Mkomazi National Park, would mean “no or little water” in Swahili, Mkomazi is a Kipare word, which seems highly appropriate if you visit the reserve at the end of the dry season!
This former hunting reserve (in fact two reserves, Mkomazi and Umba) had long been the subject of a national park project which encountered (and still encounters?) resistance from pastoral populations who were accustomed to leading their herds there and who were evicted with little care. The park occupies more than 3234 km² and is located on the border with Kenya, bordering the south of Tsavo East. It is also part of the semi-arid ecosystem of Tsavo. The climate is dry and arid because the clouds coming from the ocean are stopped by the Usumbara mountains to the west. It is hot there and dust is king in the dry season.
Two of the most endangered species on the African continent, the black rhino and the wild dog, were introduced into two “sanctuaries” managed by “The Tony Fitzjohn / George Adamson African Wildlife Preservation Trust“. With more luck Mkomazi national park is one of the best places in Tanzania to see up close a black rhino, certainly in semi-captivity, or wild dogs in total captivity. The Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary which is more than 45 km² and which is surrounded by 30 km of electrified fence and under alarm receives visitors at certain times of the year.
The best time to visit Mkomazi national park is the dry season from June to October. But in the rainy season, elephants are numerous, there were a thousand of them compared to barely ten in the 1980s. When all the vegetation is burned at the end of the dry season, in October, the fauna of large mammals is clearly scaled down. Babu’s- Camp , with limited accommodation capacities with only 5 tents. Suffice to say that Mkomazi is the dream place for lovers of solitude and preserved spaces. This is the place in Tanzania where you can see gerenouks (giraffe gazelles) and vulturine guinea fowl. Fans will also appreciate the presence of 450 species of birds.
Visit Mkomazi National Park with Jolita Safari.
