Destinations in Tanzania
Southern Tanzania offers an array of breathtaking national parks to explore on a fly-in safari, each with its unique charm. Explore the seldom-visited untouched wilderness of Katavi National Park, known for its incredible wildlife concentrations. Discover the rugged, baobab-dotted landscapes of Ruaha National Park, home to large populations of elephant and lion. Immerse yourself in the vastness of Nyerere National Park, the largest conservation area in Tanzania. For a 3-day safari from Zanzibar, Mikumi National Park provides a rich variety of wildlife with the chance to see tree-climbing lions.
National Parks in Southern Tanzania
Ruaha National Park
Ruaha National Park is said to be Tanzania’s best-kept safari secret. Despite being Tanzania's second-largest park and a global biodiversity hotspot, few people make it this way. Its remote location allows for intimate safari experiences away from the crowds. Our guests often feel that they have the national park almost entirely to themselves.
The park’s dramatic topography is shaped by the plateau and steep cliffs of the Great Rift Valley, while the landscape is characterised by the life-giving Ruaha River that swells and retreats with the seasons.
Ruaha straddles the convergence zone of southern and eastern African ecosystems, which results in its remarkable biodiversity unlike other national parks in Tanzania. Its unique ecological position illustrates how plant and animal species adapt to a changing climate, making Ruaha National Park a crucial site for long-term conservation efforts. Especially as it is home to large prides of lions, bat-eared fox, striped hyena, and African Wild Dog, alongside other endemic species.
The dry season is ideal for wildlife safaris as animals congregate around the remaining water along the length of the river. During this time, the baobabs that are dispersed across the park become a life source for large elephant herds. While birdwatching is excellent year-round, the wet season welcomes migratory birds that sees the number of species soar to an impressive 574. Expect to see Pel's fishing owl, Pale-billed hornbills, Great white pelicans, Blue-breasted bee-eaters and Tanzanian sandgrouse during your stay at Ruaha River Lodge.
Mikumi National Park
Mikumi National Park promises safari-goers front-row seats to a spectacle of wildlife sightings along safari plains that transmute into Miombo woodland as they creep up the granite slopes of the luscious Uluguru and Udzungwa mountains.
At 3 230km2, Mikumi is Tanzania’s fourth largest national park and showcases a high density of wildlife. Borassus palms – from which the national park derives its Swahili name – observe the comings and goings of the national park’s key players along the Mkata Plain and at various waterholes, from tree-climbing lion and African Wild Dog to leopard, elephant and everything else you’d expect to see on a wildlife safari in East Africa.
The national park shows off 400-odd bird species from endemics like the yellow-collared lovebird and white-tailed cisticola to European migrants that make an appearance during the wet season (November to April).
Meanwhile, a short game drive south of the park’s entrance gate, and the airstrip, the luscious forest thicket that canopies Vuma Hills Tented Camp is a playground for nocturnal species, such as Wide-eyed Lesser Bushbabies that leap between tree tops. After sunset, you might also spot civets, honey badgers, as well as small mammals, reptiles and critters from the camp’s elevated lookout deck. If you’re looking for an African safari tent with a view in Tanzania this is surely it.
Safari Air Link, our sister company, operates regular, scheduled flights from Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar to the park. This makes Mikumi National Park the perfect stopover for a 2-day safari from Zanzibar that flies in from the spice island to offer travellers a safari and beach holiday in Tanzania.
Katavi National Park
Far removed from the trodden tyre tracks of more frequented national parks, Katavi’s appeal is its raw African wilderness along the isolated western safari circuit. Because fewer tourists make it this way, and because the national park boasts unspoiled, far-stretching landscapes aflush with high concentrations of wildlife, Katavi National Park has been dubbed the country’s ‘wild west’.
The distance to reach the national park deters the faint-hearted who choose not to take the biweekly, scheduled Safari Air Link flight from Ruaha National Park to Katavi and onwards to Mahale Mountains National Park, or along Tanzania’s ‘southern safari circuit’. This dearth of travellers accentuates the feeling that you have this 4 471km2 stretch of Tanzania’s wilderness almost all to yourself.
Flying into Katavi National Park gives you a bird’s eye view perspective. It showcases the thriving ecosystem from the Miombo woodlands that shelter Katavi Wildlife Camp to sweeping grasslands, and the park’s three floodplains – Chada, Katavi and Kitasunga.
The two seasonal lakes – Chada and Katavi – are drained by the Katuma River during the long dry season from June until late October. Katavi offers its best game viewing when the water dries up. This is when thousands of plains game (zebra, impala, hartebeest, Defassa waterbuck, topi, sable, roan) congregate around remaining water sources. It is then that you realise that the park’s density of wildlife per kilometre squared rivals that of other national parks in Tanzania.
During a game drive along the 12km-long Katisunga safari circuit, you’re likely to see thousand-strong buffalo herds (some of the largest documented anywhere on Earth), alongside large populations of elephant, hippo and crocodile. Visitors also have the opportunity to potentially tick off African Wild Dog from their game viewing list, as well as the near threatened puku antelope that favours swampy habitats and is found in only one other location within Tanzania – the Kilombero Valley.
Nyerere National Park
Before it was subdivided to form Nyerere National Park in 2019, Selous Game Reserve was Tanzania’s oldest (and largest) protected area. Today this UNESCO World Heritage Site is revered for its conservation value and biodiversity and remains one of the most famous wildlife parks in Africa. Due to its extensive size – a staggering 30 893 km² – Nyerere National Park is a mosaic of habitats and ecosystems with magnificent year-round game viewing.
