Tanzania is gifted with so many places including the national parks and reserves where you can enjoy your bush safaris in Tanzania and also islands such as Zanzibar Island where you can enjoy your beach safaris. Bush and Beach safari give you a chance to watch wildlife and then relax at Zanzibar Island. Some of the places where you can enjoy this kind of safari from include the following;
Serengeti National Game Park. Serengeti National Park is Africa’s most famous park due to the largest concentration of game on the continent and the migration of millions of wildebeest. Serengeti National Game Park has endless plains with typical Lion King trees. The main attraction in this park is the great wildebeest migration.
It is a truly an impressive sight to see all those mammals thunder across the Serengeti plains crossing rivers (Mara and Grumeti) in search of water and fresh grass. This great migration is known as a dangerous journey for the wildebeest, zebras and gazelles who need to outsmart their predators. This migration can be witnessed all year round since the animals migrate in a circle between the Serengeti and Masai Mara in Kenya.
Serengeti National Game Park offers so much more beauty than just the wildebeest migration. You can see a variety of landscapes and a variety of wildlife which cannot be seen elsewhere in Africa. The endless plains are home to more than 4,000 lions, 1,000 leopards, 225 cheetahs and 3,500 hyenas.
Serengeti is also one of the best places to see the Big Five animals such as rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard.
The captivating landscapes of the Serengeti National Game Park vary from Savannah with acacia trees and vast grasslands to rising mountains, lakes and swamps. Each area is unique and has its own atmosphere.
There are a number of activities you can engage in while Serengeti and some of them include; bird watching since the park is endowed with a lot of bird species, game drives which can give a tourist an opportunity to spot wildlife, hot air balloon safari which can be concluded with a bush breakfast and many more activities.
Tarangire National Park. Tarangire National Park is known for its majestic Baobab trees. These trees can grow to an enormous size and have a unique shape. The park is also famous as it has the largest concentration of elephants in the world. These elephants can be spotted around Tarangire River. In the dry season, Tarangire River is the primary source of fresh water for the animals.
Apart from elephants, Tarangire is a paradise for bird lovers since the swamps in Tarangire National Park have one of the largest numbers of breeding bird species in the world such as parrots, horn bills, lovebirds and lilac breasted rollers, Kori bustards, eagles, vultures and many more. Around the swamps, you can also spot lions, leopards, cheetahs and even tree-climbing pythons.
Tarangire National Park has an authentic safari atmosphere and hilly landscape scattered with huge Baobab trees against the blue sky is breathtaking. Tarangire is a great year-round park for game viewing especially during the dry season from June to October when animals gather around the main water source in the area, the Tarangire River. Lots of animals migrate out of the park during the rainy season from April to May due to the black cotton soil that is bad for their hoofs.
Some of the activities enjoyed while in Tarangire National Park include; walking safaris, hot air balloon safaris, game drives among others.
Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara National Park is a popular destination because of its breathtaking scenery, the enormous soda lake full of flamingos and outstanding bird life. Lake Manyara National Park is blessed with huge troops of baboons which are seen roaming around in the forest. On a lucky day, you can also be able to see some tree-climbing lions and also elephants.
Apart from climbing lions and elephants, Lake Manyara National Park is endowed with a variety of wildlife animals such as buffaloes, warthogs, giraffes, wildebeest and zebras. Within the park, you can also enjoy excellent hippo sightings at the shallow Hippo Pool. These hippos can be seen taking a cooling mud-bath and hiding from the hot sun.
Lake Manyara is also a perfect place to see the spectacular 400-meter-high Rift Valley Escarpment. The Great Rift Valley is a long rift in the earth which runs down the eastern side of Africa. It was formed about 20 to 25 million years ago when the earth’s crust teared apart. This enormous feature is even visible from outer space and looks like two lines running down Africa. It provides unique and diverse habitats.
From Lake Manyara National Park, you can enjoy acacia woodland, jungle forest, mountain cliffs, hot springs, grassy areas and the huge soda lake.
The best time to see large animals in Lake Manyara is during the dry season from July till October and for bird lovers, you can better visit the park from November till June. During this season you can spot thousands of flamingos as well as pelicans, African Fish Eagle, horn bill, Hamerkop, Black heron, little bee-eater and many more.
There is a variety of activities that can be engaged in while at a safari in Lake Manyara National Park such as game drives, canopy walk, Mountain bike tour around Lake Manyara, Cultural tour among others.
Arusha National Park. Arusha National Park is a small charming park located in the northeast of Tanzania. It is near the city of Arusha and provides great views of the Mount Kilimanjaro. The park is a scenic and diverse park which offers a wide range of animal and plant species and it has a rich diversity of landscapes.
