12 Days Southern Tanzania’s Secret Places

Overview

This is a driving safari to a variety of the best places that Southern Tanzania can offer; Mikumi National Park, Udzungwa Mountains, Iringa, Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve. Day 11 flies you back to Dar es Salaam.

Tour Plan

Day 1:

Collection from Dar es Salaam Airport and transfer to Holiday Inn Hotel on the oceanfront for overnight (bed & breakfast)

Day 2:

After breakfast drive to Mikumi National Park, 283 km from Dar and a 4-hour drive via Morogoro, where we stop for lunch. Game viewing in Mikumi Park En Route to dinner/overnight at the lodge or luxury tented camp (full board)

Day 3:

Full DAY to discover Mikumi National Park and the abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain. Meals and overnight at the lodge or luxury tented camp (full board)

Day 4:

Set off, after breakfast, on the 65 km drive to Udzungwa Mountains National Park. Lunch at the lodge just near the park entrance, followed by a game drive in this African Galapagos, with its treasure trove of endemic plants and animals. Overnight at the Udzungwa Falls lodge (full board)

Day 5 :

Go exploring in this large, forest-swathed mountain park. Stretch your legs on a half-day hike to Sanje Waterfall, and seek out the newly discovered Sanje Crested Mangabey among the forest foliage. Admire the lovely green- headed oriole and many other brilliant bird species. Meals and overnight at the Udzungwa Falls lodge (full board)

Day 6:

This morning you will set off on the short drive to Iringa, a pretty town located high in the mountains. Here you can go shopping, ramble the sloping streets of this sleepy town or simply relax and rest in preparation for your 128 km drive to Ruaha tomorrow.

Day 7:

Make an early start on the drive to Ruaha National Park, with its impressive array of large predators and unusually high diversity of antelope. Look out for Ruaha Park’s emblem - the magnificently corkscrew-horned greater kudu - as you drive slowly through the park to overnight at Ruaha River Lodge (full board)

Day 8:

Traverse the fine network of game-viewing roads which follow the Great Ruaha River and watch impala, waterbuck, gazelle and other antelopes as they cautiously approach to drink; well may they be wary - leopards lurk in the riverine thickets, large prides of lion hunt here and many cheetah stalk the open grassland. Overnight at Ruaha River Lodge (full board)

Day 9:

Another early start and another scenic drive, brings you to the largest protected wildlife area in Africa - The Selous Game Reserve. Marvel at the countless number of birds and mammals in this unspoiled Garden of Eden as you drive to Sand Rivers lodge on the banks of the Rufiji River for overnight (full board - game package)

Day 10:

Packs of African wild dogs, sable antelope and other rarities inhabit The Selous, with its grassland plains, savannah woodland and rocky outcrops. Capture the awesome sight of huge, dewlapped eland, the nimble klipspringer, the dewy-eyed giraffe. Step out of your safari vehicle and into a boat for an exciting river trip among crocodile, hippo and numerous water birds. Overnight at Sand Rivers lodge (full board - game package)

Day 11:

After a leisurely breakfast, you will be transferred to the airstrip for a scheduled flight to Dar es Salaam, and a relaxing night at the ocean-side hotel of Holiday Inn (half board)

Day 12:

Today we will transfer you to Dar es Salaam Airport in time to connect with your ongoing arrangements. Any excursions or extra meals on this day will be on your own account.