INTRODUCTION
Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa, comprising
both the mainland and the Zanzibar
Archipelago. The capital, Dodoma, is in the centre of the country,
while Dar Es Salaam, the
economic capital, is on the coast. Tanzania has more land devoted
to National Parks and game
reserves then any other country in the world (over 100 000 km2).
Satellite photos of the country reveal the vast central plateau sloping
down towards the Indian
Ocean, three of the great lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa) as
well as the Great Rift Valley,
with its stunning volcanoes. Off the coast are a series of volcanic
and coral islands making up the
Zanzibar Archipelago.
A land of geographical extremes, Tanzania has the highest peak –
Mount Kilimanjaro, the lowest
point – the lakebed of Lake Tanganyika, and the largest lake
– Lake Victoria, on the continent.
Everything from the pristine coral reefs to the Crater Highlands,
remote game reserves and the
famous national parks are protected by law and placed in trust for
future generations.
Tanzania is home to some of the most incredible tribal diversity in
Africa. The country includes
all of the major ethnic and linguistic groups on the continent –
an amazingly varied population to
inhabit a single country. Home to approximately 120 tribal groups,
most of these comprise small
communities that are gradually being assimilated into the larger population
due to changes in
land use and the economic draw of city life. Tribal diversity is prized
and far from being a source
of division, Tanzanians place a high value on their country’s
multicultural heritage. Over the past
few years, cultural tourism has become an increasing attraction for
visitors from around the world
and visits to tribal villages are often a highlight of safari itineraries.
The Masaai are perhaps the
most well known of Tanzania’s tribes and inhabit the northern
regions of the country. Pastoralists
who fiercely guard their culture and traditions, Masaai tribal life
revolves around protecting and
caring for their herds of cattle and finding ample grazing land in
their region.
We arrange trips throughout Tanzania offering 5 different price ranges:
Camping option (basic),
Wildlife lodge option, Sopa lodge option, Serena Lodge option and
the upmarket ConsCorp lodge option.
TOP ATTRACTIONS
In the north:
The parks and game reserves that make up Tanzania’s
northern circuit are easily the most popular
and accessible attractions in the country. If you are travelling from
December to April, the annual
wildebeest migration in Serengeti National Park is definitely not
to be missed.
Lake Manyara National Park
Located beneath the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, on the edge
of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara
National Park offers varied ecosystems, incredible bird life, and
breathtaking views. The alkaline soda
of Lake Manyara is home to an incredible array of bird life that thrives
on its brackish waters. Pink
flamingo stoop and graze by the thousands, colourful specks against
the grey minerals of the lakeshore.
Yellow-billed storks swoop and corkscrew on thermal winds rising up
from the escarpment, and herons
flap their wings against the sun-drenched sky. Lake Manyara’s
famous tree-climbing lions are another
reason to pay this park a visit. 2 ½ hours drive from Arusha.
Best time: Throughout the year.
Ngorongoro Crater
Within the crater rim, large herds of zebra and wildebeest
graze nearby while sleeping lions laze in the
sun. At dawn, the endangered black rhino returns to the thick cover
of the crater forests after grazing on
dew-laden grass in the morning mist. Just outside the crater’s
ridge, tall Masaai herd their cattle and
goats over green pastures through the highland slopes. Ngorongoro
Conservation Area includes its
eponymous famous crater, Olduvai Gorge, and huge expanses of highland
plains, scrub bush, and forests
that cover approximately 8300 square kilometres. A protected area,
only indigenous tribes such as the
Masaai are allowed to live within its borders. Of course, the crater
itself, actually a type of collapsed volcano
called a caldera, is the main attraction. 4 hours drive from Arusha
and 2 hours from Lake Manyara. Avoid
the rainy season, April, May and November.
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti is easily Tanzania’s most famous national
park, and it’s also the largest, at 14,763 km2 of protected
area. Large prides of lions laze easily in the long grasses, plentiful
families of elephants feed on acacia bark
and trump to each other across the plains, and giraffes, gazelles,
monkeys, eland, and the whole range of
African wildlife is in awe-inspiring numbers. The annual wildebeest
migration through the Serengeti and
the Masai Mara attract visitors from around the world, who flock to
the open plains to witness the largest
mass movement of land mammals on the planet. More than a million animals
make the seasonal journey to
fresh pasture to the north, then the south, after the biannual rains.
The sound of their thundering hooves,
raising massive clouds of thick red dust, has become one of the legends
of the Serengeti plains. Aside from
traditional vehicle bound safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti
plains has become a safari rite-of-passage
for travel enthusiasts. 6 hours drive from Arusha. Best time: June
to November.
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park has some of the highest population density
of elephants anywhere in Tanzania, and
its sparse vegetation, strewn with baobab and acacia trees, makes
it a beautiful and special location. Located
just a few hours drive from the town of Arusha, Tarangire is a popular
stop for safaris travelling through the
northern circuit on their way to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. The
park extends into two game controlled
areas and the wildlife is allowed to move freely throughout. Before
the rains, droves of gazelle, wildebeest,
zebra, and giraffes migrate to Tarangire National Park’s scrub
plains where the last grazing land still remains.
