Kaokoland, in the far north of Namibia is strictly for the more adventurous. The scenery is dramatic, there are small pockets of desert-adapted game, and it is home to the Himba people. It is a fragile environment where visitors must travel with local guides who know and are committed to the area. A high degree of cultural sensitivity is essential.

Although it is harsh and offers little respite at midday, the rugged landscape is especially attractive during the early morning and late afternoon when it is transformed into softly glowing pastel shades.
The permanent waters of the Kunene River, which also forms Namibia’s border with Angola, provide a beautiful oasis and adventure activities. Mountain ranges near the Kunene River are rugged and impressive with the highest point being 2039m. The Epupa Falls & the Ruacana falls are both on the Kunene River.

Kaokoland Safari Namibia
The name Epupa is a Herero word for the spray created by falling water. Epupa is formed by a series of cascades that drop a total of 60m over a distance of about 1.5km and at one point reach a width of 500m. The area surrounding Epupa Falls has richly coloured rock walls and some beautiful trees including wild fig, baobabs and palms. There is the option to white water raft or canoe the Kunene River.

With 16,000 or so inhabitants, 5,000 of them Himba, Kaokoland has a population density of only one person to every two square kilometers which is about a quarter of the national average.

The Himba people are descendants of the earliest Herero people who arrived in this area in the 16th century. Two hundred years later the pressure of too many people and cattle in this dry environment led the Herero to migrate south to richer pasturelands. The Himba remained and today live a semi nomadic lifestyle based on ancient traditions.

The Himba are a statuesque people, noted for their unusual sculptural beauty, intricate hairstyles, and traditional adornments and for the red ochre & fat treatment that protects their skin. Himba homes are simple cone shaped structures of saplings bound together with palm leaves and plastered with mud and dung. A family may move from one home to another several times a year to seek grazing for their goats and cattle.

In terms of wildlife Kaokoland is most famous for its desert elephant. Although not a separate sub species these elephants have adapted to their extremely harsh environment and the only other place you may find elephants living in such dry conditions is in Mali on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The secret of their survival in the arid wastelands is an intimate knowledge of their limited food and water resources. As with the elephants the black rhino of Kaokoland were badly poached for many years and while a few individuals survive in the extreme western they are a rare sight. Fortunately there are several organizations doing their best to ensure the continuing existence of these rare and unique animals.

Bird watching is most rewarding around the permanent waters of the Kunene River and even amateur twitchers will enjoy the rare Rufoustailed palm thrush, as well as bee-eaters, the African fish eagle and Kingfishers ranging from giant to the tiny Malachite Kingfisher.

About Tanzania, Zanzibar & Kilimanjaro

Breath-takingly beautiful and immense, Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa and was the first to gain independence from the European colonial powers. Here, some of Africa’s best game viewing country lies between Africa’s highest mountain – Kilimanjaro and Africa’s largest lake – Victoria. As if that were not enough Tanzania’s West is bordered by Africa’s deepest lake – Tanganyika; it boasts the world’s largest, intact volcanic caldera, Ngorongoro; one of the world’s largest game reserves – Selous; a tropical spice island – Zanzibar; and arguably the world’s most famous wildlife park – Serengeti.

Those who come for the game alone will be thrilled with the spectacle that Tanzania provides but look further and you will see that there is much more. Evidence suggests that East Africa is the Cradle of Mankind and some of the earliest known hominid fossil remains have been found here. There are 130 ethnic tribes, there is the exotic spice island of Zanzibar with its dark slave trading history, there are the chimpanzee forests on Lake Tanganyika where the crystal clear waters make for fascinating snorkelling and there are remote national parks.

For first time visitors the parks of the northern circuit offer a safari experience second to none. Finish with a few days on Zanzibar and enjoy the exotic, almost oriental atmosphere where India meets Arabia meets Africa.

TANZANIA’S NORTHERN CIRCUIT

Arusha, is the starting point for a safari in Tanzania’s north and Arusha is best accessed from Nairobi or Kilimanjaro Airports. Safaris in the north usually include Ngorongoro Crater, The Serengeti, Lake Manyara and at times Tarangire National Park. A minimum of 5 nights is recommended.