It harbors lakes, waterfalls and swamps, volcanoes, mountains, tropical rain forests and all these attract many beautiful birds including silvery-cheeked horn bill and thousands of pink-hued flamingos. This park is also the only place in northern Tanzania where you can easily spot the black-and-white colobus monkey.
Mount Meru is located within Arusha National Park. This dormant volcano is Tanzania’s second highest mountain at a height of 4,566 meters (14,990 feet). It is a beautiful but challenging mountain to climb. The panorama views from the summit over the steppes of the park, Mount Kilimanjaro and the Momella Lakes are spectacular. A day hike on Mount Meru gives you another perspective.
One of the popular safari activities in Arusha national park is a canoe or walking safari with an armed ranger. The Momella lakes in the northeast offer a large variety of animals. They are in an open landscape and are home to hippos and all kinds of birds. Countless bucks and buffalo can be seen near the lakes. A great change to enjoy wildlife up close, from a different perspective than sitting in a safari vehicle.
Ruaha National Park. Ruaha National Park is the second largest national park and located in southern Tanzania. Ruaha National Game Park is mainly characterized by its many acacia baobab trees. It is best known for its large elephant population which is the most concentrated population in Africa. On a lucky day while on your Tanzania tour, you may also see the endangered wild dogs.
The national park is probably a home to more elephants than any other parks in East Africa has. It is also a home to great mammals like kudu, sable and roan antelopes which cannot be found in any other national park.
It also harbors about 10% of Africa’s lion population. Other animals to spot here include leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, elands, impala, bat eared foxes, jackals, wild dogs and many more.
Ruaha National Park is also a home reptiles and amphibians such as crocodiles, poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, monitor and agama lizards and frogs that live in and around the Ruaha river.
Ruaha National Park is also a bird lover’s paradise. Around 571 different bird species live in Ruaha National Park including the Crested barbet, Dickinson’s kestrel, Pale-billed horn bill, Violet-crested turaco, Racket-tailed roller, Plovers, Kingfishers, Horn bills, Green-wood hoopoes, Sun birds, Bee-eaters and Egrets. Ruaha is a great place for an amazing bush safari.
The road to Ruaha is passable throughout the year. Ruaha National Game Park has a bimodal pattern of rain forest; the short rainfall season begins November while the long season is between April to May. The national park experiences its dry season between June and October.
Selous Game Reserve. Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest protected areas in the world. It is located in southern Tanzania. Since 1982 it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is due to its wildlife diversity and undisturbed nature.
There are a huge number of wildlife animals you can find when on safari in Selous game reserve such as elephants, lions, leopards, hippos, crocodiles, black rhinos, wild dogs, hyenas, cape buffaloes, Masai giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, impalas, large numbers of Lichtenstein’s hartebeests, water bucks, bush bucks, elands and many more.
Selous game reserve is a home to thousands of birds and scientists have recorded over 445 different bird species that live in the various habitats within Selous such as the giant kingfishers, the pink backed pelican as well as the African skimmer that live near the lake areas.
Other bird species include; white-fronted bee-eater, fish eagle, carmine, ibises and palm nut vultures, purple-crested turaco, yellow-billed stork, trumpeter horn bill, white-crowned spur-winged plovers, malachite kingfishers and various small waders are among the other water birds that you can see in Selous Game Reserve.
Selous is also one of the few national parks where you can go for a boat safari. The sunset can also be stunning from the boat and there is nothing quite like the serenity of the river while the sun dips below the horizon. It is also one of the few parks that allows walking safari.
The best time to visit Selous is the dry season from June to October because the wildlife is easier to spot and the vegetation is not thick and the wild animals have gathered around the known water sources.
Saadani National Game Park. This park is situated at the heart of the Bagamoyo, Pangani and Zanzibar towns that once was the market place for slave trade. It is in this park where the bush meets the beach. One gets to relish the palm trees as they sway in a cooling ocean breeze. White sand and blue water sparkle alluring beneath the tropical sun makes Saadani a splendid place to visit.
Saadani National Game Park is where you will encounter large and small mammals, birds and reptiles including Roosevelt’s sable antelope, the mangrove forests around the winding Wami river, ocean, clumps of palm trees, coral reefs and the beaches along the shores of Indian ocean forming one and only breeding sites for green turtles in Tanzania national parks’ system.
The park is home to a variable mix of both marine and mainland flora and fauna most notably water bucks, giraffes, warthogs, hartebeests, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, water birds.
The park receives a bimodal pattern with rainfall peaks from March to June and short ones from October to November. From June to September and January to February are the best time to visit with average maximum temperatures reaching up to 29 °C.
