TANZANIA'S REMOTE SOUTH

Nyerere National Park, which includes the former northern sector of the Selous Game Reserve, is absolutely vast — about the size of Belgium — and dedicated to Africa’s magnificent wildlife. Everything about Nyerere is on a grand scale, from the 7,500 lion to the epic scenery. Lakes, rivers, swamps, plains, mountains and ravines provide breathtaking backdrops to your safaris and compared to the better known northern reserves like Serengeti the visitor numbers are tiny. This is also a place for adventure. We can take you on a walking safari alongside rivers and up into the hills before your support team sets up a cosy fly camp in some wild and beautiful setting.

A short flight takes you to Ruaha; a biodiversity hotspot. This magnificent national park sits astride a convergence of East and South African climates and habitats so it is home to an astonishing variety of animals and birds. There are over 500 species of birds and more than 80 types of mammal. If cats are your passion, come to Ruaha where cheetah, leopard and lion thrive. A beautiful area of plains called the 'Little Serengeti' sees its own dry season migration of antelope and zebra.

Elsewhere, majestic mountains, forests and rivers provide beautiful settings for open vehicle safaris. Like Nyerere, this is a place for adventure. One of our favourites is Kichaka a semi-mobile camp owned by Moli and Noelle who fell in love with remote Ruaha nine years ago. They conduct amazing walking safaris and fly camps among the ancient hills and rivers of the wild north.

From here, head to the spectacular Katavi. From June to the end of October it is one of the most exciting places to be in Africa. Seasonal river systems dwindle forcing great jostling herds of buffalo, antelope and elephant to gather on the floodplains. Bad tempered fights break out among the enormous pods of hippopotamus occupying stranded lagoons.

The focus here is on the game viewing, getting you out at dawn on foot or by open vehicle to witness the start of another eventful day. After a feast of safaris here we’ll take you on a hop and a boat ride to the forest clad hills of Mahale for a unique opportunity to track chimpanzees in the far west of Tanzania.

On a beach beside Lake Tanganyika sits Greystoke Mahale. Utterly remote, spellbindingly beautiful. Some of our clients treat this as a beach hideaway, swimming, snorkelling and canoeing on the lake, gazing up at the surrounding mountains. But the main attraction here is the chimpanzees. You can benefit from years of painstaking work by researchers inspired by Jane Goodall and come close to families of chimpanzees, watching them move through forests, feeding and looking after their young.

Like gorilla tracking, it can involve a long trek through rainforest, but the reward is entrancing. For its sense of remoteness, setting, star-filled skies and sublime beauty Mahale will be one of those places that stay bright among your treasured memories.