Down to earth holidays

Description

This camping safari divides its time between two national parks in Southern Tanzania, which is less visited than the north yet which boasts a high density of game and excellent game viewing opportunities. This is a perfect safari choice for anyone wanting to get off-the-beaten-track and enjoy a traditional round-the-campfire safari experience.

Your adventure begins in Dar es Salaam, an exciting and cosmopolitan city on the Indian Ocean coast. Heading inland, your first destination is Mikumi National Park. This park benefits from its proximity to Selous, so is rich in game and also has a diverse range of bird species. The terrain is mostly woodland with gently rolling hills, forming an attractive background for your game drives.

You’ll continue on to Ruaha National Park, with its diverse scenery of open plains, rocky kopjes, river systems and pools. Distinctive, huge baobab trees dot the landscape and tall, elegant palm trees line the rivers. You’ll have plenty of time for game viewing here, by vehicle and on foot, enabling you to experience different aspects of the park’s habitats and excellent wildlife. This is Tanzania’s second largest national park, but its remote location means that it is relatively little visited and you will feel as though you have the place to yourself!

In both parks your camp will located deep in the bush, where you can enjoy the unique natural environment and feel close to nature. This really is the authentic safari experience in southern Tanzania and one not to be missed.

Detailed Itinerary

1. DAY 1: You will be met on arrival at Dar es Salaam international airport and transferred to your overnight accommodation. Relax after your journey. Maybe have a swim in the pool, take a stroll along the beach or have a cool drink at the seafront bar.
   
2. DAY 2: After breakfast you will be driven inland about 4½ hours to Mikumi National Park and to your campsite where you will spend the next 2 nights. You will arrive in time to take an afternoon game drive and get your first glimpse of this beautiful area. The park lies in a horseshoe of mountains and foothills which almost enclose the river floodplain. It is a majestic setting with dramatic mountain backdrops. The park borders the Selous Game Reserve and many animals migrate between the two. On return to the camp you’ll have time to shower before dinner and share tales around the camp fire under the stars. (B, L, D)
   
3. DAY 3: Today you have a full day of game viewing, with morning and afternoon game drives. Your knowledgeable driver-guide will help you make the most of your time and among the animals you can expect to see are the Big 5, plus hippo, giraffe, eland, wildebeest and zebra. Leopard and wild dog might also been seen. This is also a bird watcher’s paradise, with over 400 species of birds including red-billed oxpecker, lilac-breasted roller and marabou stork. Back at camp relax in the shaded porch area of your tent or with fellow guests in the lounge tent, enjoying a drink from the bar. Meals can be taken either in the bush or in the mess tent, which is open-sided to allow panoramic views. (B, L, D)
   
4. DAY 4: You’ll take an early morning guided walking safari from the camp, returning for breakfast. You will be driven to Ruaha National Park (approx 6 hours), stopping at Iringa town for lunch on the way. You will reach camp in time to take an afternoon game drive into the varied habitats and terrains of this park, the second largest in Tanzania. Back at camp, you have time to shower and enjoy a sundowner before taking dinner. (B, L, D)
   
5. DAY 5: Today you’ll enjoy a full day game drive in Ruaha National Park. This is a vast area covering some 13,000 sq kms and represents a transition zone between eastern and southern African species of flora and fauna. The mix of vegetation types and scenery means there is a huge variety of wildlife. As some of the animals here are at the edge of their dispersal range you can see unusual species such as lesser kudu and sable and roan antelope. There are vast numbers of giraffe and you are sure to see plenty of elephant, buffalo and zebra. The rivers and pools support a large number of hippos and crocodiles. Bird life abounds here, too. This really is a nature lover’s dream. (B, L, D) 
   
6. DAY 6: This morning you have the chance to explore the area around the camp on a guided walking safari. After lunch and a siesta (if you wish), take an afternoon game drive for further exploration of this stunning park. Return to camp in the evening for your final dinner and enjoy a drink under the stars, recounting your safari highlights. (B, L, D) 
   
7. DAY 7: Enjoy breakfast before setting off on a final game drive to the airstrip, where the tour ends. (B)

Is it for you?

