Saadani National Park

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The Saadani National Park near Saadani is Tanzania's only national park on the coast. The 1,100 km² park protects unique coastal savannas , mangrove and primary coastal forests along the Wami River, as well as important turtle breeding sites .

history

The beginnings of the national park lie in a wildlife park founded in 1964 with an area of ​​approx. 250 km². The boundaries of this park were the Mligaji River in the north, the Wami River in the south, and the railway line to Moshi in the west. In 2005 the park was expanded and made a national park. It now also includes areas north of the Mligaji River, which are particularly important for the protection of elephants and sable antelopes .

The headquarters of the new national park is the former Mkwaja Ranch in the north of the park.

Location and arrival

The park is about 130 km from Dar es Salaam ; it is as far from Dar es Salaam as the Mikumi National Park . The drive by car from Dar es Salaam via Bagamoyo takes about 2 hours to the southern Wami Gate. There are flight connections to Saadani from Dar es Salaam (30 minutes) and Zanzibar (15 minutes), but also from the north either from Moshi or Arusha. The journey from Tanga takes about 3 hours by car.

Flora and fauna

The park offers a unique combination of coastal habitats with primary coastal and mangrove forests and savanna vegetation with large game populations.

In the park you can find giraffes , buffalos , elephants, lions , leopards , sable antelopes, eland , hartebeest , wildebeest , zebras , water buffalo , reedbuck , kudu , warthogs , hyenas , mongoose , civet cats , servals , baboons , black and white colobus monkeys , crocodiles , Hippos , three types of duckers and all kinds of birds can be seen.

Trees that are called "wandering palms" because of their stilt roots that are up to 2 m high are also of particular interest. In addition, the vegetation in Saadani National Park is largely determined by acacia forests, which are the main food source for the giraffes, and doum palms , which characterize much of the landscape. There are also candelabra trees and mangroves on the banks of the Wami River.

In the waters adjacent to the park, dolphins and whales can occasionally be observed on their migration. Green sea turtles are protected in the nearby Madete Marine Reserve .

Bird life

Waterfowl such as storks, herons, kingfishers, weavers , ibises and narrow-beaked spoonbills have their habitat on the banks of the Wami River. Various eagles, vultures, scales, bee-eaters , hornbills , falcons and others can also be observed.

swell

Coordinates: 6 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  S , 38 ° 45 ′ 0 ″  E