This is western and southern Tanzania linked in order, well away from the northern circuit. A single night in Arusha, below Mount Meru, opens the trip before three nights in Ruaha, the country’s largest park, where big game is tracked on foot across plains and riverbeds. Three nights in Katavi follow, a remote floodplain where dry-season thirst gathers game around shrinking pools. It closes with three nights in Mahale, tracking wild chimpanzees on forested slopes above Lake Tanganyika.
You travel by light aircraft between parks, with a dhow transfer along the lake into Mahale. Days turn on walking safaris and game drives in Ruaha and Katavi, then chimp treks and afternoons on the water at Mahale. The camps are small and remote, built around guiding rather than polish, with Legendary Lodge the calm first night at the start.
The trip opens with a single night in Arusha, the staging town where northern safaris begin, set at 1,400 metres on Mount Meru's southern slopes among coffee estates. It is a quiet place to settle after long flights before the parks take over, with time to walk the estate and taste the roast. Legendary Lodge stands on the century-old Selian Coffee Estate, twelve cottages scattered through tropical gardens and rows of coffee below Meru. The airport is fifteen minutes away, and arrivals are met with warm towels and fresh juice.
Three nights in Ruaha, Tanzania's largest park, given over to understanding big game on foot. You track elephant and buffalo across open plains, sandy riverbeds and craggy hills, learning to read spoor and behaviour with a guide and armed ranger, the distance to the animals closing slowly. This is strong predator country, with large lion prides, leopard, cheetah and wild dog moving among kudu, sable and roan. Kichaka Expeditions sits in the park's wild eastern corner, built around walking; game drives cover ground and night drives run under park licence, but the walking sets the pace.
Fly on to Katavi, a floodplain wilderness in the far west with only a handful of camps. As the dry season tightens from June to October, the Katuma River contracts to muddy pools and the game concentrates around what water remains, buffalo in their thousands, hundreds of hippos crowding the channels, crocodiles on the banks and lions working the edges. Days turn on morning, afternoon and full-day drives in open 4x4s, often without meeting another vehicle. Chada Camp is six tents beneath tamarind and acacia on the edge of the Chada Plain, with elephants wandering through for the tamarind fruits.
The trip closes with three nights in the Mahale Mountains, reached by light aircraft and then a dhow along Lake Tanganyika to a white-sand beach with rainforest rising behind. Mornings begin with a trek into the hills, guides and rangers reading the signs until the habituated M-group chimpanzees are found, a walk that might be gentle or several steep hours. Afternoons belong to the lake, with swimming, snorkelling among the cichlids, kayaking and sunset on the dhow. Greystoke Mahale is six dhow-wood bandas opening to the water, with no roads reaching it and no vehicle between you and the forest.
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
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Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.
