17 DAYS, 16 NIGHTS – MBEYA, MATEMA BEACH, KITULO NATIONAL PARK, MUFINDI – IRINGA, ISIMILA STONE AGE, RUAHA, MIKUMI, SAADANI & TOWN OF BAGAMOYO
DAY 1: FLY TO TOWN OF MBEYA & TRANSFERRED TO A LODGE
Catch a flight at Dar es Salaam International Airport at 12:30 hrs and fly to Mbeya, arriving at 14:00 hrs. Upon your arrival at Mbeya Airport, picked-up by your driver guide and transferred to a lodge, check-in and spend the overnight at Utengule Coffee Lodge (bed & breakfast)
DAY 2: A HIKE TO THE NGOZI CRATER & BRIDGE OF GOD (DARAJA LA MUNGU)
After breakfast, drive for about 2 – 3 hours to Tukuyu for the visit of ‘Ngozi Crater – the second largest crater lake in Africa. Upon arrival at the entrance gate, you’ll walk for about 45 minutes to an hour to the starting point of the hiking trail.
The main attraction is the hike to top of the crater to see the lake. The trail starts in a lush green forest full of wild bananas and massive bamboos. Keep your eyes open to see black and white colobus monkeys and several species of birds, the most frequent being trumpeted hornbills. This area is also famous for the endemic three horned chameleon.
It should take between one to an hour to 1,5 hours is t to the top. Once you are at the top you have a breathtaking view of the lake and the crater’s its steep forested banks. If the weather is good then you can really appreciate the color of the water.
Later, take a hike to Daraja la Mungu (Bridge of God) – A huge, millions of years old rock that forms a natural bridge over Kiwira River. And just a few kilometers up the valley is the ‘cooking pot’, and the Marasusa Waterfalls.
Back from the hike by afternoon, get your lunch and rest until evening while waiting for the dinner to be served, stay the overnight at LandMark Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 3: VISIT TO THE TUKUYU TEA ESTATE & KAPOROGWE WATERFALLS
After breakfast, take a tour to the ‘Tukuyu Tea Estate’. On your way to the tea estate you pass small villages and schools and you will have the chance to get a view of everyday life in Rungwe. You can finish the Tea Tour with a tour of the tea factory. Here you can see how the tea leaves are being processed to packed tea. You might even be able to do some tea tasting! Your guide, a tea farmer, will tell you anything there is to know about tea. Then break for lunch.
Later, visit the thrilling 25-metre Kaporogwe Waterfalls which originates from Kala River, a tributary of the Kiwira River. A trip to these falls would be an exciting moment.
Driving towards the Kaporogwe Falls is as well, an exciting moment. It gives a visitor to this area a thrilling moment when passing through green and fertile land, full of interesting off-road diversions. The journey to Kaporogwe Falls gets a visitor a quick view of perennially lush and bountiful forests of the Livingstone Mountains, adding more travel excitement. There is a natural cave behind the falls and a concrete wall where Germans have built as a fort or a hideout during the First World War. The area around the falls is as well, a pre-historical site after discovery of stone tools there. These include knives, scrapers, picks and axes.
After this great experience, back in the evening for dinner, and stay the overnight at LandMark Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 4: DEPART TO LAKE NYASA – MATEMA BEACH
After breakfast, drive for 4 – 5 hours to the northern shores of Lake Nyasa where Matema Beach is, a winding road passes through high mountains and tea estates before it descends to the tropical shores of Lake Nyasa.
You’ll arrive in the late afternoon, check-in, rest and unwind at the beach while waiting for your dinner, spend the overnight at Blue Canoe Safari Camp (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 5: SWIMMING, FISHING TRIP AT THE LAKE & UNWIND AT THE BEACH
After breakfast, you can make canoe trips with fishermen over the lake to the nearby village where women specialize in pottery and to the mouth of the river to spot elephants, giraffes, hippos and crocodiles.
You can swim, rest and unwind at the beach – this beach is one of the most beautiful on the lake, which has been referred to as the most scenic body of water in Africa. Relatively undeveloped for tourism giving it an authentic feel and suitable for swimming.
Dinner and overnight at Blue Canoe Safari Camp (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 6: DEPART TO KITULO NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, depart to Kitulo National Park (a 4 – 5 hours drive), arriving in the late afternoon, check-in and get a hot lunch and rest until evening, while waiting for your dinner to be served, stay the overnight at LandMark Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 7: HIKING THROUGH THE KITULO NATIONAL PARK (THE GARDEN OF GOD)
After breakfast, depart for a hike to the beautiful Kitulo National Park, The Garden of God or The Serengeti of Flowers as the botanists dubbed it.
Orchids, irises, lilies, honey-peas, bell flowers, balsams and other wildflowers bloom as far as the eye can see. Kitulo hosts more than 350 species of vascular plants, including 45 varieties of terrestrial orchid, which erupt into a riotous wildflower display of breathtaking scale and diversity. Kitulo is a rare botanical marvel.
Later, back to the hotel and rest while your dinner is served, stay the overnight at LandMark Hotel (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 8: DRIVE TO MUFINDI HIGHLANDS – TOWN OF IRINGA
After breakfast, depart to Mufindi (a 6 – 7 hours drive) with your packed lunch boxes, arriving in the late evening, check-in at the lodge, and dinner when you are ready, stay the overnight at Mufindi Highland Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 9: HORSE RIDING, MOUNTAIN BIKING, TEA TOUR, KAYAKING & FISHING AT MUFINDI HIGHLANDS
After breakfast, you’ll choose to have as many activities to do as you prefer – you can do horse riding. Surrounded by tea plantations, montane forest and rural villages, the area is away from any tourist route and maintains a natural charm.
