Dar es Salaam, the largest city and commercial capital of Tanzania is an important stop-over for most visitors to Tanzania. Once called Mzizima, meaning healthy town, Dar es Salaam has a history dating back mid 19th century when the town emerged as a small fishing town. Mzizima was later named Dar es salaam, meaning ‘a haven for peace’ in Arabic by Sultan Seyyid Majid of Zanzibar – a name that has stuck to date. The city is popularly referred to as Dar in Tanzania .

Located on a massive harbour on the eastern coast of Indian Ocean, Dar es salaam boasts an atmosphere of tranquility with enchanting beaches and lively neighbourhoods. The city’s bustling harbour is the main port in Tanzania, and is home to the main international airport in Tanzania; Julius Nyerere International Airport – located about 13km from the city centre.

Although the city is no longer the administrative capital of Tanzania, government offices still have their main base in Dar es Salaam. Diplomatic missions and non-governmental organisations in the country also have a presence in the bustling coastal city.

As one of the most cosmopolitan cities of Africa, Dar es Salaam hosts many peoples, including the 100 or so tribal groups of Tanzania. None of these groups comprise more than 10% of the population and this perhaps contributes to the tranquility the country has experienced for years. The most numerous groups are the Sukuma of Lake Victoria, Chaaga of Mount Kilimanjaro, Nyamwenzi of Tabora, Hehe of Iringa and the Gogo of Dodoma. Arab and Persian influence is strong in Zanzibar, and to a lesser in Dar es Salaam.

The interaction of Arabs and Bantu Africans resulted in the Swahili language now widely spoken in Eastern and Central Africa. Swahili is now the Lingua Franca of Tanzania although English is widely understood in urban centers.

During German occupation in the early 20th century, Dar es Salaam was the centre of colonial administration and the main contact point between the agricultural mainland and the world of trade and commerce in the Indian Ocean and the Swahili Coast. Remnants of colonial presence, both German and British, can still be seen in the landmarks and architecture around the city.

Upon arriving in Dar es salaam, visitors are greeted by numerous historical landmarks, including St. Joseph’s Cathedral, the White Father’s Mission House, the Botanical Gardens, the old State House and the National Museum that proclaim their permanent residence in the city centre. Lutheran Church -probably the oldest building standing on the city, on the other hand, seems to recount the rich Christian heritage of Tanzania that dates back 18th century when the first missionaries set their feet on the country.

Strolling down the Shaaban Robert Street and Samora Street junction, you will be allured by the incredibly beautiful peacocks that inhabit this corner of town. And before you know it you will be at the gate of the imposing National Museum.

The National Museum is a priceless treasure that exhibits material of cultural, ecological and historical significance; including a cast of 3.6 million-year-old hominid footprint. The museum exhibits important archaeological pieces including fossils of Zinjathropus, the early fossils of mankind that were discovered at Olduvai Gorge by Dr. Mary Leaky. The building itself is remarkable; containing unique sculptures, picturesque tiles and carvings. The historical structure is surrounded by a peaceful garden that occasionally hosts concerts and plays.

A stone throw away from the National Museum is the amazing Botanical Gardens, situated adjacent to the Holiday Inn. The garden boasts lush tropical flora and is a most ideal place to relax in the peaceful atmosphere and tropical beauty that is Dar es Salaam.

After lazing in the garden for an hour or so, head to the north where you’ll come to Ocean Road. The beaches here tend to be busy on weekends and holidays; host to weddings, picnics and romantic strolls though not much of swimming.

If you don’t have time to explore the rest of Tanzania, don’t miss a visit to the open-air Village Museum (also referred to Makumbusho, the Swahili word for museum) located on New Bagamoyo Road.

These well-kept grounds feature 18 furnished traditional houses from different ethnic groups throughout Tanzania. In addition, you can watch traditional dance performances on most afternoons, view a variety of agricultural techniques, observe artisans at work and refresh yourself in the cafe.

As you move further towards the ocean, you will find numerous traditional dhows, fishing boats and high-speed ferries to the neighbouring Zanzibar Island. Equally fascinating are swaying palm trees on the white sands of the nearby Kigamboni – a beautiful southern beach that is only a short ride from Dar es Salaam by ferry. There are a good number of good Dar es Salaam beach hotels ranging from budget to luxury which offer many options for swimming and relaxing. http://www.africapoint.com/hotels/dar_zanzibar.htm?ezsite=56

Next to the ferry terminal on the City Centre side is the the recently renovated Kivukoni fish market. Boats deliver their catches directly to the market every morning and here you can experience the art of bargaining as both sellers and buyers seek a better price. The fish market is the best spot to catch a glimpse of life and commerce in Tanzania. Make sure to experience the traditional food at the coast and Zanzibar. This is quite good and is based on seafood and rice dishes.

After exploring the suburbs of Dar es Salaam, you may want to proceed to the nearby attractions that include Bagamoyo, Bongoyo and Mbudya islands. Located only about an hour north of Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo attracts visitors for its pristine white sand beaches as well as its historical significance.

Bagamoyo, Kiswahili for “lay down the burden of your heart” or “be quiet my heart” was recently designated as Tanzania’s seventh World Heritage Site and is the oldest town in Tanzania. The town was towards the end of the 18th century the capital for German East Africa. Bagamoyo has one of the most wonderful white sand beaches of Tanzania.

In the past, the town of Bagamoyo was one of the most important trading ports on the entire East African coast. Its port was the penultimate stop of slave and ivory caravans that traveled on foot all the way from Lake Tanganyika. Once the caravans reached Bagamoyo, the slaves and ivory were shipped by dhow to Zanzibar, where they were then dispatched all over the world.

Today, Bagamoyo is a centre of dhow building in the region and along the Tanzanian coast. Northwest of Bagamoyo are several small streets lined with carved doors similar to those found on Zanzibar and elsewhere along the Swahili coast.

The Kaole Ruins located about five kilometers south of Bagamoyo are also worth a visit. The ruins consisting of the remains of the first settlement of the Arabs are the major attraction that Bagamoyo has to offer. Kaole Ruins date to the thirteenth century and comprise remnants of two mosques and several tombs, showing the importance of Islam in early Bagamoyo.

Miles away from Bagamoyo, about 7 km north of Dar es Salaam, is Bongoyo Island Marine Reserve. The reserve offers good snorkeling and diving sites for those who want to explore the water. Bongoyo reserve boasts beautiful beaches, secluded islands, and many varieties of marine species. In contrast to other beaches, Bongoyo is not tide dependent and so swimming can be done at any time of the day. About 4 km from the island is Mbudya; an island that have almost the same characteristics as Bongoyo. The island lies close to the beach resort and fishing community of Kunduchi and is accessible by motorboats crossing from the mainland.

A majority of visitors to Dar es Salaam find it worthwhile to take a southern Tanzania safari tour to Mikumi, http://www.africapoint.com/tours1/vacation.asp?vacationid=304&ezsite=56

Udzungwa, Ruaha and Selous game reserves. These destinations comprise the southern safari circuit of Tanzania. Mikumi National Park is just 4 hours away by car, and Zanzibar is a quick 2-hour ferry ride (or an even quicker flight) away. For relaxing day trips to nearby islands, transportation can be arranged at most hotels and travel agents.

