17 Day Southern/Western Tanzania Wildlife Safari & Chimpanzee Trekking
Overview
Embark on unforgettable 17 Day Southern/Western Tanzania Wildlife safari & Chimpanzee Trekking that has Unique blend of iconic game viewings in the remote wilderness, this tour combines wildlife within Southern/Western Tanzania with Chimpanzee Trekking at Ngombe Stream National Park.
Included/Excluded
- Meals ( 16 Breakfasts, lunches & Dinners)
- Accommodation listed on the itinerary or similar
- Roundtrip Transfers in a standard 4X4 Safari Van
- Parks entrances fees
- Game drives
- Services of English speaking guide driver.
- Cultural experiences
- kigoma - Dar Es Salaam flight
- Price excludes all other things of personal nature like the bar bills, visas, gratitudes, personal insurance, porter hire among others
Tour Plan
Day 1: Dar Es Salaam - Nyerere National Park/Selous Game Reserve
You will meet your driver/guide meets you after an early breakfast at your hotel in Dar Es Salaam and after his briefing depart for Nyerere National Park (Part of Selous Game Reserve) takes about 5hrs drive arriving In the afternoon to check in at Rufiji River Camp. Rufiji River camp, situated in the heart of the reserve, is environmentally friendly and each tent is equipped with ensuite rooms as well a veranda facing the river. There is a constant flow of animals coming down to drink at the river offering a permanent show to visitors of the camp. The water is usually full of hundreds of hippos as well as groups of crocodiles that laze in the sun on the sandbanks in the river. This is one of UNESCO World Heritage site that give an opportunities for foot safaris & walking Safari, boat explorations & the classic 4WD safari in open vehicles add a further unique element to the Selous safari and ensure its reputation for pure bush adventure remains untarnished by volume. Afterwards go for an afternoon boat cruise Safari. Overnight at Rufiji River Camp or Similar
Day 2: Game Drives, Nyerere National Park
After breakfast, you will set for a full-day game drive in the park with picnic lunches. All meals and overnight stays will be at Rufiji River Camp.
Few other safaris in Tanzania evoke the romance, mystique, and spiritual delight of the African bush as one in the Nyerere National Park. Embracing 54,000 sq km of southwestern Tanzania, it is one of the largest protected wilderness reserves on the continent, three times larger than the Serengeti and twice the size of Belgium. Named after the legendary 19th-century explorer and hunter Frederick Courtney Selous, the reserve was founded by the German colonial administration in 1905. It was later expanded to include traditional elephant migration routes and accommodate the vast herds of buffalo that roam this remote, untouched corner of Africa. You will be able to spot animals most especially predators such as lions, leopards, and African wild dogs among others. Overnight at Rufiji River Camp or Similar
Day 3: Walking Safari & Game Drives, Nyerere National Park
You will have an early morning walk safari with armed ranger, return for breakfast, and explore the Nyerere National Park (part of Selous) on a second full-day game drive, the perfect opportunity to try to find any wildlife that wasn’t spotted on the previous day! Overnight at Rufiji River Camp or Similar.
Day 4: Nyerere National Park - Mikumi National Park
After breakfast, you will proceed to Mikumi National Park takes 7hrs. You will check in at Vuma Hill Tented Camp. The hotel is set in the hillside of Mikumi National Park, overlooking the Mkata plains and surrounding mountains. Each tent is designed to give you privacy and the comfort you desire with private bathrooms and hot water showers inside each tent along with custom-made furniture.
Lions survey their kingdom and the zebras, wildebeests, impalas, 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 acacia stands that fringe the Mkata River, an inlet of shade favored also by Mikumi's elephants. More than 400 bird species have been recorded, with such colorful common residents as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated longclaw, and bateleur eagle joined by a host of European migrants during the rainy season. Overnight at vuma Hills Tented Camp or Similar
Day 5: Mikumi National Park - Ruaha National Park
After breakfast, you will proceed to Iringa with lunch boxes to Ruaha National Park takes 8 hours. You will check-in at Ruaha River Lodge on full board accommodation.
Overlooking the Great Ruaha River, the lodge offers accommodation in bandas built from local stone and thatch. From the seclusion of your veranda, you can watch wild animals as they descend from the hills. The dining bandas and bars at the Ruaha River Lodge are in elevated positions above the river, combining comfort and coolness with unrivaled panoramic views. Overnight at Ruaha River Lodge or similar
Day 6/7: Game drives, Ruaha National Park
Following an early morning breakfast and with packed lunch you will enjoy the 2 full days of game drive in Ruaha National Park home to giraffes, buffaloes, lions, elephants and to birdlife. Over 570 bird species has been recorded within Ruaha National Park and interestingly Ruaha National Park is a home to over 10% of lions in Africa which gives you greatest to opportunity to spot different lion prides during your stay. Overnight at Ruaha River Lodge or similar
Day 8: Ruaha National Park - Mbeya
Following an early morning breakfast, start the long journey to Mbeya with an a spectacular views of the countryside and arrive at the Utengule Coffee Lodge.
