11-Day Wilds of Western Tanzania

Located in the heart of the city, the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club is everything from a multi-faceted sports facility to a tranquil and scenic view above the hustle and bustle of the city. Enjoy activities at the exclusive club that include Tennis, Football, Squash and Cricket. Not to mention the outstretched fairways that make up a gorgeous 18-hole golf course. The remarkable experience is available for our guests to have access at a special rate.

Know and understand the history and culture of Tanzania at The National Museum. Here you will see artifacts depicting Tanzanian traditions that date back to the slave trade era and into the post-colonial period. View fossils from Olduvai Gorge in the Northern circuit that include the first of the hominid remains, called Zinjanthropus, also referred to as “Zinj” or ‘nutcracker man’. In addition, the museum regularly hosts exhibitions for guests to enjoy during their stay.

Experience the beautiful Village Museum, which exhibits Tanzania’s rich cultural heritage through authentically constructed dwellings. The museum exemplifies the definition of traditional life across Tanzania, with a display of 18 furnished houses from varied ethnic groups and regions of Tanzania. Visitors can view beautifully constructed small plots of crops, plants and trees. In addition to the displays, the museum offers traditional tribal dance performances most afternoons.

A short distance from the village museum, the Mwenge Handcraft Centre is arguably the best place for souvenirs and handcrafts from all over Tanzania, The Congo, Malawi and West Africa. Also known as the Woodcarvers Market, the shops line within packed stalls, offering a variety of goods. The prices are negotiable and concession must be reached by smart bargaining. The famous Makonde carvers can be seen at work, pecking with their sharp chisels on the rare black ebony wood

Guided game drives are offered twice a day from Jabali Ridge. Our six-seater game-viewing vehicles are open-sided with a canvas roof; canvas sides can be rolled down in case of rain (rain ponchos are provided). All vehicles have power points where you can recharge your device, and are fitted with fridges to keep your drinks deliciously frosty. A private game-viewing vehicle can be booked by prior arrangement. In the morning, maximise your game-viewing time by taking a delicious breakfast picnic with you to enjoy under the shade of a baobab tree. In the evening, sip a cold gin & tonic in the heart of the bush as the sun sinks below the horizon.

A walking safari is one the most intimate ways to experience the bush and can be enjoyed from Jabali Ridge in the company of an experienced armed guide and local tracker. Eye-to-eye with the wildlife, your senses are heightened and the sights, sounds, and smells of the bush come alive.

When the sun descends, the elusive night animals come out to play. Explore the secrets of these shy creatures on a night game drive from Jabali Ridge.

Calling all passionate photographers! Join us for a photographic safari experience in our specialised photography vehicles. The vehicles have drop-down sides for photographers to capture low, eye-level photographs. Beanbags, foam camera rests, power points, fridges and 360º swivel seats promise to make your wildlife photography experience a dream! (at an additional cost).

Two daily game drives (morning and late afternoon) or a full day game drive on a shared basis.

If you would like to book a private vehicle for your group, this is possible at an additional $400 per vehicle per day.

Night game drives are a fantastic way to see the nocturnal wildlife. Book this optional activity for $80 per person

Nomad share the mountains and the lake with so many animals, but it's the chimps that inspire; it's hard not to compare their daily lives, their movements, feeding, squabbling, foraging and grooming, with our own. Time spent with them is time away from everything else that is ordinary. The Greystoke guides have watched, over the years, as families have grown, alpha males have come and gone, bonds and friendships have been created and then broken, and then created again. They are not so different from us.

After tracking them, for an hour or two, maybe more, only aware of the sounds they are making ahead of you, you find them; suddenly they are everywhere. You sit quietly on the forest floor and take a deep breath, this is what it's all about. For the next hour it's as if you scarcely breathe, so wrapped up are you in watching them go about their daily life. You become aware of the subtleties of different relationships, through gesture, sound and expression. One dictating the pace, another courting favour, yet another perhaps plotting a coup. There is humour too as the young chimps fall about the floor and play remarkably human games.

It's all acted out on this natural chimpanzee stage, and witnessing it is a true privilege.

Hike the forest paths looking for birds and butterflies, as well as the other shy mammals who quietly live there. Swim in ice-cold pools up in the mountain waterfalls, take a kayak out for a dawn paddle towards the middle of the lake; drink your morning coffee there and enjoy the sunrise coming up over the mountains.

Go for sundowners on the old wooden dhow, lazily following the shoreline and stopping to fish along the way, or just relax on the warm sands of the beach with a drink in hand.