From the capital, Dar es Salaam, fly south for two-and-a-half hours. Ducking your head as you disembark the light aircraft (bush taxi), you’ll find a pristine land of giant baobab trees, rolling hills and golden plains.
Though Ruaha is one of the largest national parks in the country, it’s visited by only a handful of very lucky, “enthusiastic” visitors who have heard tales of this not-so-tiny secret.
Biodiverse beauty
This area is an important stronghold for elephants in East Africa. Impressive herds can be found hydrating and cooling off along the banks of the Great Ruaha River. The water also attracts impalas and waterbucks – which, in turn, pull in the predators. The area hosts about a tenth of the world’s lions, competing with leopards and wild dogs.
There are nearly 600 bird species to ID. If that gets you hot under your bino straps, travel in the lush, rainy months of November to April – the holiday season for migrant birds from all over the world.
An explorer’s delight
Despite the richness of wildlife, you’ll find one particular species in blissfully short supply. Homo sapiens are more commonly found in other parks, where they can gather in large numbers. Their most observed behaviour is known as a ‘paparazzi frenzy’, usually focused on other large mammals. It can result in intense agitation for all concerned.
That’s a million miles from what you might experience in Ruaha. Sightings are often just for you. Be that watching a 20-strong pride of lions waking up ahead of a night of hunting. Sitting next to a wild dog den, watching the puppies spilling out to play. Or desperately fighting off a violent sneeze while skirting a herd of buffalos on a walking safari.
The Usangu wetlands
Sip a frosty beer by the flickering campfire, the dark wildness of the Usangu wetlands rolling out for miles around your remote six-tent expedition camp.
Lions, cheetahs, leopards and wild dogs patrol this marshy land, preying on roan antelopes, kudus and impalas. The wetlands are new to tourism, so wildlife is precisely that – wild – and more camera-shy than show-off counterparts in more well-established areas. The real thrill is in exploring a place so utterly remote and untamed. And you can earn some serious bragging rights by being one of the first to visit the Usanga wetlands.
Birdlife is prolific. Twitchers, keep your binos close to hand because a Pel’s fishing owl could swoop past at any moment (non-birders – trust us when we say that’s a cool sighting).
