Posts Tagged ‘Tanzania’

 

Quickies: The Lodge

Linda Lou Burton posting from Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania– 6:15 PM luggage in; 6:15 AM luggage out. Minus out the sleeping time, and the shower time and the poolside time and the dinner time, there was no time left for a sit on our veranda, gazing out across the lake in the valley; breathing in the fresh morning air; listening to the birds. That’s assuming, of course, that the air was fresh and the birds were singing. I was stuffing (not packing) the few things back into my fancy-schmancy palm-tree-brown suitcase that I had bothered to take out; my toothbrush, my morning meds. Passport attached to body; green mosquito-repellent scarf around my neck; hat on head. Rick was stuffing his stuff in the other corner of the room; conversation nil. Both of us were tired, stunned might be a better word; too rushed, the reason why. We needed a break! Alas, Tuesday, September 20, 2022 was not the day we got one. Variety, however, spiced up our lives; surprises at every curve of the road. I guess that’s what happens when your day is crammed so full you think you’re gonna die. But, you probably won’t. Die, that is. You’ll just have lots of stuff to think about when you get home.

The Lodge, first; Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge. Some of my photos, and some of theirs. Those round thatch-roofed rondavels were the most unique sleeping accommodations I’ve ever had, and I didn’t get one good picture in our short time there. The dining room, the pool, totally cool! We had three meals with Serena Lodge – dinner, breakfast, and a Bush Lunch, with table under tent cover at the edge of the escarpment, chef’s outdoor grilling station, and patrol guard.

 

Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, https://www.serenahotels.com/lake-manyara

Tanzania’s towering Mto wa Mbu escarpment provides a remarkable backdrop for Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge; a peaceful location amidst the rich wildlife of Lake Manyara National Park. The lake is home to over 300 migratory birds; the Lodge’s architectural motif features swooping avian curves and vibrantly colored wall frescoes depicting bird migratory patterns. Spread along the edge of the cliff for incredible views, accommodations consist of circular, double-story, whitewashed “rondavels” (traditional circular buildings with conical thatched roofs), which include their own small veranda.

Flamingo Restaurant is designed to replicate a Maasai boma, with swirling primary colors on textured white walls and traditional beadwork, gourds and leatherwork, and includes a veranda with picturesque views. The scenic outdoor terrace and infinity pool offer awe-inspiring lake views; it’s also the venue for cultural dance and music performances, usually held in the evenings. A variety of activities are offered by the Lodge, from village visits and nature walks to biking, jogging, archery, painting, and language and cooking lessons.

 
 
 

Infinity, And Beyond

Linda Lou Burton posting from Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania– It was 4:40 when our lead vehicle left the pavement. The sign said Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge – that way. We got wiggly; energy sprouted out of our weariness; we were almost THERE, just a dusty road away. Two boys waved, we waved back; then just past that, our leader turned again; and stopped. Willy pulled beside. A small white building there, surely not our Lodge? What in the world? “This is a museum,” Willy said. “Ben wants you to learn about tanzanite. It’s a gem found in Tanzania.” WHAT? Everyone but me got out; grumbling about this No Warning stop. I was thinking of our Lodge, the infinity pool overlooking the lake, on the very tip edge of the escarpment a thousand feet above the Rift. I was thinking of lions that sleep in trees, and tuk-tuk rides on a banana farm; of lunch in a Swahili canteen. So many things to do in this unique and lovely place; just one night here; so little time. Ben walked to my window, in line with the glare in my eyes. “Lois and Mike have a reservation for a bike ride around the lake this afternoon,” I said in Mama Bear tone. “Oh, I canceled that,” was his reply. “You should go inside, there’s lots of pretty jewelry you can buy.”

It was 5:40 when we reached the Lodge, down the steps past the lily pool, into reception, the complimentary juice, the room assignments. “There’s entertainment by the pool at 6,” we were told. I looked at my watch. 6:05. Ben was handing off the keys. “Cottage 1 for you and Rick,” he said. “The closest! Downstairs!” Close, yes, but 16 rocky steps up hill, no rails. Our thatch-roofed rondavel was charming; twin beds-mosquito nets-a patio. Dark almost here; I changed my pants (remember why), grabbed my camera, headed for the pool. Cane got me down the 16 steps; I found a seat at the edge of the edge. Our entertainer was breathing fire. And so was I.

