|
|
 |
|
|
|
Lake Manyara
National Park
This fine park has a stature that far exceeds
its modest 125 square mile (325 sq. km.) area,
having been a mecca for seekers of wildlife, and
for hunters, since safari travel began. Along
its western border lie the cliffs of the Great
Rift Valley escarpment, and its eastern border
runs along the shores of Lake Manyara. Within
this long and narrow corridor are dense
concentrations of wildlife inhabiting a lovely
and diverse landscape, which ranges from forest
of tamarind, mahogany, and fig in the north to
the wide open grasslands of the park center.
Elephant, giraffe, lion, buffalo, and zebra are
all to be found here, in addition to many other
game and bird species.
Ngorongoro Crater Reservation Area
Ngorongoro is famous around the globe as an echo
of Eden. It is a 12-mile (19 km) wide volcanic
crater, ringed with towering walls and
sheltering forests, grasslands, fresh springs, a
large lake, and a dazzling abundance of animals
of all sorts. The sunken cone of the extinct
volcano (which was a behemoth during its day)
serves as a natural cradle for the wildlife,
which remains in the vicinity year-round.
Serengeti National Park
The name "Serengeti" has come to represent the
safari experience itself, evoking images of
sweeping savannas swarming with lion,
wildebeest, and gazelle. In the language of the
Maasai the word means "endless plain," and the
5700 sq. miles (14,763 sq. km) of park land in
Northern Tanzania do indeed seem infinite. Upon
these grasslands roam more game animals than
anywhere in the world. There are over a million
wildebeest alone.
Throughout the winter months of December to
March (the best time to come), many of the
animals are concentrated in the park's southern
regions, near Ngorongoro. During the spring
months of May or June, the vast herds of
wildebeest and zebra start to head west in
search of water, beginning a circuitous
migration that takes some of them to shores of
Lake Victoria, and others to northern areas and
to Kenya's Maasai Mara park just across the
border. Virtually every African game animal can
be seen in the Serengeti; however, because the
animals are more dispersed between July and
November visitors should give themselves
suffient time to track them down.
Selous game Reserve
The Selous is the largest national park in
Africa. With about 21,000 sq. miles (55,000 sq.
km), the reserve carves out a huge portion of
Southern Tanzania. The immense size of the park
makes it ideal for the traveller seeking a sense
of isolation, exploration, and discovery. Few
(if any) other people will be visible.
Lake Tanganyika
The first Europeans to encounter Lake Tanganyika
were the British explorers Richard Francis
Burton and John Hanning Speke, in 1887.
Beginning on the eastern coast, they crossed
Tanzania in search of the source of the Nile,
finally coming upon the shores of this seemingly
endless and bottomless body of water after
months of great deprivation. Though this was not
the mythic headwater of the great Nile (it is
actually Lake Victoria, to the north), the sheer
size of this lake, the world's longest at 446
mi. (714 km), made it a geographical bonanza in
itself. At the northern end of Tanganyika is
Gombe Stream National Park, where Jane Goodall
conducts her celebrated studies of chimpanzees.
Gombe Stream National Park
Gombe Stream lies at the northern end of Lake
Tanganyika. The park's forested mountain slopes,
which help define the [link]Great Rift
Valley[link] are home to chimpanzees that Jane
Goodall studies. Though Goodall has invested
more time studying Gombe Stream's chimp
population than anyone alive, visitors can
discover these fascinating creatures for
themselves. The chimps are accustomed to humans
and therefore somewhat approachable.
Mt. Kilimanjaro Climbing -Tanzania
Mt. Kilimanjaro is a vision that has fed the
human imagination for eons. Much more than the
highest mountain in Africa, it is innately and
inexhaustibly symbolic. Writers render it,
climbers conquer it, Africans worship it, and at
the end of the day its magnetic singularity
remains undiminished. Though speechless wonder
reigns in its presence, the traveller who
witnesses Kilimanjaro mountain will speak of it
for years.
Rising 19,340ft (5895 m) above the African
plain, Kilimanjaro truly stands alone among the
mountains of the world. The huge, solitary
volcano is unaccompanied by any mountain chain.
