Southern Tanzania, the undiscovered gems

Days 1 Dar Es Salaam/ Selous Game Reserve

Upon arrival in Dar Es Salaam meet you guide and drive towards the Selous Game Reserve (5hrs). Arrival at your camp for lunch. In the afternoon departure for a game drive. Dinner and overnight at the camp.

Lake Manze or Rufiji River Camp (comfort), Siwandu Camp or Beho Beho Camp (deluxe)
Full board

Day 3/4 Selous Game Reserve

Discover the amazing beauty of this park, taking part at inspiring game drive in the morning and experience Selous from the water as you have an afternoon boat safari.
The Selous Game Reserve, covering over 45.000 square kilometres, is amongst the largest protected areas in Africa and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The reserve has an exceptionally high variety of habitats including the Miombo woodlands, open grasslands and riparian forests and swamps. At the heart of the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania’s largest river, the Rufiji, forms a complex network of channels, lakes and swamps that create one of the most outstanding ecosystems in East Africa. The river splits the reserve into two different parts: the Northern Selous and the Southern Selous. A large numbers of elephants, black rhinos, cheetahs, Maasai giraffes, hippos and crocodiles live in this immense sanctuary. Some areas of the reserve are still greatly untouched, especially in the southern part where hunting is unfortunately still allowed.

Lake Manze or Rufiji River Camp (comfort), Siwandu Camp or Beho Beho Camp (deluxe)
Full board

Day 5 Selous – Morogoro (Chilli Farm)

After breakfast drive from Selous to Morogoro and arrive at your cottage on this working chilli farm for lunch. Explore the farm and see how the chillies are prepared, and taste the delicious hibiscus jam or herbal teas also produced on the farm. Cool off in the pool before a sunset walk and dinner served on your veranda.
Mbuyuni Retreat
Full board

Days 6-7 Morogoro – Mikumi National Park

After breakfast departure to Mikumi National Park and arrive at your lodge for lunch. Explore the park in the afternoon and get close to the game for some amazing wildlife pictures. Watch the sun start to set from the hippo pools. The Mikumi National Park is the fourth biggest in the country and it is bordered to the south by the Selous Game Reserve. The two other natural areas bordering the National Park are the Udzungwa Mountains and Uluguru Mountains. Its landscapes are quite varied. In the central part of the park, there are the Mkata floodplains where the vegetation consists of savannahs dotted with acacia and baobab. To the north, the peaks are impervious and calcareous, separated by narrow strips of permeable clay terrain. The south eastern part of the park is arid, less rich in wildlife and not very accessible. Criss-crossed by a good circuit of game viewing roads, the floodplain is the most reliable place in Tanzania if you wish to see eland, the world’s largest antelope, as well as impala, buffalos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and elephants while predators hide in the bushes. Between October and April you can witness the migration of many bird species from Eurasia.

Stanleys Kopje Lodge
Full board

Days 8/ 9/ 10 Mikumi – Ruaha National Park

You will leave after breakfast and then head onto the road for a picturesque drive through baobab filled valleys and up the Iringa escarpment to Ruaha National Park (5 hours). Lunch at the camp. Continue your game drive in the afternoon and on following days as you explore more of the park. Enjoy the astonishing concentration of wildlife, breathtaking landscapes and memories of magnificent elephant encounters. Large areas of Ruaha are unexplored and undeveloped. In fact, one of the park management’s goals is to preserve as much of the territory as possible in a pristine and undisturbed state. The landscape is quite various, transforming from bands of green that cling to the banks of the Great Ruaha River as it winds its way through rocky outcrops and mountains into arid scrublands and grassland that themselves seasonally transform into lush green leaves and grasses once the rains begin. This varied and rich territory boasts more than 1400 plant species, making it the perfect place for animals such as the black antelope, both the lesser and greater kudu, eland (the largest antelope in the world), lions, cheetahs, leopards, crocodiles and African hunting dogs. The best period to watch the bird migration is from November to March, and at this time of the year it is even possible to see the Sooty Falcon, which breeds in the Sahara and Middle East, and Eleanora’s Falcon, which breeds north of the Mediterranean.

Mdonya Camp (comfort) or Kwihala Camp (deluxe)
Full board

Days 11 Ruaha National Park/ Udzungwas Mountains

Depart with a packed breakfast and picnic lunch as you have a last game drive exiting the park. Arrive at Udzungwas for an afternoon hike to the Sanje waterfall which plunges 170 metres (550 feet) through a misty spray into the forested valley below; keep an eye out for endemic primates. Swim in the pool at the base of the falls to cool off before returning to your lodge. Known collectively as the Eastern Arc Mountains, this archipelago of isolated massifs treasure endemic plants and animals. Its closed-canopy forest spans altitudes of 250 metres (820 feet) to above 2,000 metres (6,560 ft) without interruption, it is the only area in Tanzania where the forest cover remains unbroken from the lowlands all the way into the high mountain forests. Not a conventional game viewing destination, Udzungwa is a magnet for hikers. Among all the species of wildlife in the Uzungwa forests, there have been found several that are unique to this area. The endangered Iringa (or Uhehe) Red Colobus monkey (Colobus badius gondonorum) is found here, and a much more rare and shy Sanje Crested Mangabey (Cercocebus galeritus sanjei), discovered in 1979.

Hondo Hondo Forest Lodge
Full board

Days 12 Ruaha National Park/ Udzungwas Mountains

After breakfast and a final walk, you will drive back to Dar es Salaam (6hrs).