Safari Holidays in Tanzania

Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti is probably Africa’s most famous National Park and is an absolutely outstanding place to see wildlife. Its name comes from the Maasai word ‘siringet’ meaning ‘endless plains’ and this is a perfect description; its vast expanse does indeed seem never-ending and the savannah is alive with game.

The Serengeti’s most prolific animal species is the wildebeest with an estimated 1.5 million spread across its plains. Also in great numbers are zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, impala, topi, kongoni, eland, giraffe, buffalo and warthog. There are dik-dik, klipspringer, roan, oribi, waterbuck and oryx too. The Serengeti is home to a few black rhino although they are in a restricted part of the park. Elephant tend to stick to the northern and western parts of the park as they do not favour the open plains. Predators here are prolific: hundreds of lion and a healthy population of cheetah and leopard. Spotted hyenas, golden jackals, bat-eared foxes and black-backed jackals, civet, serval, genet and African wild-cat are also regularly seen.

Tarangire National Park

One of our favourite parks in Northern Tanzania and frequently overlooked by people on the “Northern Circuit”. Tarangire is significantly less visited than its neighbour – Lake Manyara and yet is often the source of some excellent game viewing.

The ecosystem is like a smaller version of the Serengeti with everything from rocky kopjes to wetlands and open savannah. The Silale wetlands in the central southern area of the park acts an enormous magnet for elephants and plains game in the hotter summer months and naturally supports a good number of predators.

One of the joys of being on safari in Tarangire is that it frequently throws up surprise sightings – painted dog packs cross the park and check the flat topped acacia trees around the wetlands for nesting pythons!

Tarangire has a good range of luxury tented camp accommodation and they are well spread out meaning game drives are unencumbered. One of our favourite activities is to head out on a walking safari in one of the private concessions – this gives a completely different perspective compared to being in a vehicle and a much better sense of place.

Aside from the large mammals, Tarangire is a birdwatching paradise with everything from cattle egrets to migratory species using the Tarangire River and bee eaters nesting in the banks.

Lake Manyara sits at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, the alkaline soda lake is fed by springs from the Rift wall. Famous for its blur of pink flamingos and tree climbing lions, Lake Manyara National Park is dominated by the basin of the lake itself and dense vegetation on the shoreline.
This dense foliage gives game drives here a feel of the “Jungle Book” as you can never be sure what is to be found crossing your path around the next corner.
Few people stay in the park itself but those who do get a much better experience than a quick drive in and out might lead you to think. It is a natural inclusion on the Northern Circuit. There are only a couple of accommodation options meaning that from mid-afternoon you tend to have the park to yourself – a very exclusive experience. As well as lion and leopard, Lake Manyara is consistently good for elephant spotting and the canopy of the trees resound with bird song.
Located halfway between Arusha and the Ngorongoro Crater, the lake is the perfect place to stop for lunch. Although a game drive around the lakes shore followed by lunch at the top of the escarpment with the incredible panoramic views is mighty fine alternative.

Remote and wild are two excellent descriptions for Ruaha National Park. Set at altitude to the west of the Selous Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania, Ruaha is an untouched wilderness that abounds with wildlife.
This is the second largest national park in Tanzania and yet has some of the lowest visitor numbers of any park in East Africa.
Those intrepid enough to travel here, will be rewarded with a truly wild and authentic safari experience. This area boasts phenomenal plains game and all the predators you would expect from a more famous park. The outfits operating in Ruaha are some of the most professional we have found, with excellent guides and tented camps and lodges which blend seamlessly into this landscape. Walking safaris here rival Zambia.
The landscape is a patchwork of open clearings and miombe scrub. Sand rivers fill in the rainy season and then drain just as quickly and impressive baobabs dominate the skyline. This mixture of vegetation supports a wide range of bird and mammals as well as impressive numbers of predators.
When used in combination with the delta-esque landscape of the Selous, the contrast is incredibly marked. Being at higher altitude and with its own endemic species, Ruaha feels like a much wilder prospect. The most elusive creatures here are other safari-goers.

If Ruaha is off the beaten track, then Katavi is practically off the map. Set way out in deepest, darkest south west Tanzania, Katavi is a place that appeals to dedicated safari adventurers.
The landscape is thankfully unfettered by human encroachment meaning that the wildlife is totally unhabituated and offers incredibly wild and authentic encounters. The best game viewing area is a wide savannah appropriately named Paradise Plains. Here, huge herds of buffalo and antelopes graze, under the steady gaze of predators. The open savannah offers perfect conditions for cheetah.
Close to the river, large areas of grass are so finely clipped by the enormous hippo population that the banks resemble a golf course. This is one of the few places that hippos casually saunter around out of the water during the day, a most unusual sight.
Crocodiles hibernate in caves dug into the river banks and the air is filled with a staggering array of bird species.
There are only two places to stay in Katavi and they are well spaced – it is truly possible to spend days here without encountering other vehicles. Chada Katavi is a fine camp with excellent hosts and guiding. The emphasis here is on incredible game viewing and an authentic safari experience rather than OTT luxury. Works extremely well in conjunction with a stay at Mahale.

This national park is like no other. It feels like a sizeable chunk of Eden. There are no roads in, through or out of the park. To reach Mahale you have to fly to a small airstrip bordering Lake Tanganyika, then cross the lake by boat to reach your destination. But what a destination it is. Framed with the backdrop of the mountains, with cloud forest swathing the hillsides to the lake, this remote park is straight out of Tarzan.
The waters of the lake are deliciously pure and clear and the forested mountains are home to chimpanzees and lions.
Your lodge stands proudly on a white sand beach, with echoes of a voodoo talisman about its structure. This is nature’s playground and it is a privilege to be able to immerse yourself within it. Most visitors (of which there are amazingly few) are here primarily to trek to the chimpanzees but then realize that Mahale offers so much more. The canopy of the rainforest reverberates as monkeys crash through the branches overhead. Tropical and improbable looking birds with iridescent crests and plumes fly awkwardly through the branches. At night you can hear the leopards sawing and rasping all whilst the lake laps onto the beach just feet from your bed.