|
This park has three distinct zones: Ngurdoto Crater (often called the 'mini-Ngorongoro');
the shallow alkaline Momella Lakes fed by underground streams (upon which rest
thousands of lesser and greater flamingoes, and many migrant birds can be seen
between May and October); and the densely forested slopes of Mount Meru (one of
the rewarding mountains to climb in Africa and where, among other animal
species, live blue monkeys and beautiful black and white colobus monkeys). Other
attractions in the park include the elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, hippo,
various antelopes, leopard and hyena. The park is 21 km from Arusha on the main
Arusha to Moshi road. A network of gravel roads and tracks navigable by two
wheel-drive vehicle link the park's main features and viewing points.
Nevertheless, a few roads require 4WD vehicles. [IPS]
Accommodations:
in Arusha town:
- Dik Dik Hotel
- Impala Hotel
- Mountain Village Lodge
- Novotel Mount Meru Hotel
Located a few kilometers north of Kigoma , on the western part of Tanzania,
is the smallest but one of the best known of Tanzania's National Park’s made
famous for its primates and the research center of world renowned Dr. Jane
Goodall. Gombe Stream consists of a narrow mountainous strip of country
stretching along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika and running inland about 5
km to the peaks of the mountain range forming the rift escarpment. The thick
gallery forests of the valley and lower slopes, and the open deciduous woodland
on the upper slopes.are the few places where chimpanzees can still be found in
their natural habitat. Since 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall and colleagues have studied
the primates here. Other primates which may be seen in the park include: Baboon,
Red Colobus Monkey, and Blue Monkey. and the birdlife include the African and
the trumpeter hornbills, Ross's turaco, pied and giant kingfishers, and the
crowned eagle. Access to the park is only by water vessel from either Kigoma or
Ujiji. [IPS]
Accommodations:
- Guest House and "hostel" which consists of several huts (bring
all provisions)
This remote and difficult park to reach (strictly recommended for those of an
adventurous spirit) lies on a high flood plain surrounding Lake Kitavi, to the
south of the Mahale Mountains. The main vegetation found here is the Miombo
woodland. It has a wide variety of wildlife (crocodile, hippo, leopard, lion,
roan and sable antelopes, southern reedbuck, topi, eland, elephant, and one of
the largest herds of buffalo, with as many as 1,600 animals) and offers
excellent game viewing with a real wilderness atmosphere. The diverse woodland,
acacia bush, lakes and swamps have attracted over 400 species of birds,
including large flocks of pelicans. Other attractions are Lakes Katavi and Chada,
which are joined by the River Katuma. The best months to visit are July to
October. [IPS]
Accommodations:
- Designated camp sites within the park
Hotels and lodges are at Mpanda, 40 km north
This relatively small park is divided into five distinct vegetation zones:
ground-water forest, marshland and reed beds, open grasslands and acacia
woodland. In a single day, a visitor may see elephant, buffalo, zebra, hippo and
the curious lions which have a habit of resting in trees. Sheltering under the
massive escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, and covering an area of 325 sq. km,
this park is a flash of green amid an otherwise parched landscape. A line of
springs support the lush vegetation of a groundwater forest, where blue monkeys,
baboons and the curious-looking silvery-cheeked hornbill live, among the more
than 350 bird species, the most profuse being the flamingo. [IPS]
Also known as Lake Malawi, Lake Nyasa is the most southerly of the Rift
Valley lakes and is also, biologically, the most diverse. For example, the lake
contains 30 per cent of the world's cichild species - colorful fish easily
observed in the clear water. [IPS]
The lake is the longest fresh water lake in the world (677km), and the second
deepest (1433m), with over 250 species of fish. Its great age, isolation and
stability have made it a marvelous evolutionary storehouse. Nearly all of the
lake's cichlids are unique as are some species of crabs, mollusks and
crustaceans. All these make it a truly remarkable biological habitat. [IPS]
Africa's largest and the world's second largest freshwater lake, this lake
supports fishing communities along its shores as well as commercial operations.