It offers an oasis of calm on the slopes of the mighty Mbeya range in Southern Tanzania, with spectacular views across the East African Rift Valley. In terraced gardens on an estate famous for its gourmet coffee. ‘The Lodge on the Coffee Estate’ has 16 rooms with en-suite facilities, the most luxurious have open glass frontages and large balconies overlooking the pool and the Rift Valley beyond.
You can expect a personal touch with home cooking using locally-grown ingredients and exceptional hospitality offered with a smile. You can swim, play squash or tennis, walk, take a guided trek, tour the coffee farm, read a book, or simply watch the variety of birdlife in the gardens and marvel at the gorgeous sunsets. Overnight at Utengule Coffee Lodge or similar
Day 9-10: Mbeya- Kapili, Lake Tanganyika
Another long day to lake Tanganyika, Kipili takes 8hrs with a picnic lunch. Your dinner and overnight stay will be at Lake Shore Lodge.
Lake Shore Lodge lies on the banks of this beautiful Lake with a 400m private beach looking onto the nearby islands.
Lake Tanganyika is situated in western Tanzania and boasts crystal water, wild otters, and more than 250 species of cichlid fish found nowhere else on our planet. It is also the world's longest Lake, the world's second deep lake, and holds almost 18% of the world's fresh water.
Lake Shore Lodge offers various adventure activities including diving, snorkeling, fishing, kayaking, quad biking, mountain biking, walks to one of the oldest churches in Tanzania, birding along the river, and waterskiing. But this is also the perfect place to just relax in a hammock, watch the local fishermen and the slow changes of the lake, and do absolutely nothing! Overnight at Lake Shore Lodge or Similar
Day 11/12/13 Lake Tanganyika - Katavi National Park
After breakfast, you will proceed to Katavi National Park take 4hrs with lunch boxes and check in at Katavi Wildlife Camp on full board accommodation.
Katavi Wildlife Camp is very exclusive and located in the best game area so that you can watch the daily movements of the game between food and water and witness the dramas unfold before you. The tents, luxurious in size and furnishings, are cunningly set back in amongst the trees that line the floodplain, providing both shade and camouflage in the prime game viewing area of the park, where the wildlife is unaware of your presence. Overnight at Katavi Wildlife Camp or Similar
Day 14: Katavi National Park - Kigoma
Following an early morning breakfast, it’s now time to say farewell to the Katavi National Park and transfer to Kigoma. Overnight at Lake Tanganyika Hotel or Similar
Day 15: Kigoma - Gombe Stream National Park
After an early morning breakfast you will be transferred to Kabirizi port for a dhow boat departing at 0600hrs. Your journey to Gombe Stream National Park. Gombe offers chimpanzee trekking, snorkeling, hiking, swimming, and plenty of leisure activities. Overnight at TANAPA Gombe Rest House (Budget) or similar
Day 16: Gombe Stream National Park - Kigoma
After eating a sunrise breakfast on the beautiful shores of Lake Tanganyika, you will go on a half-day guided chimpanzee expedition in Gombe. Later you’ll eat lunch and spend some leisure time on the beach before taking a dhow boat back to Kigoma city via Kibirizi port. Overnight at Lake Tanganyika Hotel or Similar
Day 17: Kigoma - Dar Es Salaam
A leisurely breakfast and visit Ujiji Town and the Livingstone Memorial for Slaver trade routes and history, late continue with local life experiences. Afterwards transfer to the airport at around 2pm targeting the flight with Tanzania Air at 3:40pm to Dar marking the trip end. At the airport you’ll do the outbound flight or return at your hotel in Dar. End.
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Communication via WhatsApp to make arrangements went very smooth with Aron being quick and clear in his responses.
Aron drove us most of the time, but we also had a ride with driver Barnice. Every time they were in time, most of the times even early to make sure we could leave whenever we wanted. The service was more than just a private taxi service: Aron told us many interesting things about Uganda and let us taste some local food. That really made our trip more colourful and interesting.They know a lot of good places all over the country, like restaurants and accomodation. Although we organized our trip by ourselves, that was still an advantage. Above that, Aron uses his business in Uganda to help other Ugandans as well.
