Tanzania Safaris - The Southern Safari Circuit

Safaris in the South of Tanzania are quite different in style and logistics from those in the North. The Southern safari camps provide a very individual safari experience. Essentially, the southern and western parks and lodges require a 'fly-in' safari; guests fly direct to the airstrips of their chosen camps and stay for a number of days, exploring the phenomena of the local bush with experts who have made this landscape their home. As a result, local guiding knowledge is unparalleled, their passion for the place infectious, and memorable moments are guaranteed!

Southern Tanzania Safaris: Defining the Regions; Selous, Ruaha, Katavi, Mahale

Southern safaris incorporate Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park, and western safaris are in Katavi or Mahale National Park. Ideally itineraries combine areas in the region. These parks have less rigorous regulations than those in the North, allowing for walking the animal trails, at one with the scents and secrets of savannah or bush, or sailing softly along the waterways of the Selous, surrounded by birdlife, honking hippos and cranky crocs, watching stealthy animals along the banks coming to drink.
Walking and boating safaris may be combined with driving adventures in vehicles adapted to infiltrate the most intrepid terrain; open-sided for optimum viewing potential. Bush breakfasts, lunches and sundowners are laid on with aplomb, and the landscapes are yours to enjoy.
All of this applies to the parks of southern Tanzania, but the lush green rivers of the Selous contrast clearly with the rolling, ancient realms of Ruaha, again vastly different from the floodplains of Katavi, or the deep and distant forests of Mahale. Mahale is only explored on foot.

Southern Tanzania Safaris: The advantages to a safari in the South:

Unlike in the North, game viewing is from open sided vehicles.
Both Selous and Ruaha are fly-in destinations, so avoiding the need for the long drives that are necessary in the North.
Walks (and boat-based river safaris, in Selous) are permitted, which breaks the monotony of game viewing by vehicle each day and allows you to feel even closer to the action...
The parks of the South are much less visited than the north - indeed you will rarely see another vehicle let alone a minibus!
The South is a much easier destination for a short safari.

The lodges in the South are much smaller and more personal than the large hotels in the North and so attention to detail is much greater and the experience is more personal.