Central Serengeti and the Seronera Valley is where the long grass and the short grass plains meet. From here, visitors can head out in different directions to cover much of the park for some fantastic sight seeing. Optionally, they may focus on sight seeing along the streams that come together at the center of the park at Seronera. Tall yellow-barked acacia line the water-courses as do thickets of palms and thorny scrub. Suasage trees and Tortillis acacia are favorite hideouts for Leopard, while hippo lounge away the days in the river's pools.
To the South, the classic openness of the Serengeti take on their true meaning - oceans of grass in the wet season near Seronera, giving way to the short stubble to the South, favored by Wildebeest at calving time. The plains are dotted here and there with rocky outcrops know as Kopjes, perfect lookout points for Lion, Cheetah and Leopard. Thousands of gazelle are everywhere the eye can see. To the West, Serengeti stretches into the Western Corridor following the Grumeti River, while to the South, lie endless plains. To the North, scrubby bush dominates the landscape.
Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in East Africa, covering an area of about 20,200 square kilometres in what's called "the southern circuit”. It's in the middle of Tanzania and part of an extensive ecosystem which includes the Rungwa Game Reserve, Usangu Game Reserve and other protected areas.
The great Ruaha River runs through the park, flowing along its south-eastern margin; it's here where the game viewing is at its best with the river being the main source of water at certain times of the year. The landscape is vast and wild with hills dotted with baobabs, rocky escarpments and open savannah; it also has less camps and lodges than most other parks, despite its size.
Ruaha is famous for its large population of elephant, with about 10,000 roaming in the park, and this is believed to be the highest concentration of elephant in East Africa . You can also see both the Greater and Lesser Kudu here, Sable and Roan antelope, as well as other plains game like giraffe, zebras and eland. Other animals in the park include lion, leopard, cheetah, bat-eared foxes and jackals and you might see the endangered wild dog. Crocodiles inhabit the Ruaha and Mzombe rivers, as well as a number of other reptiles.
It is a paradise for birders, with more than 571 species, some of them known to be migrants from within as well as outside of Africa. Migrating species from Europe, Asia, the Australian rim and Madagascar have been recorded in the park.
Formerly the northern part of Selous Game Reserve, Nyerere National Park is Tanzania's largest National Park. Stretching over an impressive 30,893 square kilometres, the park is home to some of the world’s largest concentrations of wildlife, and the incredible diversity and sheer volume of animals draw visitors from around the globe. Travellers can look forward to spotting a wide collection of common and rare species including the famous Big Five, some rare species of antelopes like Roan Antelope, and large concentrations of elephant and hippos. Don’t miss the opportunity to take a boating safari on the exquisite Rufiji River, spot the endangered African wild dog, and enjoy a guided walking safari with a highly knowledgeable guide.