Tarangire offers unparalleled game viewing, and during the dry season
elephants abound. Families of the
pachyderms play around the ancient trunks of baobab trees and strip
acacia bark from the thorn trees for
their afternoon meal. Breathtaking views of the Masaai Steppe and
the mountains to the south make a stop
at Tarangire a memorable experience. 1 ½ hour drive from Arusha.
Best time: June to November
The renowned Olduvai Gorge lies between the great wildlife sanctuaries
of the Ngorongoro Crater and the
Serengeti National Park. This is where the Leakeys discovered the
hominoid remains of a 1.8 million year old
skeleton of Australopithecus boisei, one of the distinct links of
the human evolutionary chain.
Mount Kilimanjaro
At an altitude of 5895 m above sea level, Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s
highest mountain and the tallest
freestanding mountain in the world. Only three degrees south of the
equator, it is snow-capped all year
around. Its most outstanding features are the three major volcanic
centres, Shira, Mawenzi and Kibo, all
now dormant. There are 5 routes to the summit. The most popular being
the Manragu route. Any healthy
person can climb the mountain. 40 minutes drive from Moshi town. Avoid
the rainy season April, May
and November.
In the South:
The sheer vastness of southern Tanzania makes for some spectacular
game viewing and superb African
vistas. An additional benefit of a visit to the southern circuit is
the remoteness of the location, which means
that most visitors rarely see another car during their long game drives.
Whereas wildlife and big game are
the focus of the northern circuit, a trip to the parks of southern
Tanzania allows visitors to learn in-depth
knowledge about complex ecosystems and diverse living creatures that
are usually skimmed over in more
crowded areas.
Selous Game Reserve
Located in southeast Tanzania in a remote and little-visited part
of the country, the Selous Game Reserve
is Africa’s largest protected wildlife reserve. Due to its remote
location, and because it is most easily accessible
only by small aircraft, the Selous Game Reserve has remained one of
the untouched gems of Tanzania’s national
parks. The Rufigi River Delta is a striking feature of the game reserve.
It connects the Great Ruaha River with
the Rufigi River and not far from the park boundaries empties out
into the Indian Ocean along the Tanzanian
Coast. Along its shores, opulent hippos sleep languidly in the mud
and sun themselves, mouths wide open, as
the river passes by. 7 hours from Dar Es Salaam or 45 minutes by air.
Best time: June to February. Closed
March to May.
Ruaha National Park
With herds of more than 10,000 elephants, vast concentrations of buffalo,
gazelle, and over 400 bird species,
Ruaha’s limitless wilderness, together with the surrounding
game reserves of Rungwa and Kisigo -- stretches
over 40,000 square kilometres. Elephants are found in some of the
highest concentration in the country,
travelling in matriarch-lead herds through ancient grazing lands and
seasonal supplies of water. The Great
Ruaha River is the main feature of the park, and meanders through
its borders. On its banks, the game viewing
is spectacular, whether done by land or by water. Hippos yawn under
the midday sun and crocodiles lie lazily
along the banks. Fish eagles dive and swoop along the riverbanks,
and at night the sound of frogs croaking
happily in the reeds extends across the hills and plains. Boating
safaris are starting to gain in popularity, and
provide a popular alternative to viewing the area by car. Best time:
Throughout the year.
Mikumi National Park
Located North of Selous Game Reserve, less than 300 km from
Dar es Salaam. Because of its accessibility, it’s
one of the popular parks in Tanzania and is an important center for
education where students go to study
ecology and conservation. A wide range of wildlife inhabits its 3230
sq km area. The Mikumi floodplain with
its open grassland dominates the park together with the mountain ranges
that borders the park in two sides.
Elephant may be encountered and other animals frequently observed
are Giraffe, Zebra, Buffalo, Wildbeest,
Eland and Liechtenstein hartebeest, Croccodiles, Monitor lizard and
Python are other residents. At the southern
end of the flood plain in the Kikoboga area, families of yellow balloon
live. Hippos wallow in the waters of hippo
pools and are frequently joined by flocks of open billed storks, hunting
for mulleuses over 300 species of birds
have been observed in the park some of which are Eurasian migrants,
who stay between October and April.
Apart from the saddle bill stock, Hammershop and Malachite, Kingfisher
you will also find Monitor Lizard and
deadly python inabality the pools. Best time: Whole year but between
March and May you must use 4wheel drive.
Saadani National Park
Saadani Game Reserve was gazetted in 1964, covering an area
of some 350 sq km from the Wami
river in the south to the Mligaji river in the north, with the Arusha-Dar
es Salaam railway line as
the western boundary. Saadani is the perfect union of beach and bush.
Located just 70km north of
Bagamoyo and immediately accessible by road from Dar es Salaam, Saadani
is easily visited on a
day trip or short weekend safari. The Wami River, which passes through
the park and empties into
the Indian Ocean, hosts a large population of hippos, crocodiles,
flamingoes, and many large bird
species. Giraffe and wildebeest can be spotted and elephants have
been seen playing on the beach.