Occupying 3,230 sq km, Mikumi carries a variety of wildlife including elephants, lion,giraffe, impala, warthog, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, hartebeest and eland. Wild dogs- considered an endangered carnivore species -are found here in good numbers. Other resident animals are crocodiles, hippos, and monitor lizards.

Birds are most plentiful in the wet season when up to 300 species gather here. Many of these are Eurasian migrants, exercising to the full, the freedom that comes with wings. The Mikumi flood plain is the dominant feature of the park, which is bordered on one side by the Uluguru Mountains and on another by the Lumango range. Mikumi forms the northern border of the Selous Game Reserve and is part of a vast wilderness ecosystem covering 75,000 sq km. Open grasslands stretch on the plains, while miombo woodlands cover higher ground.

The park is accessible year round- unlike some of the sanctuaries in the southern circuit. To get to Mikuni from Dar, you spend 4 hours on road or 1 hour by air. Budget travelers take a bus ride to park gate, from where game drives are organised. There is limited accommodation at a few luxury lodges and tented camps and at 3 campsites. If you find yourself in Dar on a weekend, this is where you head to see wildlife.

The 1,990 sq km Udzungwa Mountains National Park is 348 km west of Dar and 65 km southwest of Mikumi. The mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains that fall southeast of Kilimanjaro. The park is unique in Tanzania, having been created primarily to conserve plant life. The pristine mountain forest habitat hosts numerous rare plants. There are six primate species, out of which two species are endemic – the Iringa red colobus monkey and the Sanje Crested Mangabey.

At the plateau area, you find elephants, lions, hunting dogs and buffalos, though not in as large numbers as in some of the other Tanzania parks. Birds also do well here, and indeed the park ranks as one of Africa’s most important bird conservation areas. Scientists have in recent times come across at least four previously unknown bird species. The best time to visit is over the dry season between June and October. The hiking trails over the wet season are slippery, which can be quite a nuisance.

The Ruaha National Park is rightly named after its lifeblood- the Great Ruaha River. Occupying 12,950 sq km, it is Tanzania’s second largest national park and its biggest elephant sanctuary. Home to numerous crocodiles and hippo, the Great Ruaha draws many thirsty waterbuck, leopard, buffalo, reedbuck, wild dogs, lion and hyena to its banks.

Plain animals such as zebra, greater and lesser kudu, sable and roan antelope, impala and giraffe are found on the plains stretching from the rivers edge. The topography is agreeable to hiking and walking safaris are allowed. In the wet season months of March to April and October to November the bird population peaks and the park has over 370 bird species, including some Eurasian migrants.

The flora is very diverse and over 1650 plant species flourish here. The Ruaha has the unique distinction of having plant and animal life found in both eastern and southern Africa. The climate here is hot and dry and temperatures can reach 40°C in October. The Ruaha is located 128 km west of the central Tanzania town of Iringa. It was previously inaccessible, but there is now year round road access.

From Dar, road travel is a backbreaking 10 hours while a charter flight takes 1 ½ hours. The best time for a safari is over the dry season- May to December. Then, the Ruaha River is magnetic to the animals and right at the banks, the drama of their daily life is on display- feeding, fighting, courting and mating. The accommodation is currently limited, but there is a luxury lodge, and a few self-catering chalets and campsites.

Selous Game Reserve is the star of the southern safari circuit. The reserve is named after the intrepid Fredrick Courtney Selous, a celebrated Victoria era explorer and naturalist. He met his end here in a sideshow of the First World War. The Great War had spilled over from Europe as the Germans then ruled parts of today’s Tanzania. Located 500 km to the southwest of Dar, the reserve occupies a staggering 55,000 sq km – larger than Switzerland- and is the largest of its kind in Africa.

The Selous was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982 due to the significance of both its flora and fauna. This immense wilderness has a diversity of habitats including savanna woodlands, swamps, open grasslands and forests.

Over 2,100 species of tress and plants have been recorded. The mighty Rufiji River is the lifeblood of the reserve and its numerous tributaries and oxbow lakes are ideal for boat safaris. The wildlife to see here includes buffalo, hippo, black rhino, lion and wild dog. Elephants in particular are numerous and are estimated to number over 60,000.

Other inhabitants of Selous are bush back, waterbuck, reedbuck, impala, eland, giraffe, baboon, zebra, and greater kudu. Birders will also find a trip to Selous worthwhile – over 420 species are on record. In the very large game sanctuaries of the south – Ruaha and Selous in particular, game is scattered and a slow pace is advised, with at least 3-4 days in each. Photographic safaris can be very rewarding here. Most visitors take the time to visit to Stiegler’s Gorge, which also happens to be a spot favoured by leopards.

From Dar, you arrive after a 1-½ hour charter flight or by traveling for 7 hours by road. Travel by road is not advised, except for the most adventurous souls. Selous is near the coast and is just a few hundred feet above sea level. The climate is hot and humid, particularly between October and March. Part of the reserve is closed in the wet season between March and May. The best time to visit is over the dry season period of June to October. Then on safari you can walk, boat and ride a 4WD vehicle. Accommodation is limited to just a few luxury tented and no-frills camps.

Sadani game reserve, located in the north coast about 50km from Bagamoyo, is also worth visiting. Sadani gives one an experience of the bush at the beach, and the wild life seen at the reserve including elephants, leopard, giraffes, lions, buffaloes and zebra. The reserve is, however, accessible only with special transport arrangements.

Getting to Dar es Salaam, and Tanzania in general, requires visitors from yellow fever infected areas to obtain yellow fever international certificate of vaccination. Exemptions are made for visitors arriving from non-endemic areas such as Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The northwestern forest region of Tanzania is considered a high-risk area for yellow fever.

Visitors are strongly advised to take anti malaria medication commencing two weeks before travel as malaria is common in Tanzania. Vaccinations against hepatitis A, polio and typhoid are also recommended. In addition, all visitors are required to have a visa except citizens of some African and commonwealth countries. It is advisable to obtain visa’s in advance from Tanzania Embassies and High Commissions as some airlines may require it before allowing you to board. For citizens of a few selected countries, visas can also be issued on arrival at Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro international airports and at the Namanga Gate on the Kenya /Tanzania border.

Dar es Salaam can be reached through regional hubs at Nairobi and Johannesburg and to a lesser extent Addis Ababa. The airport is also accessed from other Tanzania airports that serve domestic as well as international flights. These include Kilimanjaro International Airport and Dodoma airport among many others. There is a ferry service between Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam.

Visitors to Dar es Salaam are advised that taxis moving passengers around the city have no meters and charge a standard fee per journey inside the city centre. As for ferries to Zanzibar, there is a choice of 4 boats- a hydrofoil, a catamaran and 2 ordinary ferry boats. Yellow fever vaccination certification is a must before boarding for Zanzibar. A port charge of US$ 5 is added to the boat fare.