 

Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, https://www.serenahotels.com/lake-manyara

About Tanzanite: The Blue Gem. The world’s only source of tanzanite is located on a small patch of land at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. The myth is that a local Maasai saw a bolt of lightning come down from the sky and strike the ground turning all the rocks to a shimmering blue. The geological story is that about 585 million years ago as continents shifted, and the Great Rift Valley was created, minerals morphed together to create (what is now known as) tanzanite. The commercial story is that in 1967, when the first stone was “discovered” and determined not to be sapphire, Tiffany & Co christened it “tanzanite” and launched a marketing campaign proclaiming it “the new must-have.” Reasons: it is a thousand times rarer than diamonds, and it is a “single-generation” gemstone due to its limited supply – with the current mining rate, there are only 20 more years of tanzanite in the ground. Hurry up and invest! Tiffany says: Tanzanite can be found on only two places on earth – Tanzania, and Tiffany’s. The Tanzanian places to buy: The Tanzanite Experience, with stores all over – from Arusha to Serengeti to Zanzibar. And Lake Manyara.

The Tanzanite Experience https://www.tanzaniteexperience.com/tanzanite-knowledge/

A great Tanzanian MINING story, in 2020 a Tanzanian subsistence miner was awarded a government check for 7.74 billion Tanzanian shillings ($3.35 million) for the two largest tanzanite gemstones ever found. Each stone was about the size of a forearm; they were discovered by Saniniu Laizer in one of the tanzanite mines in the north of the country; the mines are surrounded by a wall to control cross-border smuggling of the gemstones.

 
 
 

Getting Our Bearings

Linda Lou Burton posting from Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania– I’ll call him Ben. That’s not his name, but a way of protecting the guilty, you see. “Ben” was our new guide, and “Ben” seems a fitting name because he never seemed to be where he should have been; nor was he able to get US to where we should have been, when we should have been there. Like this afternoon. There we sat, among the calla lilies and elegant service of the Arusha Coffee Lodge Garden Terrace, wondering what would happen next. ”Your new guide will be here soon,” was message one. “Someone will come to take you on a tour of the coffee plantation,” was message two, fifteen minutes later. What? “Someone will come to take you on a tour of Shanga” was the third message. I was so annoyed by then I asked “What is Shanga? And when does our guide arrive?” We were done with dessert by now, just sitting, and yawning. “Shanga is a workshop,” was the answer; no reference to our guide at all, or mention of what work went on in the workshop. And then, “Please come to the meeting room, just follow me.” Comfortable sofas, a fireplace, a huge map on the wall. But no guide. “Your guide will be here soon.” Eventually, he actually showed. He talked so long we began nodding off, as he quoted facts and figures about the geology ahead, pointing to the map; describing the Great Migration and the Great Serengeti and the greatness of Tanzania. Finally (finally!) we were escorted outside; our luggage now stashed in two new Globus 4x4s; our new drivers ready. Now into a GREEN 4×4; now with driver Willy. That’s his real name by the way; Willy was a gem.

Willy drove the last leg of our journey today; 75 miles from Arusha to our Lake Manyara Lodge. We traveled west on A104, through the Aidai Plains, in the basin of the Great Rift Valley. We turned northwest at Makuyuni, where we slowed to view a colorful, bustling market. Then through the village of Mto Wa Mbu, and the lush banana plantation, before climbing a thousand feet out of the valley to the edge of the escarpment, and our lodge.

Attention getters this afternoon – good paved highways, properly striped and maintained; hillsides covered with heavy duty power lines and communications towers; large black water tanks; brightly painted Jesus vans; and trucks, trucks, trucks. Oh yes, a baboon hiking down the highway to grab a banana, according to Willy. Tanzania has a very different vibe.

 

Next Post: Infinity, and Beyond

 
 
 

