A Wild Romantic Adventure Through Southern Tanzania
Northern Tanzania is home to some of the world’s most famous national parks: Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire. However, that fame has brought droves of tourists along with it. Travelers seeking a quieter and more intimate safari should consider southern Tanzania. National parks like Ruaha, Katavi, and Nyere are massive and have relatively few visitors compared to the north. This itinerary combines safari highlights of the south, including chimpanzee trekking in Mahale Mountains National Park, and ends on the beaches of Zanzibar. It’s how a Tanzanian safari used to feel before the age of mass tourism, and a wild experience that’s perfect for two adventurous spirits to share.
This itinerary combines safari highlights of the south, including chimpanzee trekking in Mahale Mountains National Park, and ends on the beaches of Zanzibar.
Note: This itinerary is unavailable from December to May, as many camps are closed for the rainy season.
✧ Your custom travel playlist includes “Nawashukuru Wazazi Wangu”
In the 1960s and 70,s many popular Tanzanian bands were called jazz bands, even if they didn’t play jazz music. One of the most influential is the Mlimani Park Orchestra, which has played under many names and was started as a project of the National Workers Union and the Tanzanian Government. Their sound makes for an excellent backdrop to any East African adventure.
Yourat flight will arrive Dar es Salaam International Airport, where you will be met by a driver and transferred in a private vehicle to Oyster Bay Hotel for the night to relax before your safari.
In the morning, return to the airport for your flight to Ruaha National Park. You will arrive at the park by lunch and ease into your safari adventure at the wild yet refined Jabali Ridge safari lodge. Jabali Ridge is perched like a bird’s nest atop a rocky a broadp overlooking a wide savannah dotted with baobab tThe pool and elephants.
The eight luentirelys open up completely to the expansive view and hammocks are provided to take it all in. The dramatic infinity po camp spa are other good places to unwind after a day in the bush. Morning and afternoon drives or walks are included in the experience. While out, you may see kudu, sable antelope, giraffes, wild dogs, or one of the many large lion prides that roam the area.
After breakfast, take a short flight west from Ruaha to Katavi National Park. The park is especially remote and includes over a million acres of floodplains and grasslands that are hardly visited by other tourists.
Chada Katavi is a classic tented safari camp with fewer amenities, but it puts you in close contact with the a perfect a particularly good place for fly-camping, where you can sleep out under the stars amid the animals. The park supports large numbers of plains game, including giant pods of hippos and some of the largest herds of buffalo on the planet.
✧ We’ve sent you some reading material, including, The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life
Boyd Varty, life coach and co-owner of Londolozi game reserve, takes us through a day of tracking lions on foot in the South African bush and describes how to apply this ancient art to your life. The land has a lot to teach us if we only pay attention, and the same goes for ourselves. View on Amazon
From Katavi National Park, take another short flight west to Mahale Mountains National Park, on the shores of Lake Tanginyika. From here, transfer to a dhow boat for the last leg of your trip to your accommodation. You will be staying at Greystoke Mahale, the ultimate barefoot luxury travel experience and one of the best places in the world to see chimpanzees.
Days here are spent trekking into the mountains to observe our closest primate relatives. Eight other species of primate and many other flora and fauna can be seen on trails within the park. Tanganyika is the largest lake and Africa, and its white sand beaches offer contrasting activities such as kayaking and diving. The beach is not swimmable, because of the presence of crocodiles, but the dhow is available to take you into the safe deeper waters of the lake for swimming and sunset cruises.
The camp itself is somehow incredibly rustic yet glamorous at the same time. The six thatched bandas were built partially from old dhow hulls, and they all have upstairs relaxation decks with views of the lake. There are no plunge pools or soaking tubs here, but the open-air shower has good pressure and hot water. It’s perfectly comfortable, but the amenities are limited, as the focus is the experience.
Return to Dar es Salaam in the morning and then transfer to a short flight to Zanzibar. Mnemba Island is a tiny atoll located 1.5 miles off the northeast coast populated solely by &Beyond staff and guests.
Each of the twelve rustic bandas at the resort is tucked into a casuarina pine forest along a private beach. They are all decorated in a laid-back style and are the perfect place to unwind after an active day. Guests can snorkel directly from the beach in the calm clear waters that surround the island. Excursions to other dive spots, sunset dhow cruises, and tours of Zanzibar are available as well. It makes for a sublimely relaxing end to your Tanzanian adventure.
Return to the Zanzibar airport in the morning. From here you can fly direct to Nairobi and many major European cities.
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