13-Day Southern Circuit: Selous, Mikumi, Udzungwa & Ruaha

A member of the Gip-Adventure Tours & Safaris team meets you at 07:00 at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, or at your hotel in the city, for the road transfer of around six hours to Nyerere National Park. A packed lunch travels with you, and you enjoy game viewing en route to your camp.

Your camp overlooks the Rufiji River and offers exciting excursions on the river and in the park. After the long drive, cool off in the swimming pool and settle into the rhythm of the wild.

Dinner and overnight at your camp on a full-board basis.

After a hearty breakfast at around 08:00, set out on the first of three full days in this magnificent park, with lunch at a picnic site. Nyerere holds a large and diverse concentration of wildlife, and its terrain – woodland, lakes and the braided channels of the Rufiji – makes every drive different.

After lunch, enjoy a short afternoon game drive before returning to camp for dinner and the night.

Following breakfast at around 08:00, spend another full day in the park. Today is ideal for the included boating safari on the Rufiji River, where crocodiles bask and pods of hippos crowd the sandbanks, and for a walking safari, discovering the smaller details of the bush.

Lunch is at a picnic site, with a short game drive in the afternoon. Back at camp, the included bonfire and bush dinner make for a memorable evening.

Your third full day in Nyerere starts after breakfast at around 08:00. The included hot-air balloon safari can be arranged during your stay, and the rest of the day is given to game viewing in search of lion, leopard, wild dog, elephant and the many birds of the lakes and river.

A picnic lunch and short afternoon drive bring you back to camp for dinner and a final night in Nyerere.

After breakfast at around 08:00, leave Nyerere and drive to Mikumi National Park, with lunch along the way. After lunch, enjoy a short game drive as you head to your camp, which is known for its excellent game viewing.

Mikumi's landscapes range from forested hills to open floodplain, riverine thicket and savanna. Dinner and overnight at your camp in Mikumi.

After breakfast, spend a full day exploring Mikumi, getting up close to its wildlife and its beautiful scenery. The Mkata River floodplain draws elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest, with lion often close by.

All meals are included on a full-board basis, with lunch in the bush and dinner back at camp.

Another full day in the park lets you explore further afield – the Hill Drive, the Chamgore area and the miombo woodland on the slopes of the Uluguru Mountains, as well as the open grassland dotted with Borassus palms.

Enjoy a picnic lunch, an afternoon of game viewing and a relaxed evening at your camp, with dinner and overnight in Mikumi.

After a hearty breakfast at around 08:00, drive to Udzungwa Mountains National Park with a packed lunch. A magnet for hikers, the park has an excellent network of forest trails, including the popular half-day ramble to Sanje Waterfalls, which plunge 170 m through a misty spray into the forested valley below.

More than 400 bird species have been recorded here, and the forest is rich in mammals and plants, including primates such as the Udzungwa red colobus and Sanje crested mangabey. Lunch is taken at a picnic site, followed by a short walk before you drive back to your camp in Mikumi for dinner and the night.

After breakfast at around 08:00, drive to Ruaha National Park with a packed lunch. After lunch, enjoy a short game drive on the way to your camp, which has a friendly, peaceful atmosphere and a thoughtfully designed, individual character.

Dinner and overnight at your camp in Ruaha National Park.

Spend the whole day exploring Ruaha, Tanzania's second-largest park, dotted with great concentrations of large herbivores and predators. The Great Ruaha River draws elephant, giraffe, buffalo, hippo and crocodile, while lion hunt across the plains.

All meals and accommodation are on a full-board basis, with lunch in the bush and dinner at camp.

Another full day of game drives brings fresh chances to find Ruaha's special wildlife – greater kudu, the park's emblem, and the endangered African wild dog – amid baobabs and rugged hills. The southern parks offer thrilling experiences found nowhere else.

Return to camp in the late afternoon for dinner and your last night in Ruaha.

After a hearty breakfast at around 08:00, enjoy a final half-day game drive in Ruaha, with lunch at a picnic site.

After lunch, drive back to Mikumi National Park for dinner and overnight at your camp.

After a warm breakfast at your camp at around 08:00, take a last look across the Mikumi plains before setting off on the drive east to Dar es Salaam, passing through Morogoro with the Uluguru Mountains rising beside the road.

On arrival you are dropped off at your hotel or transferred to the airport for your departure flight.