The ultimate Tanzania Private Safari on a budget! This private safari takes you to the biggest, wildest, and most remote national parks in southern Tanzania. Travel off the beaten track in a 4x4 and exchange the crowds of people for big herds of elephants and buffalos, large prides of lions, and a plethora of other wild animals, and birds.
Explore the vast Nyerere National Park to see the abundance of diverse wildlife on its undisturbed grasslands and its lakes. Visit Mikumi National Park to see a multitude of big mammals and birds on the Mkata Plains, where wildebeest, elephants, buffalos, zebras, and antelopes roam. Hike to Sanje Waterfalls through the lush forests of the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, home to rare and endemic species, including unique primates and birds. Take unforgettable 4x4 game drives in remote Ruaha National Park to spot predators hunting in the wild, from lions and cheetahs to leopards and endangered wild dogs.
After your authentic safari adventures in Tanzania's less-visited southern parks, fly back to Dar es Salaam with the memories of a lifetime.
Jambo and welcome to East Africa! At the start of this Tanzania Private Safari, your guide meets you in Tanzania's economic capital, Dar es Salaam. From Dar es Salaam we drive to our first safari lodge bordering Nyerere National Park in the Southern Region of Tanzania.
Arriving at the lodge just outside Nyerere (formerly Selous Game Reserve) your guide briefs you and a delicious lunch is served. The lodge is set amongst the trees next to the Rufiji River where hippos, crocodiles, and a variety of birds can be spotted. After lunch, we head into Nyerere National Park for an afternoon game drive.
Covering an area of 30,893 square kilometers (3 times the size of the Serengeti National Park), Nyerere National Park is one the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the world. It was created relatively recently in 2019 with the upgrade of the north portion of the renowned Selous Game Reserve into a National Park. The Park is more remote and pristine than Tanzania’s more famous and crowded parks to the north, which allows for some spectacular game viewing opportunities and the chance to take your wildlife photos without the intrusion of many more safari vehicles crowding in on the shot. The variety of ecosystems, from grassland plains and wetlands to woodlands and riverine forests, makes for an impressive variety of wildlife to be spotted
Back at the lodge we have dinner and unwind around the campfire beside the river.
The next two days are set aside for exploring Nyerere National Park, one of Africa's oldest and wildest protected areas. We embark on morning and afternoon 4x4 game drives in this vast, undisturbed wilderness area. The Park is home to a huge number of wild animals, including the Big 5. There are large herds of elephants and buffalos, numerous lions, spotted hyenas, jackals, and elusive leopards. This is also one of few Parks left in Africa with a sizable population of wild African Hunting Dogs which face extinction elsewhere. Other large mammals commonly sighted in Nyerere include giraffes, zebras, hippos, wildebeest, and a variety of other antelopes such as impalas, sable, puku, greater kudu, eland, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, bushbuck, oryx, and waterbuck.
Our evenings are spent relaxing at the safari lodge, enjoying the swimming pool, and watching birds and animals along the river.
After breakfast, we collect delicious lunch packs and head towards our next Safari location. The drive takes us north where we exit Nyerere and head to Mikumi National Park. The Park lies between the Uluguru and Lumango Mountains and features Miombo woodlands on low foothills and seasonal floodplains below, covered with open grasslands that closely resemble the famous Serengeti Plains with their huge herds of grazing herbivores.
We settle into our next comfortable lodgings located in the heart of Mikumi National Park. Relax and enjoy the sun setting over the plains from the camp's game viewing lounge.
On day five of our Tanzania Private Safari we embark on morning and afternoon 4x4 game drives to explore Mikumi National Park in search of the abundant wildlife and birds found here. Established in 1964, Mikumi National Park covers about 3 230 km² (1 247 mi²).
On the open grasslands of the Mkata Plains, we are likely to see numerous herbivores including wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, and eland (Africa's largest antelope), amongst other antelopes. Elephants are also commonly sighted in Mikumi. We may be lucky enough to see lions and even leopards or wild dogs. Other carnivores found here include jackals, hyenas, and crocodiles. Mikumi hosts over 400 bird species too. Bird sightings include yellow-throated long claws, bateleur and African fish eagles, black-bellied bustards, lilac-breasted rollers, marabou storks, oxpeckers, straw-tailed whydahs, and Boehm's bee-eaters.
