Southern Tanzania: Off the Beaten Path

Tanzania's true wild side is in its southern reaches, where legendary wildlife reserves like Ruaha National Park and the great Selous (now Nyerere National Park) stretch for thousands of square miles relatively undisturbed by human activity. Selous and Ruaha have been protected for more than a hundred years and they shelter globally important populations of wildlife: massive prides of lions (10 percent of Africa's lions reside here), plenty of crocodile, lion, leopard, cheetah, hippo, elephant, black rhino, buffalo, and more than 400 bird species. And southern Tanzania is absolutely the best place in Africa to watch packs of African wild dogs on the hunt. Yet these remote reserves see a fraction of the tourists that visit the northern parks! With our long-time Tanzania safari leader Goodluck Urassa, we'll set off for exciting game drives, off-road tracking, bush walks, river safaris, and even a rainforest hike. Urassa is known for his keen spotter's eye and extensive knowledge of African wildlife, and he'll be joined by local guides at all our camps. We'll explore Nyerere National Park, Tanzania's second largest wildlife sanctuary, watered by the photogenic Rufiji River, Mikumi National Park, with its plains game and African hunting dogs, and the immaculate rainforest of the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, home to a wide array of endemic birds and plants—and even two endemic species of primates! Our grand finale finds us in immense Ruaha National Park, Tanzania's best kept secret, with 7,800 square miles of wildlife-rich wilderness spanning both the eastern and southern African biomes. There are but a handful of safari camps in this vast region, and we've chosen the most comfortable and best located ones, where we'll enjoy a warm welcome. Join us for an unforgettable off-the-beaten-path safari!