Ruaha National Park at 5.7 million acres is Tanzania’s largest national park and due to it’s isolation its’ one of wildest and least visited parks. We landed on the far end of the Park so we had a long game drive to our camp, Kigelia Ruaha. The camp is pretty isolated with six tents overlooking the banks of the nearly dry Ifuguru river bed, which acts as a highway for herds of elephants, antelopes and of course various predators. Kigelia is the name of the African Sausage Tree which frames the entrance into the Camp.

The park is characterized by semi-arid type of vegetation, Baobab trees, Acacia and over 1500 other plants. With 571 species of birds, Ruaha is great spot for birders, but is also known for its large herds of Elephants, Buffalo and diversity of Antelopes such as Roan, Sable, Kudu (Lesser & Greater), Eland, Zebra, Waterbuck, Zebra, Impala, Grants Gazelle and Giraffes to name a few. With lots of prey of course, the Park has its share of predators including Lions, Leopards, Cheetah, Jackals, Foxes as well as endangered Wild Dogs.

A night drive across remote Ruaha National Park can take on a magical or even mystical feel as the giant Baobab trees reach into the night sky with their root like naked branches silhouetted against the backdrop of a glowing Milky Way. Traversing through the Baobab forests truly gives one a sense of our own smallness in a world of expansive natural wilderness and giant trees that have been observing our planet for thousands of years.

Baobab Milky Way Time Lapse: https://youtu.be/W1wEeQl84fQ
Elephants of Ruaha Ntl Park, Tanzania: https://youtu.be/6QFwFVtN0bw
Yellow Baboons of Ruaha Ntl. Park, Tanzania: https://youtu.be/nhEenJuf2p0
Cape Buffalo of Ruaha Ntl. Park, Tanzania Time Lapse: https://youtu.be/LL71VU3uy2A
Visit our "Africa Wanderings" Ruaha Blog: https://billklipp.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/2/african-wanderings-iv---the-land-of-the-giants


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