RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

A sign post showing the fee structure at the entrance to Ruaha national park


Two sign posts at the gate to Ruaha national park with instructions showing the types of various animal species one can view at the park.

The only expenses one incurs while preparing for the tour of the national park is the hiring of the vehicle, there are special kind of cars which are allowed within the reserve park like those mostly owned by Tour & Safari companies whose bodies have been designed with open spaces on top. I was hired for one in my recent trip to Ruaha national park located about 128 kilometers away from Iringa town. Indeed I was so proud of my journey for it had a great significance and of course I have something to tell about what I saw though I took short time to round within the park searching for the animals who by that time were far away that the tour guide told me it was impossible to see all of them at such unlikely time of my arrival.

Ruaha national park is linked by a 70 meter long bridge built across great Ruaha river



The width of the great Ruaha river waters at this point is approximately 50 meters away.

Visiting a park is a pleasant phenomenon and indeed an exciting event, you can learn a lot about wildlife sanctuaries and the animal species that you might have not come across in your life. There are so many different animal species even geologists themselves takes more time doing research activities on them. I set out my feet aboard a special vehicle, a Land Rover make owned by the Tatanca Tours and Safaris Company based in Iringa town that afternoon of 9th April 2009. The time was late and too short for a round trip journey, imagine I returned back at 22:00hrs leave alone a two hour and a half drive for a single journey. It was drizzling at that time and later the weather cooled down, my heart gained confidence as the clouds disappeared in the atmosphere.

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

I traveled with the vehicle with the registration No: T947 AVG a property of Tatanca Tours & Safaris Company based in Iringa.

I thought my journey could have some implications on the way as I thought of the long distance I had to cover along the rough and corrugated road, but the driver who is experienced in tour guide, has worked in different tour companies for the last 20 years, gave me a hope and assured that we would go and return safely. Charles Masonda, (48) an expert driver narrated to me a bit of the geographical situation of the area and about the road he passed through, despite of the situation, the area is full of thick and darkened forests all the way and you could think there were no people living into the interior. All the way through we could hardly see vehicles on the way as most transporters shun their passenger vehicles to operate in the area because of its situation. Only few that could be seen. As he was driving, the driver kept me busy narrating stories to me on the most important things about the park and the wildlife in general.

Many transporters have shun the road going to Ruaha national park, an aspect that compels passengers to use sometimes pick ups or canters that serves as means of transport along the road

Masonda who holds a Diploma in tour guide operation has ever worked in three big tour companies based in Arusha which serves the northern tourist circuit in the country. He said some portion of the main road is sometimes impassable during rainy season, and I also witnessed myself as I passed along, quite large portion of the main road is full of potholes that I could sometimes feel the inconveniences while traveling. But I didn’t mind for I know this is how the situation of most roads especially in our rural areas looks like. But I came to .learn that, the government through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourist has really hard time indeed to effectively ensure safety by repairing these roads. Likewise, Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) needs to put some pressure on the government to take keen interest on the issue in a bid to ward off the prevailing situation which according to tourist experts it exists mostly in national parks located in southern circuit. Little is done to improve the situation, and this is a challenge to the government to ensure that it rectifies the situation so that tourists visiting the area should enjoy their journey.

A sign post by the side of the main road to Ruaha Rational park showing the site of Mkwawa Museum about 1 km.

For a couple of 10 minutes, we had reached Kalenga village which is 15 kilometers west of Iringa town along the road going to Ruaha National Park. The presence of a sign post with an arrow indicating Mkwawa Museum stationed slightly by the side of the road, was an indication of the theory which I read while I was schooling in primary school that of a famous historic village known of having fiercely local warriors who fought the German colonialists of the past in late 1890s. Kalenga village is an important place which has a significant historical background, not only to the nation but the history of the place has brought fame also to a very well-known ethnic group in Southern Highland region. Getting there during rainy seasons is a little bit difficult than what one could expect. The inhabitants of the area are mostly the Hehe ethnic group, the tribe’s historic nature has created superiority among the people and is still rests in everybody’s mind including historians of the past and present. This is too legend that is still being told up to today.

Another sign post also located along the main road to Ruaha national park showing the exact spot where a hero of the Hehe ethnic group, Chief Mkwawa was buried. It’s about 11 Km from there to a place known as Mlambalasi, it’s among the most tourist attractions of the southern highland region.