It Wasn’t Exactly A Bus

Linda Lou Burton posting from Arusha, Tanzania– Confusion. Inside Namanga’s Border Control Office, confusion reigned in signs and lines; blurred. Somebody pushed me out of one line into another, pulled me maybe. I had everything in hand: passport, Tanzanian visa, Yellow Fever Card, COVID documents. Cane in the other hand, leaning, wobbly. At the first window a man took my passport and simply walked away with it! Another push, someone grabbed my arm, another line. The gang was split, everyone confused, different lines; I was pushed again, to the front of a line, the counter. Another man, smiling at me. “You look confused,” he said. “Are you enjoying your visit?” “And you look very handsome,” I replied, “and not confused at all. So maybe you can tell me what is going on.” This made him laugh. I can’t tell you what happened next, but somehow everything I needed was stamped, signed, recorded, and my passport back in my possession. I staggered out of the room, a young man took my arm, oh yes, our driver, the one taking us to Arusha, on the big bus. “I need a restroom first,” I said. He led me around the corner to a room with open door;  three stalls, one stall with a hole-in-the-floor design; the next with a toilet but no door; the third with a door but a toilet with no seat. No paper anywhere. I chose the stall with the door; walked out with a wet spot on the back side of my pants. The driver led me towards our new vehicle; not a spacious bus, but a minivan! While we were inside our luggage was moved from the 4x4s; luggage for nine people now in a van, barely space for nine to sit! Mike and Lois were standing there; we scrambled into the front seats. “First come!” we said, unwilling to politely stuff ourselves in the back row. Mike took the front seat and busied himself on his phone. Lois and I crowded together; our luggage and backpacks squashed between our knees and the driver’s seatback. “My pants are wet” I whispered. We started laughing then; the restroom, the crowd, the confusion; the Hukana Matata sign across the dash. “No worries!” we laughed. The door of the van was open; two laughing women visible; a crowd gathered; arms reached inside with beaded goods, “Ten Dollar! Ten Dollar! Ten Dollar!” We stopped laughing; shook our heads, NO, please NO. NO. NO. Otis and Venita arrived; Otis attempted to negotiate a trade as Venita urged him to get in the van, NOW! Ed and Maureen and Judy arrived; slipped past the insistent vendoring crowd. Where was Rick? Where was Abdi? Still inside. Rick had his visa on his phone, but he didn’t take the paper copy in. Abdi helped; persuading the stick-by-the-rules governmental staff to print it from the phone; persuading them not to charge Rick $6 per page for the six pages it took, slowly, slowly (pole, pole). Then finally, everyone inside; goodbye to Abdi; the door of our “not exactly a bus” was closed. We headed for Arusha.

 

Arusha, Tanzania has a population of more than 400,000; another 300,000+ in the area surrounding. On the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley, it is near Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara National Park, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Meru in the Arusha National Park. At an elevation of 4,600 feet, Arusha’s climate is relatively cool and dry. Colleges and universities located here include the National College of Tourism, about which we will hear more this week. We reached our lunch stop and driver-vehicle switching place at noon; the Arusha Coffee Lodge, on a working coffee plantation. Here’s this 70-mile leg of today’s journey.

 

Next Post: Getting Our Bearings

Garden Luncheon, Arusha Coffee Lodge https://www.elewanacollection.com/arusha-coffee-lodge/dining

 
 
 

Going to Namanga

Linda Lou Burton posting from Namanga, Kenya– ”You’ll have a nice big bus from the border to Arusha,” Abdi informed us at breakfast. “You all get to ride together.” We cheered, and headed out, past the Simba lion that guarded the door of the dining room, across the timbered bridge and past the sign that warned of monkey bites; ready to ride. The Lodge at Lake Manyara was our destination today, Tanzania! To a person we were glad to be leaving Amboseli’s dust for the promise of the beautiful blue waters of a lake. That, however was almost 200 miles away, 5 hours as the crow flies, but we were not flying. We had many hurtles ahead; many stops; many waits. Many changes of vehicle, and personnel. From our Amboseli Lodge our two Globus drivers, Amos, and the one I’d never even met, would take us to Namanga, the last leg of our journey in Kenya.

Namanga is a border town, split between Kenya and Tanzania; about 100 miles south of Nairobi and 70 miles north of Arusha; its population is somewhere upwards of 10,000. Tourism supports the town – anyone from Nairobi going to Mt Kilimanjaro passes through the Namanga border crossing. Hills and mountains surround the town – Mt Kili is visible from there; so is Ol Doinyo Orok mountain, also called the Black Mountain, sacred to the Maasai; stretching to the north are the Maparasha Hills. The economy of Namanga also includes the import-export business; trucks haul goods back and forth non-stop between the two countries. Namanga’s main population is Maasai, Kikuyu second; other ethnicity groups include Kama, Somali, Borana, a mixed population.

So how did it go? What did we see between our 7:15 departure and 9:30 when we walked into the Namanga One Stop Border Post? Our route was C103 west after departing Amboseli NP, unpaved and dusty red for 50 miles. Take a look.

