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More than your average Tanzania safari ....
At Authentic Tanzania Safaris we know that spotting wildlife in the African bush is just part of your Tanzania safari. We also offer breaks on the beautiful beaches and islands of the East African coast:
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Authentic Tanzania Safaris: Guest Stories
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Click here to see what Sven and the Authentic Tanzania Safaris Team have been up to on the latest Tanzania Safaris.
Camping Safaris with Authentic Tanzania Safaris
We are very proud of the experience our camping safaris give to our Tanzania Safari Guests
Click here to learn more about private Ruaha Camping Safaris
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Mikumi National Park
- Tanzania Safaris - 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. Ideal for the first time Tanzania Safari visitor.
Mikumi National Park was gazetted as a National Park in August 1964 and is the fourth largest park in Tanzania covering 3230 square kilometers. The park is named after the village just beyond its western border on the Dar es Salaam to Iringa Highway which bisects the park for 50 km. Mikumi shares its boundary in the extreme south, with the Selous Game Reserve, forming two parts of one homogenous ecosystem with some Tanzania Safari animals (Elephant, Buffalo and Zebra) migrating to and from the northern part of the Selous into Mikumi National Park.
- Tanzania Safaris - Mikumi National Park
The park lies in a horseshoe of towering mountains and forested foothills which almost enclose the flood plain of the Mkata river. To the east rises the 2743 metre massif of the Uluguru ranges while to the south west is seen the craggy-peaks of the Lumango mountains. The hog backed ridges of the Mbesera, Madzini and Mazunyungu hills sweep round northward and westward. To the far south is the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, gazetted in 1992, which is part of the Eastern Arc Mountains which include the Usambaras. It is possible to visit the Udzungwas as a day trip from Mikumi and we'd be happy to include this as part of your Authentic Tanzania safari.
The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain, the popular centrepiece of Mikumi, draw frequent Tanzania Safari comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains.
Criss-crossed by a good circuit of game-viewing roads, the Mkata Floodplain is perhaps the most reliable place on Tanzania safaris for sightings of the powerful eland, the world's largest antelope. The equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope haunt the miombo-covered foothills of the mountains that rise from the park's borders.
Mikumi National Park - Fast Facts
About Mikumi National Park
Size: 3,230 sq km (1,250 sq miles), the fourth-largest park in Tanzania, and part of a much larger ecosystem centred on the uniquely vast Selous Game Reserve.
Location: 283 km (175 miles) west of Dar es Salaam, north of Selous, and en route to Ruaha, Udzungwa Mountains and (for the intrepid) Katavi National Parks...
How to get there
A good surfaced road connects Mikumi to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro, a roughly 4 hour drive. Also road connections to Udzungwa, Ruaha and (dry season only) Selous.
Charter flight from Dar es Salaam, Arusha or Selous. Local buses run from Dar to park HQ where Tanzania Safari game drives can be arranged.
What to do
Tanzania Safari game drives and guided walking safaris. Visit nearby Udzungwa or travel on to Selous or Ruaha.
Contact us at Authentic Tanzania Safaris with your bespoke Tanzania safari requirements
South Tanzania Camping trip
Emma savage - december 2011