Though its size is immense, it also has one of
the world's most accessible peaks. People who
are in good shape can make the ascent to its
summit, Uhuru peak, in a matter of days, passing
through five distinct ecological zones along the
way.
The lower slopes of the mountain are defined by
coffee and banana fields that rise up and end
where the mountain's forest begins. An average
of 80 inches of rainfall a year make the forest
home to some botanical treats. Tree ferns in
this region are known to grow up to 20 feet, and
giant lobelia often reach 30 feet. At an
altitude of about 9,000 feet, the forest gives
way to grasslands and shrubbery, and elephant
can sometimes be spotted roaming the high
slopes. At about 13,000 feet life begins to
recede, a result of extreme weather conditions
inhospitable to anything more than small mosses
and lichens. Once the summit area is reached,
three glaciers and three volcanic peaks sit in
lofty, placid comtemplation of the tremendous
plains over 3.5 miles below.
It is highly advisable to take the mountain
slowly. The thin air is a well-known killer of
impatient weekend climbers, who misjudge their
abilities and ascend too fast. Altitude sickness
is common and can be fatal. No climb is
permitted without a guide, and there are six
routes up the mountain with varying degrees of
difficulty. Huts are available at different
points along the way, and the final ascent
begins near midnight (so melting snow isn't a
problem) and culminates with a spectacular
sunrise at the peak.
Zanzibar
The island of Zanzibar, the ornate and
mysterious jewel of the Indian Ocean, was once
the eastern gateway to Africa. It lies
twenty-two miles off the Tanzanian coast, and it
is no accident that the explorers Livingstone
and Burton had homes here. Its lush forests and
cloistered Arabic alleyways are indicative of
all the esoteric wonders awaiting in the
continent beyond.
The island has long been a meeting a place of
the world. Once the center of the slave and
ivory trade, Zanzibar welcomed into its harbour
ships loaded with goods from India and the Far
East as well as Europe and America. An Indian
bazaar still operates on the island today, as
well as the world's largest clove market.
The Omani Arabs who once ruled the island left
behind white-washed architectural delights that
are in great condition. Among them are the
Sultan's Palace, the Arab fort, and the Beit el
Ajaib (House of Wonders), which is Zanzibar's
tallest building. Visitors often remark that a
journey to Zanzibar is like going back in
time--the atmosphere is that of the age of
colonialism and exploration, and the haunting
ruins of the slave market are a pointed reminder
of the era's exploitative extremes. The slaves
would be driven here from the interior of the
continent, sometimes over 1,000 miles. On some
days, hawkers would sell away as many as 600
lives.
Dar Es Salaam
Little more than a century old, Dar Es Salaam is
a relatively modern city that has an old world
charm. It shows none of the overwhelming bustle
that capital cities often possess, and the name
that the founding Sultan of Zanzibar gave it in
1857 still applies: "Haven of Peace."
One of the most attractive features of Dar Es
Salaam is its harbor. The crescent bay is
fringed with palm trees, and gorgeously wrought
sailing craft often waft into port. From
December to March, Asian bateels and badane set
sail from India, Arabia, and the Persian Gulf,
their holds bursting with carpets, silver, and
brass to trade at the Indian bazaar. Johazi and
Mashua, Dar Es Salaam's traditional small
sailboats , come and go all day from Mafia
Islands and Lamu.
Another facinating attraction of the city is its
National Museum. Some of Dr. Leakey's first
finds can be found in the musuem, including
Nut-cracker Man and Zinjanthropus Bosei,
proto-humans who roamed the Rift Valley over a
million years ago. There are also detailed
displays that track humanity's evolution over
the eons. e. The scenery is striking with acacia
woodlands dotted with ancient baobabs. |
|
| |
| |
- © 2008
Copyright Geolya Safaris
-
Moktar Dadah Street,
Ruprani House, 2rd Floor,
-
P.O. Box 64578, Nairobi, Kenya.
-
Telephone: +254 -721-213 564 /
+254-721- 543 362
-
Email
info@geolyasafaris.com
or
geolya@gmail.com
-
http://www.geolyasafaris.com
-
Licensed by Ministry of
Tourism Kenya
|
|
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=spacer}
.gif){kind=spacer}