MIKUMI NATIONAL
PARK:
Forming the northern borders of Africa's
biggest game reserve - the vast Selous - Mikumi is one of the most popular
of Tanzania's national parks, the most accessible part of a 75,000 square
kilometer (47,000 square mile) - wilderness that stretches almost to the
shores of the Indian Ocean. The main feature of the park is the Mikumi flood
plain, along with the mountain ranges that border the park on two sides.
Open grasslands dominate the flood plain, eventually merging with the miombo
woodland covering the lower hills.
The woodland is the favorite haunt
of the lion, sometimes perching high in the trees to keep their feet dry
from the sticky black mud of the wet season. Observation towers above the
tree line allow panoramic views of the plain lay out below, home to formidable
herds of buffalo. Mikumi's elephants are more compact than those in the
rest of the country, but still a formidable sight when viewed close up.
The rains swell the park's population of birds to more than 300 species
as European migrants seek refuge in Mikumi, joining resident stars like
the lilac-breasted roller. KATAVI NATIONAL PARK: Katavi National Park in
western Tanzania is remote and wild, a destination for the true safari aficionado.
The name of the park immortalizes a legendary hunter, Katabi, whose spirit
is believed to possess a tamarind tree ringed with offerings from locals
begging his blessings.
Despite being Tanzania's third-largest
park, Katavi sees relatively few visitors, meaning that those guests who
arrive here can look forward to having this huge untouched wilderness to
them. The park's main features are the watery grass plains to the north,
the palm-fringed Lake Chada in the southeast, and the Katuma River. Katavi
boasts Tanzania's greatest populations of both crocodile and hippopotamus.
Lion and leopard find prey among the huge populations of herbivores at Katavi
- impala, eland, topi, zebra and herds of up to 1,600 buffalo wander the
short grass plains. The rare, honey-coloured puku antelope is one of the
park's richest wildlife viewing rewards. A kaleidoscope of birds flit across
the riverbanks swamps and palm groves while flotillas of pelican cruise
the lakes and elephant graze waist-deep in the marshlands. Katavi is best
visited in the dry season between May and October, December and February.
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