive with the calls of birds and monkeys, where you may spot folded bats hanging from the branches or even the coconut tree-climbing crabs. The scream of a hunting fish eagle or clattering of a wooly necked stork will haunt your dreams.
Unmissable game drives, in jeeps designed for open-sided all round viewing in shaded comfort with tired seats, 2-way radio communication and onboard drinks and snacks will convey you and your enthusiastic guide through the park, in pursuit of memorable cameos of wildlife encounters. Experience the bizarre giraffe at Saadani, featured in ancient cave paintings, always stands, even when sleeping and giving birth. A baby giraffe tumbles six feet to the ground. Without the rete mirabile, a network of capillaries, in its neck to help blood travel to the brain, the giraffe would lose consciousness each time it splays its long legs and lowers its 200 kilo neck to drink. Walking or galloping on its dinner-plate hooves, it covers 15 feet at each stride. On most wildlife trips in Saadani with KilimanjaroTravels.com, you are almost certain to spot the big four, as well as a selection of ungulates: greater kudu, looking as if they are wearing striped horse-blankets across their flanks, and gentle suni antelope, plump and small with pointed nose, and males having raked back needle sharp horns range, together with tiny, endearing red duiker and Roosevelt’s sable, smaller and more rufous than its stalwart chestnut cousin, with deep-threaded backward arching horns. Buffalo, waterbuck and yellow baboon are also common on roadside grassland, whilst colobus monkeys chatter from the tops of date and coconut palms.
