Day 1: Selous Game Reserve

The Safari Air Link flight to Selous Game Reserve departs at 10:30 and arrives at approximately 11:15 (times may vary with schedule requirements). The guide from Rufiji River Camp will be at the airstrip waiting to greet you and take you to check-in at Rufiji River Camp. Accommodation at Rufiji is in large furnished tents with extensive platform veranda and en suite bathroom.

This huge conservation area is a World Heritage Site and named after Frederick Courteney Selous who died in the reserve. The area north of the sprawling Rufiji River is reserved for photographic safaris. The river is a myriad of wide-open water, lakes, and channels and Selous is the only reserve that offers boating safaris in addition to the more classic vehicle and walking safaris.

Selous is estimated to have one-third of Tanzania’s African Hunting Dogs. The landscape is predominantly flat and covered with miombo trees. Lions and leopards join the Hunting dogs as prevalent predators in the reserve and there is a good variety of prey animals from wildebeest and buffalo to smaller animals like warthog and impala. The river supports a rich and varied birdlife, the banks providing a nesting bank for the bee-eaters and fishing grounds for Kingfishers.

Day 1 includes an afternoon game activity which will have been arranged prior to your arrival by the manager. Game activities are on a shared basis, with groups of 4 or 6 in vehicles, boats, and on walks. Larger groups may be accommodated in a single vehicle up to 8. The afternoon activity departs at 16:00 and returns at dusk in time to freshen up before drinks around the fire.

Day 2 – 3: Selous Game Reserve

The night before the manager will have discussed the options for today’s safaris, so you may have chosen an early morning walk departing camp at 0630 to return for a late breakfast at 0930 or an early bird game drive (0630-1130) or else have a bit of a lie-in and go out after breakfast at 0830 until lunch. A full-day game drive option is also available departing 0830 and returning at 1600 for afternoon tea.

Day 4: Ruaha National Park

An early walk or game drive brings you back in time for breakfast and the departure back to the airstrip for the onward flight to Ruaha National Park.

Ruaha National Park is the largest Park in Tanzania and lies in the center of the country. This beautiful park has an abundance of wildlife in an array of sceneries which gives it a character all of its own. The Great Ruaha River is the lifeline of the park as it is the only permanent water source in the park. A full-day game drive along the river takes you over rocky kopjes, home to the Greater kudu, Roan antelope, and elephant, and winds down along the river bank through open plains, perfect for cheetah and lion, herds of buffalo, warthogs, jackals, bat-eared Foxes – the list is endless. The river banks are rich with birdlife, hippos, and crocs. For the more adventurous, above the escarpment lives the more elusive Sable Antelope.

Ruaha is not only the largest park but can also boast a well-developed road network, so there are plenty of different drives to explore for morning game drives returning to the lodge for lunch. An afternoon spent on your veranda at the water’s edge, or sitting in one of the 2 bar areas will be an equally enjoyable part of your safari here where the animals wander in front of your room to come down to drink. An afternoon drive to the hippo pool to catch the sunset makes a perfect end to a day.

Day 5 – 6: Ruaha National Park

During your time staying at Ruaha River Lodge, you can choose between half-day shared game drives or a full day with a picnic lunch enabling you to explore further afield in this enormous wilderness. Game drives are on a shared basis with either 4 or 6/7 in a vehicle. Private activities are available for a supplement.

Accommodation at Ruaha River Lodge is along the river bank in stone and thatch ‘bandas’ with a veranda and en suite bathroom.

Day 7:

After last morning’s game drive in Ruaha, you will be dropped at the airstrip for the flight back to Dar, Lazy Lagoon, Zanzibar, or Mafia Island.