Safari car hire from Mwanza

Most safari traffic enters from Arusha in the east, which is a long way from the western corridor and a long way from the Grumeti. Starting from Mwanza changes the trip: you are at Ndabaka Gate in around four hours, and between roughly May and July the migration is crossing the Grumeti right there — while the eastern side of the park is comparatively quiet.

A safari vehicle is not just a 4x4 with a bigger badge. The cars we fit for the parks carry a pop-up roof hatch so you can stand and photograph over the roofline, a cooler box between the seats, a roof rack and a dual battery so the cooler keeps running with the engine off. Underneath, they are full-time low-range 4WD on high-clearance suspension, because the park tracks in the wet season are a genuine test and a soft-roader is the wrong tool.

You can take the vehicle self-drive or with a driver-guide. Self-drive is cheaper and works well if you have done this before; a driver-guide who has run the western corridor hundreds of times will find considerably more, and knows where the cats sit in the heat of the afternoon. Park entry fees are separate and paid at the gate.

One piece of planning advice. During the migration months, June to September, the roof-hatch vehicles book out first — we ask for two to three weeks of notice in that window. Outside it, a few days is normally enough.