And like the rest of Tanzania, Dar es salaam never really gets cold and light clothing is recommended. Average daily temperatures hover in the 30°C range with October to March being the hottest period. Warmer clothing such as sweaters is however necessary to get you through the evenings and early mornings if you are heading for the highlands. Short sleeve shirts, shorts and trouser for men are sufficient and so are short sleeve blouses, slacks and skirts for the ladies. Nudity is totally unacceptable in the whole country.

================================ Destination Facts: Tanzania ================================ Fact Sheet with info on: land area, population, capital city and other major towns, peoples, language, religion, government, time zones, currency, electricity and weights & measures. http://www.africapoint.com/destinations/tanzania.asp?ezsite=56

============================== Travel Basics: Tanzania ==============================

Useful country travel info and tips on: health, visas, peoples & culture, communications, accommodation, money, climate, international & local travel, travel insurance, and what to wear. http://www.africapoint.com/travel/tanzania.asp?ezsite=56

=========================== Travel Guides: Tanzania ===========================

Tanzania Tourist Board- Official site of the Tanzania Tourist Board providing the most comprehensive online source of information on travel to and around South Africa.

Http://www.tanzaniatourismboard.com

Dar es Salaam Travel Guide– Objective information on Dar es Salaam travel, including restaurants, accommodation and tours.

Http://www.world66.com/africa/tanzania/daressalaam

The radio, wired up to a car battery, crackles into life in the near darkness outside the first house of Kizimbani village, where a small crowd has gathered to listen for the moon.

Above us the sky is pitch black, with not even a star visible. The new moon, if it puts in an appearance tonight, will mean the end of a long hard month of fasting for Zanzibar’s predominantly Muslim population. During daylight hours in the lunar month of Ramadan the faithful may not eat, drink, smoke – or have sex. Only the sick, young children and travellers are exempt. In temperatures that rise to over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the wavy heat of the afternoons, giving up food and water is no token gesture. From tonight, though, an exhausting twenty-eight days of abstinence is up and the party can begin. Or can it?

If the new moon we’re all waiting for chooses to show her face in the blue-black darkness above us, the celebrations for which planning is already well under way will commence first thing in the morning. Electricity poles are being strung up around fields, girls and women have been pounding red henna leaves and black picco to paint their hands and feet for days now, and every store in town has been full to bursting with last-minute shoppers stocking up on bottles of orange Fanta, cuts of meat, bags of Ugali and starched nylon frocks. The children are worked up to the point of hysteria and the atmosphere of suppressed excitement and anticipation crackles in the hot air.

No moon, however, means that everyone must wait another 24 hours before breaking their fast. Such an important event cannot be left to chance – so not only is everyone on Zanzibar scanning the skies for their own moon, but we’re all gathered eagerly around the nearest radio, waiting for the government to announce a new moon sighting above any part of Tanzania or coastal Kenya. This is the ancient kingdom of the Swahilis, whose modern-day inhabitants still retain the faith brought here by the Arabic races whose fast-sailing dhows once controlled the East African coast and its lucrative slave trade.

As the night wears on it becomes apparent that no moon is to be forthcoming, in Zanzibar or anywhere else. Anticlimax prevails, and another hot, thirsty day goes by before the longed-for sickle appears on cue above the lights of Blues restaurant in the harbour and a cheer goes up from the ragged groups of watchers along the water’s edge. For the next five days and nights, it’s time for a party that promises to put the tourists’ Millennium celebrations of a week ago firmly in the shade. ‘Dancing tonight’ says my friend Hisdori mysteriously to me at lunchtime. ‘Beer tonight’ says his mother, usually the picture of demure matronhood in her kanga and headscarf, but today with a gleam in her eye and freshly painted henna on the palms of her hands.

For most of the year Dole is nothing more than a rather greasy looking patch of ground next to the road which runs to the spice plantation at Kizimbani. Tonight, however, it is lit up with an eerie whitish glow from the dozens of hurricane lamps hanging off the stalls selling tiny packets of cassava chips, plastic hair decorations and big thermos buckets full of dark purple tamarind juice. Kids run in circles playing obscure games, or dance with their siblings to the muted beat of the disco.

As twilight becomes night, a procession of tiny inert bodies – draped over the handlebars of their mothers’ bicycles, or sitting asleep bolt upright at the front of their fathers’ motorbikes – begin to leave the party. Even preparing to go to Dole is an exhausting process – it takes all day and involves plaiting hair, painting henna and climbing gingerly into stiff nylon party dresses that crackle with static electricity. Little boys don’t escape, stepping cautiously around in a variety of outfits and styles, from shiny three piece suits à la Bugsy Malone to full English football strips, complete with socks.

Some boys go the whole hog, dressing up as little girls in a sort of African ‘trick or treat’. Adorned in kangas, with rags stuffed under their skirts for maximum wiggle and scarlet cochineal smeared on pouting lips, they proceed from house to house to drum and dance in return for cake and sweet lemongrass tea.

Now, however, the children glow in the dark like fireflies as they plod up the road behind their parents, drooping with fatigue. Most have had their finery captured for posterity in the tents set up around the periphery of the party by professional photographers, who bustle around arranging family groups like football teams.

Tonight is the last night of the celebrations, and as the children leave the party turns from school fete to rave. Teenagers and twentysomethings are now bounding wildly around to tunes that become increasingly bombastic. Pushing aside the curtain onto the dance floor proper, the noise hits me like a wave as a perspiring DJ plays gangsta rap at top volume and a mass of sweating, pop-eyed lads bound around in Kangol hats and Nike t-shirts.

I spot Hisdori and the gang at the far side of the field, trying to outdo each other in extravagant imitations of Tupac and Puff Daddy. There’s Ali, normally tall, skinny and lugubrious, but tonight waving his spindly arms above his head and grinning insanely. He’s accompanied by Small Brother Of Ali, just as skinny but at 14 not quite as lugubrious or as tall. Iddi, forever Mr Cool, all chin beard and mirror shades, has is own shadow in Small Brother Of Iddi, exuding adolescent attitude also but not quite old enough for the beard.

Seeing me they grab my arms and try to make me dance, but it quickly becomes apparent as I try and fail to match their rhythm that I am the quintessential white person on the dance floor, so I settle for a seat on the sidelines and reflect on the fact that the angry lyrics they’re dancing to could have been written by descendants of the very slaves who once huddled in the caves below the harbour in Zanzibar town, waiting to embark for the New World. No trace of this irony, though, shows on the happy features that are glowing in the light of the hurricane lamps and shouting greetings to passers by without breaking their rhythm.

Just as the music and the dancing reach a sweating fever pitch, the DJ announces a Tarab tune. Tarab is the music of Zanzibar – a wailing vocal over a beat that is curiously Arabic and African at the same time, and traditionally only danced by females. The lads on the dancefloor converge on the hapless man, shouting and waving their fists in outrage whilst still moving compulsively to the beat. The MC is unmoved, breaking into English to emphasise his point. “Ladies only pleeese… LADIES ONLY!” The ladies appear, shyly at first but then with increasing confidence as the beat picks up. A stately conga formation begins to wind its way around the dance floor, the girls’ eyes, covered in picco and rendered drooping and sloe-like by infusions of nutmeg juice, glinting under their demure headscarves. The ladies hold up thousand-shilling notes above their heads as they sway along together, a symbol of their families’ wealth and prestige.

