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Mikumi National Park
Swirls of opaque mist hide the advancing dawn.
The first shafts of sun colour the fluffy grass heads rippling
across the plain in a russet halo. A herd of zebras, confident in
their camouflage at this predatory hour, pose like ballerinas, heads
aligned and stripes merging in flowing motion.
Mikumi National Park abuts the northern border
of Africa's biggest game reserve - the Selous – and is transected by
the surfaced road between Dar es Salaam and Iringa. It is thus the
most accessible part of a 75,000 square kilometre (47,000 square
mile) tract of wilderness that stretches east almost as far as the
Indian Ocean.
The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the
Mkata Floodplain, the popular centrepiece of Mikumi, draw frequent
comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains.
Lions survey their grassy kingdom – and the
zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo herds that migrate across it –
from the flattened tops of termite mounds, or sometimes, during the
rains, from perches high in the trees. Giraffes forage in the
isolated acacia stands that fringe the Mkata River, islets of shade
favoured also by Mikumi's elephants.
Criss-crossed by a good circuit of game-viewing
roads, the Mkata Floodplain is perhaps the most reliable place in
Tanzania for sightings of the powerful eland, the world’s largest
antelope. The equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope
haunt the miombo-covered foothills of the mountains that rise from
the park’s borders.
More than 400 bird species have been recorded,
with such colourful common residents as the lilac-breasted roller,
yellow-throated longclaw and bateleur eagle joined by a host of
European migrants during the rainy season. Hippos are the star
attraction of the pair of pools situated 5km north of the main
entrance gate, supported by an ever-changing cast of waterbirds.
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