SAADANI NATIONAL PARK :
Saadani National Park is the perfect union of beach and bush. Located just 70 km north of Bagamoyo and immediately accessible by paved road from Dar es Salaam , Saadani has recently become a fully protected national park and is a popular day-trip from beach resorts scattered along Tanzania ’s northern coast.

Saadani Game Reserve was gazetted in 1964, covering an area of some 250 sq km from the Wami river in the south to the Mligaji river in the north, with the Moshi railway line as the western boundary. Once Saadani became a Game Reserve new species of animal were introduced to compliment the existing diversity which includes the extremely rare Roosevelt 's Sable Antelope. In 2003 Saadani was upgraded to become Tanzania 's latest National Park and boundaries have been expanded to include land north of the Mligaji as well as North Mkwaja , the Zaraninge forest, noted for its variety of indigenous vegetation, and land south of the Wami river. The total protected area now covers over 1000 sq km.

Today, a surprisingly wide range of grazers and primates is seen on game drives and walks, among them giraffe, buffalo, warthog, common waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeest, wildebeest, red duiker, greater kudu, eland, sable antelope, yellow baboon and vervet monkey. The Wami River, which passes through Saadani National Park and empties into the Indian Ocean, hosts a large population of hippos, crocodiles, flamingos, and many large bird species.

Herds of up to 30 elephants are encountered with increasing frequency, frolicking in the sands and sometimes venturing into the crashing surf, which alone makes Saadani one of the more special and unique parks to visit in Tanzania. Several lion prides are resident, together with leopard, spotted hyena and black-backed jackal. Boat trips on the mangrove-lined Wami River come with a high chance of sighting hippos, crocodiles and a selection of marine and riverine birds, including the mangrove kingfisher and lesser flamingo. Dolphins are sometimes seen offshore and whales pass through the Zanzibar channel on their migration. Of particular interest is the green turtle project at Madete, this endangered species is under particular threat from fishing practices offshore from Saadani and a conservation project has been established to help protect both turtles and their eggs.

Saadani is dominated by acacia woodland, coastal thickets and miombo woodland. It also protects a large area of mangrove swamps around the mouth of the Wami river on the south boundary, and includes several species of palm including the mysterious looking 'walking palm', not actually a palm at all.