If you are planning on visiting Tanzania you must visit Mikumi, Ruaha and Tarangire to be sure your Africa safari trip is complete. A visit to these three regions will give you a great combined view of what Africa and Tanzania specifically have to offer. These are three very special national parks and offer a great cross section of animals, plant life and terrain that must be seen before you leave Africa. Each one is unique and will provide memories sure to last a lifetime.

Out of Mikumi, Ruaha and Tarangire, Mikumi National Park borders the Selous and shares in its abundance of wild life and plant life. It is often compared to the Serengeti for its supply of animals! You can observe lions (and I mean plenty of them; never seen so many in one day) surveying their grassy plains looking for their next meal in the herds of zebra, antelopes, impalas and wildebeests that go careening across the fields. Let’s not forget the Mikumi elephant (also very common) you can see milling around.

Female impalas!

You will also see over 400 different species of exotic Africa birds virtually everywhere you look. The terrain is almost as diverse as the animal life with floodplains, rivers, mountains, and forests.

Of the three parks, Mikumi, Ruaha, and Tarangire, Ruaha is considered pristine and untouched and is only marginally smaller than the Serengeti. It is one of the largest conservancies in all of Africa and should definitely be a travel safari destination for anyone taking their safari holidays in Tanzania.

All manner of game viewing can be seen in this area and in addition to all the wild life there are over 1500 different varieties of plant life. It is one of the richest areas for vegetation and animal life in the area.

You should plan on seeing lions, elephant, giraffe, leopard, cheetah (if very lucky), bat-eared fox and hyena throughout the park. My personal favourites though are the Roan and Sable antelopes, rare species that you are more likely to view here than anywhere else!

The most elegant Sable antelope!

Finally, after visiting Mikumi and Ruaha, Tarangire can complete your safari vacation and offers tree climbing lions and huge herds of buffalo and antelope. It is also where the largest herds of elephants can be seen, sometimes in numbers of 300 or more! Additionally, expect to encounter wildebeests and zebra from the Steppe during the dry season.

Where are all the others gone???

For bird lovers this region is a virtual paradise! You can see exotic birds including but not limited to ashy starlings, black collared lovebirds and rufous-tailed weavers. Visiting these parks can really make your Africa safari travel complete and very memorable for sure!

Ever heard of the Baobab tree? No? Well, be sure to know what it is once you come back from your Tarangire trip; these massive beauties are just all over the place!

Tags: Mikumi, Ruaha, Tanzania, Tanzania safari, Tarangire

This entry was posted on Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Safaris. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed or trackback from your own site.