We would definitely recommend to travel with Safari 2 Gorilla Tours.

Jon Peters
USA


In my iniitial email to him I had explained that I'm Kenyan and would be travelling to Rwanda from Nairobi, Kenya. As an east African citizen I thought this information was useful in terms of national park fees and so on; little did I know that it would affect my whole Gorilla trek experience.
I'd settled the balance of my invoice in November 2019 and Aron emailed to confirm full payment. I never heard from Aron again except when I emailed him to find out the arrangements for when I arrived in Rwanda. At the time I didn't think much of it as I'd read so many glowing reviews of Aron and his tour company; his attentive nature, professionalism and general good nature. A fortnight or so before my arrival I'd still not heard from him so I emailed to find out the itinerary for when I arrived in Rwanda - nothing. Just a curt response confirming that he had the number for my hotel and presumably (Aron did not confirm) that he would call me at my hotel to arrange a time to pick me up from my hotel.
I arrived at the hotel, following a 10 hour flight from London on Friday, 24 January to find there was no message was left by Aron advising when I'd be picked up the following day. On Saturday, 25 January at about 9 am the receptionist knocked on my door to inform me that a driver had arrived to pick me up and drive me to Uganda. As I'd not had any advance information of this arrangement I was not ready; i hadn't showered or eaten breakfast. And so we did not set off until gone 10 am. This was the first poor service i'd received.
I'd paid for a 3-day Gorilla trek etc which included on the first day a visit to the Rwanda Genocide memorial. When the driver set off we'd been driving and passed a sign to the memorial site, after almost an hour I asked if we were still going to the memoial site, and only then did the driver inform me that due to the late departure he had decided to postpone the visit to the memorial until the return leg of my three day trip. The second poor service i'd received.
Bwindi national park is in Uganda and so I was driven through Rwanda to Uganda via a land border, an eight hour journey that ordinarily shouldn't have taken that long. The third poor service.
During the drive Aron maintained constant communication with the driver - whose name escapes me - and not once did he ask the driver to pass the phone to me so that he could speak to me. By that I mean even welcoming me, asking me how my trip was, finding out if there was anything I needed, any issues or problems with the trip I'd paid for. The fourth poor service I received
When we arrived at Rushaga camp each visitor at dinner was assigned a table with the name of their guide on it; stupidly I immediately thought Ohhh so Aron had sent a driver to pick me up from Rwanda and that now I was going to meet him! How wrong i was. When i sat down expecting to meet Aron who should turn up? but the driver! Cheekily I asked if he was Aron and offended he curtly replied no!. When i asked what happend to Aron he informed me that Aron had been in constant communication throughout the day! When I asked why Aron hadn't even said hello or welcomed me he just said that Aron was on another tour. At that moment I realised what was happening and why. In Aron's eyes I was a black African tourist that yes, had paid for the same service and support that my white counterparts had received but due to his low perception of me and fellow black Africans I did not warrant the same service, attention, or even respect. I did not speak to the driver again for the rest of the evening. I was surrounded by fellow travellers that were accompanied by guides who made them feel welcome, valued and respected; they sat together sharing stories from their travels whilst I and the driver sat silently. Even as I tried to get the driver to understand how insulted and disrespected I felt he just didn't get it. A part of me feels if i was white he wouldn't have found it so hard understanding how poorly I'd been treated. But as a black African what reason did I have to complain? The fifth poor service I'd received
On the second day i was due to visit Mgahinga national park almost a two hour drive away. As debrief started at 8 am we arranged to leave Rushaga Gorilla camp by 6 am; arranging to meet for breakfast at 05:30 am. 06:00 am the driver was nowhere to be found. Finally at 06:30 he appears in the dinning room feigning an alarm malfunction. I had to demand an apology from him. The sixth poor service i'd received.
We arrived at the national park at 08:25. I was the only black tourist and when I asked the guide to summarise the debrief he audibly commented that as I'd arrived late he'd not be able to repeat it for me. Cynically I felt that If I was white he'd problably have ignored the fact that the driver had got me to the debrief late and still gone through the key points. The seventh poor sevice I'd received.
I could go on and on but I won't. I think you get the gist. I never once spoke to Aron, met him or communicated with him during my time in Rwanda and Uganda. I left Rwanda on Tuesday, 28 January 2020 and have delayed posting this review until now to see whether or not I'd hear from Aron. I haven't and I know I never will.
I would never recommend this company to anyone regardless of who you are. I pity and despise racists and would never support a business that openly discriminates against black Africans.

Would absolutely recommend Safari 2 Gorilla Tours! Thanks Aaron and Martin for an unforgetable trip!

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