Times in Tanzania: Saadani National Park

Zaraninge Forest

The cornerstone of our Christmas holiday was a trip to Saadani National Park, mainly to see the supposedly best conserved patch of coastal forest in Tanzania. We took some trips to other non-national park coastal forests and we were a bit disappointed in what we saw. We hadn't heard many glowing reviews of Saadani and due to it's relatively new gazetting (created in 2005) we didn't expect the fantastic wildlife of the northern parks since it was cobbled together from former hunting areas giving it an odd feel with a village and salt production facility in the heart of the park.

Our goal was to camp and hike in Zaraninge Forest though information on the internet and from friends was very sparse. When we got to the park headquarters we were told that road and campsite were closed. They also said they no longer do hikes in the area and that all the trails were closed. I persisted a bit and they finally relented saying that we could try but we wouldn't get our money back if the "special" campsite there was inaccessible. Funnily enough, it is $15 more to camp at the "special" campsites in the national parks here, which don't have any facilities. I was determined to reach the forest (or at least try) but we were a bit disappointed at the news we received. I was delighted to hear we could do a river cruise and that we could do it immediately before we tried to head to the forest (it was on the way).

To access the river you have to drive through a salt pan, which is unsightly though interesting to see. We were the only two people on the boat and although the wildlife was sparse (we saw a few hippos), it was cool to go out to the mouth of the river and see the mangroves. Our boat driver received a phone call and the trip was cut short because another group had come. It was a pretty poor value for one hour on the boat, though the timing would have probably been better in the morning or evening if we wanted to see wildlife other than birds.

After the boat cruise we made our way to the forest. We literally saw more cattle than any other wildlife (which actually, we didn't see any other mammals in this part of the park) and the drive took us through several villages. We were getting a bit nervous and feeling somewhat lost when we came upon an old WWF office. WWF had previously managed the Zaraninge Forest before it became part of the park. The ranger there told us we were almost there and gave us some direction.

When we finally reached the turnoff, it appeared our luck had changed. The forest was beautiful and undisturbed. However, the road was cluttered with tree falls and at one point I had to spend about a half hour cutting through a large branch with a machete. We also had to move a giant log in order for us to pass another very narrow section before reaching an absolutely stunning campsite.

The area around the campsite was very cool with massive wetlands (though quite dry this time of year) within a five minute walk. There was also a network of signed trails in the area but none of them led further than a 15 minute walk before being bushed out. It was quite disappointing that the area was not being managed though it was positive that there didn't seem to be any signs of resource extraction. The campsite was quiet and isolated and we enjoyed it immensely.

On the way out we stopped at the main beach campsite that was packed with day trippers from Dar es Salaam. We didn't see any more wildlife on our way out and although the trip was arduous we agreed it was worth it, though doubtful we would return again. We wouldn't recommend visiting the park unless you were particularly interested in the coastal forests.