Ben72

Hello,

I'm visiting Tanzania over the summer. Although I also plan to visit the bigger northern circuit parks for game drives, I'm keen to get some bush walking in too. I won't be able to head down to Selous or Ruaha unfortunately, so I'd be very grateful for any views on what Arusha and Saadani National Parks are like for bush walks. As far as I'm aware so far, there's a good chance of seeing quite a lot of game in either park, particularly Arusha, but little in the way of predators. That would be ok though - I don't expect bush walks in either park to be as good as Selous or Ruaha. I would hope, however, to have decent sightings of some big mammals, particularly elephants.

Any views gratefully received!

Thanks,
Ben Shepherd

ShayTay

I haven't been to Saadani, but have been to Arusha NP several times. I think it's a great park and have walked there every time I've gone. You can go walking to a waterfall with a ranger. I've seen buffalo, lots of giraffe, zebras, etc. on my walks. Also in the park, you have a good chance of seeing black and white colobus monkeys. The only eles I saw were far off in the distance: it's rare to see them there. If you're going to Tarangire and staying in a camp that's outside the park, you might have a chance to walk there. There are lots of eles around Tarangire and you might see them on a walk.

Ben72

Many thanks for the very prompt reply! Arusha NP sounds great, eles or no eles. I'll certainly look into the Tarangire option.

Cheers
Ben

rsnyder

Ben, if Arusha NP is first on your itinerary it is a nice appetizer for the "main course" to come. The "little Serengeti" area offers good sighting of cape buffalo, zebra, giraffe, warthog, etc. Been there on a couple of occassions and saw elephants only once and that was a very quick glimplse thru dense vegetation. We heard them crashing thru the forest but once they got near the road and perhaps winded us, they took off. On the walk we took with armed guard and our guide we saw a small group of cape buffalo, several giraffe, warthog and various birds. Hiked to a nearby waterfall and back. Was okay. Even though a very small park by Tanzania standards we were surprised at how few vehicles we saw. One time was in Nov and the other in May. Best place to see the b/w colobus monkeys and both times we had them in trees right over us. Looking down into the crater was interesting and with good binocs one can pick out various wildlife.

ShayTay

If you've got a clear day, you've got good views of both Mt. Kili and Mt. Meru. Arusha NP is an underappreciated park, in my opinion.

Nikao

I think you can also do a walk on the Ngorogoro crater rim of you are staying there as well...

ccipups

Ben,
We were in TZ in early August 2012. Other than Arusha, I don't think that there are walking tours in any of the national parks. However, I think that some of the private games reserves abutting the parks do offer walking tours.
I second the recommendation for Tarangire NP if you're going in the summer. There's always some water in the Tarangire River and we saw LOTS of eles. Several times, we had to stop on the road to let them pass in front of us.
BTW, we used Good Earth Tours and were quite happy with them. I too, was concerned about wiring money, but if you use a reputable company you should have nothing to worry about.
Have fun!

ccipups

Good grief! Make that "We were in TZ in early August 2008"

Nikao

Im pretty sure you can do walking in most parks nowedays... Olivers Camp in Tarangire offers walks I think as well as the other Asylia camps (Sayari, Piyaya, not sure about Olakira)