Southern
Circuit
RUBONDO
ISLAND
Rubondo Island is tucked in the southwest corner of
Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest lake,
an inland sea sprawling between Tanzania, Uganda and
Kenya. With nine smaller islands under its wing, Rubondo
protects precious fi sh breeding grounds. Tasty tilapia
form the staple diet of the yello spotted otters that
frolic in the island’s rocky coves, while rapacious
Nile perch, some weighing more than 100kg, tempt recreational
game fi shermen seeking world record catches.
Rubondo is more than a water wonderland. Deserted
sandy beaches nestle against a cloak of virgin forest,
where dappled bushbuck move fleet yet silent through
a maze of tamarinds, wild palms, and sycamore figs
strung with a cage of trailing taproots. The shaggy-coated
aquatic sittunga, elsewhere the most elusive of antelopes,
is remarkably easily observed, not only in the papyrus
swamps it normally inhabits, but also in the forest
interior.
A number of indigenous mammal species - hippo, vervet
monkey, genet and mongoose - share their protected
habitat with introduced species such as chimpanzee,
black-and-white colobus, elephant and giraffe, all
of which benefit from Rubondo's inaccessibility.
GOMBE
STREAM NATIONAL PARK
The Gombe Streams National Park is on Lake Tanganyika,
near the Burundi border. Gombe Park was created to
protect its chimpanzee population. The park is situated
in the stunning Mahale Mountains. It is renowned for
fantastic sunsets over Lake Tanganyika and eastern
Congo, which makes it an essential stop for keen photographers.
The ecosystem is a blend of rain forest, grasslands,
alpine bamboo and woodland. The best time to visit
is between May and October.
Activities are Climbing; snorkeling to observe the
90 species of cichlid and other fish in lake Tanganyika;
photography;
50 species of animal have been noted predominantly
from the monkey family chimpanzees, yellow baboon,
Sykes monkeys, red tailed, savannah, colobus monkeys(
both red and black &white) and 2 species of galago.
MAHALE
NATIONAL PARK
In Mahale, you can trace the Tongwe people's ancient
pilgrimage to the mountain spirits, hiking through
the montane rainforest belt – home to an endemic
race of Angola colobus monkey - to high grassy ridges
chequered with alpine bamboo. Then bathe in the impossibly
clear waters of the world’s longest, second-deepest
and least-polluted freshwater lake – harbouring
an estimated 1,000 fish species - before returning
as you came, by boat.
KATAVI
NATIONAL PARK
Katavi Isolated, untrammeled and seldom visited, Katavi
is a true wilderness, providing the few intrepid souls
who make it there with a thrilling taste of Africa
as it must have been a century ago. Tanzania's third
largest national park, it lies in the remote southwest
of the country, within a truncated arm of the Rift
Valley that terminates in the shallow, brooding expanse
of Lake Rukwa.
RUAHA
NATIONAL PARK
A fine network of game-viewing roads follows the Great
Ruaha and its seasonal tributaries, where , during
the dry season, impala, waterbuck and other antelopes
risk their life for a sip of life-sustaining water.
And the risk is considerable: not only from the prides
of 20-plus lion that lord over the savannah, but also
from the cheetahs that stalk the open grassland and
the leopards that lurk in tangled riverine thickets.
This impressive array of large predators is boosted
by both striped and spotted hyena, as well as several
conspicuous packs of the highly endangered African
wild dog.
MIKUMI
NATIONAL PARK
Mikumi National Park abuts the northern border of
Africa's biggest game reserve - the Selous –
and is transected by the surfaced road between Dar
es Salaam and Iringa. It is thus the most accessible
part of a 75,000 square kilometre (47,000 square mile)
tract of wilderness that stretches east almost as
far as the Indian Ocean.
The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata
Floodplain, the popular centrepiece of Mikumi, draw
frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti
Plains.
