Ruaha National Park: Mpululu and NE boundary road

On the way to Mpululu

This past weekend we decided to take a big trip to check out some very distant and less visited parts of Ruaha National Park. We planned on climbing the escarpment and driving to the north end of the park to the ranger post in Mpululu. We planned on camping and then heading down the NE boundary road before driving through Lunda area and then back home. We didn't know anyone that had done the drive this year and only knew the road to Mpululu was passable but as usual, we were ready for anything.

The drive to Mpululu was uneventful though it was nice to drive through the Ikuku Flats. The Ikuka Flats is probably a remnant of an ancient lake as the name implies it's a huge open area with low vegetation. As we got closer to Mpululu we passed through some nice Miombo woodland with tress that had recently put out their leaves. The landscape then becomes rocky with some nice lookout points and undulating hills before arriving at the Mzombe river that marks the northern boundary of Ruaha National Park. 

We stopped briefly at the ranger post and then headed east. This area was the most visually stunning part of the drive with huge rocky hills, some with impressive exposed rock faces and others dotted with vegetation. 

After Mpululu

The next morning we set off early and began the long drive down the boundary road. There wasn't much to see outside of an impressive hill somewhere in the middle. It looks very cool as you approach it straight on and initially catch sight of it very far away. There are also two huge areas of presumably ephemeral wetlands with dried black cotton soil and dried grass. After that the road gradually drops towards the river, far more of a gentle slope than on the way up. 

Very bumpy dried black cotton soil. 

On the way down overlooking Lunda

The road then drops into Lunda which provides a welcome change of vegetation. In this literal far corner of the park the area is famous for poaching and we even saw a young man in the riverbed with 20 dead guinea fowl that he had likely snared. Wildlife becomes more numerous the closer you get to Lunda ranger post before finally passing through the familiar areas of the park. 

Overall we were pleased with the trip as it allowed us to see some of the different landscapes of the park. Sadly, the borders of the park are under heavy pressure from both legal hunting and poaching so the wildlife is extremely skittish. In the 300 or so kilometers driven around the escarpment we saw only three warthogs, a dikdik, and impala. However, we knew it was part of the trip and we are spoiled rotten with wildlife viewing so we could appreciate an exploratory trip. There is something exciting about being in the middle of nowhere and Ruaha National Park can certainly offer that!