Tanzania highlights
Dar es-Salaam
The country's former capital Dar es-Salaam is a relatively young city. A simple fishing village in the 19th century, it started developing in 1860 when the Sultan of Zanzibar decided to turn it into a commercial port. It became the seat of the German colonial governor in 1891 and has retained its importance ever since. Today Dar es-Salaam is a metropolis of 1.5 million inhabitants and one of the rare large African cities without a shantytown.
A few faded buildings remain in the town centre, as testimony to the German presence, and dhows still tie up along the bay lined with palms and mangrove. The main commercial street is Samora Avenue. At its northern end, the National Museum is well worth a visit for its palaeontological collections which include the cranium of Australopithecus boisei and bones from Homo habilis, the sensational discoveries of the Leakey family of anthropologists. The large ethnographical section displays traditional musical instruments and crafts, weapons, Makonde sculptures and various weird objects associated with witchcraft.
Take a trip southwest of the town centre to explore the Kariakoo area, bounded by Mkunguni and Tandamuti streets; in its dazzlingly colourful market everything is sold in joyous disarray-fruit, vegetables, fish, spices, flowers. The Indian district spreads around India Street.
Going north out of town, you pass through the wealthy suburbs and soon reach Oyster Bay, Dar es-Salaam's nearest beach. The magnificent stretch of sand, as white as salt and powdery fine, is shaded by coconut fronds.
About 10 km (6 miles) from the city centre, along the Bagamoyo road, stop off at the Village Museum, a reconstitution of the traditional dwellings of some fifteen ethnic groups. Demonstrations of dances are organized here every weekend. The cooperative of Mwenge, some 3 km (less than 2 miles) to the north, produces high-quality Makonde sculptures.
Some 30 km (18 miles) south of Dar es-Salaam, new amenities are fast sprouting up around Ras Kutani Beach Resort, a luxurious hotel complex well integrated into the landscape.
The Hinterland
Tanzania's national parks open up another world. The country is one of the richest in Africa for wildlife, not only for the famed Big Five-elephant, leopard, buffalo, lion, rhinoceros-but many more.
The Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater are without doubt the most popular destinations in Tanzania. The density and diversity of the animal population of these two parks has made them in a way the emblem of the dark continent. The Kilimanjaro dominates the Tanzanian landscape; though many imagine the sacred mountain to be in Kenya, it is actually entirely within the Tanzanian boundary. Then there's Lake Manyara, Arusha and Tarangire parks-and in the south of the country several lesser-known parks where you don't meet another soul all day, except in the lodges.
Depending on the time of year you are travelling, the animal species you see will vary. The dry season, stretching from the end of December to the beginning of March, is generally considered the best time to visit, as the animals gather around the dwindling watering holes and are therefore easier to observe. Migrating birds, fleeing from the European and Asian winters, are more numerous then, too. However, summer and autumn are particularly interesting if you want to watch the fantastic migration of the gnu (wildebeest), escorted by hordes of zebra and antelope.
On safari (a Swahili word meaning journey), you drive through the brush in an open-topped minibus or jeep, sometimes getting very close to the animals. There are generally several game drives a day: at dawn, when nature begins to stir; after breakfast, before it gets too hot; and in late afternoon, after the siesta. Dusk is a magical moment. The sun takes just a few minutes to sink below the horizon, and the animals get ready for their nightly prowls. The big game hunt all through the night until dawn.
Some of the lodges are extremely well located, overlooking a waterhole or a river, so that you can observe the wildlife without having to stir from the side of the swimming pool.
Arusha National Park
This small national park is an Africa in miniature. It is centred around Mount Meru (4,565 m or 14,980 ft), one of the volcanoes created by the formation of the Rift Valley, and has three distinct zones.
To the southeast, the crater of Ngurdoto shelters buffalo and antelope, which you can observe at a distance from the trail. To the northeast, the partially alkaline Momela Lakes provide welcome refuge for many bird species, pink flamingos in particular. As each stretch of water has a different chemical composition, they all harbour different species. The region also boasts an incredible number of giraffe.
Lastly, in the west, Mount Meru fitfully sleeps (it last erupted in the 19th century). It takes three days to climb to the summit and back. Numerous animals range across its slopes, notably monkey, antelope, buffalo, hippopotamus and elephant.