The boys, however, are not to be dismissed that easily. They take to the floor, t-shirts draped over their heads to imitate the girls’ kangas, Rizla packets held aloft in place of money, wiggling their rears and rolling their eyes as their conga picks up a giggling victim and tries to hustle her off the dance floor. Helpless with laughter, I’m rolling around the floor when I feel a little hand tugging at mine and a 12 year old voice whispering “Dance, lady, dance!”. I look up at his face, and recognise Hisdori’s cousin, one of the mini drag queens from the village this morning. Who am I to refuse?

Gemma Pitcher

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING AND ENVIRONMENT

Situated in East Africa just south of the equator, Tanzania is made up of a mainland area and the islands of Zanzibar, Pembe, and Mafia. Mainland Tanzania lies between the area of the great lakes—Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi (Niassa)—and the Indian Ocean. It contains a total area of 945,090 square kilometers (364,901 square miles), slightly larger than twice the size of the state of California. A plateau makes up the greater part of the country. The Pare mountain range is in the northeast, and the Kipengere mountain range is in the southwest. Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters/19,340 feet) is the highest mountain in Africa. On the borders are three large lakes: Victoria, Tanganyika, and Lake Malawi.

Two-thirds of Zanzibar Island consists of low-lying coral country covered by bush and grass plains. The western side of the island is fertile, and Pemba, apart from a narrow belt of coral country in the east, is fertile and densely populated.

There are four main climatic zones: the coastal area and immediate interior, where conditions are tropical; the central plateau, which is hot and dry; the highland areas; and the high, moist lake regions.

HISTORY AND FOOD

The earliest known inhabitants in Tanzania’s long and colorful past were primarily hunter-gatherers. In addition, Tanzania has had many of years of influence from other parts of the world. In the first five hundred years A.D., vegetables, millet, and sorghum, and fruits and fish were mostly eaten. By A.D. 800, however, Muslim Arabs established trade routes to and from the country. They introduced citrus fruits, cotton plants,

and pilau and biriani (spicy rice and meat dishes), having the greatest effect on the cuisines of coastal regions and the island of Zanzibar. The inhabitants introduced coconut oil and various tools and textiles to the Arabs in return.Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived in East Africa in 1498 and aggressively took control of the coastal regions and trade routes. Da Gama (called afriti, a devil, by locals), who was on his way to the Middle East and India, stopped at present-day Tanzania to rest his men, who were suffering from scurvy (a lack of vitamin C). Chungwa (oranges, rich in vitamin C), relatively unknown to Europeans at the time, were introduced to the ailing crewmen. The Portuguese dominated the region until the Arabs regained control in 1698. Despite nearly two hundred years of rule, the Portuguese left little behind. The introduction of cassava, a root crop that has become an important staple in the Tanzanian diet, and groundnuts (peanuts) were probably their most significant contributions.

The number of East African slaves who were bought to work Tanzania’s plantations increased as the result of the discovery of clove, a key spice in the country’s cuisine. After slavery was abolished in 1873, the British and Germans battled for control over Tanzania (then known as Tanganyika). At first, the British (who introduced tea and boiled vegetables) prevailed, encouraging the cultivation of crops that could be exported for profit. By 1891, the Germans took control. They established coffee and cotton plantations. The success of the plantations, however, diminished during World War I (1914–1918), when nearly 100,000 troops and civilians died as a result of fighting, influenza (flu), and famine. Tanzania became an independent nation on December 9, 1961.

FOODS OF THE TANZANIANS

Most food that makes up Tanzanian cuisine is typical throughout all of East Africa. Meat is not widely consumed in comparison with other areas of the continent. Cattle are normally slaughtered only for very special occasions, such as a wedding or the birth of a baby. Cattle, sheep, and goats are raised primarily for their milk and the value they contribute to social status. When meat is consumed, however, nyama choma (grilled meat) and ndayu (roasted, young goat) are most popular.

The Tanzanian diet is largely based on starches such as millet, sorghum, beans, pilaf, and cornmeal. A meal that could be considered the country’s national dish is ugali, a stiff dough made of cassava flour, cornmeal (maize), millet, or sorghum, and usually served with a sauce containing either meat, fish, beans, or cooked vegetables. It is typically eaten out of a large bowl that is shared by everyone at the table. Wali (rice) and various samaki (fish) cooked in coconut are the preferred staples for those living in coastal communities.

The introduction of various spices by the Arabs is highly evident in a popular coastal dish, pilau. It consists of rice spiced with curry, cinnamon, cumin, hot peppers, and cloves. Matunda (fruits) and mboga (vegetables) such as plantains, similar to the banana, ndizi (bananas), pawpaw (papaya),

Bananas and plantains are among the staples of the daily diet in Tanzania. Here a vendor loads his bicycle with chane za ndizi (bunches of bananas) to take to the market to sell.

Cory Langley

biringani (eggplant), nyana (tomatoes), beans, muhogo (cassava), spinach and other greens, and maize (similar to corn) are frequently eaten, many of which are grown in backyard gardens. Ndizi Kaanga (fried bananas or plantains) is a local dish that is very popular with Tanzanians and tourists alike. In the cities, Indian food is abundant.Chai (tea), the most widely consumed beverage, is typically consumed throughout the day, often while socializing and visiting with friends and family. Sweet fried breads called vitumbua (small rice cakes) are commonly eaten with chai in the mornings, or between meals as a snack. Chapatti (fried flat bread), also served with tea, is a popular snack among children. Street vendors commonly sell freshly ground black coffee in small porcelain cups, soft drinks, and fresh juices made of pineapple, oranges, or sugar cane. Adults enjoy a special banana beer called mbege made in the Kilimanjaro region (northeast Tanzania). Aside from the common serving of fresh fruits or pudding, desserts such as mandazi (deep-fried doughnut-like cakes) are sold by vendors.

Chapatti is a soft, flat bread that is best enjoyed warm. It is sometimes flavored with chopped onion or other savory additions.

EPD Photos

Chapatti (Fried Flat Bread)

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates, chopped
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ cup sugar
• 5 Tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Tamarind nectar (juice), made from the acidic tamarind and sold by street vendors in Tanzania, may sometimes be found, sold in cans, in large supermarkets elsewhere in the world.

EPD Photos

Procedure

1. Combine the 2 packages (or 2 cups fresh) spinach and can of chopped tomatoes in a saucepan and heat until bubbly. Add salt to taste.
2. Stir in peanut butter and continue cooking over low heat until heated through. Serve.

Serves 8.

6 POLITICS, ECONOMICS, AND NUTRITION

About 40 percent of the population of Tanzania is classified as undernourished by the World Bank. This means they do not receive

Mchicha combines spinach with the sweetness of coconut and the crunchy texture of chopped peanuts. When chopping peanuts by hand (left), always keep your fingers on the top edge of the knife.

