Wildlife
Boat & Canoe Safaris
Watching wildlife from the water, at eye level and without an engine note.
The Rufiji River in Nyerere is the best known. Its channels and lakes hold large numbers of hippos and crocodiles, elephants and buffaloes come to the banks to drink, and fish eagles, skimmers, bee-eaters and herons line the water. Boats can cut the engine and drift, which gets you closer and quieter than a vehicle ever could, and sunset on the river with a drink in hand is a fixture of southern safaris.
Saadani is unusual: a national park on the Indian Ocean, where a boat trip up the Wami River brings hippos, crocodiles, mangroves and colobus monkeys, and where the river mouth opens onto the beach. In the north, the Momella Lakes in Arusha National Park can sometimes be paddled by canoe, drifting among waterbuck, giraffe and water birds with Mount Meru behind — subject to availability and conditions.
On Lake Tanganyika the boat is not an activity but the transport: camps at Mahale and Gombe are reached by boat along the shore, and trips on the lake for swimming, kayaking or sundowners are part of staying there. In every case, water levels, weather and park rules determine what runs on the day.
Highlights
- Boat safaris on the Rufiji River and its lakes in Nyerere, often at sunset
- Hippo pods and large crocodiles seen safely from the water
- Elephants and buffaloes coming down to drink on the riverbanks
- Exceptional birdlife along the water: fish eagles, skimmers, kingfishers, bee-eaters and herons
- The Wami River in Saadani, where mangroves, hippos and the ocean meet
- Canoeing on the Momella Lakes in Arusha National Park, where conditions allow
- Boat travel and kayaking on Lake Tanganyika at Mahale and Gombe
Where to see it
Best places for this
Nyerere National ParkSouthern Circuit
The Rufiji River and its lakes — the best-known boat safaris in Tanzania, and a natural pairing with a morning walking safari.
Saadani National ParkZanzibar & Coast
Boat trips on the Wami River, with hippos, crocodiles and mangrove birdlife, in the only national park on the Tanzanian coast.
Arusha National ParkNorthern Circuit
Canoeing on the alkaline Momella Lakes, a gentle half-day close to Arusha, subject to current operations and conditions.
Mahale Mountains National ParkWestern Circuit
Reached by boat along the shore of Lake Tanganyika, with lake trips, kayaking and swimming between chimpanzee treks.
Gombe Stream National ParkWestern Circuit
Access is by boat from Kigoma, and the lakeshore is part of the experience of staying in the park.
More to see
WildlifeThe Great Migration
The Great Migration is the year-round movement of well over a million wildebeest, together with hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles, through the Serengeti ecosystem in search of grazing and water. It is not a single event on a fixed date but a continuous cycle, and its timing shifts with the rains every year.
Month-by-month guide
WildlifeThe Big Five
The Big Five are the African lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo and rhinoceros. Tanzania is one of the few countries where all five can be seen, though they are not evenly spread and black rhino in particular are scarce. Seeing four of the five on a well-planned northern safari is realistic; seeing all five is possible but never guaranteed.
WildlifeChimpanzee Trekking
In the far west of Tanzania, on the steep forested slopes above Lake Tanganyika, communities of wild chimpanzees have been studied and habituated for decades. Trekking to find them is a demanding, humbling walk rather than a game drive, and time with the group is deliberately limited to protect their health.