 

Next Post: It Wasn’t Exactly A Bus

 
 
 

Pass The Windex

Linda Lou Burton posting from Amboseli Airport, Amboseli National Park, Kenya–– It was 11:45 by the time was were looking at the Fasten Seat Belt sign. Did our luggage get on? Sometimes you just have to trust the gods. On safari planes, only one bag of soft-sided luggage weighing no more than 33 pounds allowed, absolute! So everything else we crammed into our one allowable backpack, or wrapped around our neck, or slung over our arm, nothing neat about it. Rick had his water bottle hanging from a finger, his can of Pringles in hand (his Pringles a running joke like my bottle of Coke). See his money belt making a bulge under his shirt? Advertisement for a mugging, my opinion, mine tucked safely underneath the waistband of my pants. My water bottle was tucked in the side pocket of my backpack; my jacket ON. But then, I had CANE in my hand, which didn’t help a bit climbing the fold-down steps to get inside the plane with no Daniel assisting, (pole, pole). Despite the inconveniences, lift-off happened, yea, now to see the Great Rift Valley from above, free and easy as a bird! Wishful thinking, Linda Lou. Shucks, I didn’t count on dirty windows.

According to the MAP, we flew over the Olorgesailie Prehistoric Site on the floor of the Great Rift Valley; it’s between two extinct volcanoes, Mt Olorgesailie and Oldonyo Esakut. In a lake basin that existed during the latter part of the middle Pleistocene period between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago, discovered by Louis and Mary Leakey in the 1940s! Those Leakeys were all over the place, remember the Lake Nakuru area? We made it to the Wilson Airport in Nairobi in an hour; they had a wheelchair for me, a shiny waiting room, clean washrooms, the works. Those who managed to bring their Bush Breakfast pastry boxes enjoyed a snack; I bought Safari Cookies. “Don’t tell Rick,” I whispered to Lois, “but there is an entire SHELF of Pringles around the corner, in all flavors!” She giggled, and promised to keep mum. We boarded Plane #2 at 2 PM. Oh luggage, please follow. Oh windows, please be cleaner.

The windows were cleaner! But it didn’t make much difference because, I realized, I didn’t know what I was looking at; oh shucks, again. I spotted a small lake (maybe?); a herd of animals (white dots?); trees, roads, water, dry flats. The flight was smooth, less than an hour to Amboseli Airport. Where I spotted two 4x4s, in Globus colors, just waiting for us.

It was 2:50 PM when we landed; another flurry of excitement; other planes; other people. Dust. I spotted my fancy-schmancy brown-palm-tree suitcase being toted to the pile; tag-sorted to a Globus 4×4; two drivers wearing the familiar Globus orange and green. That suitcase went to Antarctica with me; Gibraltar, Spain; all 50 states. And here I am today, still working on getting a clearer view of things.

Note: Amboseli Airport is in Amboseli National Park in south-central Kenya, close to the international border with Tanzania. Approximately 95 miles south of Jomo Kenyatta International and Wilson Airports in Nairobi, its latitude is 2° 38′ 42.00″S and its altitude 3,757 feet. The single asphalt runway is 3,870 feet. It serves Amboseli National Park.

Amboseli National Park https://amboseli.com/

 
 
 

They Came To Dance

Linda Lou Burton posting from Sarova Mara Game Camp, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya–I said I wouldn’t miss it. They came to dance, and I was there to watch. It wasn’t authentic, as far as the setting, and the glittery stuff that sparkled in the artificial light. A stone and concrete patio around a pool of aquamarine water doesn’t speak of tradition. But we got the SOUND of it, the idea of what it was meant to tell us. Our gang was there, part of the tourist crowd. The show was staged for tourists, a group hired by Sarova, or maybe the park itself, to make the rounds of the fancy-schmancy lodges and camps that pepper the Maasai Mara Reserve. That’s a good thing – tourist dollars helping the locals. As for the tourists, it opened the door for us to learn some Maasai history; appreciate their heritage. And that’s a good thing too.

Did you know there are more than a million Maasai? Most live in Kenya, some in Tanzania. Their spoken language is MAA; the name “Maasai” means “people who speak MAA.” Their cows are their most prized possessions – their security, and wealth. Semi-nomadic, they move their homes and herd their cattle in a seasonal rotation. And they hunt lions – never for fun, only if needed to protect their homes and cattle. The Maasai are known for their physical beauty – both their strong, slender, graceful physiques and their unique clothing and body ornamentation. Maasai dress is distinctive, and often copied by fashion designers.