Tarangire
The acacia-strewn savannah of Tarangire National Park is the habitat of most African species, easily spotted along the banks of the Tarangire River. In the east of the park is a marshy area that's a favourite meeting place for buffalo. At the end of the summer, thousands of migrating gnu and zebra cover the plains. The only drawback here is that the region is infested with tsetse fly: make sure you keep your windows closed.
Ngorongoro
In a landscape reminiscent of the volcanic upheavals of the Rift Valley, the unbroken caldera, 600-700 m (1,970-2,300 ft) deep, scarcely covers 300 sq km (117 sq miles). In this restricted space, exceptional climatic conditions have favoured an explosion of animal life. Some 20,000 great mammals are permanently in residence: gnu, zebra and antelope, not to mention elephant, rhinoceros and hippopotamus. And, in the ranks of the more exclusive, 400 hyenas and 100 easy-going black-maned lions.
A rudimentary road leads down to the bottom of the crater, while up above, mist clings to the slopes until early afternoon. West of the bowl are the waters of Lake Makat, at certain seasons carpeted by clouds of dwarf flamingos (smaller and more intensely coloured than their pink cousins but native to Africa). White pelicans prefer to fish further from the shores, in deeper water. Cormorants, storks, herons, kingfishers and 400 other species nest here permanently or take up residence for the winter. Elsewhere, it's a bit like being in a zoo, except that there are lots more animals milling around and you are the one caged up, in your vehicle. In the evening, you retire to one of the three lodges perched on the rim of the ancient volcano. You can watch the show going on down below while you drink a cup of tea.
Only the crater itself is the exclusive preserve of the fauna. Outside the rim, 8,000 sq km (3,100 sq miles) of protected land form the domain of Masai herdsmen. Carrying lances and elaborately adorned with jewellery, they have been wearing scarlet robes with the same haughty elegance for generations. Such is the magic of the Ngorongoro, where man and beast peacefully share the same territory.
At the junction of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, the Olduvai Gorge became famous with the discovery in 1959 and the 1960s by Louis and Mary Leakey of the first skeletal remains of Australopithecus boisei and Homo habilis. The site can be viewed from the heights of a cliff. The palaeontologists' old base camp has been converted into a small museum displaying fossils and moulds of fossil imprints.
Lake Victoria
Covering an area of more than 68,000 sq km (26,828 sq miles), Lake Victoria is the biggest inland body of water in Africa and the second-largest in the world (after Lake Superior). It was discovered in 1959 by the English explorer John Hanning Speke, who named it for his queen. Geologically, it is not one of the Rift Valley lakes. Tanzania possesses the whole southern half of this great inland sea. Regular, abundant rainfall makes the region a productive centre of cotton, tea and coffee.
Built on a peninsula, Mwanza, to the south, is the largest town on the Tanzanian shore. The lake is dotted with several islands, of which the most significant is called Ukerewe.
Dodoma
Dodoma was proclaimed the Tanzanian capital in 1983, but nothing much has been done about it. Funds are lacking to expand the town, and the facilities are still on the drawing board. Even the foreign embassies, reluctant to leave Dar es-Salaam, have refused to recognize the town's new stature. Dodoma's only claim to fame is that it has become a flourishing centre of wine production since the first three grapevine seedlings were planted in 1957.
Selous
In the southeast of Tanzania, the Selous Reserve encompasses 54,600 sq km (21,300 sq miles) and is the largest game reserve in Africa, three times as big as the Serengeti. This immense zone of shrub-covered savannah, with occasional areas of impenetrable forest, is closed during the rainy season, from March to May.
Created by the Germans in 1905, Selous long attracted white big-game hunters interested in accumulating trophies, but now the animals are protected. They are largely unaccustomed to man and have remained fairly timid. However, as the park is said to hold more than a million wild animals altogether, you won't find it difficult to see them. The elephant population is estimated (perhaps optimistically) to be about 100,000, which amounts to a fifth of all the elephants in Africa! In any case, it is not unusual to come across herds of around a hundred. Lion and rhinoceros are numerous, and buffalo, hippopotamus and crocodile can be counted in their thousands. The crocs like to take it easy on the sandy banks of the Rufiji River-one of the longest in East Africa, crossing the reserve from one end to the other. Some of the lodges organize boat trips.
In the north of the reserve, the Stiegler Gorge-named after a German hunter who was killed here by an elephant-plunges to a depth of almost 100 m (330 ft): most of the lodges are located in this area. All of them offer the possibility of exploring the park on foot, accompanied by an armed ranger. This is a unique experience in the heart of African safari country-don't miss it.
