BEST TIME TO VISIT GOMBE FOR A WESTERN TANZANIA SAFARI

For much of the year, Gombe is a superlative chimpanzee safari wilderness for an adventurous primate tour in western Tanzania, but the wet season from November to April poses particular problems due to rain. Access is difficult and trekking is slippery. Mbali Mbali Gombe Lodge finds the months of March and April a convenient time to close for maintenance so it is almost impossible to find accommodation.

Since there is only one proper tourist focused primate accommodation with only 7 tented rooms (maximum 14 guests) i.e. Mbali Mbali Gombe Lodge, it generally tend to be booked up months and even a year in advance in the peak season, especially for parties of more than two AfricanMecca guests. There is never any problem with crowding at Gombe as there are rarely more than 15-25 tourist visitors at a time in the entire 52 square kilometers of the park.

Out of season visits do not offer much financial advantage. Travel is extremely expensive and logistical costs increase as access becomes more difficult. The Gombe park fee stays the same throughout the year and is almost double the cost of other parks in Tanzania such as Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Manyara etc.



Chimpanzee viewing is the main reason for a safari trip to Gombe. The chimp communities are reasonably accessible on two to five hour treks through the tropical forest. But the primate groups are far ranging and may not always be found, particularly in the wet season when they move higher up the mountains in search of food.

In the dry season from June to September, there is very little rain or none at all, with plenty of sunshine, although later in the year a fine haze can impede viewing conditions. There are few mosquitoes about, especially during the day. Chimps generally stay on the lower slopes during the dry period and are easier to find. Sometimes they can even be seen close to the camps or wandering along the sandy shore. In intermediate periods, conditions are widely variable but generally tolerable and well worthwhile because of other incentives.

Between December to March is bird watching time, with hundreds of migratory and resident species, such as pelicans, storks, ospreys, vultures, rollers, barbets, cuckoos, hawks, eagles, owls, cormorants and many more in full breeding plumage. Many of them are forest species, require more time in Gombe to spot, but most rewarding.



Unusual forest floor foragers include trumpeter hornbills whose raucous calls resemble party blowers, crested guinea fowl with bizarre curly black topknots like a Beatles haircut, and francolins with yellow or chestnut throats. In coastal palm trees, the palm nut vulture waits to scavenge from the shore, while brightly colored weavers, kingfishers, bee-eaters and the pretty Livingstone’s turaco with its white-limned red eyes, red beak and Mohawk crest, perch amongst miombo foliage.

It can be very hot with enervating high humidity. You may need anti-malaria prophylactics and spray protection against the mosquitoes and other insects. But 250 bright butterflies of all shapes and sizes flutter through the verdant forest fringes, making this particular distinctive and utopic Tanzanian vacation, a photographer’s Shangri-La (read more on where to stay in Gombe).