The Rufiji River collects a third of Tanzania’s rainfall as it carves its way through Nyerere National Park for some 600km before flowing into the Indian Ocean. It is Tanzania’s largest riverine ecosystem. The mighty river shapes the landscape with the widening and narrowing of its waterways, creating seasonal lakes in the rainy season. Gliding upstream from Rufiji River Camp in a flat-bottomed boat during a sunset safari cruise, offers a wildlife experience entirely different from a game drive.
Water safaris allow guests a closer look at life along the riverine thicket – elephant come to drink, hippo bare their incisors, crocodile slither into the water, and buffalo disappear between the grass. The riverbank is a constant soundtrack of wildlife activity and a symphony of bird calls from more than 440 species. Kingfishers pin-drop into the water and herons stand sentinel in the shallows as carmine bee-eaters flit to and from their nest holes burrowed into cliffs. Meanwhile, guided sunrise walking safaris showcase the smaller things that are seldom seen on a game drive. Each step brings you closer to a bush breakfast in the shade of a lala palm along a seasonal lake.
The Nyerere-Selous ecosystem is also a critical refuge for the world’s – and Tanzania’s – largest population of free-roaming African Wild Dog. The 2 000-odd individuals make up a third of the global population. The greatest chance of seeing these ‘painted dogs’ in Nyerere National Park is during denning season (July – August) and the cooler hours of the day. Sunrise and sunset game drives offer the best opportunity to see them during this time.
Tanzania’s Swahili Coast
If you’re looking for a safari and beach holiday in Tanzania, Lazy Lagoon Island Lodge is the place for restful beach days interspersed with adrenaline-fueled water activities, and day trips to private sandbars along Tanzania’s Swahili Coast. Set against a lush mahogany-mangrove forest, along a 9km sandspit that is sculpted by the tides into three crescent-shaped beaches, a stay at Lazy Lagoon Island Lodge deliberately channels the pole pole (slow-slow) lifestyle.
Experience the true essence of island living, as you decide between exploring the rock pools at low tide, kayaking along the mirror-like lagoon, or marvelling at the mangrove forests from a stand-up paddle board. During a day-long boat excursion to a private sandbar that emerges from the turquoise Indian Ocean, you can choose between sun bathing on the powder-white sand or discovering multitudes of marine life in the coral reefs while snorkeling.
Unlike in Zanzibar, you won’t have to share these special experiences with anyone besides your loved ones. This peaceful tranquillity is only excitedly broken if there’s a sighting of dolphins or to indulge in a freshly-caught fish barbecue and a few Safari Lagers.
A sun-soaked beach holiday at Lazy Lagoon Island Lodge also seamlessly intertwines with the cultural and historic splendours of the Swahili Coast, so you don’t miss out on learning about East Africa’s slave trade history. Cross to mainland Tanzania on a short boat ride for a guided tour of the 13th century Kaole Ruins, and Bagamoyo UNESCO World Heritage Site, which narrate stories of slave trade history, and German occupation predating World War I. Bagamoyo was once East Africa’s most important trading port for commodities, including ivory and spices. This is also where slaves were shipped to Zanzibar. The solemn experience at Bagamoyo contrasts the overcrowded, bustling energy of Stonetown in Zanzibar.
As the day draws to a close, gather around a beachfront bonfire at Lazy Lagoon Island Lodge to watch the stars, while sipping on a sundowner. This African island holiday is the perfect stop on your way to or from a Tanzanian safari, with direct flights with Safari Air Link to Tanzania’s southern, western and northern safari circuits, and beyond.
Mufindi Highland Lodge
In the Southern Highlands, unwind in a farm-style setting, while indulging in a welcome reprieve from the heat of your Tanzanian safari in these cool climes. The bucolic highlands that surround the 2 000-acre Fox family estate are characterised by emerald tea plantations, trout-stocked dams, combined with an air of the English countryside.
This is the scene of Mufindi Highland Lodge from which you can do various guided activities, including a tour of the tea plantations, a horseback ride along scenic trails, or a hike through montane rainforests. As monkeys swing through the tree-top canopies overhead, you’ll learn how Chirs Fox and his team protect these indigenous forests and the wildlife. There’s also the chance to kayak, swim or fly-fish, followed by a high tea or sundowners at the water’s edge. Keep an ear out for the Livingstone’s Turaco from the elevated lodge veranda or the deck in front of your wooden cabin. What with various lawn sports on offer (badminton, bowls, and croquet), combined with a visit to the secret garden, you’ll never feel bored here.
Over four decades, the Fox family has planted more than 3.6 million trees on tracts of barren land around their family estate. This ensures that the Foxes Safari Camps’ seven properties and their airline, Safari Air Link, absorb more carbon dioxide than they emit. In line with the family’s long-standing legacy of responsible tourism, their entire operations also make use of a circular economy model to minimise their environmental impact, while maximising the sustainable use of natural resources.
Guests can see this in action during a visit to their organic vegetable and herb garden and working livestock farm from which all the properties source their fresh produce, cheese and meat, alongside Arabica coffee and roasted macadamia nuts. What the Foxes don’t produce or supply themselves is sustainably sourced from their trusted suppliers in Dar es Salaam. From here, you can visit the communities that form an integral part of this family-run Tanzanian safari company and are the main beneficiaries of the Foxes Community and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Share This Page