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Mikumi
National Park - Tanzania
's third largest National Park,  covering
3230 square kilometres, Mikumi is one of the most popular
of Tanzania 's National Parks. One of the principal features
of Mikumi is the Mkata River Flood plain (an area of lush
vegetation which attracts large numbers of elephants and
buffaloes) along with the mountain ranges that border the
park on two sides (in the east the Uluguru Mountains , in
the west the Rubeho Mountains ). Open grasslands dominate
the flood plain, eventually merging with the miombo woodland
covering the lower hills.  |
Selous Game
Reserve Named after legendary
British explorer,
Frederick Courtenay Selous, the Reserve (more than three
times the size of Serengeti National Park and twice the
size of Belgium ), was founded in 1905 by the colonial administration
and later expanded to include the traditional elephant migration
routes. The Reserve is uninhabited and little touched by
human interference. Visitors therefore will find themselves
in a pristine wilderness far away from the established tourist
routes. Its wildlife (including some of the last remaining
black rhinoes) is spectacular, and some mammal populations
(buffaloes, elephants, hippos, wild dogs, crocodiles) are
the largest in Africa. |
Udzungwa
National Park -
Covers 1,990 square kilometres and is
particularly suitable for hiking and climbing with trails
through the rainforest and on the escarpment. The plateau
is a natural lookout with views of sugar plantations against
a patchwork of grassland and mountain forest extending over
100 kilometres. The centrepiece is the Sanje River which
reinvents itself as a spectacular waterfall, plunging 170
meters through the forest to land in a spray of mist in
the valley below. Two types of monkeys, the Iringa red colobus
monkey and the Sanje Crested Mangabey, are endemic to the
Udzungwa Mountains and are no found elsewhere in the mountains
of Eastern Tanzania . Furthermore Udzungwa is particularly
alluring to birdwatchers. |
Ruaha
National Park - Ruaha, the second largest
(after the Serengeti) of Tanzania National Parks, with
its dramatic geography, is truly a vast unspoiled wilderness
covering some 13,000 square kilometres and is amongst
the wildest in Africa . It is part of an enormous expanse
of protected land - the 30,000 square kilometre Rungwa
- Kisigo - Ruaha ecosystem, most of which made up the
Saba Game Reserve in former German colonial times. Ruaha
is also interesting as it represents a transition zone
where eastern and southern African species of fauna and
flora overlap.
The river, after which the Park is named,
winds through the eastern section, fringed by tall trees:
acacia albida, tamarind and wild figs, as well as the
majestic baobab, which could be regarded as the signature
tree of Ruaha.
The valley of the Great Ruaha River is
thought to be an extension of the Great Rift Valley and
the Ruaha flows along the Park's entire eastern boundary
through rugged gorges and open plains.
A rich diversity of animal and plant
life is sheltered by the Park. Ruaha is a hauntingly beautiful
and wild landscape of miombo forest, rolling woodlands,
hills, rivers and plains and possesses a great variety
of wildlife, including lion, leopard, cheetah, hunting
dog, warthog, giraffe, zebra, huge herds of buffalo and
large concentrations of elephant. It is the only East
African Part where it is possible to see the greater and
lesser kudu, as well as sable and roan antelopes.
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| Kitulo
National Park - Locals
refer to the Kitulo Plateau as Bustani ya Mungu -
The Garden of God – while botanists have dubbed it the
Serengeti of Flowers, host to 'one of the great floral spectacles
of the world'. And Kitulo is indeed a rare botanical marvel,
home to a full 350 species of vascular plants, including 45
varieties of terrestrial orchid, which erupt into a riotous
wildflower display of breathtaking scale and diversity during
the main rainy season of late November to April.
Perched at around 2,600 metres (8,500
ft) between the rugged peaks of the Kipengere, Poroto and
Livingstone Mountains, the well-watered volcanic soils of
Kitulo support the largest and most important montane grassland
community in Tanzania.
One of the most important watersheds
for the Great Ruaha River, Kitulo is well known for its
floral significance – not only a multitude of orchids,
but also the stunning yellow-orange red-hot poker and a
variety of aloes, proteas, geraniums, giant lobelias, lilies
and aster daisies, of which more than 30 species are endemic
to southern Tanzania.
Big game is sparsely represented, though a few hardy mountain
reedbuck and eland still roam the open grassland.
But Kitulo – a botanist and hiker's paradise - is
also highly alluring to birdwatchers. Tanzania's only population
of the rare Denham’s bustard is resident, alongside
a breeding colony of the endangered blue swallow and such
range-restricted species as mountain marsh widow, Njombe
cisticola and Kipengere seedeater. Endemic species of butterfly,
chameleon, lizard and frog further enhance the biological
wealth of God’s Garden.
About Kitulo Plateau
National Park
Size: 412.9 sq km (159 sq miles)
Location: Southern Tanzania.
The temporary park headquarters at Matamba are situated
approximately 100km (60 miles) from Mbeya town.
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