Saadani
My Safari
Call a specialist to talk about Saadani now.
Saadani National Park is definitely a wildlife sanctuary with a difference. It is one of the newest National Parks, being established in 2005, although it has been a game reserve since the 1960s. It is the only National Park where you can go on a game drive to see the wildlife in the morning and then spend the afternoon under a palm tree on the beach with the gently lapping Indian Ocean at your feet, watching the Swahili fishermen and the billowing sails of the traditional dhows sailing past. If you're lucky you might even see elephants frolicking in the shallow waters.
Although many tour operators regard this as very much a second class park in terms of game viewing, the latter is actually quite good, and different in kind to that found elsewhere. Both game drives and walks are conducted here in Saadani National Park, to view a vast array of antelope including greater kudu, eland and sable antelope, as well zebra, buffalo, secretary birds, grey parrots, giraffe and wildebeest. There are large herds of elephant and several lion prides as well as leopard, hyena and black backed jackal. At certain times of the year you may also witness the rare Sea Turtle laying its eggs on the beach. [cont.]
Saadani is definitely worth a visit if the possibility of combining game viewing with lazing on the beach appeals to you, and, for example, time restricts your visiting a better known Park as well as hopping over to Zanzibar.
"Nowhere else in the world can you walk on a beach following the footprints of a lion".
Wildlife Highlights:
-
Elephant
-
Leopard
-
Lion
-
Buffalo
-
Giraffe
-
Zebra
-
Hippo
-
The green sea turtle can also be found here - evidenced by the existence of their eggs laid on the beaches.
-
In fact a surprisingly wide range of grazers and browsers is seen on game drives and walks, among them the common waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeest, wildebeest, red duiker, greater kudu, eland, the rare Roosevelt sable antelope, yellow baboon and vervet monkey.
The best game-viewing is in January and February and from June to August
Getting to Saadani:
Saadani is located on the north coast of Tanzania, roughly 100km northwest of Dar es Salaam as the crow flies, and a similar distance southwest of the port of Tanga. It is a not very exciting 4 hour drive from Dar, but can also be reached by means of a one hour flight from there.
Saadani is generally accessible all-year round, but the access roads are sometimes impassable during April and May.
Boat trips on the mangrove-lined Wami River come with a high chance of sighting hippos, crocodiles and a selection of marine and riverine birds, including the mangrove kingfisher and lesser flamingo.
Game drives and walking safaris complete the picture of activities that are available, but the true appeal of Saadani is of course that its access to a beautiful stretch of beach coast line means that 'masterly inactivity' is an equally appealing option.
If you get really bored, then you can also visit Saadani fishing village, which lies within the reserve, where a collection of ruins pays testament to its 19th century heyday as a major trading port.
