DAR ES SALAAM/ UDZUNGWA MOUNTAINS/ KILOMBERO VALLEY/ UDZUNGWA MOUNTAINS/ MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK/ MAFIA ISLAND
Day 1
The day of departure is always a good one. Travel to the airport and board your flight to Tanzania. Anticipate the adventure that lies ahead.
INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAVEL
Day 2
Land in Dar es Salaam, the bustling commercial capital of Tanzania. Met by your driver, you will be driven through the chaos of the city to the calm of the Mediterraneo Hotel on Kawe Beach. A former planter’s homestead, this beachside hotel is the perfect place to begin your Tanzanian journey.
MEDITERRANEO HOTEL – BREAKFAST & OVERNIGHT STAY
Day 3
After an early breakfast, you will be met by your driver guide and driven in your private 4×4 vehicle out of the city, west, across the floodplains towards the Eastern Arc Mountains. You are following in the footsteps of Livingstone and Stanley, the great 19th century explorers, but you will make far better time than they did. Passing the Uluguru Mountains on your left, you will pass through Mikumi National Park. Look carefully for your first elephant. By early afternoon, you will arrive at the village of Mang’ula, where you will stay at the Udzungwa Forest Campsite, also know as Hondo Hondo, after the local name for the hornbills that swoop from the canopy which clads the slopes of the mountains. Depending on your arrival time, enjoy a village tour and a beer in the local bar. In the evening, the local troupe of drummers and dancers will perform for you, fire-lit.
HONDO HONDO CAMPSITE – FULLY CATERED
Day 4
Your journey continues, after breakfast you will return to your vehicle and continue south west towards the Kilombero River, the lifeblood of this part of Tanzania. You will take lunch at a very special river side ‘café’, sampling the local fish and plantain. After crossing the river on the local ferry, you will continue along the valley to the village of Itete where you will stay at the village Catholic Mission.
ITETE CATHOLIC MISSION – FULLY CATERED
Day 5
Itete is a large village made up of a population of farmers and pastoralists, it is also where the African Space Trust is supporting the construction of a much needed medical centre. In the village you are welcome to walk around and to visit the local schools. A short drive away is located the farming settlement of Luvili, where you are also welcome to visit the local farmers to experience the challenges of subsistence farming in Tanzania.
ITETE CATHOLIC MISSION – FULLY CATERED
Day 6
Today (time of year dependent) you will head down into the flood plain to visit the Wa Sukuma pastoralists. These cattle herders have moved into the valley over the past twenty years in response to the lack of land in their traditional homeland on the shores of Lake Mwanza. Their lives are very different, but their welcome is just as warm as that of the farmers in Itete. Return to the Mission for a final meal and, knowing the village, a meet and greet with all the local celebreties!
ITETE CATHOLIC MISSION – FULLY CATERED
Day 7
After an early breakfast, you will leave the village and return to Mang’ula via Ifakara. In the town visit the Ifakara Womens’ Weavers Institute, a collective of orphans and widows, which produce some of the highest standard of weaving in Tanzania. This is a good opportunity to buy a souvenir or two. Once back up at Hondo Hondo, look up at the mountain above you, your tomorrow lies there.
HONDO HONDO CAMPSITE – FULLY CATERED
Day 8
Today you will climb to the top of Sanje Falls in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park and camp in the forest over night. The 160 metre waterfall is one of Tanzania’s most spectacular view points and the walk through the forest is an introduction to another, bewitching, world. The forest holds great importance for the local Wapogoro people who have used its plants and solitude for medicinal and spiritual purposes for hundreds of years. The climb is hot, but at the top lie refreshing plunge pools just waiting to be enjoyed. Take your cossie.
SANJE FALLS – FULLY CATERED – SANJE CLIMB
Day 9
Woken softly before dawn, steaming coffee in hand, you will be led to the break of the waterfall in time for sunrise. As the sun rises to reveal first the mountains on the horizon and then the valley below, it is hard to imagine a sight more beautiful.
After breakfast you will descend through the forest fro the 80km transfer to Mikumi National Park and two nights camping in the savannah. Leaving your cook to establish camp you will embark on a late afternoon game drive. As the shadows lengthen watch for lion readying themselves for the night’s hunt. In the evening, share stories by the fire and camp under the stars.
MIKUMI NP CAMP SITE – FULLY CATERED – 1 GAME DRIVE
Day 10
Up early for a morning game drive; this is the best time to capture the wildlife at its most active. Mikumi has large populations of elephant, buffalo and antelope, so get that species list ready. There is also an extensive bird population from the largest eagle to the smallest wax bill, so don’t just look at the ground.
The wildlife of Africa has had such an impact on the culture of its people, it is essential that any trip includes experience of both and Mikumi is a wonderful park in which to encounter the beauty of the savannah.
MIKUMI NP CAMP SITE – FULLY CATERED – 2 GAME DRIVES
Day 11
After a final early morning gamedrive and breakfast, you will transfer to the airstrip and fly back east, over the coastal trip, to the beautiful island of Mafia, exotic Zanzibar’s less well known neighbour. As the plane descends watch the turquoise waters below for the dark silhouette of the whale shark. Landing in Kilondoni, the island’s main town, you will be met by your driver and driven on sand roads across the island to Shamba Kilole, your home on Mafia.
SHAMBA KILOLE – FULL BOARD
DAY 12
Shamba Kilole was built by the local population of Utende and such is their affection for the place that many of the original team work there still. Located on a low cliff top to make the most of the cooling breeze from the Utende channel, it is the perfect place to explore Mafia, an island that played an important role in the long history of the coastal Swahili people, the slave trade and even World War I. Visit the ruins of Chole Mjini; strolla round the local villages or take a sail in a traditional mashua. But be careful, island life quickly enters your soul and before long it will be difficult to leave.
SHAMBA KILOLE – FULL BOARD
Day 13
All good things must come to an end. Today you will return to the airport for your flight to Dar es Salaam and your homeward bound international flight.
Day 14
Land in the UK with dusty bags and happy memories of the people of Tanzania. Asante Sana na karibuni sana. Thank you and welcome back soon.
