7-Day Southern Tanzania Wildlife Safari with Rufiji River Boat Ride

• You will be picked up from your hotel in Iringa and drive to Ruaha National Park. Ruaha is one of the largest national parks in Tanzania, covering an area of about 13,000 square km. The park is part of a larger ecosystem that includes Rungwa and Usangu Game Reserves, among several other protected areas. The park is named after the Great Ruaha River, which flows along the south-eastern part of the park. It is very rich in birdlife, with more than 570 species, making it a haven for birdwatchers.
• You can spot very large elephant herds here, and it is also a good place to see kudu, sable, and roan antelopes. The area is also a habitat for the endangered wild dogs. Other wildlife includes lions, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, and many more.
• Carry a packed lunch, and if time allows, you can enjoy an afternoon game drive.

Dinner and overnight at Ruaha Park Cottage.

• Spend a full day on a game drive, returning for a hot lunch or enjoying a picnic in the park. The park has many impressive baobab trees, and the brachystegia (miombo) woodland is the dominant vegetation.
• Drive back to Iringa in the evening.

Dinner and overnight at Sun Set Hotel.

• Have an early morning breakfast and then drive to Mikumi National Park, the fourth-largest park in Tanzania.
• Go for a game drive in the park upon arrival. You can spot the Big Five, hippos, zebras, wildebeest, impalas, buffaloes, and more than 400 bird species.

Dinner and overnight at Tan Swiss Lodge.

• Depart from Mikumi National Park and head towards Udzungwa Mountain National Park.
• Go hiking in the park.

Dinner and overnight at Twiga Hotel.

• Today, the safari continues to the Selous Game Reserve. In the afternoon, enjoy a boat ride on the Rufiji River. This is a totally different experience and a great contrast to the previous days of game drives.
• The Rufiji River is a wide and winding river that forms several lakes in the heart of the reserve. Enjoy a sundowner while watching herds of wildlife coming down to the river to drink. It is a birders' paradise and very rich in fish eagles, herons, Egyptian geese, storks, bee-eaters, and kingfishers.

Dinner and overnight at Kituri Camp.

• Spend a full day doing game drives and get a chance to explore different areas of the vast park, with good photographic opportunities. Apart from the area being famous for its large herds of elephants, hippos, and rhinos, it is also rich in gnus, sable antelopes, eland, greater kudus, waterbucks, spotted hyenas, lions, leopards, and buffaloes.

Lunch, dinner, and overnight at Kituri Camp.

• Enjoy your last early morning with a walking safari. Then drive back to Dar es Salaam.
• You will be dropped off at the airport in the evening for departure or an extension program.