Most people pass Ruaha on their way to somewhere else. We think that is the wrong way round. Tanzania’s largest national park is two to three hours from our gate, and the people who see it properly are the ones who sleep inside it, wake before the light, and come back to a place where someone already knows how they take their coffee.
That is the safari we arrange. It starts at Mark’s Farm & Lodge and it ends here too.
Nolasco, who knows this park
We work with Nolasco, our main safari partner. He has more than twenty years of experience as a guide, he comes from this region, and he drives his own vehicles. He speaks good English and all the local languages — which matters more than people expect, because the best sightings usually begin with a conversation between drivers on a dirt road.
We do not subcontract to whoever is available. You travel with Nolasco or with a guide he vouches for.
How a safari works
A safari means a minimum of 24 hours inside the park, with a night in an accommodation there. Game viewing is best in the first and last hours of daylight, and those hours are simply not reachable on a day trip from outside the gate.
We recommend two periods of 24 hours. One gives you the park; two gives you the rhythm of it — a second morning in a different part of Ruaha, without the feeling that you are already driving back. Longer stays are arranged in multiples of 24 hours.
Departure times are entirely up to you. We plan the day around how you want to travel, not around a fixed schedule.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.
This is a real morning on safari: out before sunrise, and breakfast somewhere in the park once the light has come up. It is one of the quietest hours you will spend in Tanzania.
Groups
We arrange safaris for couples, families and groups of up to fourteen people, using two safari vehicles. For larger groups it is worth contacting us early, as vehicles and park accommodation both need to be reserved ahead.
What it costs
Prices are always on request, and there is a reason for that. The cost per person changes a great deal with the size of the group and with the accommodation you choose inside the park — those two choices move the price more than anything else. Quoting a single headline figure would be misleading for almost everyone who reads it.
Park entry fees are included in the price we quote you — they are not added on afterwards. Ruaha’s entry fees are substantial, and a quote that leaves them out is not a real quote. Our prices are competitive, and you receive a written quote setting out exactly what is included before you commit to anything. Tell us how many you are and when you would like to travel, and we will put a proposal together.
Your luggage stays here
You do not need to take everything into the park. Leave what you do not need at the farm — we keep it in a lockable store room while you are away. Arrive, repack for two days, go. Come back, shower, and sleep in a bed you have already slept in.
Iringa Hot Springs and God’s Bridge, half a day by motorbike
Not every trip needs a park gate. Half an hour from the farm there is a place most people know as the Iringa hot springs, and which we have always called God’s Bridge — the same spot, two names. The river runs in among enormous smooth boulders, disappears underneath the rock, and comes back out further down. There is a warm spring beside it. It is strange, it is quiet, and almost nobody is there.
We go by motorbike, with local riders — you ride behind them, so there is no licence and no experience required, and it is suitable for all ages. The ride out to the hot springs is half the pleasure: you see the villages, the fields and the hills in a way no car gives you. It takes half a day.
The cost is €10 per person. It is the cheapest way we know to see a part of this landscape that no road takes you to. You can find the Iringa hot springs on the map here — but we would rather take you.
Arranging it
Safaris and excursions are arranged directly with us, usually alongside your stay. Message us on WhatsApp or send us a note with your dates, the number of people and roughly what you are after, and we will come back with options.