Brief Itinerary
Day 01: Arrive Dar es Salaam International Airport
Day 02: Full day Dar es Salaam
Day 03: Dar es Salaam/Mpanda/Katavi National Park
Day 04: Full day Katavi National Park
Day 05: Katavi National Park/Mbeya City
Day 06: Mbeya City/Matema Bech
Day 07 to 09: Full days at Matema Bech
Day 10: Matema Beach/Mbeya/Dar es Salaam
Detailed Itinerary
Day 01: Arrive Dar es Salaam International Airport
Pick up from Dar es Salaam International Airport and transfer to Dar es Salaam City
Dar es Salaam from Arabic world means “the house of peace”; formerly Mzizima is the former capital and largest city in Tanzania. It is known as the safari capital of Tanzania’s Southern Safari Circuit. It is the largest city in East Africa by population, as well as a regionally important economic centre. Located on the Swahili coast, the city is one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel in Dar es Salaam
Day 02: Full day Dar es Salaam
Pick up from the hotel and depart for Dar es Salaam City Tour
Embark on a city tour in Dar es Salaam and experience a mix of sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment. The largest city in Tanzania reflects a fascinating combination of its rich historical past and its sophisticated contemporary present. This tour of Dar es Salaam will take you to the National Museum, Village Museum, Mwenge Carvings Market, Tingatinga art Gallery, Slipway Shopping Centre, The Fish Market, City Centre, Historical Building, and many other sites.
Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel in Dar es Salaam
Day 03: Dar es Salaam/Mpanda/Katavi National Park
After breakfast, transfer to Airport for Air Tanzania to Katavi Via Mpanda
Katavi National Park is pure wilderness. Few parks anywhere in Africa offer such a tantalizing combination of breathtaking wildlife viewing, a remote setting and low visitor numbers. Four of the Big Five are present, with lion, buffalo and elephant all being very common. Leopard sightings are more hit-and-miss. The waterways of Katavi host impressive concentrations of hippo, crocodile and aquatic birds.
Dinner and overnight at the Lodge
Day 04: Full day Katavi National Park
Breakfast then departs for full day experience Katavi national Park, Picnic lunch
There might not be the widest variety of wildlife on the average game drive, but sightings tend to be spectacular, and you’ll mostly have them to yourself. Lion and elephant are common, and you can also expect to see thousand-strong herds of buffalo. Even more remarkable are the park’s hippos, which are forced to gather together in their hundreds in small pools as the rivers dry up, leading to regular fights between the highly territorial males. During the Dry season in Katavi National Park, the Katuma River is packed with hippo, while crocodile bask on the sandbanks.
Dinner and overnight at the Lodge
Day 05: Katavi National Park/Mbeya City
Breakfast then departs to Mbeya (Green City)
The Mbeya Region has a tropical climate, with lowlands temperatures of 25 °C and highlands temperatures of 16 °C. The rainy season lasts from October to May. The Usangu Plains and Chunya receive 650 millimeters of rain annually, while the mountains of Rungwe District Council and the northern coasts of Lake Nyasa receive 2,600 millimeters. June through September are the cold and dry months in the area. The soils and vegetation types in the area exhibit significant variance. Most of the region’s arable land has soils with a medium texture, moderate fertility, and ranges from sandy loams to alluvial soils to cracked clays. The majority of the territory is covered with Miombo woodland, with annual rainfall ranging from 800 millimeters to 1,200 millimeters. Less rainy areas, particularly in the region’s north, encourage the development of dense acacia and other thorny tree thickets as well as woodland grassland.
Dinner and overnight at the Lodge
Day 06: Mbeya City/Matema Bech
Departs lake Nyasa for beach stay with cultural activities
This is the closest thing to a resort on the Tanzanian shore of the Lake but not one that gets over-run by tourists. There are several choices of good clean accommodation. You can hire dugout canoes or kayaks, explore Pango Cave and see the wildlife around the swampy Lufirio River Mouth to the West of the town. Hiking in the Livingstone Mountains. The region is well known for its distinctive Kisi pottery which is sold throughout the area. Heading further South.
Dinner and overnight at the Retort
Day 07 to 09: Full days at Matema Bech
Full-day leisure at the Beach, options activities as mentioned
Hiking to the nearby waterfalls, snorkeling to view the colored fish (Cichlids), Visiting Ikombe to see the potters making locally re-known Kisi pottery, walking along the beach to see the hand carved fishing boats & drying fish, visiting a bat cave, also note that Lake Nyasa is the cheapest place in the world to get your open water diving certification (enjoy viewing more than 500 species of fish while learning)
Dinner and overnight at the Retort
Day 10: Matema Beach/Mbeya/Dar es Salaam
Departs to Mbeya for flight to Dar es Salaam for your international Flight back home
END OF PROGRAM
