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;
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
