Day 1: Dar es Salaam - Mikumi National Park
After breakfast, drive from Dar es Salaam to Mikumi National Park with packed lunch for a game drive. Mikumi is Tanzania’s fourth-largest national park. It’s also the most accessible from Dar es Salaam.
With almost guaranteed wildlife sightings, the open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain, the popular center piece of Mikumi, draws frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains. Head back to the lodge late in the afternoon for overnight at Morio Motel.
Day 2: Mikumi National Park - Ruaha National Park
Today, you head to Ruaha National Park where you will have a game drive in the afternoon. This is a more extensive ecosystem which includes Rungwa Game Reserve, Usangu Game Reserve, and several other protected areas.
The name of the park is derived from the Great Ruaha River which flows along its South-Eastern margin and is the focus for game-viewing. Ruaha is believed to have a higher concentration of elephants than any other national park in East Africa. It is also a place where magnificent mammals like kudu, sable, and roan antelopes can easily be spotted in Miombo woodland.
The park is also a habitat for endangered wild dogs. Other animals in the park include lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, elands, impalas, bat eared foxes, and jackals. Overnight will be at Ruaha Hilltop Lodge.
Day 3: Full day game drive in Ruaha National Park
After breakfast, you dedicate these days in Ruaha for morning and afternoon game drives. You will have all meals at your lodge. Ruaha National Park (10.300 square kilometers) is the most visited national park in the southern part of Tanzania. Due to its size and the fact that the South of Tanzania is less visited than the northern parks, you still have ample space and you will see hardly any safari vehicles.
Ruaha National Park forms a border between Africa’s eastern and southern ecosystems. Here you will find kudus which you will seldom find further North and, during the same time, you can see Grant's gazelles which reach their southernmost breeding area. The source of life in the park is doubtless the Great Ruaha River with its huge numbers of crocodiles and hippos. Overnight will be at Ruaha Hilltop Lodge.
Day 4: Maasai culture tours
After breakfast, you head for a game drive en-route back to Mikumi. This is to make your way to the Selous Game Reserve the following day as Mikumi is bordered to the South by Selous Game Reserve, the two areas forming a unique ecosystem, and on this day you will have a Maasai village tour. Overnight will be at Morio Motel.
Day 5: Walking safari and Selous game drive
In the early morning and before breakfast, you’ll go on a two to three-hour walking safari (or as long as you’re comfortable) in the wilderness, accompanied by your guide and an armed ranger. By going on foot you’ll have a chance to see various bird and plant species as you explore this heavenly sanctuary.
Then, after breakfast, you head towards the Selous Game Reserve through Matemwe Gate. After Morogoro, you will leave the tar road and drive along the Uluguru Mountains through remote villages. You will have a picnic lunch in the bush before an evening game drive. Dinner and overnight will be at Africa Safari Camp.
Day 6: Walking safari and Selous game drive
Early in the morning, you will have a game drive and tea in the bush. You will drive for six hours before going back to the hotel for lunch and an evening boat ride on the Rufiji River which features large numbers of hippos and crocodiles and attracts lions, leopards, hunting dogs, and numerous other species such as waterbucks, impalas, warthogs, elands, giraffes, zebras, and elephants.
Selous Game Reserve is the biggest wildlife conservation area in Africa and forms, together with the bordering Mikumi and Udzungwa national parks, an area which is as big as Switzerland. Today, you drive through the northern part of the reserve which is open for photo safaris. On the way, you have plenty of time for unique wildlife encounters in this unspoiled environment.
Besides the typical residents of the African bush, you can spot up to 400 different bird species. However, it is not always easy to see the animals and birds because of the dense vegetation. Dinner and overnight will be at Africa Safari Camp.
Day 7: Selous - Dar es Salaam
After breakfast, go back to Dar es Salaam with picnic lunch via Kibiti Road. The journey will take about seven hours and will bring you through one of the most amazing areas of Tanzania. You will arrive in Dar es Salaam late in the afternoon.