EPD Photos

adequate nutrition in their diet. Of children under the age of five, about 31 percent are underweight, and nearly 43 percent are stunted (short for their age).Tanzania is one of the world’s poorest countries and undernourishment is prevalent, especially in children. The young life expectancy age of 42.3 years is mostly due to malnutrition, tropical diseases such as malaria, and very unsanitary conditions. Open sewers, uncovered garbage piles, and contaminated streams and lakes are sources of disease. Although living conditions in larger towns and cities are typically better than in rural areas, unsanitary conditions and malnourishment are widespread throughout both. Childhood deficiencies in Vitamin A (which can cause blindness) and iodine are the country’s most serious malnourishments.

Clicking on the lodge name will bring our page devoted to the lodge including video and pictures which is what we think about the lodge. The link to lodge link brings up the lodge’s own internet site

Lodge	Price	Link to lodge site	Video(s)	Picture
Serengeti
CCA Serengeti Under Canvas	$905 pppn all inclusive	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Grumeti	$1000 pppn all inclusive	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Grumeti Reserves – Faru Faru	$950 per person per night all inclusive	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Grumeti Reserves – Sabora	$950 per person per night all inclusive	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Grumeti Reserves – Sasakwa	$1500 per person per night all inclusive	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Kirawira	$850 pppn all inclusive	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Kleins	$1,000 pppn all inclusive	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Kusini	$765 per person per night including all game viewing activities	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Lemala Serengeti	$600pppn full board basis	Link to Lodge website	No video
Mbalageti Lodge	$700 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Mbuzi Mawe	$700 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Migration Camp	$895 pppn all inclusive including park fees	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Ndutu Lodge	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Nomad Nduara	$840 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Nomad Serengeti Safari Camp	$840 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Olakira	$700 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Sayari	$695 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to lodge web site	No video
Serengeti Serena	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Serengeti Sopa	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Suyan	$800 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Ngorongoro Crater
Gibbs Farm	$700 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Lemala Ngorongoro	$800pppn full board including game viewing activities	Link to Lodge website	No video
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge	$1,550 pppn all inclusive	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Ngorongoro Crater Serena	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Ngorongoro Crater Sopa	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Plantation Lodge	$700 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Tarangire
Kikoti	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Olivers Camp	$692 pppn full board including all game viewing activites	Link to Lodge website	No video
Swala	$765 per person per night all inclusive including all game viewing activities	Link to Lodge website	No video
Tarangire Sopa	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Tarangire Treetops	$895 per person per night fully inclusive	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Lake Manyara
Kirurumu	$650 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Lake Manyara Serena	$700 pppn for a private safari including park fees, full board	Link to lodge web site	Download Video
Lake Manyara Tree Lodge	$985 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to Lodge website	No video
Selous
Beho Beho	$1,090 pppn an all inclusive basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Kiba Point	$7405 a night (private use only) all inclusive basis	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Lake Manze	$410 pppn full board incl all game viewing	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Rufiji River Camp	$389 pppn full board including all game viewing	www.rufijirivercamp.com	Download video
Sand Rivers Selous	$965 pppn on a fully inclusive basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Selous Impala Camp	$575 pppn including all game viewing activites, full board	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Selous Safari Camp	$795 pppn full board including all game viewing activites	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Ruaha
Jongomero	$692 pppn full board including all game viewing activites	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Kwihala EMC	$660 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to lodge web site	download video
Mdonya Old River	$370 pppn on a full board basis	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Mwagusi	$592 per person per night full board including all game viewing activites	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Ruaha River Lodge	$365 pppn full board including all game viewing activites	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Indian Ocean Mainland
Amani Beach Club	$240 pppn full board basis	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Lazy Lagoon	$150 per person per night, full board	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Ras Kutani	$305 – $350 per person per night, full board	Link to lodge web site	Download Video
Tides	$150 pppn half board basis	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Zanzibar Stone Town
Beyt al Chai	$150 pppn based on 2 people sharing on a b&b baia	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Dhow Palace	$110 per person per night, bed and breakfast	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Emerson and Green	$120 per person per night, bed and breakfast	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Tembo Hotel	$110 per person per night, bed and breakfast	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
The Serena Inn	$230 per person per night, bed and breakfast	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Zanzibar Palace Hotel	$150 pppn on a B&B basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Zanzibar Beaches
Baraza	$450pppn half board basis	Link to lodge web site	No video
Blue Bay	$180 pp pn half board	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Breezes Beach Club	$192 to $287 per person per night, half board	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Echo beach	$190pppn half board basis	Link to lodge web site	No video
Fumba Beach Lodge	$250 to $290 per person per night , half board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Gemma Del Este	$231 to $267 per person per night depending on room type, half board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Kilindi	No data	No link	No video	No image
Matemwe Bungalows	$310 per person per night on a full board basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Matemwe Bungalows Retreat	$525 per person per night on an all inclusive board basis, no activities included	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Pongwe Beach Hotel	$120pppn on a b&b basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Ras Nungwi	$195-$290 pppn half board	Link to lodge web site	Download Video
Ras Nungwi – The Ocean Suite	$495 pppn half board	Link to lodge web site	Download Video
Shooting Star	$150 to per person per night on a half board basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
The Palms	$795 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to lodge web site	Download Video
Unguja Resort	$230 pppn, half board basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download video
Z Hotel	$235 pppn on a half board basis	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Zamani Kempinski	$320 to $380 per person per night, half board	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Zanzibar Ocean Paradise	$180 per person per night, half board	Link to Lodge website	No video
Other Indian Ocean Islands
Chapwani Island	$180 per person per night, full board	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Chole Mjini	$250 per person per night, full board	No link	Download Video
Chumbe	$220 per person per night, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Fundu Lagoon	$405 – $610 per person per night	Link to Lodge website	No video
Kinasi Lodge	$320 per person per night, full board	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Mnemba	$1,250 per person per night all inclusive	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
North Island Seychelles	1,780 Euros pp pn	Link to Lodge website	No video
Pole Pole	$250 per person per night	Link to Lodge website	Download video
Northern Mozambique
Quilalea	$595 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Vamizi Island	$850 pppn on an all inclusive basis	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Katavi
Chada	$660 pppn all inclusive including park fees	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Foxes Katavi Wildlife camp	$460 per person per night	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Mahale
Greystoke	$1045 per person per night	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Dar Hotels
Oyster Bay	No data	No link	No video
Royal Palm	$200 per person per night, bed and breakfast	Link to Lodge Website	No video
Arusha Hotels
Arusha Coffee Lodge	$220 per person per night on a b&b basis	Link to Lodge website	Download Video
Moivaro Coffee Plantation	$195 per person per night, bed and breakfast	Link to Lodge Website	Download Video
Mountain Village Lodge	$170 per night per person, bed and breakfast	Link to Lodge website	Download Video

Music Crossroads International (MCI) is a unique youth music empowerment through music program initiated in 1995 by Jeunesses Musicale International (JMI) and presently encompassing five Southern African countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Since the program began 12 years ago as Music Crossroads Southern Africa, MCI has reached almost 30.000 musicians and 600.000 audiences. MCI is comprised of workshops, festivals and competitions to promote the African traditional and contemporary urban music of young African musicians. The project aims at creating sustainable musical structures in the target countries, improving self-awareness and social inclusion of young African individuals. MCI promotes the participation of young women in the program and addresses HIV/AIDS prevention through the Relationship workshops.

