Saadani National Park
Description: One of Tanzania’s newest national parks, Saadani bills itself as one of the few spots in the country where you can enjoy the beach and watch wildlife at the same time. It’s easily accessible from Dar es Salaam as an overnight excursion and is a good choice if you don’t have time to explore further afield. To the south of the reserve is the Wami River, where you’ll probably see hippos, crocodiles and many birds, including lesser flamingos, fish eagles, hamerkops, kingfishers and bee-eaters. Wildlife-watching can’t be compared with that in the better-known national parks, animal numbers are slowly increasing now that poaching is being brought under control. You’ll also likely see giraffes, and elephant spottings are increasingly common. With more effort, you may see hartebeests and even lions, although these are more difficult to spot. The birding is also wonderful.
Things 2 Do: Game drives, Boat trips, Bush walks, Village tours
Accommodations
“Overall, we had a very good impression of A2T as a company. A2T had been undoubtedly very customer-oriented, which was evident from the very beginning of the tour, that is, booking. The extra mile A2T spent on calls to understand our requirements and then come up with the final itinerary was ver assuring. Later we almost had to backtrack from the trip due to Ebola concerns, and the extra time allowed for us to make the final decision was very helpful.
Later on during the trip, we had a special situation which required overnight usage of electricity. Our guide, Mussa, and Stella from the Arusha office really reached out to resolve that issue by sending a charger from Arusha to Karatu. The solution was impressive (also unexpected), and it became just another good example of A2T’s emphasis on customer services.
Our guide, Mussa, was great. We all liked him very much. I will talk more about him later (assuming there is another column to discuss).”