White Giraffe Home
Prologue
Some Initial Thoughts
Tanzania
...Tarangire National Park
...Serengeti National Park
...Oldapai Gorge
...Ngorongoro Crater
...Lake Manyara National Park
...Arusha National Park
...Selous Game Reserve
......Rufiji River Camp
......Sand Rivers Camp
...Mikumi National Park
...Ruaha National Park
......Ruaha River Lodge
......Mwagusi Sand River Camp
...Zanzibar
Zimbabwe
...Zambezi National Park
...Victoria Falls
...Ivory Lodge
...Hwange National Park
...Sable Valley Lodge
...Mana Pools National Park
...Motopos Hills
Kenya
...Sweetwaters Game Reserve
...Samburu National Reserve
...The Ark
...Amboseli
...Masai Mara
Epilogue
Contact Us
Back to Hommert Central
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RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
Ruaha National Park, Tanzania’s second largest National Park, covers 12,950 square kilometers. The Park derives its name from the Ruaha River which traverses the Park. However, the term “ruaha” means “river” or “stream” in the language of the Hehe people who originally lived in the area, and the word “ruaha” was incorrectly used to name the River. Literally interpreted, the name of the Ruaha River is “River River”. The actual Hehe name of the River is Lyambangari,
(1)
but no one has corrected this misnaming.
The Ruaha River flows through the eastern portion of the Park, its bed being part of the lowest level of the great rift escarpment,
(2)
traversing open plains and gorges on its way to the Rufiji River. The central portion of the Park is the watershed between the Ruaha River and the Nzombe River, the two permanent sources of water in the Park. The vegetation of the Park ranges from treeless grasslands to swamps to evergreen forests. Tree species include acacias, figs, tamarind, palms and the magnificent baobabs. Scrub brush also is predominant in some areas, guaranteed to be infested with tsetse flies.
(3)
To arrive at Ruaha National Park required another 300 kilometer drive from Mikumi. However, this time the first 200 kilometers were on fairly well maintained tarmac, making the journey much easier than the trip from the Selous to Mikumi. We passed through Iringa, a large commercial center in central Tanzania. Our drivers stopped at Iringa, allowing us an opportunity to tour the local market, an enormous construct overflowing with merchants pedaling all sorts of goods. Irene and several other group members acquired some baskets, drums and other souvenirs for the trip while Gary and I searched out a purveyor of Konyagi and other spirits. While waiting for our drivers to return, an older gentlemen approached Gary and I to strike up a conversation. Much to our surprise his main interest was the personal problems being encountered by President Clinton vis-à-vis the Starr investigation. Even in middle Africa people had heard of Monica.
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