Thanks to the generous support from SIDA (Sweden), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs and UNESCO, MCI has developed into the largest cultural program in Sub-Saharan Africa and the most important youth empowerment program on the African continent.

The Music Crossroads program is divided into 3 fundamental areas:

Musical:
An integral part of the MCI program is the “musical mining”, where national and InterRegional juries identify the stars of tomorrow. As MCI is sifting the best young talents of the five Southern African target countries, we can also assist selected artists and bands to build sustainable musical careers, at home and abroad, by offering musical and performance training, songwriting and arrangement, providing band management and music rights. The MCI Centers also provides rehearsal space, equipment, training and support for local member musicians.


Promotion, studio recordings and concert engagements of contracted MCI-winners are pursued on local and national levels, while the InterRegional MCI winners are offered professional training and CD-productions followed by international concert performances and tours on major stages in Europe, North America and Asia.

African borders are often difficult to cross due to visa and other regulations. It is also difficult to find opportunities for artists and bands to perform in neighboring countries. Therefore, we are increasingly developing the cross-border exchange of promising MCI acts between the target countries.

Social:
Since 2000, MCI has developed its own dedicated HIV/AIDS prevention program, the “Relationship Workshops” – today mandatory in all festivals, a discussion forum on relations, sex and gender issues, challenging attitudes and offering useful information on how to protect oneself against HIV/AIDS.
But MCI has taken it a step further: as the young MCI musicians are role models for many, the “Songs for Life” program transform since 2004 the learning from the Relationship Workshops into lyrics and music through dedicated songwriter’s workshops, where the best songs are selected and recorded in studio by respective band and then compiled on CD’s and distributed to radio and TV and disseminated to Millions of young people, to ponder the content of these songs with a message.
MCI offers opportunities and hope to young people who otherwise would have little of both. Through numerous workshops, the program gives the individual participants insights, self-awareness and -respect, music, business and social skills, leading to social inclusion and a path to a professional future.

Structural:
MCI recognizes that talent alone is not enough to enable youth to build careers in music – local infrastructure, facilities and human resources must exist to support and nurture growth.
The Music Crossroads International program has over the past 10 years identified and established contacts with key individuals and organizations in the five target countries. As part of the Strategy Program 2006-10, MCI aims at establishing professional, sustainable national structures that should be apt to take on the national management and funding of the MCI program and related activities as from 2011.

The MCI Program promotes organizational setups – staffing, offices and training centers – as well as regional coordination and training of staff and volunteers on relevant issues such as fund-raising, lobbying, PR/Promotion and communication.

The national Music Crossroads entities will engage and train young music organizers and act as an infrastructural resource to develop the national music industries.

Tanzania

Tanzania has 37 million people, in which there are very few Institutions dedicated to the arts. Music Crossroads Tanzania (MCTZ) aims to provide quality training and performances whilst strengthen existing local networks by working with partner organizations in the fields of Music Training, Music Management, HIV /AIDS and Self empowerment.
Music Crossroads was introduced into Tanzania in 1999. Since then it has grown from having four local festivals to nine festivals across the entire country with the goal of establishing two more festivals by end of 2008. Music Crossroads Tanzania is now a recognized non-profit organization, is one of the founding partners of the Youth Leadership Network and stands out as the only countrywide program that offers free music education, training and promotion to the youths of Tanzania.

ARTISTS

An integral part of the MCI Program is the “musical mining”, where National and InterRegional juries identify the stars of tomorrow.

As MCI is sifting the best young talents of the five Southern African target countries, we can also assist selected artists and bands to build sustainable musical careers, at home and abroad, by offering musical and performance training, songwriting and arrangement, providing band management and music rights.

The MCI Centers also provide rehearsal space and equipment for young aspiring artists. Promotion, studio recordings and concert engagements of contracted MCI-winners are pursued on local and national levels, while the InterRegional MCI winners are offered professional training and CD-productions followed by international concert performances and tours on major stages in Europe, North America and Asia. African borders are often difficult to cross due to visa and other regulations.

MCI acts as a bridge between the five African nations and through cross-boarder musical collaborations and exchanges we bring cultures together to celebrate their richness and diversity.

Zanzibar wraps its reality around you like a lingering fairytale. This tiny archipelago of Indian Ocean islands that once lured sailors, Sultans and slavers to its far-distant shores is so charismatic that it sweeps you into its shadowy romantic past and sunlit present all at once, and finally sets you down, all sun-bronzed and laden with spices and island art, and memories of an exceptionally sparkling and colourfully abundant sea.

The main island is small and easy to explore, with glorious white sand, palm-fringed beaches rewarding you for just a couple of hours’ drive to the North coast and the same to the East, along mainly hopeless but endlessly fascinating roads flanked by simple homesteads, roads worn more by foot or bicycle and frequented by chickens. There is a time warp here, this place where the past is so responsible for the present, where mobile phones, internet connections and television are all relatively recent, and where the history and culture is so imbued that you can simply stretch out beneath the dappled shade of the coconut palms and soak it up. Welcome to Zanzibar, and a world apart.

Sailors and traders from the first century AD came to the lands of ‘Zinj el Barr’, the Black Coast, bringing beads, porcelain and silks to trade for gold, slaves and spices, ebony, ivory, indigo and tortoiseshell. They waited for annual monsoon winds to fill their dhow sails and bear them across the Indian Ocean; today’s visitors usually arrive in a small ‘plane or ferry from Dar es Salaam. But these still afford a measured approach, allowing a breathtaking vision of sparkling cerulean waters over sandbanks and reefs, and then into Stone Town, the ancient island capital, still more of a town than a city, a maze of winding pedestrian streets in a hotchpotch of rooftops, a mass of corrugated iron overwhelming the historic stonework beneath.

Helplessly entwined in its own history, the people of Zanzibar are the Swahili, evolving from the influx of mainly Arabian and Persian immigrants who settled on the East African coast and islands to trade and escape the political upheavals of the Gulf two thousand years ago. Their cultural history was founded in sailing dhows, similar to those that glide by its shores today, boats that brought people, language and cultures and long centuries of power wrangling.

The Arab immigrants were overthrown by the Portuguese in the 15th century, until the Sultan of Oman finally saw them off for good in 1698 and started building the Stone Town of today; the Old Fort on the harbour was built on the remains of a Portuguese church dating back to 1600. Visitors to Stone Town still encounter the grandiose vision and dominant architectural style of a confident young Sultan who transferred the seat of his sultanate from the contentious capital of Muscat to the breezier climes of Zanzibar in 1832, and then began palace building in earnest, and seeding the coconut palms and clove plantations which soon defined Zanzibar as the ‘Spice Island’.

