Thanks - again - for these excellent Tanzanian photos.
I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts of and experiences in Mkomazi. I have driven past it numerous times, but, at the time I was living in Tanzania it was not a National Park. Is it yet 'set up' for mass tourism, or is it still very much off the beaten track? How likely is it to see Cape hunting dogs there? Did you stay overnight there, or just head in and out?
Before becoming a National park it was a game reserve where people could go hunting. Although now fully protected, the large game is still very shy and would usually bolt as soon as they saw the vehicle.
Very arid, similar to Tarangire but without a large river and swamps. Lots of thornscrub but also large tracts of grasslands. It's on the border with Kenya, and abuts Tsavo West National Park allowing wildlife to move between the two reserves. As a result Mkomazi has a number of species rarely found in Tanzania that are common in Kenya like Vulturine Guineafowl, Fringe-eared Oryx, Kudu and Gerenuk.
However, unlike other National Parks in TZ you can drive for quite a while between mammal sightings (and sometimes even bird sightings) in Mkomazi.
As far as mass tourism goes, it is quite a large national park and could cope with large volumes of day tourists, but at this point in time they won't see as much as they would in the other National Parks. It's also several hours drive from Arusha, so at this stage it's only on the itinerary for dedicated wildlife enthusiasts who are happy to avoid the tourist crowds and don't expect all the wildlife to be lounging out on display for them. However, in another ten years when stocks have bred up into larger numbers and the animals are less timid it should be a different story.
There is only one place to stay in the park - Babu's Camp - a permanent tented camp with three or four tents for couples and a generator at night. This is where I stayed for a couple of nights. There is plenty of accommodation available in the nearest town, Same.
Cape Hunting Dogs and Black Rhinos are in large fenced-off areas in the centre of the park where they are protected and will hopefully breed. Previously you could make arrangements to see them both (for a fee), but when we tried we were told this was no longer available.
