A TENT WITH A VIEW - SAADANI NATIONAL PARK

A Brief History

Saadani Game Reserve was gazetted in 1964, covering an area of some 250 sq km from the Wami river in the south to the Mligaji river in the north, with the Moshi railway line as the western boundary.

In 2003 Saadani was upgraded to become Tanzania's latest National Park under the direction of TANAPA (Tanzania National Park Authority). Boundaries have been expanded to include land north of the Mligaji, which is an important area containing the only permanent elephant population in the area as well as sable antelope. The total protected area now covers over 1000 sq km and the TANAPA headquarters are based at Mkwaja ranch.

Saadani also sits almost directly opposite Zanzibar's Stone Town, located approximately 42 km away. Flights from Zanzibar to Saadani take just 15 mins.

Ecology
The combination of beach and big game is unique in Tanzania.

Whilst the diversity of animals is comparable to most parks, it is the numbers and accessibility which we have been working on with TANAPA.

Large game currently seen include giraffe, buffalo, elephant, lion, leopard, sable antelope, eland, hartebeest, wildebeest, zebra, waterbuck, reedbuck, greater kudu, warthog, hyena, mongoose, civet, serval, baboon, black and white colobus, crocodile, hippo, three species of duiker as well as a great variety of birdlife.

Saadani is dominated by acacia woodland and coastal thickets. It also protects a large area of mangrove swamps along the coastline North from the Wami river, and includes several species of palm including the mysterious looking 'walking palm', which is not actually a palm at all!

Dolphins are sometimes seen offshore and whales pass through the Zanzibar channel on their migration. Of particular interest is the green turtle project at Madete Marine Reserve. This endangered species is under particular threat from fishing practices offshore from Saadani and a conservation project has been established to help protect both turtles and their eggs.

A Tent With A View in Saadani
A Tent With A View first visited Saadani in the early 1990s organising mobile tented camping trips and established its first embryo camp in Saadani in 1995. At this time, the reserve was suffering from heavy poaching and we hope that by bringing tourists to the area, introducing foot safaris and game drives as well as our own anti-poaching activities we have helped in the marked reduction in poaching practices over the last few years. With the upgrade to National Park status we decided to upgrade our operations in Saadani and have established a new exclusive camp, A Tent with a View Safari Lodge, on the coast in the Mkwaja region which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister the Hon Frederick Sumaye in August 2003. With over 10 years experience and having founded tourist activities in the park, it is widely acknowledged that A Tent With A View offer unparalleled knowledge of Saadani.

Getting there
By Plane: Charter flights take 15 minutes from Zanzibar and 30 minutes from Dar es Salaam into Saadani airstrip.
By Car: Currently 4.5 hours from Dar es Salaam via Chalinze and Mandera. Approximately 7 hours from Arusha.