The SHUKA. Made of animal skins in the beginning; today these wrap-around blankets are woven cotton, purchased, not handmade. The distinctive coloring and fabric design tells of family connection – like the Scottish plaids of the clans. Red is the most-used color; brilliant blues and yellows are used too, in various designs of plaids and stripes and checks. (Online Photo)

The DANCES. Imagine the dances in the wide open spaces, circled round a fire. Start with the ADAMU, known as the jumping dance. It is joyful, and cocky, a show-off dance. Who can jump the highest? Who is strongest, bravest? Who will attract the best wife? Lots of shouting and whoops, laughter or praise, as each takes a turn stepping in front of the group and jumping as high as he can. The music is created on the spot: voices chanting, modulated, call and response; the perfect soundtrack for what they do; it changes, underscores, leads. The hunting dance; encouragement and morale building as they ready to kill a lion. Friendship and family, celebrating a birth, or a wedding. Grief, and mourning a terrible loss.

We couldn’t follow the words, but the tone and movement told each story well. We asked questions at the end; posed for photos too. I bought a shuka from their table by the pool; the red and black checks my choice. So much to learn about the Maasai, in the days ahead.

Sarova Mara Game Camp https://www.sarovahotels.com/maracamp-masai-mara/

 
 
 

Keeping In Touch

Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – The days of waiting months for the slow boat to round the Horn with the mail are gone. We have cell phones now, so the main obstacle to communicating with someone on another continent is the time difference.

There are Time Converter websites, and Time Clock apps, if you can’t do the math about the GMT + or -. No point in calling someone in the middle of their sleepy time. So know that first. I live in Arkansas, smack in the Central Time Zone along with Chicago, and Houston. When we get to Kenya, and Tanzania, we’ll be on the same time as Moscow, and Madagascar. In Frankfurt, and Zurich, where we change planes, we’ll be in sync with Rome, and when in Iceland, well, it’s all too confusing, the way the powers-that-be have set it up with those crooked lines. Just Google it.

And then there’s the matter of Country Calling Codes. Yes, there is an International Telecommunication Union (the ITU) and member countries are assigned their own special number. The USA is #1. Remember that. Kenya is 254, Tanzania is 255, and Iceland is 354. You have to get through to the country before dialing the number of the place within the country. But oh, you have to dial OUT of the country you’re in before you can even do that. That number is 011. So, calling from the US to our hotel in Nairobi is 011-254-732124000. Or let your Android app figure it out.

Lastly, it’s wise to know how to contact the U S Embassy in other countries, in case of some horrid disaster or unpredictable event when you can’t get through to us at all. Like maybe another volcano erupting in Iceland, only this time really HUGE, like the Mt St Helen’s blow-up in 1980 just as we were moving to Seattle.

The US Department of State likes to look after its citizens when they travel; we’re registered with our Embassy in each of the three countries we’re visiting – they know when to expect us, are available to help us with any difficulties we may experience while there, and know how to get in touch with our family should the need arise.

  • KENYA: U.S. Embassy Nairobi, United Nations Avenue Nairobi, P. O. Box 606 Village Market, 00621 Nairobi, Kenya, 254 20 363-6000
  • TANZANIA:  U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 255-22-229-4000
  • ICELAND:  U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik, Laufásvegur 21, 101 Reykjavík, 354 595 2200.

There you have it, we’re only a phone call away. Just don’t wake me up, please.

 
 
 

Warm Puppies

Charles Schulz, who had a knack for explaining the obvious, once wrote a book about happiness. Remember Happiness is a Warm Puppy? It doesn’t take more description than that to know what he’s talking about! Just saying those words makes you feel happy, unless you’re really allergic to dogs, or once was terrorized by a German shepherd.

For the last ten years, statistical PROOF of happiness has been the goal of a group of learned, detail-specific folks who have been asking questions and analyzing data in 150 countries. And producing The World Happiness Report, giving us a picture of our global joy, or unrest.

What exactly do they consider? Some basic things you’d expect based on where you live: life expectancy in your country, GDP per capital in terms of purchasing power, freedom to make choices about what you do with your life, perceptions of corruption in your government, and amount of social support. Personal attitudes and experiences come into play as well: did you do something yesterday that made you laugh? Did you do something interesting, or learn something new? Did you donate money to a charity? Do you have friends you can count on?