The park has a wide range of activities that cater for every one’s interest such as boat safari which can be done at the delta of Wami river and the ocean, visiting Mafui sand bank, bird watching, walking safari, game drives and many more.
The park offers various types of accommodation facilities for visitors who visit the park such as rest house, tourists’ cottages, special campsites and public campsites.
Mkomazi National Park. This park is one of the richest Savannah in Africa and possibly in the world in terms of the number of rare and endemic fauna and flora evidenced by the presence of wild dogs and black rhinoceros. The park is located in the in the northern part of Tanzania within Kilimanjaro and Tanga Regions. In the northern part, the park borders Tsavo west National Park in Kenya. The park lies about 120 kilometers east of Moshi town.
The park falls into Mkomazi – Tsavo Ecosystem which is the second largest trans-boundary ecosystem in East Africa after the famous one, Serengeti- Mara Ecosystem.
Mkomazi along the Umba river hosts a number of rare colobus monkeys which move with its riverine forests. The park has a semi-arid climate with bimodal rainfall distribution pattern. The southern extension of the ‘’Sahel’’ habitat characterized by Acacia – Commiphora species is found in the park.
The park is rich in mammal species where about 18 have been reported including the big five. Over 450 species of birds have been recorded in the park. Mkomazi National Game Park has a number of uniqueness. It is among few protected areas in Tanzania with large and visible population of gerenuk and massive concentration of Beisa Oryx.
The dry season from June to October is the best time for general wildlife viewing in the park. However, the park is not a prime wildlife viewing destination and the scenery and views of the mountains are at their best in the wet season from November to May. This is also the best time to see elephants migrating into the park from Tsavo.
Rubondo Island national park. Rubondo Island national park has a size of 240 km². It is only one of two Tanzanian national parks located on an island in Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest lake. The park is located in northwest Tanzania, 150km (About 95 miles) west of Mwanza at the entrance to Emini Pasha Gulf. Rubondo National Park is haven for waterbirds and well as big animals like elephants. Rubondo became a game reserve in 1965 to provide a sanctuary for animals.
Tanzania gazetted Rubondo in 1977 as a national park. It is uninhabited and consequently 90% of the island remains forest today. With 9 smaller islands under its wing, Rubondo also protects precious fish breeding grounds. Visitors to this island will have an opportunity to exercise fishing skills by doing spot fishing.
Rubondo is one of the few areas in Tanzania where one can encounter rare sitatunga.
Sport fishing done at specified areas and bird watching along the shore, in the forest and on the birds breeding islands.
The habitat of Rubondo Island is mixed evergreen and semi-deciduous forest which covers about 80% of the island’s surface area, hosting a variety of common species. The eastern lake shore is characterized by rocky areas and sandy beaches whilst the western shore supports extensive papyrus swamps lined with date palms.
Rubondo is home to a surprising number of large animals such as elephants, giraffes, bush bucks, Bush bucks, Chimpanzees, hippos and crocodiles. Except the wildlife viewing, guests can also embark on a variety of other activities that promote eco – sensitivity such as Chimpanzee trekking, Bird Watching and more other activities such as Canoeing, sport fishing, hiking among others.
The park hosts a diverse number of birds of over 300 endemic and migratory bird species such as African darters, egrets, pied kingfisher, the high-pitched screeches, African grey parrot among others. The park is accessible by air or boat.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area spans from Serengeti National Park in the north, to the Great Rift Valley in the East. It consists of the Ngorongoro Crater, Ndutu, Olduvai Gorge, Empakaai, Olmoti Crater and Oldonyo Lengai Mountain. The mix of forests, valleys, savannah, craters, lakes and swamps is home for a wide range of animals.
Ngorongoro Crater is the main attraction of this area. It is home to the highest concentration wildlife in Africa. The views from the crater rim over the crater floor are spectacular.
The crater is a home to the highest concentration of wildlife in Africa such as zebras, buffaloes, warthogs, baboons, elephants, lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, leopards, rhinos, hippos and many more.
Zanzibar island. It is also known as the Spice Island with beautiful culture, history and stunning white-sand beaches with palms swaying lazily in the sea breeze.
Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous part of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres off the coast of the mainland and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja and Pemba. Its historic centre is Stone Town which is a World Heritage Site as well as a capital city.
The Island is heaven for water sports activities such as swimming, snorkeling, diving with lots of luminous fish or just grazing over nearby coral gardens and pods of dolphin frolic offshore. The smooth beaches make the day dazzling in the sun. The above combination will give you a rich experience of both Tanzania wildlife safari in northern and southern circuits and its beautiful coastlines.
