TANZANIA DESTINATION SOUTH.
THE SOUTHERN CIRCUIT
• GOMBE NATIONAL PARK
• KATAVI NATIONAL PARK
• MAHALE MOUNTAINS
• MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
• RUAHA NATIONAL PARK THE GOMBE NATIONAL PARK
Gombe is the smallest of Tanzania's national parks, but thanks to Dr. Jane Goodall, one of the best known. Since 1960, Goodall and colleagues have lived among the Gombe chimpanzees, making significant contributions to the study of primates. Travel to the Park is by water only from Ujiji or Kigoma. The forests are alive with the famous chimpanzee, red colobus and red-tail and blue monkeys. You can also spot bushbuck and bushpig and grey duiker. The lake shore is home to the pied and giant kingfishers, the crowned eagle, the African broadbill, Ross's turaco and the trumpeter hornbill.
THE KATAVI NATIONAL PARK
Katavi National Park lies south of the Mahale Mountains on a high flood plain surrounding Lake Katavi. It is one of the most difficult Parks to reach and is strictly for those of an adventurous spirit, but it has excellent game viewing with a real wilderness atmosphere. The best months to visit the Park are between Julys to October. The water of the Park shelters crocodile, hippo and large flocks of pelicans. The diverse woodland, acacia bush, lakes and swamps have attracted over 400 species of birds. Leopard, lion, elephant, eland, roan and sable antelopes, southern reedbuck and topi inhabit the short grasses and thickets. Kitavi is also home to one of the largest herds of buffalo, with as many as 1,600 animals. THE MAHALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Mahale Mountains, like Gombe, are home to some of the last remaining wild chimpanzees in Africa. The Park is reached by boat or plane, both of which are available for charter. May to October is the best time to visit. There are no roads and all game viewing is done on foot. Mahale is a unique ecological zone with lowland forest, moist and dry savannah, miombo and open woodlands. Animals range from elephant, buffalo, leopard and primates to roan and sable antelopes, giraffe, kudu, eland, leopard and lion.
THE MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
Mikumi, to the north of the Selous, is only 283 km away from Dar-es-salaam. The Park was established to protect the environment and resident animals and is also an important educational centre for students of ecology and conservation. The Mikumi flood plain is the main feature of the Park along with the bordering mountain ranges. Animals commonly found here include lion, eland, hartebeest, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, hippo and elephant. The Mikumi elephants are mainly grazers and they don't cause tree damage. Lions roam the Mikumi plains and will take refuge in the branches of trees. Wild dogs can be seen in packs here. Mikumi's vegetation includes woodland, swamp and grassland with two water holes, Mkata and Chamgore. Apart from the saddle-bill stork, hammer kop and malachite kingfisher, you will also find monitor lizard and deadly python inhabiting the pools.
THE RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
A total protected area of 25,600 sq. kilometers. Ruaha is Tanzania's second largest national park and one of the wildest. Crocodiles, hippos and clawless otters soak and play in the water and on the banks of the great Ruaha River. Reedbuck, waterbuck and buffalo drink, ever watchful for lion, leopard, jackal, spotted hyena and hunting dog. The grassland borders of the River are home to greater and lesser kudu, a large elephant population, eland, impala, Grant's gazelle, dik-dik, zebra, warthog, mongoose, wild cat, porcupine and the shy civet. There are plenty of Eurasian migrant birds on their outward and return journeys as well as resident kingfishers, plovers, hornbills, green wood hoopoes, bee-eaters, sunbirds and egrets. The best months to go are between July and November when the animals are concentrated around shrinking water holes.
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