I won’t get into the statistical methods used, or the pages and pages (and pages) of data, but here’s a link to the entire project: https://worldhappiness.report/ and I encourage you to take a look. It’s fascinating! This year in particular, because they focused on the impact of COVID. With the world entering the third year of the pandemic, the report has three areas of focus in 2022: looking back; looking at how people and countries are doing in the face of COVID; and looking ahead to how the science of well-being is likely to evolve in the future.

On the positive side, the most remarkable change was the global upsurge in benevolence in 2021. In every global region, there have been large increases in the proportion of people who give money to charity, help strangers, and do volunteer work. COVID also demonstrated the crucial importance of trust for human well-being. Deaths from COVID during 2020 and 2021 were markedly lower in those countries with higher trust in public institutions, and where inequality is lower.

The happiest countries in 2022? Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands make up the Top Five. The US came in at #16 – despite our low rankings in safety, we’re a country with a high life expectancy  (78 for men, 83 for women), and despite our perceptions of too-low wages, a per capita GDP of over $62K. Much to be happy about!

Kenya and Tanzania ranked quite low according to those measures; life expectancy in both countries is in the low 60s for men and women; per capita GDP is just over $3,000, and about 30% of the population is considered undernourished. But in measures of attitude, the people of these countries are an example of the highest form of happiness – the ability to appreciate what they have. Kenyans are a gregarious, hospitable, easy-going, and intensely curious people. They take pleasure in meeting visitors and finding out about their way of life. Undungu, translated as “brotherhood,” conveys the spirit of Tanzanians; the idea of generosity, consideration, and compassion towards both family, and community. Any visitor to the country can expect to hear the Swahili word Karibu frequently. It means “welcome.”

And that’s a warm puppy, for sure.

The World Happiness Report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by the Gallup World Poll data.

https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/

 
 
 

About Tanzania

Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – After ten days in Kenya, with stops in Nairobi, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Nakuru National Park, Maasai Mara National Reserve, and Amboseli National Park (where we’ll be peeking ahead at Mt Kilimanjaro!), we’ll cross the border into Tanzania. So what is the mystery of Tanzania? Here’s what I found.

How big is Tanzania? Where is it? What does it look like?

Tanzania is directly south of Kenya on Africa’s east coast, and for comparison to our US states, it’s bigger than Texas and almost as big as Alaska. Got that? Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the northeast, where 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point on the continent, is located. Three of Africa’s Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the continent’s deepest lake; to the south is Lake Malawi. The 885-mile Indian Ocean coastline is dotted with palm trees and white sands, with the Zanzibar Archipelago just off shore. Note Ngorongoro Crater there on the northern border!

How about Tanzania’s weather?

Climate varies greatly within Tanzania. It’s cool in the high mountainous regions, with temperatures ranging between 50-68 during cold and hot seasons respectively. The eastern shore is hot and humid. The rest of the country has temperatures rarely falling lower than 68. There are two major rainfall periods – October through December and March through May; as you might guess June through September are great times to visit for long sunny days!

Who lives in Tanzania?

Tanzania’s people population is estimated at 56.3 million, composed of about 120 ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. These ethnic groups are primarily of Bantu origin; the pastoral Maasai are perhaps the most familiar. 64% of Tanzanians are Christian; 34% Muslim. Over 100 different languages are spoken in Tanzania, making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa. About 10% of Tanzanians speak Swahili as a first language and up to 90% as a second. Unlike its neighboring countries, Tanzania has not experienced large-scale ethnic conflicts, perhaps due to the effects of Swahili as a unifying language. As to animal wildlife, Tanzania has the largest animal population density of any country in the world. There are more animals per square mile of land in Tanzania than anywhere else, with 430 mammal species and 1,112 bird species. About 20% of Africa’s large mammals live in Tanzania.

How does Tanzania promote itself?

About a third of the country’s total area is protected to a degree as a national park, game reserve, marine park, forest reserve or the like. The Tanzania Tourism Board and Tanzania Parks websites offers choices of Things to Do and Places to Go, with plenty of information about all those parks and reserves. About Serengeti:  Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, home to the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth – the great migration of wildebeest and zebra. The resident population of lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, and birds is also impressive. Serengeti won the TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Award in 2021, named as the Best of the Best National Park in the World.

https://www.tanzaniatourism.go.tz/en/

https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/