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| Beach is the highlight |
The closest National
park to Dar Es Salaam, the park offers the unique beach and bush options with a
few lodges and campsites inside the park. There is large fishing village and
salt works within the park which is a bit of an eye sore for a wildlife
experience. There is also bit of local traffic including motor cyclist and
cyclists along the main road in the park which further erodes the wilderness experience.
Poaching is a
major issue in the park resulting in skittish game and limited game viewing. The
beach access and the bush experience does make it a unique Tanzanian
experience.
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| The palms and forest trees add to the game driving experience. |
When did we go?
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Bridge over the Wami River at the Wami gate entrance |
Getting there
There are two access roads’ the shortest is 130 KM’s from Dar Es
Salaam via the Bagamoya – Msata road turning off at Ngiapanda from the where
the road is a dirt track. In the wet this road can get a bit messy but there is
no black cotton soil and the villages along this road are serviced using this
road. The Wami River entrance has a bridge as at December 2014.
The second entrance is along the Chalinze – Arusha highway turning
off at Mandera or Mkata. We haven’t used these roads but understand they are
well sealed gravel tracks.
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| The Wami entrance from Bagamoyo can get tricky in the wet |
Roads in the park
The main roads in the park are sealed well allowing for all
weather access. The rainy season can be tricky on some of the secondary roads
having mud traps and streams running across the road. There is some black
cotton in the park which will be messy in the rain.
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| Look out for black cotton bogs! |
Accommodation
The park offers a rest house and banda’s with beach access inside
the park close to the fishing village. We haven’t used them but didn’t looked
to offer peace and quiet too much people activity around the accommodation.
There are a few lodges on the boundary of the park the most famous
being ‘tent view a view’ past the Madete Gate. The lodge is set on an isolated
beach with beautiful sea views and will be a perfect place to chill out. The
camp also has game trackers which are your best source of actually catching any
meaningful game in the park.
Camping facilities
The beach campsite is serviced and set on a lovely beach. There
are flushing toilets with a shower and an undercover common cooking area. The
camp ground is large with plenty of space but you will probably be the only
camper. The campsite is relatively close to the fishing village and we did see fishermen
walking along the beach.
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| The beach campsite |
The Kinyonga campsite is beautifully located under shade trees on
the banks of the Wami River. There are flushing toilets and showers and a
permanent caretaker on site which put off us from camping there. The camp
ground is well maintained but the access road will be tricky in the rain.
The Tengwe campsite is the in the bush and away from people and
offers the best wilderness experience however there are no facilities so come
prepared.
Wildlife viewing
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| Surprise highlight was a pretty calm Civet cat. |
Although the park is resident to four of the big five (no Rhino),
extensive poaching has made animals awfully skittish and shy of humans often
bolting on sight. The only animal that didn’t appear to be shy and plentiful
was the water-buk which is bad eating and probably the sign of the poaching issues.
We did note signs of animal activity including lion, elephant and buffalo but
had no sightings. The park is also home to black and white collabus and blue
monkeys.
The game viewing circuits off the main roads makes for interesting
driving with a mixture of forest and palms making up for a unique driving
experience.
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| Waterbuck capital of Tanzania? |
Wildness factor
The wilderness factor is low due to the village in the park and
local traffic along the main road.
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| Crested Guinea fowl was another highlight |
Other logistics
Costs are as follows:
Non-residents Tanzanian Expatriates
Park fees $30 $15
Camping fees $30 $30
Payable in cash and expatriates can pay in Tanzania Shillings.
Camping is $30pppn
Camping is $30pppn
Our impression
How many times have we been? 1
This is fine, as long as you're not looking for animals ;) Perhaps staying in
one of the lodges with access to a local guide may give you a better chance of
seeing some good game, but if you're looking for wildlife on your own this is
not the place. The beach is the main attraction here and added with a chance of
seeing game makes a once off visit worthwhile, but I'm afraid at those prices, we won't be going back on a regular basis.
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| Black and White colobus monkey |
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