Ngorongoro Crater, Once a gigantic volcano, taller than Kilimanjaro, when Ngorongoro collapsed, a vast bowl was formed and roaming within the varied eco-systems of this bowl are elephant, spotted hyena, golden jackal, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, ostriches, leopard, zebra antelope and much more.
…read more

Lake Manyara National Park, Located about 2 hours drive from Arusha this Park is small but very rewarding. It is best known for its tree-climbing lions and an elephant population that has been well studied. There is a range of habitats and these attract a large number of mammal and bird species that are often seen against a stunning backdrop of the flamingo pink lake, or the 2000ft escarpment of the Rift Valley.
…read more

Tarangire National Park, This is the fourth biggest National Park in Tanzania and it consists of five separate vegetation and habitat zones. This diversity in turn, supports an equally rich variety of mammals, birds and flora, punctuated by magnificent 1000-year-old giant Baobab trees. The best months to visit are the dry season months from July to October.
…read more

Serengeti National Park, At 14,763 sq kms this is Tanzania’s largest and most famous National Park and it encompasses most of the Serengeti ecosystem and adjoins the Ngorongoro & Masai Mara Reserves. In this vast sanctuary there still exists the greatest and most spectacular concentration of game animals found anywhere in the world.
…read more

The Serengeti Migration, One of the wildlife wonders of the world and it involves an estimated 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra and 400,000 gazelles. The migration is an on going vaguely clockwise circuit from one seasonally attractive area to the next.
…read more

Mount Kilimanjaro, On Tanzania’s northern border, the almost perfect cone of an ancient volcano rises majestically above the plains. It is almost half a million years old and at 5,895 m (19,340 ft) Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain.
…read more

TANZANIA’S SPICE ISLANDS

Zanzibar, is one of the Indian Ocean’s most exotic and romantic islands. It was was once a major trading centre and as early as the 10th century, Persian merchants migrated here. Over the centuries it shipped out fortunes in ivory, rhinoceros horn, gold, copper, spices and sadly, slaves.
…read more

Pemba Island, forms part of the Zanzibar archipelago and offers excellent snorkelling & diving along its entire shoreline where numerous smaller islands give rise to magnificent drop offs and spectacular walls covered with a large variety of hard and soft corals and swimming with reef and game fish.
…read more

Mafia Island, is a wonderful little island at the centre of the largest marine park in East Africa. It is a real sleepy backwater, a remnant of the old Swahili coast and a the place to visit now if you want to see how Zanzibar was thirty years ago.

THE SOUTHERN & CENTRAL PARKS OF TANZANIA

These Parks are less visited and offer a great opportunity to explore wild and unspoiled bush. They are best accessed from Dar-es-Salaam.

Ruaha National Park, is known for its great populations of elephant, buffalo and greater and lesser kudu, and for its impressive scenery. It is one of Tanzania’s newest, least visited and best National Parks and is almost the size of the Serengeti. The landscape is mainly miombo woodland with rocky hills on a plateau that rises to over 1000 metres (3,300 ft). The Great Ruaha River with its impressive gorges, deep pools and rapids runs for 160 kms (100 miles) and is home to a huge number of crocodiles and hippo. Strangely beautiful baobab trees grow in the golden grasses along the river and add to the already excessive pleasure of African photography.

Selous National Reserve, in the southeast of Tanzania encompasses 54,600 sq km (21,300 sq miles) and is Africa’s second largest game reserve and a World Heritage site. It is more than half the size of the state of Ohio, twice the area of Denmark and almost four times larger than the Serengeti. Largely unexplored and very definitely unexploited, no human settlement is allowed within the Reserve. The Selous is a stronghold for vast elephant numbers and herds often exceed 1000 animals. There are also large populations of lion, leopard, greater kudu, buffalo, hippopotamus and crocodile. Localised species are found in certain habitats such as the colobus monkey, found in the forests along the Rufiji River. Over one million large animals live within its vast borders; over 350 species of bird and over 2000 species of plant have been recorded. Selous is closed from March to May.

Mikumi’s, location on the Iringa Highway makes it a popular overnight spot on an overland safari. Gazetted in 1964 the 3230 sq km park shares its southern boundary with the Selous Game Reserve, which is the largest Reserve in Africa and the two make one ecosystem between which animals such as elephant, buffaloes and zebras migrate.

TANZANIA FACTS

Country     United Republic of Tanzania
Capital     Dodoma
Government type     Republic
Independence     26 April 1964 the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined and eventually became Tanzania.
Population     37,187,939 (July 2002 est.)
Nationality     Noun is Tanzanian or Tanzanians
Adjective     Tanzanian
Ethnic groups     Native Africans account for 99% of the population and there are 130 Bantu tribes. The other 1% consists mainly of Asian, European, and Arab who live on Zanzibar
Religions     Mainland – Christian 30% and Muslim 35% and indigenous beliefs 35% whilst Zanzibar is more than 99% Muslim
Languages

Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguju (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
Currency     Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Area     Total of 945,090 sq km including the islands of Zanzibar, Mafia & Pemba making it slightly larger than twice the area of California
Borders     Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia
Economic overview

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries and the economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. Recently there has been an increase in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Natural gas exploration is also looking positive and production could start soon.

LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

Lake Manyara National Park is located about 2 hours drive from Arusha. At 318sq km (123 sq miles) it is a small but very rewarding National Park that includes much of Lake Manyara and Rift Valley escarpment, which in places is 2000 feet high.

The Park is best known for its tree-climbing lions and the elephant population that was studied by Iain Douglas Hamilton in the 60’s. Your chances of seeing elephant here are very good and as they are quite used to vehicles in this Park you will usually get very close. When it comes to lion, well – there are lions here and they are often seen, but not usually sitting in trees! There are quite a few places around East Africa where lions do climb trees (Selous, Katavi, Lake Nakuru, Queen Elizabeth and more) so the reason that Manyara is famed for them is just one of those odd things.

In addition to lion and elephant, Lake Manyara’s terrain is so varied that it is home to a diverse range of animal species and with a bit of luck you will see herds of buffalo, giraffe, zebra, hippos and perhaps leopard. The other up side to this park is the setting in which you see the game – it is spectacular. Back dropped by the rugged 2000ft escarpment, fringed by the green grass of the lakeshore and mirrored in the magnificent soda lake. Manyara is somewhere that the scenery and the dramatic setting are as much part of the experience as the game viewing.

Lake Manyara National Park Tanzania Manyara Safari
Bird life in Lake Manyara’s varied habitats is also impressive and over 300 species have been recorded here

Much of the park is covered by quite thick acacia woodland and so you need to drive slowly. In the northern section there are a number of clear streams, which flow from the porous rock at the base of the rift wall, whilst further south where the rock is impervious, waterfalls cascade down the escarpment face during the rainy season.

Like the other Rift Valley lakes, Manyara’s water is alkaline and greater and lesser flamingo thrive on the algae. Pink backed pelicans and yellow billed storks nest in one of the largest colonies of its type in East Africa at the northern end of the lake (which explains the smell as you approach from the village of Mto Wa Umbu).

Up to 2,800 m (9,200 ft), the dense forest shelters wildlife including buffalo, monkey, elephant and leopard, though they are rarely seen. Beyond this point, high heath meadows are home to strange plants, some of which grow to gigantic proportions.

MOUNT KILIMANJARO CLIMBING

Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 m (19,340 ft) and the upper slopes are protected as a National Park. Up to 2,800 m (9,200 ft), the dense forest shelters wildlife including buffalo, monkey, elephant and leopard, though they are rarely seen. Beyond this point, high heath meadows are home to strange plants, some of which grow to gigantic proportions. Above 4,000 m (13,000 ft) there’s nothing but a desolate plateau, capped with the famous eternal snows.

The climate of the mountain is influenced by the prevailing trade winds which bring the heaviest rainfall to the south east forested slopes during March and My and short rains in November to December. Rainfall and temperatures normally decrease with altitude.
There are six official climbing routes, guides are required and bookings must be made in advance of your departure from your home country.

Kilimanjaro Safari
The Marangu route (34kms long) is on the East Side of the mountain and is the busiest trail with approximately 10800 climbers per year. There are three hut complexes along this route, which provide overnight accommodations, a dining room and toilets. This is a two-way trail in that you go up and come down the same way. Climbers are encouraged to take 5 nights as the longer climb allows for acclimatisation time and both reduces the chance of serious health problems and increases the chance of a reaching the summit.

Kilimanjaro Hiking Trip Africa
We also arrange climbs on the Machame & Shira Routes and these are one-way ascent trails only and you descend via the Mweka Route. These trails are more challenging and much less used with less than 1500 climbers per year on the two of them. There are no huts and tents must be carried for camping. Climbers are encouraged to take 6 or more nights to reach the summit.

Ngorongoro Crater was once a gigantic volcano, taller than Kilimanjaro. When it collapsed a huge bowl ringed by 500 metre high walls, measuring 18 kms across and encompassing a total area of 260 sq kms was formed. Ngorongoro is one of the most perfect & spectacular calderas on the planet.

Scenic grandeur and stunning views are the hallmark of this natural wonder. The safari lodges and campgrounds are built high on the crater rim and most afford amazing views. There is only one road in/out of the Crater so all safari vehicles descend via the same route.

Ngorongoro Crater (which makes up only 3 percent of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area) is a microcosm of East African habitats and in this restricted space, exceptional climatic conditions have favoured an explosion of animal life. Some 25,000 mammals live permanently within the Crater.

