6-Day The Southern Wild
OVERVIEW
THREE WILDS. ONE UNTAMED SOUTH.
Southern Tanzania plays by different rules.
The distances are bigger. The roads are quieter. The landscapes feel less polished around the edges.
Begin among the waterways and woodland of Nyerere, where safari can happen both on land and by boat. Continue through the open landscapes of Mikumi before flying deeper into the country to Ruaha, a vast wilderness of elephants, predators, baobabs and rugged river valleys.
This isn’t the classic Northern Circuit rearranged on another map.
The south has its own rhythm.
And that’s exactly why we’re going.
DAY 01 / DAR ES SALAAM → NYERERE - LEAVE THE COAST. FOLLOW THE RIVER.
Leave Dar es Salaam early and travel south toward Nyerere.
The city gradually gives way to rural landscapes as you head toward one of Africa’s great wilderness areas.
Arrive at your lodge or tented camp and settle in before changing the safari perspective completely.
Later in the afternoon, head onto the water for a boat safari.
Cruise through channels and lakes connected to the Rufiji River system, watching hippos surface, crocodiles along the banks and an extraordinary variety of waterbirds.
Stay out as afternoon light settles across the water.
Safari day one.
And we haven’t even needed a game-drive vehicle yet.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Tented Camp, Nyerere
MEALS
Lunch · Dinner
DAY 02 / NYERERE - ROAD OPTIONAL. WILD GUARANTEED.
Head out early for a full day exploring Nyerere by vehicle.
The reserve’s combination of woodland, grasslands, lakes and river systems supports elephants, giraffes, buffalo, antelope and a rich predator population.
Search for lions resting in the shade, elephants moving toward water and perhaps African wild dogs, one of southern Tanzania’s particularly special sightings.
Take lunch in the wilderness before continuing through the afternoon.
There is a scale to Nyerere that takes a little while to register.
Then you notice how long it has been since you saw another vehicle.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Tented Camp, Nyerere
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 03 / NYERERE → MIKUMI - CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE. KEEP THE WILD.
After breakfast, leave the river country behind and continue toward Mikumi.
Today’s journey reveals another side of southern Tanzania as woodland and rural landscapes gradually give way to the broad plains around Mikumi.
Enter the park for an afternoon game drive.
Look for elephants, giraffes, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest and antelope across the open landscape, with mountains rising in the distance.
Lions are among Mikumi’s headline predators, while waterholes can become particularly productive gathering points.
Continue to your lodge as evening approaches.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Lodge, Mikumi
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 04 / MIKUMI → RUAHA - TAKE THE SKY SOMEWHERE WILDER.
Enjoy an early game drive before transferring for your onward bush flight to Ruaha.
From the aircraft, watch southern Tanzania stretch beneath you.
Then land somewhere very different.
Ruaha is rugged, enormous and wonderfully remote.
Baobabs dominate parts of the landscape while the Great Ruaha River and its tributaries create lifelines through otherwise dry country.
Meet your guide and begin game driving toward camp.
Elephants may appear almost immediately.
So may the feeling that you’ve travelled considerably farther than the flight time suggests.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Safari Camp, Ruaha
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 05 / RUAHA - THIS IS THE DEEP SOUTH.
Wake early and head into Ruaha.
Spend the day exploring river valleys, baobab woodland and open plains in search of elephants, buffalo, giraffes, lions, leopards, cheetahs and antelope.
African wild dogs also inhabit the wider ecosystem, although encounters are always fortunate rather than guaranteed.
Ruaha’s appeal isn’t only what you see.
It’s what you don’t.
Traffic.
Queues.
A cluster of vehicles around every lion.
Instead, there are long tracks disappearing into wild country and the possibility that whatever you find next belongs entirely to you for a while.
Return to camp as evening settles across the bush.
OVERNIGHT
Midrange / Luxury Safari Camp, Ruaha
MEALS
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
DAY 06 / RUAHA → DAR ES SALAAM - ONE LAST MORNING. THEN THE SKY.
Wake for your final morning in Ruaha.
Depending on the flight schedule, enjoy breakfast and a short final game drive before transferring to the airstrip.
Board your scheduled bush flight toward Dar es Salaam.
From above, look down at just how much wild country you’ve crossed.
River.
Plains.
Baobabs.
Three very different landscapes stitched together across southern Tanzania.
Land in Dar es Salaam for your onward arrangements, or continue to Zanzibar if the Indian Ocean is calling.
MEALS
Breakfast
END POINT
Dar es Salaam
$3,650
MAKE THIS JOURNEY YOURS
Safari Includes
- All Park Fees
- All transportation
- Professional private safari guide
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Private 4×4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof
- Accommodation as specified in the itinerary
- Government taxes and VAT
Safari Excludes
- International flights
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips
- Personal items
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Some Meals