[IPS]
Located at Ujiji on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where Stanley is reputed
to have met Livingstone and given the famous greeting "Dr. Livingstone, I
presume". The Mahale Mountains, like Gombe, are one of the last natural
home to chimpanzees and are rich in birdlife. The park is a unique ecological
zone with lowland forest, Miombo and open woodlands, moist and dry Savannah
grasslands. Wildlife in the park includes primates, kudu, eland, roan and sable
antelopes, giraffe, buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard. Access is by boat or
plane, both of which are available for charter. There are no roads and all game
viewing is done on foot. It is virtually the only Tanzanian park where you can
walk around. [IPS]
Located astride the main Dar to Mbeya highway, to the north of Selous Game
Reserve and only 283 km from Dar-es-Salaam, the park is an important educational
center for students of ecology and conservation, having been established to
protect the environment and resident animals. The Mikumi flood plain is the main
feature of the park along with the bordering mountain ranges. It has a landing
strip and is home to, among others, the buffalo, zebra, giraffe, lion, wild
dogs, python, monitor lizard, hartebeest, wildebeest, elephant hippo, impala,
warthog, eland and antelope. Birds include the hammerkop, saddle-bill stork, and
the malachite kingfisher. The vegetation is made up of woodland, grassland and
swamp. There are two water holes, Mkata and Chamgore. [IPS]
The snow-covered splendor of the highest mountain in Africa is visible on a
clear day from more than 250 kms away. Kilimanjaro rises from the vast open
plains. First mentioned by Ptolemeus (a 2nd Century Greek philosopher and
geographer), the largest mountain in Africa and highest free standing mountain
in the world, has proved a magnet to climbers, naturalists, travelers and
explorers over the centuries. Only three degrees from the equator, the
Victorians believed Kilimanjaro's snow to be a flight of fancy for many years.
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and stands at 5,895 meters,
three degrees south of the equator. The mountain, a dormant volcano, has two
peaks - Kibo and Mawezi, which are surrounded by dense forests full of dazzling
variety of flora and fauna. [IPS]
Ngorongoro Crater / Ngorongoro Conservation Area
This vast protected area stretches from Lake Natron (the breeding ground for
East Africa's flamingos) in the northeast, to Lake Enyasi in the south, and Lake
Manyara to the east. Eight million years ago, the Ngorongoro Crater was an
active volcano but its cone collapsed, forming the crater that is 610 meters
deep, 20 kilometers in diameter, and covers an area of 311 sq. km. Spectacular
as it is, the crater accounts for just a tenth of the Ngorongoro Conservation
Area. The crater is home to many species of wild game and birds. With the
exception of impala and topi (due to fierce competition with the wildebeest) and
the giraffe (because there is not much to eat at tree level), almost every
species of African plains mammal lives in the crater, including the endangered
black rhino, and the densest population of predators in Africa. A strange thing
is that the crater elephants are mainly bulls. The birdlife, which includes the
flamingo, is mainly seasonal, and is also affected by the ratio of soda to fresh
water in Lake Magadi on the crater floor. Views from the rim of the crater are
sensational. On the crater floor, grassland blends into swamps, lakes, rivers,
woodland and mountains. You can descend to the floor of the crater in a
four-wheel drive vehicle. Only 4WD vehicles are allowed into the crater and game
rangers are compulsory for all. [IPS]
Olduvai, more accurately called Oldupai after the wild sisal in the area, is
situated near the Ngorongoro Crater and is the site of some of the most
important finds of early hominid fossils of all time (made famous by the work of
the Leakey family) - The "Nutcracker Man" or Australophithecus boisei
who lived 1.8 million years ago. There is a small informative museum located at
the visitor center. The gorge is a treasure trove of archeological sites filled
with fossils, settlement remains and stone artefacts. Lecture tours are offered.
[IPS]
At 13,000 sq. km, it is the second largest Tanzanian park and the world's
largest elephant sanctuary. The park represents a transition zone where eastern
and southern African species of fauna and flora overlap. It is the northernmost
example of Miombo woodland, common in central Africa, and the most southerly
protected area in which Grant's gazelle, lesser kudu and striped hyena are
found. To be able to see both greater and lesser kudu and roan and sable
antelope in the same park is one of the special attractions of Ruaha. In the dry
season, the river is an excellent place for observing large numbers of game
including lions, leopards, hunting dogs, giraffe, waterbuck, eland and warthogs.
Thousands of birds flock to Ruaha on their annual migration from Europe to Asia,
and 465 bird species have been sighted in the park. The park's residents include
kingfishers, plovers, hornbills, green wood hoopoes, bee-eaters, sunbirds and
egrets. [IPS]
Accommodations:
- Msembe Camp
- Ruaha River Camp
The pristine reserve, a World Heritage Site since 1982, comprises an area of
55,000 sq. km, covering about six per cent of Tanzania's land surface. Larger
than Switzerland, it is the world's largest game reserve and second only to the
Serengeti in its concentration of wildlife. It is also the sanctuary of the
biggest elephant herd in the world, about 32,000 elephants live in the reserve -
70 per cent of those in Tanzania. The reserve is difficult to describe without
the use of superlatives.
