MIKUMI/RUAHA/UDZUNGWA

DAY 1 & 2

MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK.

Early pick up from your hotel at 06:00 am to the airport for Mikumi National Park which is one of the southern national parks in Tanzania. Departure is at 07:00am. Both 2 days, you will do full day game drive to various places of the park. The parks open horizons and abundant wildlife draws frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains. The park borders the Nyerere national park to the south and the two areas form a unique ecosystem. The chance that you will encounter lions climbing trees here is greater than in other parks.

The park has a great variety of animals and most visitors come to this Park aiming to spot the ‘Big Five’ – leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino. It’s a great place for a Tanzania vacation, you will definitely enjoy it. Hippos live in a pair of mud pools and are one of the highlights. These are situated 5 km north of the main entrance gate. They are supported by an ever-changing cast of water-birds. The Mkata Food plain is a wide area in the Park that is very good for wildlife viewing. Lions survey their grassy kingdom while the zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo herds migrate across it. Giraffes forage in the isolated acacia stands that fringe the Mkata River, islets of shade favored also by park’s elephants. Mkata Foodplain is perhaps the most reliable place in Tanzania for sightings of the powerful eland, the world’s largest antelope. The equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope haunt the miombo-covered foothills of the mountains that rise from Park’s borders.

The park is a good place for bird lovers as it is also home to more than 400 different species of birds. The Mkata River offers majestic views of fishing Open-billed Storks. Marabou stork, Red-billed woodpeckers, Black-bellied bustard, Francolin, Cattle egret, Guinea-fowls, Hornbill and Malachite Kingfisher are common birds in the Park. The most colorful species are the Yellow-throated long claw, the Lilac-breasted roller and the Bateleur eagle and other European migrants’ birds are common in the Park during the rainy season.

NB: sleep over will be at the Mikumi resort lodge.

DAY 3 & 4

UDZUNGWA MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Early departure at 08:00 am to Udzungwa whereby the drive through will take around an hour and half, after arrival at the park, you will start exploring the Park and hiking whereby it is a beautiful area in the southern part of  Tanzania, you will spend two days in Udzungwa. The park has various habitats such as tropical rainforest, mountain and miombo forest, grassland and steppe. There are more than 400 species of birds, thousands species of plants and six species of monkeys including the rare Iringa red colobus and the Sanje crested mangabey. These two types can only be found in this region. The Udzungwa national park has the second largest biodiversity of any national park in Africa. A very interesting national park to visit during a Tanzania Safari.

Udzungwa Mountains has a good variety of wildlife. They are home to many animals, including Abbott’s duiker, Kipunji and unusual animals such as the grey-faced sengi. Elephants are living in the forests along the southern escarpment. Also six registered primate species call Udzungwa national park their home. The Iringa red colobus and the Sanje crested mangabey live only in this area and nowhere else in the world! The latter, remarkably, remained undiscovered by biologists before 1979.

The Kihansi spray toad lives around a waterfall on the Kihansi River. It was briefly extinct in the wild in 2009 when an upstream dam altered its habitat. Scientists successfully managed to reintroduce them back after a successful captive breeding program.

For bird lover you will be drawn to Udzungwa Mountains National Park for its abundance of birds, which includes more than 400 species. Bird-watchers regard the area among the top three African mainland bird conservation areas and some of the bird species in Udzungwa include the African marabou, Crowned eagle, Ruppells vulture and the African hobby. Scientists discovered the Francolin and Rufous-winged Sunbird only in the last few years. It also hold species such as Dappled mountain-robin, Sharpe’s akalat, Olive-flanked robin-chat and White-chested alethe. The Udzungwa forest partridge was only discovered in 1991 and is a species, with its closest relatives appearing to be the hill partridges of Asia.

Most common animals in Udzungwa National Park are such as, Elephants, Abbott’s duiker, Kipunji, Grey-faced sengi, Iringa red colobus, Sanje crested mangabey, African marabou, Crowned eagle, Ruppells vulture, African hobby, Francolin, Rufous-winged Sunbird, Dappled mountain-robin, Sharpe’s akalat, Olive-flanked robin-chat, White-chested alethe, Udzungwa forest partridge.

NB: sleep over will be at the Mikumi resort lodge.

DAY 5 & 6

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK.

Early departure at 08:00 am Mikumi Resort Lodge to Ruaha national park for a two days game drive experience, whereby the drive through will take around 4 hours until the arrival at the park. The park is the second largest national park during your Tanzania vacation after Selous and located in central Tanzania. Due to its relative inaccessibility, it gets far fewer tourists than the any comparable park in the Northern circuit.

The Great Ruaha River flows through the park and it is the most important river in the park. Ruaha has a big variety of plants and trees but it is mainly characterized by its acacias and the many baobab trees. There are over 1,650 plant species that have been identified.

The park has a huge population of African elephants whereby some consider it to be the most concentrated population in Africa. The National Park is probably home to more elephants than any other parks in East Africa. It is also home to great mammals like kudu, sable and roan antelopes which cannot be found in any other national park. The park also has nearly 10% of Africa’s lion population living here and other animals to spot here include leopards, cheetahs, and giraffes. Many zebras, elands, impala, bat eared foxes and jackals live in the park. Despite the fact that no world-famous great migration takes place in this park, it is a beautiful park to visit. With a bit of luck, you may also see the endangered wild dogs in Ruaha National Park.

The park also has a large number of reptiles and amphibians such as crocodiles, poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, monitor and agama lizards and frogs live in and around the river. Ruaha National Park has an almost untouched and unexplored ecosystem which will make your safari experience very unique and it is also a bird lover’s paradise around 571 different species of birds live in Ruaha National Park, including the Crested barbet, Dickinson’s kestrel, Pale-billed hornbill, Violet-crested turaco, Racket-tailed roller, Plovers, Kingfishers, Hornbills, Green-wood hoopoes, Sunbirds, Bee-eaters and Egrets.

Most common animals in Ruaha National Park, Elephants, Lion, Kudu, Buffalo, Crocodile, Sable, Roan antelopes, Giraffes, Zebras, Elands, Impala, Bat eared foxes, Jackals, Monitor and agama lizards, Crested barbet, Dickinson’s kestrel, Pale-billed hornbill, Violet-crested turaco, Racket-tailed rolle and, Green-wood hoopoes while the less common  are Wild dogs, Leopards, Cheetahs and Hyena.

DAY 7.

The last day will be a half day game drive at Ruaha national park before driving for 4 hours to catch flight at the park air strip back to Zanzibar the departure is normally at 04:00pm.

NB: sleep over will be at Ruaha campsite.