9 Days Southern Expedition

In the morning your guide will meet you at your hotel in Dar es Salaam and as soon as your luggage has been loaded into the vehicle you will set off. After approximately 5 hours' driving on good tar roads, you will reach the Mikumi National Park. You will experience your first game drive on your way to the Vuma Hills Tented Camp.Nestled in the forests of the Vuma Mountains that overlook the Mkata Plains of the Mikumi below, Vuma is a cool retreat from the heat of a day's game drive.The sixteen tents are comfortably furnished, so sleeping under canvas at Vuma is a far cry from the discomfort usually associated with camps. Complete with shaded wooden veranda at the front and en suite bathroom facilities at the back there is not much more to be asked for.

The little-known Mikumi National Park is well stocked with big game, a wide variety of birds, all set in beautiful golden grasslands, against a backdrops of the Udzungwa and Uluguru Mountains. The golden grasslands of north-western Mikumi provide the stage for a wonderful concentration of mammals, birds and reptiles, while the impenetrable forests and mountains to the south-east border the vast Selous.

Today you will go hiking in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, one of 34 “World Biodiversity Hotspots”. Leaving after an early breakfast you will meet your guide at the national park entrance gate. The park can only be explored on foot and from the gate you will set off on a hike through the rainforest. The lush green mountains are home to 30 m high trees, reptiles, 400 bird species, butterflies and other animals. Twelve species of primates such as the Udzungwa red colobus or the Sanje mangabey – one of the most endangered primates in Africa – live here. A highlight of the walk is the 150 m meter high Sanje waterfall where you can swim. In the evening, you will return to Stanley’s Kopje Tented Camp.

Fly by light aircraft to the remote wilderness of Ruaha National Park for th enext 3 nights at Kwihala Camp. Kwihala Camp is set deep in the bush of Ruaha National Park - the largest national park in Tanzania, with plentiful wildlife, yet it feels remote and peaceful, with fewer visitors than other parks. The classic, expedition-style six-tent camp offers an intimate, exclusive safari experience in this vast land of towering baobabs and dense forests. Look out for huge herds of buffalo, beautiful sable antelope, wild hunting dogs and many elephants. In addition lion, leopard and cheetah are regularly sighted on game drives. Enjoy game viewing in open 4x4 vehicles or on optional escorted walks.

After a hearty breakfast, your guide will take you on a last game drive in the Ruaha National Park. In the late morning, he will drop you off at the Ruaha airstrip inside the park and you will fly to Nyerere National Park (formery Selous Game Reserve) – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After you have landed at the small airstrip, you will be picked up by a driver of the Selous River Camp, who will take you to the camp. Hot lunch will be served at the camp. In the afternoon, you will join a scheduled safari activity and return to the camp in time for dinner. You spend the night at the Rufiji River Camp.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airstrip for your flight heading to the Dar es Salaam international airport for your onward flight.