Mikumi National Park - Tanzania's hidden
gem
Swirls of opaque mist hide the advancing dawn.
The first shafts of sun colour the fluffy grass heads
rippling across the plain in a russet halo. A herd
of zebras, confident in their camouflage at this predatory
hour, pose like ballerinas, heads aligned and stripes
merging in flowing motion. This is Mikumi the perfect
weekend getaway safari.
Mikumi National Park abuts the northern border
of Africa's biggest game reserve - the Selous -
and is transected by the surfaced road between Dar
es Salaam and Iringa. It is thus the most accessible
part of a 75,000 square kilometre (47,000 square
mile) tract of wilderness that stretches east almost
as far as the Indian Ocean.
The
open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata
Floodplain, the popular centrepiece of Mikumi, draw
frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti
Plains. Lions survey their grassy kingdom - and
the zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo herds
that migrate across it - from the flattened tops
of termite mounds, or sometimes, during the rains,
from perches high in the trees. Giraffes forage
in the isolated acacia stands that fringe the Mkata
River, islets of shade favoured also by Mikumi's
elephants.
Criss-crossed by a good circuit of game-viewing
roads, the Mkata Floodplain is perhaps the most
reliable place in Tanzania for sightings of the
powerful eland, the world's largest antelope. The
equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope
haunt the miombo-covered foothills of the mountains
that rise from the park's borders.
More than 400 bird species have been recorded,
with such colourful common residents as the lilac-breasted
roller, yellow-throated longclaw and bateleur eagle
joined by ahost of European migrants during the
rainy season. Hippos are the star attraction of
the pair of pools situated 5km north of the main
entrance gate, supported by an ever-changing cast
of waterbirds.
Itineraries in Mikumi