8 Days 7 Nights Southern Tanzania
Overview
DAY 1: DAR ES SALAAM TO NYERERE NATIONAL PARK
You will be picked up from the airport or hotel in Dar and transferred to Nyerere National Park. Once you arrive, you will have lunch, then go on an evening boat safari. Dinner and overnight at the campsite. The boat safaris are conducted in sturdy metal boats with a powerful outboard motor on the back and a covered canopy. Each boat safari is guided by a boatman who has grown up on the river and knows all the little nooks and crannies where a boat can sneak through like the back of his hand. They are also well aware of hippo and crocodile behavior, having spent so many years safely guiding people between them. The boat safaris provide some of the best water birding in Africa, as well as getting up close and personal to hippos and crocs, which swarm through the river system, be they wallowing in the water or basking on the banks.
DAY 2: FULL-DAY GAME DRIVE IN NYERERE NATIONAL PARK
On this day, you will leave early in the morning with a packed breakfast and picnic lunch to enjoy a full day game drive in the largest game reserve in Africa. Each safari will cover a different area of the park, so you’ll be able to enjoy different vegetation and the animals they support there. Dinner and overnight at the campsite.
DAY 3: GAME DRIVE EN ROUTE TO MOUNTAIN UDZUNGWA NATIONAL PARK
Leave the campsite after breakfast, then transfer to Udzungwa Mountains National Park, check in at the gate, and head out to the Sanje waterfalls, which is a 3-to-4-hour trek through the green forest. Expect to see monkeys, including rare indigenous Iringa red colobus, and some ancient trees, some of them 200 years old! Explore tropical forests until the late afternoon, and you’ll have an overnight at the campsite.
DAY 4: UDZUNGWA TO MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
On this day, after breakfast, you’ll drive to Mikumi National Park. It will take you about 45 minutes to reach Mikumi National Park. You’ll have your lunch at the campsite and then have some rest. In the late afternoon, you’ll have a sunset game drive, whereby you’ll be able to combine both the wildlife experience and the true African sunset.
DAY 5: MORNING GAME DRIVE IN MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK THEN DRIVE TO RUAHA
You will have a sunrise game drive, starting from 06:30 am to 11 am, and breakfast at around 08:30 am. You’ll then drive to Ruaha National Park, and this drive will take up to 7 hours. Arrive in Ruaha National Park in the evening and check in for your accommodation, ready for a full day game drive the following day.
DAY 6: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE IN RUAHA NATIONAL PARK, THE BIGGEST IN TANZANIA
The day will begin with an early morning game drive, starting at sunrise and going through to breakfast. After breakfast, there will be a drive through various habitats with various animals, birds, and more stunning scenery of the Mwagusi Sand River as well as the Mdonya River. Stop
for some lunch in the bush, followed by further game viewing until sunset. Enjoy your dinner and overnight stay in the Government Bandas or cottages. Ruaha is still very rich in different animal species, especially the cats, compared to other parks found in the southern tourism circuit of Tanzania. Ruaha is a habitat for lions, leopards, and cheetahs. But also, other animals of interest found in this park includes Bat eared foxes, Jackals and endangered wild dogs. Other animals and attractions you should expect to see includes but are not limited to, buffalo, giraffe, Wildebeest, Zebras, impalas, warthogs, elephants, hippos, different birds, plants, and reptile species.
DAY 7: VISIT MASAI VILLAGE AND IRINGA TOWN
On this day, after breakfast at the park, you’ll drive to the local Masai village near Ruaha National Park. You’ll spend 3 hours learning their culture and interacting with them. In the afternoon, you’ll drive to Iringa town for a short town tour and overnight at the lodge.
DAY 8: IRINGA TO DAR ES SALAAM
Early morning of this day, after having breakfast, I will start driving back to Dar via Morogoro town. You will have stops for refreshments and lunch in Morogoro. When you arrive in Dar Es Salaam, you will be taken to your residency or any place of your choice, and that will be the end of your safari with Serengeti Baobab Safaris.