Many people regardless of their age have lots of information as regards the area for their mostly respected ancestral groups of elders originated from. Therefore the Museum shows various war equipment that the legend Hehe leader locally known as ‘Mtwa Mkwawa’ or Chief Mkwawa used in his protest against the German invasion, and more fascinating is his skull which has a bullet wound where he shot himself for fear of being humiliated by his adversaries before he could be captured and made a war prisoner by the German troops. About one and a half hours, we had reached to a certain area where there is a steep and then a slope downward, it’s at this point whereby my driver Mr. Masonda stopped and asked me to take a photo of the scenery whose background showed Ruaha national park with an airstrip closely built which is seen far to the distant horizon. The scenery is greenish with trees well maintained and preserved as game reserve area according to the law as stipulated by Tanzania National Park (TANAPA).

The scenery in the background shows Ruaha national park zone as it can be viewed while standing from this spot.

Whenever tourists roams within the park, they feel like walking in a cool and a pleasant area that is free of noise of any kind, there is no any mobile phone communication as there are no communication towers to transmit the phone calls. Only the presence of animals and the melodious sounds of different bird species could be seen dominating the surroundings. Or sometimes you could be terrified by a sudden groups of herbivorous animals who takes to their heels up in hot pursuit and comes to discover that, were escaping away from the sight of lioness from unknown direction. It’s like a drama that shows someone who takes to his heels to escape death. These are normal things happening within the park as you know lions are terrified animals. About the history and the geography of the Ruaha National Park is that the park is located in Southern highland region covering the southern tourist circuit, and it’s the largest park in the country covering an area of about 22,200 square Km.

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

The gateway to Ruaha National park is decorated with a unique specie of staffed animals. These are black and pale kudu.

The park was established way back in 1910 as part of Saba game reserve and was declared as a national park in 1964. Before its declaration, the area was inhabited by a small groups of the Wahehe people. The park is part of Ruaha Eco-system which also includes Rungwa-Kisigo game reserve to the north west. The eco-system protects a large part of the catchments for the great Ruaha and Mzombe rivers. Ruaha is interesting as it represents a transition zone where eastern and southern African species of Fauna and Flora overlap. Miombo woodland and its attendant fauna is common in central African but not found further north in Tanzania. The park is the most southerly protected area where Grants gazelle, lesser kudu and striped hyenas are found. A small portion (about 20 percent) of the park is along the Great Ruaha river in the rift valley comprising mainly woodland with many baobabs. This is the part mostly visited by tourists due to the good game viewing, its scenic attractions and the well developed road network. The majority of the park is formed by a plateau 100m higher to the north and west of the rift valley. Surface water is available year round in many parts of the park, especially in the west thus allowing animals to remain widely distributed. However the Great Ruaha and Mzombe rivers are important water sources.




Different pictures showing the confluence of the great Ruaha river forms the boundary to the eastern side of the national park. The river is a resource for wildlife as it provides water for drinking at the park. The conservation of the vegetation around is highly maintained by the Tanzania National Park in order to preserve the region in its natural creation.

To be able to see both greater and lesser kudu and roan and sable antelope in the same park is one of the special attractions of Ruaha national park. Visitors often see lions, leopards and cheetahs as well as wild dogs and smaller predators. Groups of elephants frequent many areas of the park, crocodiles and hippos are numerous in the Great Ruaha river. According to geologists, more than 400 species of birds have been recorded in Ruaha more than any other East African park. Its geographical location means that it is visited by both northern and southern migrants. Ruaha also has a great variety of resident species due to the diversity of habitats. The best time for keen birds watchers to visit is between January and April. About the weather at the park is that, the average rainfall at the park headquarters is about 500mm and usually comes between November and April. The coolest month is normally July with a daytime maximum of 30 degrees of Celsius dropping to 15 degrees of Celsius at night temperatures then rise until it rains in November or later. They can reach 40 degrees in the day and only fall to 25 degrees at night.

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

Small impalas feeding close to the staff camp in Ruaha national park.


Offices and staff camp at the park

This is a lodge at the park where visitors spends night on hiring basis.


These are newly built TANAPA staff quarters at Ruaha national park headquarter which are in their final touches

The road network is constantly being improved to all-weather standard to allow access to a greater proportion of the park. The tourism warden can provide well trained guides for visitors. The best time to visit the park for game viewing is during the dry season between May and November. The Ruaha river lodge is located on the Great Ruaha river ten kilometers upstream of the entrance gate. It has 28 bandas beautifully positioned along the river bank and around the Kopjes, most with en-suit facilities. There is Mwagusi Safari camp, eight kilometers north of the headquarters has eight well appointed en-suite tents, providing accommodation for up to 16 visitors. The park headquarters has two shops, one selling cold and sodas, the other basic commodities such as flour and sugar. Diesel and Petrol are usually available from the park’s headquarters. The park is protected by the force of about 100 game rangers distributed between Msembe headquarters and seven outlying posts. Anti-poaching patrols are regularly undertaken both by car and on foot, sometimes supported by aero plane.

