Ruaha Self Drive Safari

by Neil and Leslé Guthrie
(Barberton, South Africa)

We were sitting outside our banda one afternoon when an elephant came around the corner – he was after the pods on the tree where we were sitting. He flapped his ears and shouted at us, needless to say we scattered into our bandas!! He then proceeded to move our chairs out of the way before picking the pods which were very high.

Accommodation

We stayed at the Ruaha River Bandas situated in the park. They belong to the parks board.

Very basic, eight sided metal rondavels with thatched roof. There are communal ablution blocks. Not fenced.

It's self catering and everything was spotlessly clean.

Wildlife

We saw leopards, lions, elephants, buffalo, lots of birds, all the antelope, zebras, wildebeest, jackals etc.

The park is very isolated and there are very few other cars.

It's beautiful, lots of baobab trees.

One of the highlights was that elephant visiting us in camp.

At night there were lions roaring in the camp - lovely.

Typical Day

Early game drives – we spent a lot of time near the river – rested midday and went out again for afternoon drives. Usual stuff!

The isolation was wonderful – no other cars around.

Other Activities

Spent time on Zanzibar – lovely and also went to Kipepeo beach at the south of Dar es Salaam – very unspoilt lovely beaches.

Tips and Advice

The access road to the park is really bad and the nearest fuel is at Iringa – a good two hour drive from the park.

There are no fridges in the park.

Neil and Leslé's Safari Details: Safari company used: Self-guided Parks visited: Ruaha National Park in Tanzania Date of safari: 14-18 May

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