Southern Safari circuit
The Southern Safari Circuit of Tanzania is situated near the southern boundaries of Tanzania, close to Dar es Salaam city, this circuit is situated in an enormous, untouched, and remote region filled with a variety of wildlife. Southern safari circuit offers a remote safari adventure through national parks situated in this circuit, which are Ruaha national park, Selous game reserve,miki and Udzungwa mountains national park which habit many wildlife.
SAFARI PARK SAFARI IN SOUTHERN SAFARI CIRCUIT
Ruaha national park
Ruaha National Park, established in 1964, covers an area of 20,226 square kilometers and is located near Iringa city in the southern safari circuit. Ruaha national park is the largest protected area in Tanzania and derives its name from the great river Ruaha, which drains through the park. Ruaha National Park is home to many animals, including lions, elephants, buffalo, wild dogs, lesser kudu, greater kudu, roan antelope, sable antelope, cheetahs, leopards, spotted hyenas, Grant’s gazelles, Defassa waterbucks, impalas, zebras, giraffes, hartebeests, elands, jackals, crocodiles, hippos and many more.
Ruaha national park is famous for hosting the largest population of the greater kudu in east Africa. The park is also a habitat for many bird species, such as the crested barbet, Dickinson’s kestrel, pale-billed hornbill, violet-crested turaco, racket-tailed roller, plovers, kingfishers, hornbills, greenwood hoopoes, sunbirds, bee-eaters, and egrets, among many others. Ruaha national park offers safari activities like sport fishing, game drives, cultural visits, bush walks and boating expeditions.
Selous game reserve
Selous game reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage site of 54,600 square kilometers situated in southern Tanzania that is in the southern safari circuit. Selous game reserve is ranked among the largest protected areas in Africa and is home to a high concentration of wildlife, including elephants, black rhinoceroses, cheetahs, giraffes, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and many more species that thrive in miombo woodlands, open grasslands, riverine forests, and swamps that dominate the park’s landscapes. Other animals in the Selous Game Reserve include zebras, hyenas, warthogs, wildebeests, impalas, giraffes, greater kudu, waterbucks, bushbucks, Lichtenstein’s hartebeests, white rhinos, eland, and many more.
Apart from wildlife, Selous game reserve has many attractions such as a variety of bird species estimated to be over 350 species such as Spur-winged lapwing, African wattled lapwing, White-fronted bee-eater, Pel’s fishing owl Rare African spoonbills, Common White-headed vultures, mosque swallows, brown-breasted barbets, purple-banded sunbirds, Mangrove kingfishers, Von der Decken’s hornbills, African skimmers, pearl-spotted owls, palm-nut vultures, Layard’s black-headed weavers, freckled nightjars, grey Penduline-tit, grey-hooded kingfishers, red-throated twinspots, waders, wattle-eyed flycatchers, broad-billed roller and many more.
In the park’s landscape are Lake Mwanza and impala, which are habitats for hippopotamuses and crocodiles. The serious game reserve offers entertaining safari activities like game drives, bush walks, boating and bird watching.
Mikumi national park
Mikumi National Park is a spectacular tourist destination situated near Morogoro, covering an area of 3,230 square kilometers. It is the fourth largest national park in Tanzania and borders Selous Game Reserve to the south. Mikumi national park is a habitat for four of the big five animals that is lion, elephant, buffalo, and rhino, there is also other animals, such as cheetahs, sable antelopes and kudu, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, impala and many more, which are seen in the open horizons of the park.
Mikumi National Park features several attractions beyond wildlife, including Kinole Waterfall, Bondwa Peak, Choma Waterfalls, and more, all of which are easily visible from the park’s plains. Mikumi national park offers amazing safari activities, including game drives, birdwatching, picnics, camping and guided nature walks, which you can engage in for the best safari experience.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park
Udzungwa Mountains National Park, also known as The Galapagos of Africa, is one of the most scenic national parks in the southern safari circuit situated in the southern region of Tanzania near mikumi city, this park, covering an area of 1990 square kilometers, is part of the eastern Arc Mountains that extend from the Taita hills in Kenya to pare, Usambara, Nguru, Ukaguru, Uluguru, Rubeho and the Udzungwa Mountains.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park’s landscape is generally mountainous, dominated by tropical rainforest, mountain forest, miombo woodland and grassland vegetation, the park consists of many attractions that are encountered upon your visit to the park and these include Sanje waterfalls, standing at an altitude of 170 meters with a plunge pool, and 6 primate species, with 5 of them endemic to the park that is, the Iringa red colobus and Sanje crested mangabey. The park is covered with over 2500 plant species and 400 bird species, such as the African Marabou, Crowned Eagle, Rüppell’s Vulture and the African Hobby with the Francolin, Rufous-winged Sunbird and many more.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park also consists of Magombereka Cave, Bokela, Mwanaruvele Cave, Ndundulu, and Nyumbanitu Mountains, and the main highlights of this park are hiking and trekking.
What makes the southern safari circuit interesting?
Southern safari circuit consists of beautiful aspects which make it interesting and a top choice on list to visit while on a safari in Tanzania as listed below
- Southern safari circuit offers safari activities like fly-camping and boating, which are not available in the northern safari circuit.
- Southern safari circuit is dominated by untouched landscape, which is an attraction of its own, spectacular to watch as it is filled with a variety of wildlife.
- Southern safari circuit is the best place to see the endangered African wild dogs
- Southern safari circuit consists of many beautiful and comfortable accommodation facilities that are relatively cheap, accommodation facilities in this circuit include Alizet hostel, Iringi sunset hotel, mount royal villa hotel, Zakinn and many more in Ruaha national park , Selous kinga lodge, Selous Serena camp, Selous mapumziko, sable mountain lodge and many more in Selous national park and mikumi adventure, camp Bastian mikumi, mikumi wildlife camp, Tan Swiss lodge and many more in Mikumi national park. In Udzungwa Mountains National Park, accommodations are available at Udzungwa Falls Lodge, Udzungwa Forest Tented Camp, Hondo Hondo Udzungwa Forest, and many more.
- The Southern Safari Circuit is situated in a very accessible location that is near Dar es Salaam, with numerous direct and indirect international flights and transfers to other destinations, like Zanzibar.
- While in the southern safari circuit, it is very possible to drive in an open-sided vehicle, which offers a more uninterrupted view of the park and its beauty, including wildlife.
- Southern safari circuit is perfect for a bush and beach vacation, as it is situated near the coastal circuit.
- Southern safari circuit is quieter than the northern safari circuit
Best time to visit northern safari circuit for a safari
For tourists planning a safari in the southern circuit, the best time to visit for an exceptional experience is from June to October, which is typically the dry season and ideal for wildlife watching. Also in this period the vegetation cover in national parks of the southern safari circuit that is Ruaha national park , Selous game reserve and Mikumi national park is short, which makes wildlife viewing easy and routes used while on game drives are also dry and easy to navigate through.
How to get to the southern safari circuit
Dar es Salaam is the main entry point to the southern safari circuit of Tanzania. Dar es Salaam is a major city and commercial city in Tanzania with Julius Nyerere international Airport which serves tourists on a Tanzania safari to the southern safari circuit. Julius Nyerere international Airport serves both international flights to Dar es Salaam and domestic flights using light aircraft to airstrips in the southern safari circuit, which are Msembe Airstrip, Kikoboga Airstrip and Mtemere Airstrip. There are many airlines offering flights to Julius Nyerere International airport from countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Asia, Europe and Austria, and these include Swiss international Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Uganda and many more. Southern circuit parks are not accessible by road; that is why you need to book a domestic flight as early as possible to avoid delays on your safari.
