| Tarangire
National Park |
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Welcome to the Tarangire National Park, one of the hidden jewels of
Tanzania. This park measures 2,600 sq km’s and boasts a concentration of
wildlife second only to Ngorongoro Crater. It features an impressive amount
and array of bird life and plant life. Situated only
160km’s from Arusha, the park is nestled to the south of the large open
grass plains of
southern Maasailand. It is named after the Tarangire River, which runs
directly through the center of the park and is the only permanent water
source for the animals. Along the banks of this river you will find herds of
wildebeest (or gnu) and zebra, followed by Grant’s Gazelle, Thomson’s
Gazelle and many others. Lurking in the background lion and leopard keep a
watchful eye on a possible meal. The park offers views of grass and
floodplains with impressive baobab and flat topped acacia trees scattered
throughout. During the dry season the park may look quite ordinary, but
activities continue even more earnestly due to the now increased
competition.
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Sadani National Park
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Sadani National Park is Tanzania's
most recently gazetted National Park. Unfortunately access to the park is
very limited. However it does have potential to offer beautiful beaches in
one section and safaris in the other section. At present we do not know of
any safaris operating in this park.
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Mikumi National Park
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This small park measures 1,300 km2 and is located closeby to Dar
Es Salaam. There is not
that is offered to visitors although it is a pretty park. Mostly used by
residents of Dar Es Salaam for a weekend getaway. The park has resident game
species which can be seen throughout the year.
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Gombe Stream National Park
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This park is a chimpanzee lovers haven. Used for Jane Goodall's chimpanzee
project, chimpanzees are easily seen in their natural habitat. The park lies on
the shores of Lake Tanganyika and is set in the beautiful Mahale mountains. This
is a good stopover for keen photographers, where you can take magnificent
pictures of sunsets over Lake Tanganyika and eastern Zaire. The park is quite
remote, and the best time to visit is between May and October.
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Rubondo Island National Park
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| Rubondo
Island National Park is in the North-west of Tanzania on Lake Victoria
and can be reached from Mwanza. The region covers an area of about 240
sq km, which includes the main island and eight smaller ones. There are a number of different vegetation types on the
island which provide differing habitats for a variety of animals and with a
high water table the island is able to support dense forest. Ninety per cent
of the Park is humid forest, the rest is coastal grassland and papyrus beds.
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Mkomazi National Park
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This is a purely conservational park with no tourist facilities whatsoever. The
Tanzanian government introduced it in an attempt to revive the populations of
the black rhino, with animals being brought in from South Africa.
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Ruaha National Park
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 At
12 950km², Ruaha is only marginally smaller than the Serengeti, and is
pristine and untouched Africa, unsullied by minibus tourism and large lodges
with electric lights, discotheques
and glitzy curio shops. Infested with tsetse fly, Ruaha is bordered in the
north by the Kizigio and Rungwa River Game Reserves, and together they form
a 26 500km² conservancy, one of the biggest in East Africa. By road, it is
a five hour journey from Iringa, but there is also an airstrip at Msembe for
fly-in safaris. The best months to visit are from July to November when the
animals congregate around the water holes, but the park is stunning all year
round. Ruaha is visually a treat, with rocky outcrops and mountain ranges
giving it a topography that ranges from 750m to
1 900m on the peak of Ikungu Mountain, and the focal point of the reserve is
the Great Ruaha River, with its deep gorges, swirling rapids – and
excellent fishing. With over 10 000 elephant, 30 000 buffalo, 20 000
zebra and huge populations of lion and leopard (not to mention more than 400
bird species) Ruaha is a naturalist’s paradise.
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Udzungwa National Park
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| This beautiful and
little visited national park is a prime area for hiking, with mountainous
terrain and pristine forest, with a high diversity of wildlife.
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| Mahale
Mountains National Park |
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This beautiful park is situated on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and provides
spectacular chimpanzee viewing for guests. The park is very remote and expensive
to get there.
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| Katavi |
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| With only one camp in a
million hectares of park, Katavi is about as wild as you can get. At the
foot of the Mlele escarpment, excellent savanna grasslands support large
herds of antelope, buffalo and elephant, along with good lion, leopard and
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