Named after British hunter and writer Frederick Courteney Selous who was
killed during the First World War in the Beho Beho region (of the reserve), the
reserve is part of the 75,000 square kilometer Selous ecosystem, which includes
Mikumi National Park, the Kilombero Game Controlled Areas . Nature experiences
include a boat safari on the mighty Rufiji, walk on the wild side and
ornithology (over 350 species). [IPS]
Accommodations:
- Mbuyu Safari Camp
- Rufiji River Camp
- Sand River Camp
- Sand Rivers Selous Nomad Safari
- Selous Safari Camp
- Stiegler's Gorge Camp
Covering an area of 14,763 square kilometers, equal in size to Northern
Ireland, the world famous Serengeti National Park is Tanzania's oldest park, and
one of the world's last great wildlife refuges. It is contiguous with Kenya's
Masai Mara Game Reserve and stretches as far as Lake Victoria to the West. Its
name comes from the Masai word Siringet, meaning 'endless plains'. The Serengeti
ecosystem supports the greatest remaining concentration of plains game in
Africa, including more than three million large mammals. It is the sanctuary of
an estimated four million different animals and birds. The animals roam the park
freely and in the spectacular migrations, huge herds of wild animals move to
other areas of the park in search of greener grazing grounds (requiring over
4,000 tons of grass each day) and water. [IPS]
The park's permanent water supply ensures a huge and varied animal
population, especially during the dry season when it rivals that of the
Serengeti. The animals include large herds of elephants, rhino, buffalo, zebra,
lesser and greater kudu, eland, wildebeest, hartebeest, Gerenuk, impala and
fringe-eared oryx. This attractive park, with its statuesque baobab trees, is
the main refuge for wildlife from the surrounding part of the Great Rift Valley
during the dry season. It is also an excellent place for birdwatching. The best
birdwatching months are October to May. [IPS]
Udzungwa is one of Tanzania's largest park's but accessibility is severely
limited-game drives are not possible, and therefore only trekking expeditions
can be organized into the wilderness.
The park hosts six species of primate, two of them are of endemic forms - the
Red Colobus Monkey and the Sanje Crested Mangabey, discovered in 1979. The large
resident populations of Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Wild Dog and Sable
Antelope reside primarily on the side of the mountain range which is presently
inaccessible. Other attractions of this park include the spectacular mountain
scenery with rain forest, wooded grasslands, rock faces, rivers and waterfalls;
the falls on the Sanje River which drops some 170 m through the forest and into
the valley below; and the mountain plateau with views of over 100 km, much of it
across a mosaic of mountain forest and grassland. [IPS]
Zanzibar is
located about 35 kilometers off the coast of Tanzania. It comprises the 1,464
square kilometer main island of Unguja (also known as Zanzibar); the island of
Pemba (868 - square kilometers), which is located about 50 kilometers north of
Unguja and famed for its deep-sea fishing and scuba-diving; and a number of
smaller islands. Set as a jewel in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of
Tanzania, Zanzibar has evoked the magic of "A Thousand and One Nights"
for over two centuries. This exotic spice island combines mesmerizing beauty
with the outstanding hospitality of its colorful people. The generally laid-back
pace of this island has ensured that its rich tradition of spice trading is
still evident, as is the historical structures, ancient ruins and crumbled palaces
of past Sultans. Kiswahili is the main language and more than 90 percent of the
population is Muslim. Visitors are advised to dress modestly in public places. [IPS]
Zanzibar is warm almost all the year round with heavy rains from March to May
and lesser rains during October and November. February is the hottest month with
a maximum average temperature of 29 degrees Celsius, while in August the
temperature falls to 21 degrees Celsius.
The city of Zanzibar consists of two distinct areas - Stone Town and Ngambo.
In Stone Town shadows play with shafts of sunlight. Here and there, one will
catch a glimpse of ornate latticework on a balcony or admire the intricacy of a
carved door in sun warmed wood. A narrow staircase winds its way into a cool
interior, children's voices echo in a hidden courtyard, old men chat next to the
colored, crumbling stone walls and tantalizing scents of spices wreathe doorways
and dark corners. A walk through the narrow, twisting streets of stone town
plunges you into the past. The houses are over 150 years old and are constructed
from the island's coral stone. Built by Arab and Indian merchants, in the 19th
century, this is the only functioning historical city in East Africa.
A spice tour is a specialty of Zanzibar and involves a walk in the western
and central regions of the island through plantations, private gardens and
forests. There are more than 50 different spices and fruit - cinnamon, pepper,
ginger, tamarind, coffee, ylang-ylang, coco, and sugarcane. Coconuts are another
main produce of the archipelago. [IPS]
Hotel accommodations span the range of exclusive private island resort to
comfortable small guest houses.
|
