This 12-night route links three parts of southern Tanzania. It opens in remote Ruaha, a transition zone between East and Southern African wildlife where game drives run with rare quiet. It moves to the northern bank of the Rufiji in Nyerere National Park, built for walking and boating rather than sheer density. It closes on a coral island in the Songo Songo Archipelago, off the southeast coast.
You travel with a private guide and vehicle through the two parks, on drives, on foot and, on the river, by boat. The island then trades schedules for tides. The accommodation ranges from an exclusive-use bush villa to a riverbank lodge and an island built around an 1894 lighthouse, each with its own character and pace.
You spend four nights in the remote southern reaches of Ruaha National Park, where meeting another vehicle on a drive is rare. Days are built around your private open-sided 4x4, with game drives morning and afternoon and, unusually for a national park, night drives by spotlight. This is one of the few places where both Greater and Lesser Kudu occur, alongside sable, roan, lion, leopard and cheetah. Jongomero Bush Manor takes one party at a time above the seasonal Jongomero Sand River, with a private chef, hosts and guide; elephants amble past the decks and dig for water beneath the sand.
Three nights on the northern bank of the Rufiji in Nyerere National Park, formerly the Selous Game Reserve, where vehicles remain scarce and the reward comes from patience rather than guaranteed density. Guided walks with armed rangers turn on tracking, plants and bushcraft, and wild dog are a consistent feature of the walks and drives here. Boat safaris run on the river and lakes, upstream to Stiegler's Gorge and downstream past pelicans and bee-eaters. Sand Rivers, built by Richard Bonham in 1984 and now run by Nomad Tanzania, sets eight stone-and-thatch cottages along a wide bend, with hippos and crocodiles on the sandbanks below.
Five nights on a small coral island in the Songo Songo Archipelago, off Tanzania's southeast coast, where an 11-kilometre reef rings the island and movement follows the tides rather than a schedule. There are no vehicles, so you get about on foot, by kayak or under sail, with snorkelling straight off the beach and diving on quiet outer sites among reef sharks, rays and butterflyfish. A sandbank runs out to sea, so swimming is possible at every tide. Laba Fanjove is built around a white German lighthouse from 1894, restored from ruin, where guests gather to dine and watch the sun go down; the villas rise as open A-frames beneath makuti thatch, cooled by the sea breeze.
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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tanzania
Walking safaris through Tanzania's Rift Valley and Serengeti, then five nights in a private villa on Zanzibar's coast.
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tanzania & kenya
Sixteen nights from the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti into Kenya's Maasai Mara, Laikipia and Borana Conservancy.
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tanzania & uganda
Ten nights from Bwindi's Nkuringo gorillas through Entebbe to six nights of reef and forest on northern Pemba Island.
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
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.
