|
MIKUMI
NATIONAL PARK
Mikumi National Park is located on the northern border of
Africa's biggest game reserve - the Selous – and is transected
by the surfaced road between Dar es Salaam and Iringa. It is thus
the most accessible part of a 75,000 square tract of wilderness
that stretches east almost as far as the Indian Ocean.
The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain,
the popular centerpiece of Mikumi, draw frequent comparisons to
the more famous Serengeti Plains.
Lions survey their grassy kingdom – and the zebra, wildebeest,
impala and buffalo herds that migrate across it – from the
flattened tops of termite mounds, or sometimes, during the rains,
from perches high in the trees. Giraffes forage in the isolated
acacia stands that fringe the Mkata River, islets of shade
favoured also by Mikumi's elephants.
Criss-crossed by a good circuit of game-viewing roads, the Mkata
Floodplain is perhaps the most reliable place in Tanzania for
sightings of the powerful eland, the world’s largest antelope.
The equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope haunt the
miombo-covered foothills of the mountains that rise from the
park’s borders.
More than 400 bird species have been recorded, with such colourful
common residents as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated
longclaw and bateleur eagle joined by a host of European migrants
during the rainy season. Hippos are the star attraction of the
pair of pools situated 5km north of the main entrance gate,
supported by an ever-changing cast of waterbirds.
About Mikumi National Park
Size: 3,230 sq km (1,250 sq miles), the fourth-largest park in
Tanzania, and part of a much larger ecosystem centred on the
uniquely vast Selous Game Reserve.
Location: 283 km (175 miles) west of Dar es Salaam, north of
Selous, and en route to Ruaha, Udzungwa and (for the intrepid)
Katavi.
How to get there
A good surfaced road connects Mikumi to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro,
a roughly 4 hour drive.
Also road connections to Udzungwa, Ruaha and (dry season only)
Selous.
Charter flight from Dar es Salaam, Arusha or Selous. Local buses
run from Dar to park HQ where game drives can be arranged.
What to do
Game drives and guided walks. Visit nearby Udzungwa or travel on
to Selous or Ruaha.
When to go
Accessible year round.
Accommodation
Two lodges, two luxury tented camps, three campsites.
Guest houses in Mikumi town on the park border
|
|