Saadani covers 1,062 square kilometres on Tanzania’s north coast, roughly 100 kilometres northwest of Dar es Salaam and a similar distance southwest of Tanga. Protected as a game reserve from the 1960s, it was gazetted as a national park in 2002 and roughly doubled in size at the same time.
Its distinction is simple and genuine: it is the only wildlife sanctuary in East Africa with an Indian Ocean beachfront. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe and lion occur here, and it is entirely possible to be on the beach and watch an elephant walk past behind you.
Activities range wider than a typical park: game drives, guided walks, and boat trips up the Wami River for hippo, crocodile and mangrove birdlife. Green turtles nest on the beaches. The village of Saadani lies inside the park, and its ruins record its 19th-century role as a significant trading port.