Saadani National Park ..........................................................................................
Saadani National Park is the perfect union of beach and bush. Located just 70 km north of Bagamoyo and immediately accessible by paved road from Dar es Salaam, Saadani has recently become a fully protected national park and is a popular day-trip from beach resorts scattered along Tanzania's northern coast. The Wami River, which passes through Saadani National Park and empties into the Indian Ocean, hosts a large population of hippos, crocodiles, flamingos, and many large bird species. Elephants are often viewed bathing and playing on Saadani's beach, especially in the early hours of the morning.
A good choice for visitors based in Dar es Salaam who don't have time for longer safaris to visit more remote parks around the country, Saadani is easily visited on a day trip or short weekend safari. It's elephant population frolics in the sands and sometimes ventures into the crashing surf, which alone makes Saadani one of the more special and unique parks to visit in Tanzania.
Saadani Game Reserve
Soon to become a National Park, this recently enlarged 1,000 sq km reserve is situated north of Bagamoyo directly west of Zanzibar. Tanzania's only coastal reserve, it is an area of savannah, grassland and unspoilt beaches. It is the most southerly home of Coke's hartebeest. Elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, colobus monkey and, if visitors are fortunate, the rare Roosevelt sable can also be seen, as well as hippo and crocodile and an excellent bird population.
The park contains many indigenous species including Liechtensteins hartebeest and the rare Roosevelt sable. A good population of elephant live in Saadani as do several herds of buffalo and numerous large groups of hippo. Lion, leopard, hyena, giraffe, warthog, wildebeest, yellow baboon, black and white colobus and vervet monkey, crocodile and monitor lizards can also been seen as can bushbuck, eland, reedbuck and waterbuck.
The bird life in Saadani is extensive and, in addition to fish eagle and flamingo, features lilac-breasted roller, fork-tailed drongo, grey hornbill, ring-necked dove, greyheaded sparrow and weaver birds. Waders include yellow-billed stork, grey heron, little egret, sandpiper and various species of kingfisher. Bottle nose dolphins are common off the southern coast of the park; whales pass through the Zanzibar channel in October and November; and green turtle breed at Madete Beach.
Saadani village, one of the oldest communities on the East African coast and an enclave to the park, allows tourists the opportunity to meet the local people, and watch the prawn fishermen at work, while Bagamoyo and the nearby Kaole ruins provide proof of an even earlier culture Access to Saadani is by a good tarmac road from Dar es Salaam to Bagamoyo, or Chalinze, and then by gravel road, or by boat, to Saadani. The journey time is around 4 hours. Alternatively, charter flights are available from Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Arusha.
Kitulo will be the first park in tropical Africa to be gazetted 'primarily' for its floristic significance. Known locally as God's Garden or the Serengeti of Flowers, Kitulo plateau has had over 350 species of plants documented to date. These include 45 species of orchids many found nowhere else in the world. Some 31 species are Tanzania endemics; 26 are endemic to the Kitulo region; at least three species are endemic to the plateau itself; and two more are found only on the plateau and in the adjoining forests.
The plateau is home to some important bird species, again many endemic to Tanzania, including blue swallow, Denham's bustard, lesser kestrel, Pallid harrier, njombe cisticola and Kipengere seedeater while some of the world's rarest butterflies also inhabit the area.
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