Sundowner: Spring/Summer 2019

TANZANIA
SOUTH-SIDE STORY
Safari-lovers go to Tanzania to see game, take a walk on
the wild side, and get back to nature. Tanzania’s north is
well known to tourists thanks to the Great Migration and
the millions of wildebeest that cyclically move around the
Serengeti and into Kenya’s Masai Mara. The upper part of
the country is home to the superlative-defying Ngorongoro
Conservation Area. Once a titanic volcano, the crater was
named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being the largest
unbroken caldera. But there is a downside to this fame:
tourist-carrying vehicles sometimes have to queue to gain
entry to Ngorongoro, and in the Serengeti, there are over
130 lodges, hotels, and camps. For those seeking rawer,
wilder, and emptier Africa, southern Tanzania is extolled as
the real deal: authentic and off the tourist radar – closer to
the Africa of the great white hunters (and more palatably,
explorers) like Frederick Courteney Selous, who the Selous
Reserve is named after. This vast reserve, covering more than
50,000 square kilometres of south-east Tanzania, is twice
the size of Wales and the second largest conservation area
in all of Africa. There is an abundant population of hippo,
giraffe, cheetah, and leopard. It’s also home to the continent’s
largest population of wild dog. It was listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1982, in recognition of its outstanding
universal value as one of the last remaining large tracts of
wilderness in Africa. To the west of Selous, Ruaha National
Park is little known, and at its heart runs the Ruaha river. It’s
larger than the Serengeti (20,260 square kilometres to the
Serengeti’s 14,763) and only receives six per cent of its visitors
(20,000 annually in comparison to 350,000). It’s famed for
its elephant and buffalo – who perform a mini-migration here
annually. There are also 570 species of birds and it’s home to
ten per cent of Africa’s total lion population, where they live in
super prides. AD
previous page, clockwise from top left: Wildebeest; tented luxury at Sanctuary
Kichakani Serengeti Camp; a lion; campfire views at Kichakani
clockwise from top left: The communal area at Kichakani; exterior view of the
tented camp; zebra; spot the cheetah
CONTACT ABERCROMBIE & KENT
For more information, or to book your safari adventure in Tanzania,
contact our Africa travel specialists on 01242 547 702.
SELOUS
When to go:
From June to October, it’s
dry and warm (16-35°C);
November to December, it’s
spring in Selous and there
are short rains; November
to March, it’s the hottest
part of the season with
temperatures rising to
40°C; April to May, camps
are closed for the long rains.
Where to stay:
Azura; Siwandu;
Roho Ye Selous
RUAHA
When to go:
From June to November,
it’s dry and warm (high 20s
during the day); December,
Ruaha only has one annual
rain cycle and it happens
during this month; January
to March is springtime in the
park and migratory birds
return to breed; April to
May, camps are closed.
Where to stay:
Jongomero Camp;
Jabali Ridge
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