RUAHA NATIONAL PARK:
Ruaha Park is a vast, still comparatively
unexplored game and bird sanctuary covering 12,950 sq.km, only a little
smaller than the world famous Serengeti National Park, its size and location
away from the main safari circuits have meant that Ruaha has not gained
the notoriety of its more celebrated peers, but amongst the repeat visitors
to Tanzania, Ruaha enjoys a reputation as the best kept secret in East
Africa. The Ruaha National Park lies between two rivers, the Njombe and
Ruaha. The latter flows for 160 km along the entire eastern border, snaking
through rugged gorges and rocky broken country onto lush plains, where
it flanked by palm thickets and tall Acacia woodland.
SOUTH WEST TANZANIA:
JONGOMERO CAMP: RUAHA NATIONAL
PARK.
For anyone seeking a true African
wilderness experience, a visit to Ruaha National Park is essential. Although
the second largest in Tanzania, the reserve is perhaps the least well-known
and yet to connoisseurs it is without doubt one of the most spectacular
in Africa. Covering a conservation area of 10,300 square kilometers in
the south-west of the country, Ruaha sprawls within and along the Great
Rift Valley, covering a unique transition zone where the Eastern and Southern
species of both fauna and flora meet against a dramatic topographical
backdrop.
Amidst this magnificent setting
is Jongomero Camp, a luxury safari camp in Africa set under shady acacia
trees on the banks of the Jongomero Sand River in the remote south-western
sector of Ruaha. Being the only Camp situated in this area of the Park
ensures unmatched privacy. Accommodation at Jongomero comprises eight
large and well-appointed tented suites, under enormous thatched roofs
that also encompass a spacious private veranda. The dining and living
areas are both original and very comfortable offering a great vantage
to take in the sights and sounds of the African bush that surrounds the
Camp, as does the natural rock pool for those hot days.
MWAGUSI CAMP: RUAHA NATIONAL
PARK.
Nestled into a bank of the Mwagusi
Sand River, this small exclusive tented camp overlooks a watering hole
in the riverbed. The sight of over 2,000 buffalo flooding the riverbed
below the tents and dining banda is not uncommon. The writer John Hemmingway
once wrote that the camp is designed as a "boy's fantasy of independence"
along the lines of a traditional old-style African safari experience.
The 10 tents are designed within thatched bandas each with high-density
mattresses, dressing table, wardrobe, luggage racks and safari chairs
all built in the traditional style of the camp. Solar powered lights as
well as a number of traditional hurricane lamps provide lighting. At the
front of each banda is a large covered veranda with a table and armchairs
made from local materials. Each banda has a 'en suite' bathroom with flush
loo and hot shower. The best of game viewing can be experienced from the
seclusion of your veranda. There will be plenty of opportunity for game
drives and walks throughout the area, in our specially adapted open sided
4WD vehicles, each with comfortable seats and high shade awning to enable
one to stand and still be in the shade whilst game viewing. Each vehicle
is equipped with reference books and bean bags for photography, med kits
and all the necessities for a day in the bush. They also carry radios
for communication with the camp.
Walking safaris, accompanied by
an experienced guide, or viewing by vehicle without the disturbance of
lots of other vehicles is one of the main attractions of Mwagusi's safari
adventure.