The rest of the day and evening are spent at your leisure in camp lounging by the pool or spotting more wildlife from the comfort of the game viewing lounge.
Day six of our Private Tanzania Safari takes us from the open plains to the lush forests of the Udzungwa Mountains National Park. The mountainous Udzungwa Park is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity and scenic forest hikes. Although this relatively small Tanzanian national park only covers about 1 990 km² it incorporates diverse habitats, including tropical rainforest, mountain forest, miombo woodland, steppe, and grassland.
We settle into our camp bordering the Park which is set in lush green grounds of pristine rainforest offering excellent views of the forest canopy. We collect delicious lunch packs and head out on an afternoon hike up to the impressive Sanje Waterfalls, the highest waterfall in the Udzungwa Mountains. Take a refreshing dip in the pools of the waterfalls and look out for birds and animals in this unique wild habitat. The Udzungwa Mountains are nicknamed the 'Galapagos Islands of Africa' due to the high numbers of endemic species and rich biodiversity.
Udzungwa is home to about 10 primate species including three endemic species - the Iringa red colobus, the Matunda galago and the Sanje crested mangabey. Baboons and vervet monkeys are often seen and we may also spot endemic butterflies, birds, amphibians and reptiles. More than 2500 plant species have also been recorded in the Udzungwa Mountains Park, a quarter of which are only found here. Then there are about 400 species of birds, including several endemic species.
After our beautiful hike in the Udzungwas, we return to the forest lodge to soak up the evening sounds and smells from this beautiful part of the world.
After breakfast, we make our way further west to the even more remote Ruaha National Park. We first settle into our tented camp bordering the Park and enjoy a late lunch before heading into the Park for an afternoon game drive.
Ruaha National Park is one of Tanzania's best-kept secrets. This massive national park covers about 20 226 km² (7 809 mi²) of the uninhabited African wilderness, including vast open plains and rocky hills dotted with baobab trees. In Ruaha, we encounter far fewer people than in most other reserves, especially the famous northern parks of Tanzania (Serengeti and Ngorongoro). You can look forward to a crowd-free African safari experience with plenty of wildlife sightings ... keep an eye out for huge bull elephants, hunting lions, and leopards lazing in the trees as this is big game territory!
Over the next two days, we go in search of the diverse wildlife and birds of Ruaha in our 4x4 safari vehicles.
Ruaha is known for its exceptional predator sightings, hosting large populations of Africa's big cats. One of Africa's largest lion populations is found here, representing 10% of all wild lions left on Earth. Ruaha is home to one of only four sizeable cheetah populations (over 200 adults) found in East Africa. Plus the park hosts the third-largest population of endangered African wild dogs (painted wolves) in the world. To top it off Ruaha also serves as a stronghold for spotted hyena and leopard populations.
In addition to its impressive predator populations, Ruaha also provides sanctuary to over 10000 African elephants. In addition to elephant herds, buffalos are also commonly sighted, as well as various antelopes, giraffes, and zebras. The Park is located in a transitional zone between eastern and southern eco-regions and as a result, features a unique mix of plant and animal species. The high diversity of flora and fauna found here includes both greater and lesser kudu, along with rare sable and roan antelopes.
Between game drives, spend your time relaxing by the pool or keeping watch over the camp's waterhole where you can enjoy watching the animals coming to drink.
After breakfast transfer to Ruaha Msembe airstrip for your scheduled flight back to Dar Es Salaam where our Southern Tanzania Private Safari comes to a close.
If the preferred accommodation listed on this itinerary is not available, similar accommodation of the same quality is used, and we'll let you know.
This Private Tanzania Safari can be customized to suit your needs and preferences. Our travel experts can tailor this safari for you by changing the accommodation and adding destinations, extra days, activities, and more. To customize, contact us.
You have the option of adding a beach holiday to Mafia Island and/or Zanzibar Island to this Southern Tanzania Safari at a reasonable extra cost. Contact us for details about these well-priced optional Tanzania beach trips.
For up-to-date and confirmed pricing info for optional items, please drop us an enquiry.
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