One country safari – Tanzania
During six years’ guiding in Tanzania I travelled across much of this superb safari destination. Roughly four times the size of the UK, and twice the size of California, Tanzania is a very big place, and one of the most complete safari destinations on the African continent, with phenomenal wildlife populations, some of Africa’s best known landmarks and gorgeous beaches. It’s an excellent choice for a safari spent in one country. Here are my top tips:
Where to go
The Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti are the big ticks on my wish list, but there are plenty of ‘secret Tanzania’ options like Katavi, Ruaha and Tarangire, and places you’ll find crocodiles in caves and huge herds of buffalo. There’s even great chimp viewing on Rubondo Island and in the Mahale Mountains. We can get you off the beaten track even in the busier reserves.
There’s wildlife around every corner. Namiri Plains Camp
What to do and see
Highlights: follow the wildebeest migration, walk with the Masai, climb Mount Kilimanjaro, marvel at the sheer profusion of wildlife in the Ngorongoro Crater, ride or walk across the vast Serengeti, watch vast flocks of flamingos on the soda lakes, track chimpanzees through pristine forests, sleep under the stars, ride bikes or walk through friendly local villages, and snorkel or dive on pristine coastal reefs. Best of all, take it slowly so there’s time to stop and look, sit and wait, and just enjoy the incredible scenery, wildlife and birdlife that will come to you.
Riding safaris in the Serengeti are a thrilling way to watch the wildlife. Kaskazi Horse Safaris
Places to stay
There’s a huge choice, from tented safari camps that move with the wildebeest migration to the very finest luxury safari lodges. Add the beach properties of coastal Tanzania and the Zanzibar archipelago and there’s truly something to suit every taste.
Stunning beaches in the Zanzibar archipelago combine perfectly with Tanzania’s wildlife reserves for a superb one country safari. Mnemba Island
Exclusive safari
Private reserves next to the Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire offer superb wildlife viewing and varied activities away from the crowds. Recently opened private houses and family safari tents mean there’s now more choice than ever for families to enjoy a Tanzanian safari. Private islands offer a fabulous escape from the rest of the world with pristine marine habitats to explore underwater.
Singita Serengeti House is one of a number of private safari houses well placed for exceptional wildlife viewing in a private reserve.
Combinations
With so much on offer in Tanzania there are endless safari combinations to enjoy within its borders. For an incredible adveture you could climb Africa’s highest mountain, see the great wildebeest migration, track chimps in Mahale, walk with the Masai or Hadzabe, and relax by the Indian Ocean, all in one fabulous itinerary. There are plenty of others – you name it, we can do it.
The wildebeest migration in full swing is an awe inspiring sight. Kleins Camp
My favourite memories
The sheer scale and beauty of the place, the Great Rift Valley, wildlife everywhere, the drive from the Serengeti to Lake Tanganyika, reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro, riding across the Serengeti plains, seeing the spot where Henry Morton Stanley allegedly ‘found’ Dr Livingstone, watching 1,000 buffalo cross the floodplain in front of Chada Katavi, tracking chimps through the tropical forest beside Lake Tanganyika, seeing the Ngorongoro Crater reveal itself as the clouds cleared from its rim, walking and laughing with the Hadzabe, and hearing wildebeest discussing the day’s fruitless 40 mile canter.
One of my favourite memories, walking with the Hadzabe close to Mwiba Lodge.
There is so much more….
I could keep writing since the opportunities in Tanzania are almost as endless as the views across the Serengeti Plains! If you want more, here are some other articles the Aardvark Safaris’ team has written on Tanzania over the last couple of years:
On wild, wilder and the wildest camps
On the national parks away from the iconic Serengeti
On climbing Kilimanjaro or Mount Meru
What Next?
If you like what you’ve read here about our one country safaris in Tanzania and want to find out more, do get in touch – chatting to people by phone or email is what we do best. We listen, we explain, we answer all sorts of questions even those you didn’t know to ask, and finally we make suggestions. If this is your first time to Africa or your twenty first, we have a team standing by to help make the planning easy and the journey the best ever. Please get in touch whatever stage you’re at.
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