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Attractions
TANZANIA
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The wildlife reserves
of the north are most easily accessed from Kilimanjaro
or Arusha Airports and by road from Nairobi in Kenya.
The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater are without
doubt the most popular destinations in Tanzania
and whilst the Crater can get a little busy it is
the nearest we can come to "guaranteed game
viewing" because most of the game is resident
and the drivers know their habits.
By contrast the Serengeti is immense and particularly
in the western corridor you can get well away from
it all. Less known and usually included in this
northern circuit is Lake Manyara National Park with
the Great Rift Valley escarpment for a dramatic
backdrop.
The southern national parks are less visited and
offer a great opportunity to explore wild and unspoiled
bush. |
| Likewise the western
national parks of Gombe, Mahale and Katavi are remote
and little visited. The cost of charter flights
in and out prohibit many from visiting but for those
who get there the uniqueness of the experience and
of the region is quite simply unique. |
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Serengeti National
Park:
This is a plain-dwellers' stronghold of 14,763 square
kilometres reaching up to the Kenyan border and
claimed to be the finest in Africa. Here are 35
species of plain-dwelling animals, including wildebeest
and zebra, which feature in the spectacular Serengeti
migration, and also an extensive selection of bird
life. Probably the best time to see them is from
December to May.
This is one of the best places in Africa to see
lion and cheetah close up. The vast, open grasslands
of the Serengeti are without doubt one of Africa's
finest wildlife areas, and being there at the height
of the migration is a never-to-be-forgotten experience. |
Ngorongoro Conservation
Area:
This is the largest intact volcanic calderas in
the world, and some scientists maintain that before
it erupted, it would have stood higher than Mount
Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. Covering
a mere 260kmē, the 600 metre deep crater is
home to a permanent population of more than 30 000
animals, and is one of the only places in Tanzania
where you stand a very good chance of seeing the
'Big Five' (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant)
in the course of a morning or evening's game drive. |
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Lake Manyara
National Park:
This is one of the most diverse of Tanzania's national
parks, a tiny (325kmē) combination of Rift
Valley Lake, dense woodlands and steep mountainside.
Manyara was established specifically to protect
the elephant herds that have made the area world-renowned.
But heavy poaching in the 1970s and 1980s decimated
the herds, although they are now recovering and
returning to their former strengths. |
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Tarangire National Park:
is not a seasonal park, it is spectacular at any
time of the year and you are likely to witness
impressive herds of up to 600 elephants. The dry
season months of June-October bring migrating
Elephant, Wildebeest, Zebra, Eland, Hartebeest,
Buffalo and Oryx, from the dry Maasai steppe to
the gleamingTarangire River. November to February
is the 'Green Season, and during this time of
plenty, Wildebeest and Zebra can be seen giving
birth.
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Arusha National Park:
The park has three distinct zones: Ngurdoto Crater
(often discribed as a mini Ngorongoro), the Momella
Lakes, a group of shallow alkaline lakes fed by
underground streams, and Mount Meru, one of the
most rewarding mountains to climb in Africa.
Animals here include buffalo, elephant, hippo,
giraffe, zebra and a variety of antelope, blue
monkey and black and white colobus monkey, leopard
and hyena.
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Mikumi National Park:
to the north of the Selous, is only 283 km away
from Dar-Es-Salaam. The Park was established to
protect the environment and resident animals and
is also an important educational centre for students
of ecology and conservation. The Mikumi flood
plain is the main feature of the Park along with
the bordering mountain ranges. Animals commonly
found here include lion, eland, hartebeest, buffalo,
wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, hippo and elephant.
The Mikumi elephants are mainly grazers and do
not cause tree damage. |
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Lions roam the Mikumi
plains and will take refuge in the branches of
trees. Wild dogs can be seen in packs here. Mikumi's
vegetation includes woodland, swamp and grassland
with two water holes, Mkata and Chamgore. Apart
from the saddle-bill stork, hammerkop and malachite
kingfisher, you will also find monitor lizard
and a deadly python inhabiting the pools
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SELOUS GAME
RESERVE :
The largest game reserve in Africa - 4 times the
size of the Serengeti. It possesses a diverse
landscape from hot volcanic springs, sporadic
lakes, channels from the Great Rwaha and Rufiji
rivers. Walking is permitted (with an armed ranger)
which with over 350 species of bird and 2,000
species of plants to see makes this the most heavenly
sanctuary to explore.
