Mikumi National Park
It is the 4th largest park in Tanzania and part of a much larger ecosystem centered on the uniquely vast Selous Game Reserve. It covers a total area of 3,230 sq km and lies 300km west of Dar es Salaam. Swirls of opaque mist hide the advancing dawn. The first shafts of sun color the fluffy grass heads rippling across the plain in a russet halo.
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 75,000sq km tract of wilderness that stretches east almost as far as the Indian Ocean.
Mikumi national park’s varied topography teems with wildlife and over 400 species of bird life including lilac-breasted roller, bateleur eagle and yellow throated long claw among others.
Animals present in this park include lions, leopards, elephants, elands, buffaloes, giraffes, zebra, sable antelopes, greater kudu, wildebeest, wild hunting dogs, black-backed jackal, hippos and crocodiles.
The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain, the popular centerpiece 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 favored 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 colorful common residents as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated long claw and bateleur eagle joined by a host 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 water birds.
How to Reach the Park
It is important to note that Mikumi is only 4 hours drive from Dar es Salaam using the tarmac highway to Iringa town and southern Tanzania. This makes it is accessible throughout the year and a safari here can easily be combined with that to the neighboring Ruaha and Udzungwa national parks as well as the Selous game reserve.
Accommodation in Mikumi National Park
1. Mikumi Wildlife Camp is located at Kikoboga
2. Foxes Tented Camp
3. Vuma Hills Tented Camp is situated at Vuma Hills
4. Rest house is located at Kikoboga