Aside from the fact that there are very large numbers of animals here, one of the things that makes the Crater so good for game viewing is the great visibility. There are many places from which you can get sweeping views of the crater floor and identify animals at quite a distance. You’d be amazed at how far away your guide will be able to confirm that the dot you are looking at is actually a lion for example (or that the lion you have spotted is in fact a log).

In addition to good numbers of zebra, buffalo, ostrich, warthog, eland, wildebeest, elephant and various species of gazelles and antelopes, the Crater is probably the best place to see some of East Africa’s last wild black rhino. There are some big prides of lions including some with magnificent black-manes, as well as leopard, cheetah, hyena and jackals. On a days game drive you have a good chance of seeing ‘the big five.

There are lots of colourful flamingos and a variety of other water birds gather around the soda lake on the crater floor. More than a 100 species of bird not found in the Serengeti have been found in the Crater.

The best of the Ngorongoro Crater’s wildlife can be seen on a daylong game drive, which usually includes a stop for a picnic lunch, and may people stay here for just one or two nights. However, Ngorongoro is just the best known of a large number of volcanic mountains in the area and the landscape contains a stunning range of dormant volcanic peaks rising to over 10,000 ft above seal level – Ol Deani, Olmoti, Loolmalasin, and Empakaai.

For a more in depth visit to the surrounding highlands there are some spectacular walks north towards Empakai, Ol Donyo Lengai and Lake Natron as well as south towards Lake Eyasi or south west towards Ndutu. This gives an opportunity to explore areas that are visited by far fewer people.

Pemba Island forms part of the Zanzibar archipelago and is about 50 km long. Visibility is excellent in these warm tropical waters & the average water temperature is 28’, and whilst the best months to dive are September through to April diving is good year round with exception of May.

Pemba has more interesting, varied and spectacular diving than anywhere else in East Africa. The coastline is dotted with tiny, uninhabited islands providing almost unlimited dive sites around and in the channels between, plus there is the 800m deep Pemba channel with world-class deep-sea fishing.

There is a lot of excellent drift diving along the big walls and some huge independent bommies teeming with reef fish. These are for the more experienced divers only. At the right times of year, you can encounter schools of pilot whales and awesome humpback whales. All of the recommended diving is found off the west coast and with the dive sites stretching from the northern to the southern tip.
In the north there are almost limitless dive sites stretching right around the northern tip towards the east coast. Most of the good dives are fast drifts, catching the tide as it sweeps in or out through the gaps between the islets and there are also some excellent underwater bommies where huge schools of pelagic species congregate. There is enough variety here to keep anyone happy with at least a week of good diving. To give you a taste of what it is all about, here are just a few of the recommended dive sites
Deep Freeze: max depth : 90m
So named because it seems to catch a cold current from the depths. Deep freeze is the Southern side of Fundo Gap. Visibility varies from 15 metres to 70 metres. When the visibility is low, the site becomes a magnet for turtles and giant trevally, both Bluefin and Blackfin. When the visibility is high, you can see the bottom of Fundo gap at 90 metres – makes you feel very, very small.

Manta Point: max depth : deep
No mantas here, instead as you swirl around this underwater mountain that rises from the depths to within 6m of the surface, you should look for the huge schools of jackfish and surgeonfish that streak out of the blue and in towards groups of divers – a great spot for pelagic watching.

Njjao Gap : max depth : 50m
Either side of Njao Gap encounter table-top coral, sea whips and gorgonian sea fans with giant groupers, Napoleon wrasse, titan trigger-fish and regular darting wahoo, jacks and giant trevally.

In the south, Mesali Island is a Marine Reserve and the coral jewel in the crown with shallow water reefs in pristine condition so snorkellers can indulge. Along the southern coast there is an almost continuous wall of soft coral, but be aware of the strong currents. Again, there is enough variety to keep anyone happy for 4 to 5 days of good diving. Recommended sites down this way include ..

Murray’s Wall : max depth : 60m
Just off Mesali Island, this is a craggy wall peppered with small caves, ridges and underwater peninsula. Large rivers of sand run off the top of the reef to form wide canyons that enter the wall at 25m. Gorgonian fans are in abundance below 20m. On a turning tide the marine life is exceptional and the currents quite strong. Huge giant grouper lazily drift through the reef and hundreds of surgeonfish cruise below divers, still visible at 40 to 50 metres.

Christmas Reef : max depth : 30m
Discovered on Christmas Day 1999 this reef is a very steep slope of pristine hard coral that descends from 12 to 35 metres where it too becomes a wall. Christmas is unique for its sheer density of coral and this site is a pleasure to drift along at any depth.