Driving through the island centre now, it is worth stopping to explore the spice plantations, where a guided walk for passing tourists is likely to be more lucrative than vast crops to export, but it is a fine sensual pleasure to crumble cinnamon bark straight from the tree, to breathe the scent of cloves drying in the sun, to taste and guess the spice from a handful of pods and powders. These are well used by the chefs and kitchens in beach hotels, where fishermen daily bring the catch of the day to be grilled, baked, battered or blanched with assorted Zanzibar spice.

The coast is dotted with hotels, self-contained beach hideaways that relish their privacy and provide various levels of style and comfort. I have been to most and head north by choice, to the northernmost peninsula which is occupied by Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel. The name is a very literal Swahili translation, but it says nothing of how this beach is secluded and the coral sands are blanched very, very pale. It does not tell how the wonderfully translucent and clear the sea is here, where a coral reef surrounds the shore creating a shallow wide expanse to explore until the tide rises high and then turquoise waves crash onto the beach. It is a naturally beautiful place.

Turtles come ashore to lay their eggs when the moon is full, and the surrounding reefs are a thriving colourful world to snorkel and dive. Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel is essentially respectful of its place, each room constructed from local wood and coral rag to create a number of thatched round houses along the beach, with lodge rooms in gardens behind. Soft sand pathways link the central thatched and open-sided restaurant to the rooms, pool and dive centre, providing the comforts of a fine hotel with a rustic, beach hideaway style. This is a fine place to lie back and soak up Zanzibar, crack open a coconut, watch the dhows on the far horizon and look forward to spice-scented, star filled African night.

The pilot turned and shouted above the noise of the engine. “If those animals start to cross the runway, we’ll need to abort the landing.” My husband Ludo and I could only agree – “the animals” were bigger than our tiny plane. This was our introduction to Ruaha, a little-known national park in southern Tanzania. Those who know it rave, not just about the beauty of its landscapes but about the variety and sheer number of animals that live in and wander through this pristine, unfenced wilderness.

We landed on the mud air-strip, coasting past the herd of feeding elephants. Ruaha, normally bone dry, had received its annual rainfall in just a month, and was lush and verdant. The drive to camp turned into a game drive. Male kudu with corkscrew horns and masked faces peered out at us. A herd of buffalo snorted and stamped. A lone lioness, the remains of a young giraffe beside her, rolled and stretched blissfully in the grass.

Mdonya Old River Camp is just that. Camouflage green tents are set along the banks of what was once the Mdonya River, and a larger tent serves as a dining room. The whole lot could be dismantled in 24 hours, leaving few signs it ever existed. The manager, Nick, showed us to our tent and warned: “Don’t leave anything outside after dark; we’re having a bit of a problem with a hyena. She’ll eat anything. Last night she had a go at one of the kerosene lanterns.” And that really is the beauty of this camp. It doesn’t shut out the wildlife – quite the opposite. A month before, a pride of lions killed a buffalo outside one of the tents. “We didn’t have any guests in that tent at the time,” Nick said. “We just put people in the tents farthest away and left the lions to it. They stayed around for a few days. The guests loved it.”

The rain had brought new life to the bush – newborn impala, baby giraffe and tiny vervet monkeys clinging to their mothers. But it also meant that, with food and water everywhere, the game had dispersed. We were at the mercy of chance and every sighting was a treat. Travelling was challenging: vehicles became stuck in treacly mud, and airstrips became unusable. We flew out of Ruaha, dodging rainclouds, heading west. From the window we saw hills become mountains, the bush become forest and then the grey expanse of Lake Tanganyika, the size of England, separating Tanzania from the Congo.

Western Tanzania is largely inaccessible. Gombe is its best-known reserve. Jane Goodall lived there from the early 1960s, studying and making astonishing discoveries about our closest relatives, chimpanzees. Gombe doesn’t really have facilities for visitors, but 200km (125 miles) south is the larger Mahale National Park, home to several groups of chimps. Kyoto University has had researchers there for more than 40 years. Visitors to Mahale’s few tourist camps have a good, although not guaranteed, chance of seeing chimpanzees in their natural habitat, going about their daily business unconcerned by a human audience. I had only seen chimpanzees in captivity. They are big, powerful, extremely intelligent, human enough to make you think you might understand them, animal enough to make them inscrutable. I was drawn to them as much by fear as by curiosity. But before Ludo and I and John and Diana, two Americans also staying at Greystoke Camp, could venture into their territory, we had to pass a test.

Last summer catastrophe struck the chimps of Mahale.

They started dying in alarming numbers of a flu-like disease. Magdalena, a vet who worked at Gombe for years and now runs Greystoke Camp, was part of the team trying to establish where the disease had originated. There was suspicion that the “flu” had been caught from humans, and strict precautions had been established to prevent any recurrence. Researchers and tourists have to stay at least 10m (33ft) from the chimps, and wear masks. Any hint of a cold and you are not allowed in the forest.

Once the aircraft landed on the shores of the lake, we boarded a boat and sailed south. After about an hour we saw a beach, empty apart from an eccentric-looking thatched building, and a small knot of people – our welcoming party. The rest of the camp was hidden beyond the tree line. Behind the beach, the forest: dark, daunting and for the moment off limits.

We spent the afternoon on the lake with Greystoke’s guide, Safe. Ostensibly there to point out crocodiles, hippos and hundreds of bird species, he was also carefully monitoring us: any sign of a cold and we would not be seeing any chimps. Blissfully unaware of this, we were celebrating the sheer joy of being in such a place with a large gin and tonic, all talking at once, so we barely heard Safe’s shout. “Chimp!” he repeated, pointing towards the bank. Disbelievingly, we turned – and there was a black face peering, a little indignantly at us, from a tree. “It’s a wild one, not one from the habituated group,” Safe said. “You’re very lucky. Hardly anyone sees them.” Silent now, we looked from the chimp to each other and back again, hardly daring to believe what we were seeing. Tears brimmed in Diana’s eyes.

Imagine then how we felt the next morning, when, having been given a clean bill of health, we found ourselves 10m from Alofu, the alpha male, lying on his back, arms flung wide, snoozing with a couple of younger males. Pushing through the undergrowth, we came across another little group, a female catching a nap while her baby was entertained by another young chimp.

On our final morning we abandoned breakfast. The trackers had spotted the chimps obligingly close by. We hadn’t seen them the previous day, despite six exhausting, exhilarating hours tracking through the forest. Now we stood, staring upwards as the canopy shook. Leaping bodies crashing through the branches, hooting calls filled the air and made our hair stand on end. As we climbed reluctantly back on the boat to leave, we were joined by one of the camp’s staff wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “98 per cent chimpanzee”: DNA, we agreed, we could all be proud of.

Kate Humble presents Springwatch on BBC Two. Her website www.stuffyourrucksack.com offers information on what to take on holiday to help local communities.

Reproduced from the The Times June 16, 2007

Veiled secrets

SLAVERY and sultans shadow the East African islands of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania, north of Dar es Salaam.

Slavery is the key historical issue, but with domes and minarets piercing the skyline, it is the stone legacy of the sultans that entices visitors. Stone Town, the old part of Zanzibar City, on the western coast of the main island, is the place to discover it all.