This is ideal for anyone wanting to get off-the-beaten-track and enjoy an authentic safari experience with excellent game viewing. This is a camping safari using private campsites with a maximum of 8 tents.

Best times to go

The best time of year to visit Selous and Ruaha is from June to October, as during the rains these are hard places to get to. Both camps on this trip are open from 1 June to mid-March.

Getting there

You need to fly and in to Dar es Salaam if you’re only doing this trip. The tour ends at the airstrip in Ruaha. Onward destinations from here include Dare s Salaam, Selous, Zanzibar, Arusha, Tarangire, Manyara and Serengeti. We can arrange your flights for you as required, so please contact us if you would like us to help you with this.

Responsible Travel

How this holiday helps:
Our partners for this safari are a Tanzanian company which employs local people as driver-guides and camp staff.

The Ruaha Conservation Fund receives a US$5 per person per night donation for each visitor. This organization works with the village communities adjacent to Ruaha.

Carbon Offsetting:
For every client we take on holiday we plant 10 indigenous tree saplings. This is used as a poverty alleviation and biodiversity scheme as well as helping with carbon offsetting. Click for more details…

Giving to grassroots projects:
Our registered charity, The Tribes Foundation, is currently raising funds for a project in Tanzania. The kindness of strangers can make a big difference, so if you’re a travel philanthropist considering donating to a worthwhile charity, please consider backing this excellent community project.

Bibi Jann Children’s Care Trust supplies 60 children ages 2-6 (many of them AIDS orphans) with two meals a day and snacks and a pre-school education, including English, which is prompting graduates to excel in primary school. A first grade class opened in January 2006 and a second grade in January 2007.The Trust, oversees the school, adult literacy classes, women's group, AIDS-orphans school sponsorship program, and now GRANDMA-2-GRANDMA (though which people may sponsor a grandmother who is rearing her AIDS-orphaned grandchildren). Some 30 bibis (kiswahili for grandmothers) meet weekly to create and perfect their crafts for sale, with the goal of becoming self-supporting. The trust also sponsors three orphaned girls who live in the school compound.

We will shortly have a page with photos of the project on http://www.the-tribes-foundation.org/.

Shop ethically:
If you support buying fair trade, ethical and organic goods, please take a look at our online ethical shop for books, maps, travel gadgets, first aid kits etc before you travel. This is also a great place to find organic goodies and handmade crafts, many made in the countries and areas that we visit. Shop at Tribes Trading.

FOR MORE GENERAL DETAILS ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL POLICIES, CLICK HERE.

Comments

Trip Code: TZ2

Validity: 1-1-09 to 31-11-09

Individual Trip Dates & Prices

2+ people can take this holiday on most days of the year, subject to availability. Please call us to check availability.

2009 Prices:
June to November 2009: from £1515 pp

• Prices are based on twin share, excluding flights.
• Please ask about child rates (if available) and single supplements.
• Exchange rate fluctuations may affect these prices (see our Booking Conditions).

Group Trip Dates & Prices

Min/Max: 2 / 12

Min age: 8 yrs

2009 Price: £1515 pp

2009 Dates:
1-7 June
8-14 June
15-21 June
22-28 June
6-12 July
24-30 Aug
7-13 Sept
21-27 Sept
5-11 Oct
19-25 Oct
2-8 Nov
9-15 Nov
16-22 Nov
23-29 Nov

Pricing Information:

• Prices are based on twin share, excluding flights.
• Please ask about child rates (if available) and single supplements.
• Exchange rate fluctuations may affect these prices (see our Booking Conditions).

Duration: 7 days.

Included
All accommodation – 1 night hotel, 5 nights camping (walk-in tents with en suite toilet and shower extension), all transfers and game viewing as per the itinerary, all meals as indicated, private safari vehicle with driver-guide, camp staff, camping and park fees.

Not Included
Meals not indicated, drinks, tips, insurance, international flights, visas, items of a personal nature.