Mkomazi National Park

The Mkomazi National Park is located in the northern part of Tanzania, between Moshi and Tanga. The park finds itself in a beautiful setting with both the Pare and Usambara mountains towering above its boundaries. Depending on the weather, Mount Kilimanjaro can also be seen from the park. In terms of vegetation, Mkomazi marks the southern tip of the Sahel zone which resembles that of a dry, desert like landscape. Due to the climate, the vegetation primarily consist of acacia-commiphora woodlands and towards the western mountains the vegetation changes to a dry land forest.

The main source of water in Mkomazi comes from the Umba River in the southeast. Apart from that, the park sees very little precipitation all year round making game drives along the river area definitely worthwhile.

Birds in Mkomazi National Park

Mkomazi National Park is one of the most interesting destinations in northern Tanzania for bird watchers. Over 400 species of birds reside here. From November to April, migratory birds from Europe increase the diversity of avian species that can be spotted in the national park.

A unique feature of birding in Mkomazi is that the park includes forests, plains, rocky hills, and low mountains. Thanks to these landscapes, you can see numerous birds from different ecosystems.

Best time to visit mkomazi

Tony Fitzjohn’s work in restoring the black rhino population in Mkomazi NP

You can see rhinos in Mkomazi thanks to the work of Tony Fitzjohn. Born in England in 1945, he moved permanently to Africa at the age of 23, where he began working on animal conservation projects. His mentor was George Adamson—the first European to systematically address the issue of wildlife conservation in Africa. Tony worked with Adamson in Kenya for 18 years.

In 1989, the Tanzanian government invited Tony to restore the Mkomazi Game Reserve, which had been severely damaged by poachers by that time. Populations of many animals in Mkomazi were virtually on the brink of complete destruction. Tony assembled and trained a team of rangers who began regular patrols of the park. Roads were built, and a permanent ranger post was established. The number of poaching incidents began to decrease, and wildlife began to recover. The elephant population increased from 11 individuals in 1989 to 500 in 2022.

In 1997, Tony founded a project in Mkomazi to reintroduce the endangered black rhino. They had been completely exterminated in Mkomazi. To assemble the first colony, Tony negotiated with national parks across Africa and zoos worldwide. Animals were brought to Mkomazi, and Tony and a team of veterinarians continuously monitored their condition and protected them from dangers. A fence was built around the territory where the rhinos live, and entry was closed to everyone except project staff.

Gradually, the rhino population surpassed the critical threshold, and in 2019, regular travelers were allowed into the project area. This is the only place in Tanzania where you can almost always see a black rhino.

In the same year, Tony Fitzjohn handed over the management of the project to the Tanzania National Parks Administration (TANAPA) and returned to Kenya.