Mikumi National Park
is 283 km south of Dar es Salaam in the Morogoro region. It was
gazetted in 1964 during the construction of the Morogoro - Iringa
highway. You will inevitably pass through it going overland between
Tanzania and Malawi as this highway, part of the Great North Road,
goes right through the middle of the park.
Covering 3 230 sq km, Mikumi is bordered by the Uluguru Mountains
in the north and the Rubeho Mountains to the southeast. It is an
extension of the much larger Selous Game Reserve on the other side
of the Rubehos. Mikumi's landscape is typical woodland and grassy
plains fed by two major water holes. Its main feature is the
Mkata River Flood Plain, an area of lush vegetation that attracts
a number of animals throughout the year. These include lion, eland,
hartebeest, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, hippo and elephant. Up to 300 species of birds stop over on migratory routes
over Tanzania.
The Mikumi forest elephants are much smaller than their big game
park counterparts. They are mainly grazers so they do not cause as much
damage to the trees. It’s not unusual to see these elephants,
and sometimes lion, from the main road, especially in the evening
or night. They seem quite accustomed to the trucks that rumble
past. It is only 50km from one side of the park to the other and the speed
limit on the road is dropped because of the presence
of wild animals. It’s quite an odd experience to be driving
through a village, then 50km of pristine game park, then
back through farmland and villages on the other side.
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