You land at Julius Nyerere International, and someone is there for you. The transfer into the city is short and the rest of the day is yours — take it gently, or take it out: Bagamoyo and its old stone town, a marine reserve island, or a wander through Dar itself. Tonight is about landing properly.

Breakfast, then west — the city thins, the Uluguru Mountains rise, and by the time the picnic lunch comes out you're already on safari. Giraffe, antelope, zebra, elephant, hippo, buffalo, wildebeest, yellow baboon, and rhino for the fortunate. Game viewing carries on through the afternoon, back to camp before dusk.

A whole day given to Mikumi, starting with tea or coffee in the half-light. The Mkata area and its floodplain is the ground to work — eland, greater kudu, sable antelope and plenty else besides. Come back to camp for lunch and go out again, or stay out. It's your call.

Leave the plains after breakfast and climb into forest. The Udzungwas are an important primate habitat and best met on foot. The afternoon offers a several-hour hike to Sanje Waterfall, or a gentler walk towards Mangula village — a market, and drumming groups who need no invitation.

A day you shape yourself over breakfast. A rubber plantation, a hike into Magombero Forest, guided birdwatching, or a cycling tour through the foothills — take your pick, two people minimum per activity. Forest air, birdsong, no hurry anywhere.

A long, handsome drive with game viewing folded into it. Ruaha is elephant country above all, but the cast is deep: wild dog, lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, eland, impala, jackal. Arrive at the lodge in time for lunch, then head straight back out.

Breakfast, packed lunch, and out into the bush for the whole of it — or back at midday and out again, two shorter drives instead of one long one. The country shifts as you go: semi-desert scrub, Miombo forest, then open plains running down to the Ruaha River.

A long road day, and a welcome one. Packed lunch aboard, mountains through the window, and time to let the last few days settle. You end at Mbuyuni Farm Retreat, a small working farm outside Morogoro, for two nights of a different pace entirely.

Nothing is asked of you today. The Uluguru Mountains sit on the skyline, the pool is there, and the farm is easy company. If you'd rather be busy: mountain biking, golf, tennis, birdwatching, or a guided walk through the chili and spice crops with someone who grows them.

An early start, over the Uluguru Mountains and through village country, heading for one of Africa's largest protected areas. Nyerere — still widely known as the Selous — is remote southern Tanzania at its most convincing. You overnight at Sable Mountain Lodge, near the Matembe entrance.

A long, unhurried push through northern Nyerere — Miombo woodland, buffalo, elephant, eland, kudu and antelope of every size. Around midday you reach the hot springs near Lake Tagalala, hippo and crocodile territory. The afternoon runs on through the lakes and along the Rufiji, ending at Lake Manze.

More of the park in the morning, and then the best hour of the trip: onto the water. Crocodiles at eye level, hippos surfacing, birdlife thick along the banks. You step off the boat and into Selous Impala Camp, right on the Rufiji.

Breakfast, then east towards the coast — coconut palms, hardwood and sisal, and roadside stalls selling hand-woven baskets and handicrafts worth stopping for. You reach Dar es Salaam in the late afternoon, with southern Tanzania still rattling around in your head. The programme ends here.