Meats, dairy products and organically grown vegetables are all produced on the working farm.
The whole area is perfect for cycling with farm tracks, bridleways and footpaths running through plantations of pine, eucalyptus, tea and coffee as well as ancient forests and pristine lakes perfect for fishing trips and kayaking.
After these great experiences, you’ll get back to the lodge for your dinner to be served, stay the overnight at Mufindi Highland Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 9: VISIT THE ISIMILA STONE AGE SITE & DEPART TO RUAHA NATIONAL PARK (with MAASAI BOMA TOUR)
After breakfast, drive for about an hour to the ‘Isimila Stone Age Site’ – A Walk Through The Canyons: It is well-known for its archaeological sites, some of these sites yielded very important fossils that enlighten us about the origin of mankind.
After the visit, you’ll drive for about 4 hours to Ruaha National Park, arriving in the late afternoon. Conduct a Maasai Boma Tour on arrival – this cultural tour aims at familiarizing you with the Maasai tribe – their culture, occupation and lifestyle.
Later, check-in at the lodge, dinner when you are ready and stay the overnight at Ruaha Hill Top Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 10: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE AT RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, go for a full day game drive at the enormous beautiful Ruaha National Park with your packed lunch boxes to experience the abundant wildlife of this largest national park in the country until evening.
Back in the late evening, check-in and get your hot dinner when ready and stay the overnight at Ruaha River Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
Ruaha National Park: This is the largest national park in the country, currently bigger than The Serengeti; magnificent mammals such as both greater and lesser kudu can be spotted here. The park has high diversity of plants and animals including elephants, buffalos, antelopes and some of rare and endangered species like wild dogs with a great number of birdlife of about 570 species.
DAY 11: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE AT RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, go for another full day game drive across the enormous Ruaha National Park with packed lunch boxes until sunset. Back in the late evening and stay the overnight at Ruaha River Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 12: DEPART TO MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, drive for about 5 hours to Mikumi National Park, arriving in the early evening, check-in at the lodge, dinner when you are ready and stay the overnight at Tanswiss Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 13: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE AT MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, depart for a full day game drive to this enormous beautiful national park with packed lunch boxes to experience its rich wildlife until sunset.
Back in the late evening for dinner, and stay the overnight at Vuma Hills Tented Camp (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
Mikumi National Park: During game drive at the park, you can see a rich variety of bird species, as well as large numbers of giraffe, buffalo and elephants. You may also be able to spot lions, leopards and African wild dogs. Likely to be seen animals include zebras, hippos, hartebeest, wildebeest, impala, warthog, eland and antelope.
DAY 14: DEPART TO SAADANI NATIONAL PARK & AN EVENING BOAT SAFARI
After breakfast, depart to Saadani National Park (a 4 – 5 hours drive) with packed lunch boxes arriving in the afternoon. Saadani is the only sanctuary in the country bordering the sea.
In the evening, you’ll conduct a boat safari along the Wami River to experience the aquatic life (mostly hippos and crocodiles) and a rich birdlife with an amazing view of sunset.
A view of the mangrove trees along the Indian Ocean is nicely seen from this comfortable boat safari.
Back to the lodge in the late evening for dinner and stay the overnight at Saadani Safari Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 15: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE AT SAADANI NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast, depart for a full day game drive at this beautiful park that borders the Indian Ocean to experience its wildlife until early evening. You can have a chance to relax and unwind to its beautiful beaches lying over the ocean after a game drive.
Dinner and overnight at Saadani Safari Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 16: DEPART TO BAGAMOYO – VISIT THE KAOLE RUINS, CATHOLIC MUSEUM
After breakfast, depart to Town of Bagamoyo – with its cobwebbed portals and crumbling German-era colonial buildings, Bagamoyo is well worth exploration. You’ll find the old German boma, built in 1897, and Liku House, which served as the German administrative headquarters.
Just southeast of Bagamoyo are these atmospheric ruins (Kaole Ruins). At their centre are the remains of a 13th-century mosque, which is one of the oldest in mainland Tanzania and also one of the oldest in East Africa. It was built in the days when the Sultan of Kilwa held sway over coastal trade, and long before Bagamoyo had assumed any significance.
About 2 kms northwest of town and reached via a long, mango-tree-shaded avenue is the ‘Catholic Mission and Museum’, one of Bagamoyo’s highlights, with well-labelled displays from Bagamoyo’s heyday. In the same compound is the chapel where Livingstone’s body was laid before being taken to Zanzibar Town en route to Westminster Abbey. The mission dates from the 1868 establishment of Freedom Village and is the oldest in Tanzania.
Caravan Serai Museum – This undistinguished museum has a small display documenting the slave trade. It’s at the town entrance, More interesting than the present museum is the site at which it is built, which was formerly the starting point for slave and trade caravans to the interior.
Back in the evening, dinner and stay the overnight at Travelers Lodge (breakfast, lunch & dinner included)
DAY 17: DEPART TO DAR ES SALAAM
After breakfast, depart back to Dar es Salaam (a 1 – 2 hours drive), arriving in the early afternoon, and transfer you to the hotel/catch your flight back home (breakfast & lunch included)