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

The eco-system of the Ruaha National park with a natural vegetation, it was in the evening time when the photograph was taken and the animals were rarely seen around

Ruaha national park provides the great source of river Ruaha, and the Mzombe river forms the park’s northern boundary and also flows into Mtera dam. Mtera together with Kidatu dam further downstream were created in the late 1970s and early 1980s to provide electricity for Dar es Salaam and most of Tanzania. Below Kidatu, the great Ruaha then joins Rufiji river sand flows through the Selous game reserve and into the Indian Ocean 150 km south of Dar es Salaam city. In recent years, the great Ruaha river has stopped flowing towards the end of the dry season and is reduced to pools which teem with fish, crocodiles and hippos. The reduced fliw is of concern to everyone from conservationists to users of electricity throughout Tanzania and is currently under investigation by several cooperating agencies. With the onset of the rains, the river is transformed to a wide and a fast flowing body of water peaking in April.

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

38 species of fish have been identified in great Ruaha river. They traditionally provide an important part of the diet of people living along the river. Within the park, crocodiles have apparently increased in recent years and now some very large ones can be seen along the river bank. There are also many hippos that use the river by day and come to gaze at night on the surrounding grassland.



A famous baobab tree at Ruaha National park, the tree which has a hole in the middle of its trunk, is an attraction to most tourists visiting the park

Throughout the park, the presence of Baobabs and other trees can be seen almost everywhere. The Boabab trees with their scientific name “Adansonia Digitata” are many. These magnificent trees can may live for up to 3000 years and are remarkably resilient and most of the big ones have a lifespan of between 100 and 800 years old. In 1970s it was feared by some that baobabs would be eliminated from parts of the park by the activities of elephants who strip the bark to obtain food and moisture from the wood. However, perhaps because of the reduction in elephant numbers during the 1980s, and the freedom of dispersal of the remaining population, they have survived and area prominent feature of the landscape.

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

Red horn-bird is a unique bird specie which is found at the Ruaha national park.

The trees produce white flowers just before the onset of the rains, the resultant fruits are rich in cream of tartar and are eaten by people and animals. They are also a rich source of honey. Boababs are surrounded by legends and superstition such as the well-known tale that God planted them upside down. Other trees of note in the park include winter thorn (faidherbia albida) which is easily recognized in the dry season as it gets its leaves when most other trees have none, and vice versa. It therefore provides important shade along the great Ruaha river and other areas. It has a distinctive seed pod which gives it its other common name of apple-ring acacia. Tamarind trees (Tamarindus Indica) are evergreen with a pale grey bark and provide shade year round along the river banks. The fruits van be used for many purposes including making chutney, jams and a tangy refreshing drink.



Elephants are at the park feeding on vegetation.

Elephants (Lexodonta Africana) are found throughout the park. In the 1970s there was great concern that the .large numbers of elephants were destroying the trees and altering their habitats. In 1980s poaching was widespread and the numbers of elephants greatly reduced. Their numbers are now stabilized around 12,000 in the whole Ruaha eco-system. They may even be increasing as the threat of poaching has been eliminated and family groups with many young calves are often seen. Visitors will notice that some elephants have no tasks.

A male giraffe is taller than the female

Ruaha is the only park to have both greater and lesser kudu known scientifically as ‘Tragelaphus Strepsiceros) are tall elegant antelopes normally seen in small family groups of between five and ten, the males have impressive spiraled horns. Lesser kudu (Trageluphus imberbis) are smaller shyer animals found usually in pairs and in more densely wooded areas. They are also more distinctly striped. Roan antelope (Hippotragus) are often seen in the rift valley section of the park. These large antelopes are pale rufous colored with both male and female having horns that curve backwards. They are normally seen in herds of about twenty in more open habitat.


Wild dogs are of different types as you can see these ones with stripes on their back are types of species which can be found in Ruaha National park.

Sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) inhabit the more wooded miombo lands part of the park. The males are easily recognized by their black colour and long horns, females are reed-brown and sometimes confused with roan although they have larger horns and are darker. Wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are quite frequently seen by visitors. Normally they live in groups of between six and 16 individuals, although groups of over 30 are often seen. Packs can cover large distances. The park is one of the few places in Tanzania where wild dogs are still numerous.