Tanzania Galleries

Tanzania Favorites :

Tanzania Favorites

Updated: Sep 17, 2007 1:07am PST

Zanzibar Favorites :

Zanzibar Favorites

Updated: Sep 24, 2007 3:29pm PST

Tanzania - Trip Pics : My "game drive" photos are in albums by location (Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, etc). The photos in this album, however, are mostly of the people on the safari, as we camped and drove between reserves. It includes people pictures and "memory shots" from our campsites and on the road.

Tanzania - Trip Pics

My "game drive" photos are in albums by location (Masai Mara, Serenget ...

Updated: Dec 04, 2007 6:29pm PST

Lake Victoria : Lake Victoria lies on elevated plateau in Africa's Great Rift Valley, bordering the countries of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, and the largest tropical lake in the world. It is the source of the longest branch of the Nile River. (wikipedia) We arrived at a campground Near Musoma, Tanzania, and had the afternoon to explore the nearby town. That evening, we relaxed on the beach where we pitched our tents.

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria lies on elevated plateau in Africa's Great Rift Valley, ...

Updated: Aug 09, 2007 7:23pm PST

Serengeti National Park : The Serengeti in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya is a savanna roughly defined by the bi-annual migration route of the wildebeest. The region contains several national parks, including Kenya's Masai Mara and Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. Its name is derived from the Maasai language and means "Endless Plains." The Serengeti has more than 2 million herbivores, including wildebeests, gazelles, zebras and buffalos, as well as thousands of predators (lions and cheetahs) and scavengers (hyenas and vultures). We entered the park from the west after visiting Lake Victoria. We crossed the width of the park and camped for two nights on the eastern side, doing game drives within the park on our full day there.

Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya is a savanna rou ...

Updated: Aug 30, 2007 10:43am PST

Ngorongoro Crater : Ngorongoro Crater, the size of Crete, is the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera. The Crater, which formed as the giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself around 2 million years ago, is 610m deep. Lake Makat is a seasonal salt lake in the center of the Crater. In addition to herds of zebra, gazelle and wildebeest, the crater is home to the "big five" of rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo. The crater is home to almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, and there are an estimated 25,000 animals within the crater. (source: wikipedia) We camped on the edge of the crater where it got rather cold at night. We entered the crater at dawn and had a six-hour game drive in the crater. The highlight of our trip was having our vehicle surrounded by a herd of wildebeest and zebra as they made their way from the rim of the crater to a lake in the center. (Our guide explained that the zebras can see better, the wildebeest can hear better. They migrate together to take advantage of eachothers' strengths.) We watched as two lions peered out of a clump of grass, as the herd cautiously scampered by. We thought the lions might attack, but the wind was from behind, so the herd kept its distance. (Besides, the lions may have already eaten that day.)

Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater, the size of Crete, is the world's largest unbroken ...

Updated: Aug 09, 2007 8:54pm PST

Masai Village : After leaving the Ngorongoro Crater, we headed for a Masai village a couple hours off the beaten path. The Masai are a semi-nomadic tribe who traditionally relied solely on cattle, though they have recently begun to raise crops. The Masai have refused attempts by the governments of Kenya and Tanzania to settle down, ignoring national boundaries and maintain grazing rights within some of the national parks. We visited a family compound which consisted of about eight huts situated in a circle. In the middle was a corral made of thorny acacia tree branches to protect the livestock at night. The Inkajijik (houses) are built by the women and are made with a skeleton of timber poles and branches, and then filled in with adobe of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung and urine, and ash. We got to go inside one, four at a time because it was so small. The women performed a song and dance, and invited the female guests to join in. They then proceeded to sell their bead jewelery, sometimes arguing with one another over a costumer. I had fun introducing my donkey puppet, Punda (Swahili for "donkey"). The children were curious at first, but they wouldn't get too close. And when Punda approached them, they ran away...some screaming, some laughing. Soon, a Masai women took the donkey and started chasing the children and tourists alike. You can see from the photos that Punda was a big hit.

Masai Village

After leaving the Ngorongoro Crater, we headed for a Masai village a c ...

Updated: Aug 10, 2007 7:38am PST

Zanzibar : Zanzibar is a tropical island paradise off the east coast of Tanzania. Due to sea trading around the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar is a mix of cultures, with food, clothes, people and customs coming from East Africa, Arabia, India and Malaysia. Like the coast of East Africa, Zanzibar is primarily Muslim (whereas the highlands of Tanzania are primarily Christaian.) Zanzibar was once the center of slave and spice trade from East Africa. In 1840, Sayyid Said bin Sultan al-Busaid of Oman moved his government to Zanzibar from Muscat. In 1964, Zanzibar united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania.

Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a tropical island paradise off the east coast of Tanzania. ...

Updated: Aug 10, 2007 12:11pm PST

Zanzibar - Spice Tour : Ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, lemon grass, coffee, vanilla and many other spices and fruits are grown on Zanzibar. A two hour tour let us see how each of these grows.

Zanzibar - Spice Tour

Ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, lemon grass, coffee, vanilla ...

Updated: Aug 29, 2007 12:49pm PST