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RUAHA NATIONAL
PARK:
Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania is the
second largest national park in the country covering
an area of about 10,300 km2. It was established
in 1910 as part of the Saba Game Reserve and was
gazetted as a National Park in 1964. The area was
previously inhabited by small groups of the Wahehe
people. The Park is part of the Ruaha ecosystem
which also includes Rungwa-Kisigo Game Reserve to
the northwest. |
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| The ecosystem, which
covers an area of approximately 45,000 km2, protects
a large part of the catchment for the Great Ruaha
and Mzombe rivers. |
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Mahale Mountain
National Park:
Gazetted in 1980, Mahale National Park lies 120
km south of Kigoma on a peninsula that cuts out
into Lake Tanganyika. Its centre is at about 6o
15'S, 29o 55'E. The park which is 1577 km2 in
size is dominated by the Mahale Mountains chain
running from north-west across the middle of the
park (the highest peak being 2462 m above sea
level).
The park vegetation is mainly Miombo woodland
with narrow strips of riverine forest.
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| The park enjoys the
habitat of a variety of animal species from elephants,
warthogs, giraffes, zebras, roan antelopes, buffalos,
hyenas, and wild dogs to lions in the eastern woodland.
Also found in Mahale are chimpanzees, blue monkeys.
According to recent census there are more than 700
chimpanzees in about 15 communities. There is a
small guesthouse near Kasiha village and a luxury
tented camp. |
| RUBONDO ISLAND
NATIONAL PARK:
Gazetted in 1977 with an area of about 457 km2
and surrounded by a number of islets which are
part of the park, Rubondo National Park is located
in Lake Victoria Island west of Mwanza town. Rubondo
Island National Park is unique in its being the
only park in the vast lake Victoria. The lake
is the largest in Africa (with 26200 sq miles)
and second largest in the world (next to Superior
- 31830 sq miles). It provides a variety of habitats
ranging from savannah to open woodland, dense
forest and papyrus swamps. |
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| Animal species (some
introduced to the area about 20 years ago) found
in the park include hippos, crocodiles, bushbucks,
sitatunga, giraffes, elephants and chimps. Rubondo
is also unique in bird life. Birds from east, central
and southern Africa can be observed breeding at
the 2 Bird Island". There are campsites and
huts for accommodation. |
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GOMBE STREAM
NATIONAL PARK :
Situated 16 km, north of Kigoma town in western
Tanzania at 4o0's, 29o E, Gombe National park
occupies 52 Km2 of land. Commissioned in 1968,
Gombe is a narrow strip of a mountainous country
bounded to the east by the crest of the rift Valley
escarpment and by Lake Tanganyika to the west.
The beauty of Gombe national Park is unique; it
is a park without roads, where you can walk and
experience nature with all your senses. Due to
its altitude, the park's vegetation varies from
evergreen forests of tall trees to open woodlands
and grassland.
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| Common mammals
found in the park are forest species mostly primates.
These include chimpanzees, baboons, blue monkeys,
red tailed monkeys and red colobus monkeys. In a
sense, the park is indeed an island of wilderness
surrounded on three sides by cultivation and on
the north by the lake. Places of stay include a
hostel and campsites within the park and hotels
in Kigoma town. |
KATAVI NATIONAL PARK :
Katavi National Park is blessed with Lake Katavi
in the north and Lake Chada and Katuma River in
the south. These water sources provide sustenance
for thousands of animals. The watery grasslands
and miombo woodlands reverberate with the largest
herds of buffaloes on earth! There are up to three
thousand Buffalo in one herd, and when they are
on the move, they create clouds of dust which can
be seen from afar. Where there are Buffalo there
are also predators like Hyena, Leopard and the most
successful Buffalo hunter of them all - lion! |
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More information at http://www.tanzania.go.tz
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