After breakfast and the meet & greet with your qualified guide leave Dar es Salaam and continue to Mikumi National Park. Upon entering of the park your guide will open the pop-up roof for great game sightings as you explore the park on an afternoon game drive. Mikumi is often referred to as ‘Little Serengeti of the South’ and you will easily come across plain game including buffalo, impala, warthog, wildebeest and zebra. With a little luck you can also encounter the shy leopard and lions! Continue to your accommodation located inside the National Park or just on its outskirts.
In the morning follow the tarmac road further west and break your road journey in Iringa for a picnic-lunch stop and a walk through the colorful, local market. The town of Iringa still retains its natural and historic beauty being strongly influenced by the Germans with pretty avenues of eucalyptus and pine. Continue your drive on a dusty road surrounded by large baobab trees towards the entrance gate of Ruaha National Park, a prime wildlife safari destination, and enjoy a first afternoon game drive. Proceed to your accommodation, which is either located inside the park or on its outer border.
Ruaha National Park is Tanzania’s largest National Park and due to its exclusive location in the center of the country and away from usual touristic routes it is rarely visited. However, this unique Park stands out with an unspoiled wilderness and it is the only park in which flora and fauna of eastern and southern Africa overlap creating an outstanding landscape variety and wildlife diversity which also provides a home for greater and lesser kudu and Roan and Sable antelopes. Animals concentrate along the great Ruaha River providing a perfect hunting ground for cheetah, hyena, leopard, lion and wild dog.
Get up early for a not to be missed morning game drive before leaving Ruaha National Park to proceed to Iringa Town for hot lunch. Check in into your guesthouse and after a short siesta proceed driving to Isimila to visit the local museum. Isimila is one of Africa’s most significant archeological sides in which stone tools have been discovered with an estimated age of 60,000 to 100,000 years! For keen walkers, we recommend a visit of the dramatic rock formations at Isimila Gorge with 15-meter-high rock towers formed by water – a scenic photographic highlight! Return to Iringa for overnight.
After breakfast visit the crafts workshop, which provides training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. One of its main aims is to change the negative attitudes predominant in the local society towards people with disabilities, while at the same time providing dignity and hope to stand on their own. There are eight craft areas including carpentry, ceramics, paper-making, tailoring and weaving. Spend the morning in the workshop and proceed after lunch to your accommodation located closely to Udzungwa Mountains National Park. If time allows you can walk around your property or take a bike ride to the nearby village.
Ready to hike in one of Africa’s last rain forests? The Udzungwa Mountains National Park is a jewel for botanist with its endemic birds, primates, plants and trees and there is still a lot more to discover. Apart from the legendary Sanje waterfalls and the Udzungwa Red Colobus, the park stands out with its rich diversity of forest birds. Bring your binoculars as you explore the park on foot together with a ranger and listen carefully to the sounds of the bush – did you spot the bird yet? In the late afternoon return to your accommodation for dinner and overnight.
Return on the Tan-Zam-Highway to Morogoro and after leaving the town behind turn south towards to Selous Game Reserve. The road leads along the northern foothills of the Uluguru Mountains until the western entrance gate Matambwe. The Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected wilderness area in Africa and covers roughly 50,000 km² of which 2,500km² are dedicated for tourists. Your today’s accommodation is located outside the reserve. Enjoy a tasty dinner under the stars of Africa and get ready for your wilderness adventure! Selous offers the unique experience to explore this vast reserve by boat, car and on foot.
Spend the next two days exploring the Selous Game Reserve and watch out for buffalo, eland, elephant, giraffe, hartebeest, warthog, zebra, and many more. Selous is also home to a large predator population and often seen are hyena, lion and wild dog, whereas cheetah, jackal and leopard are difficult to spot. Along the many lakes and riversides, you will often find large Nile crocodiles sunbathing and hippos are regularly seen on a boat safari together with a diverse variety of birds. Accommodation concentrates on the eastern side of the reserve either along the lakes inside or just on its outskirts.
After breakfast return with picnic-lunch to Dar es Salaam.
End of your 11 Days Southern Tanzania Safari
Additional Extras:
-Accommodation prior/after safari in Dar es Salaam
-Boat and Walking Safari in Selous can be added
-Beach Holidays: Extension to Tanzania Coast, Mafia & Zanzibar can be arranged
From: Arusha To: Dar Es Salaam
Countries: Tanzania
Number of Participants: 2-7 per vehicle
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