Merchant ships from Persia, Arabia and India have traded with Zanzibar for 2000 years, leaving a potent blend of Eastern and African culture. The islands were long owned by the sultans of Oman, who took over from the Portuguese in 1698. By 1840, Zanzibar was so important for Omani trade with East Africa that its capital, Stone Town, became the sultans’ headquarters.

Like many places in Africa, Zanzibar has reinvented itself as a tourist destination. Since 1964, when the last sultan was overthrown, Zanzibar has been a separate state within mainland Tanzania. It is made up of two large islands: Unguja (Zanzibar Island) and Pemba, plus several islets. Its capital and only large settlement is Zanzibar City, which embraces New City and Stone Town. I spend time in the pungent, narrow streets of Stone Town, the economic and cultural hub of old Zanzibar and now a World Heritage site.

Outside Stone Town are clove and coconut plantations, long, perfect beaches and coral reefs, rare, long-tailed red colobus monkeys and, on the small island of Nungwi, giant sea turtles, all in a humid tropical climate. But in Stone Town I walk beside carved Arab doorways and slave cells, feel the cobbled streets beneath my feet, look up at cool verandas and experience the potent sense of 2000 years of connections between Africa and the East.

Best monument to the slave trade: After the abolition of the Zanzibar trade in 1873, the Anglicans built a cathedral on Stone Town’s Creek Road, where the old slave market used to be. The place where the altar now stands was once the whipping post where slaves were tested for toughness: if they wept, their price went down. The marble around the altar is blood red. Beneath the market are their cramped cells.

Best door: The ornate, studded doors of Stone Town have a clear Persian influence but a distinct style. The maze of alleyways is dotted with these immense, elaborately carved doors. It was a custom in Zanzibar for a builder first to order his doorframe and then build the house around it. In 1857, adventurer Richard Burton commented: “The higher the tenement, the bigger the gateway, the heavier the padlock and the huger the iron studs that nail the door of heavy timber, the greater the owner’s dignity.” The most interesting door, behind the House of Peace Memorial Museum, dates back more than 300 years, which makes it reputedly the oldest in Zanzibar.

Best social quirk: Zanzibar is predominantly Muslim because of the influence of the Omani sultans. The women are supposed to cover themselves modestly but the gaiety of Zanzibaris is evident in the fun the women have with their cotton wraps, worn over their heads and as skirts. The girls wear a brightly patterned scarf, called a kanga. A Zanzibari girl might wear a kanga with a message on it directed at someone in her social group; one I spot says, “Don’t compete with me, you can never beat me.” Another girl, realising the message is directed at her, might go home and change into a kanga that says, “A confident person requires no reason to practise envy.”

Best-named attraction: Built in 1883, the House of Wonders was originally a royal palace. There is a 3.3m door gilded with texts from the Koran, and 12 other magnificently carved doors, reminders of the vast and showy wealth of the sultans. In one room I see traditional, ornate ebony furniture and, on the other side, European couches in flowery, 1960s kitsch, the influence of the other wives, perhaps.

The climax of Sultan Barghash’s flamboyant building spree, it has tiers of balconies, a clock tower, and a grand position on the waterfront behind the Forodhani Gardens between the Palace Museum and the Omani Fort. It houses the dreary-sounding but quirky Zanzibar National Museum of History and Culture.

Best resort: The white sand, azure sea and small pine forest on Mnemba Island, just off the northeast coast of Zanzibar, lead me to suspect Ursula Andress will pop out of the ocean at any minute. The entire island is a resort, and with only 10 evenly spaced villas, it feels as if I own a secret paradise. Apart from the waiter who brings me a drink to accompany the breathtaking sunset, the only disturbance is from the little Suni antelopes that occasionally scamper around my villa. www.mnemba.com.

Best guided tour: If you have ever wondered how nutmeg, ginger, tamarind, guava, carambola, menthol or cloves are grown, a spice tour is for you; such guided tours provide local knowledge you might otherwise miss. Highlights are the lipstick tree, with pods that produce a vibrant red dye, and soapberry trees, with berries that lather like soap when you rub them. Tours from 9am to 2pm include a lunch featuring spices encountered on the tour. Eco & Culture Tours, with an office on Hurumzi Street, offers a genuine medicine man as a guide. More: www.ecoculture-zanzibar.org.

Best drink: Taken in the shade while escaping the tropical midday sun, dawa is mostly vodka and ice but tastes of lime and honey. Dawa means medicine or magic potion in Swahili, for reasons which can rapidly become clear. The top floor of ETC Plaza, at the corner of appropriately named Suicide Alley and Shangani Street, is a good place to try dawa and the bar comes with ocean views; like Zanzibar, this drink is never bland.

Best hangover cure: Everywhere I go, people stand barefoot beside the orange dirt roads, selling sugarcane. I use a knife to slice the raw cane and lick the inside. Taken with a glass of water, it refreshes for the rest of the day. I also recommend corn sold on the streets: it tastes dry and like toffee.

Best mode of transport: A dalla-dalla, or a Zanzibari bus, is a beaten-up Toyota pick-up truck with a wooden roof and wrought-iron sides; these should carry 20 passengers but often 40 pile in, the extras hanging precariously off the sides. A dalla is five Tanzanian shillings, which is what the journey originally cost. They are still very cheap, about 300 shillings (26c) a mile. The No.2 dalla-dalla travels 20km north of Zanzibar town to the Mangapwani slave cave where, after the trade was abolished, slaves who were about to be sold were kept hidden in hollowed-out coral cellars.

Best street food: East Africa’s best street market is held every night by the waterfront at Forodhani Gardens in Stone Town. In the twilight, grilled fish and meat on skewers and octopus look and smell enticing. The crowds can be a little pushy, but it is a great place to wander even if you don’t buy. I have already eaten, but it is still hard to resist the food, fresh and sizzling in the dark.

Best shopping: Fine Zanzibari wooden chests are not quite as good as a door but are still hammered and studded, and have secret compartments. Some of the finest examples are in the Abeid Curio Shop opposite the cathedral. But how to get one back home? Spears and knives pose a similar problem. For those with less ambitious tastes, watercolours of the Stone Town doors are intense and enchanting. I buy one for about $15 in an art studio in the Omani Fort. The abstract carvings of the Makonde tribe are also eerie and powerful, with columns of interwoven human figures.

Bustling Mchangani Street in Stone Town consists of stalls crammed with kangas of every colour and grade of magnificence. Cathedral Street has some of the opulent furniture hastily left by rich Arabs after the 1964 revolution. I also visit Zanzibar Curio Shop in Changa Bazaar for a taste of pre-1964 wealth. And I return to the night market in the Forodhani Gardens for cheap Masai jewellery and carvings.

Best story: Princess Salme, daughter of the sultan of Oman, was born here in 1844 and shocked her family by converting to Christianity after falling pregnant and eloping with a young German merchant. When she died in 1924 she still had the dress she eloped in and a bag of sand from a Zanzibar beach. Her book Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar (by Emily Ruete, born Sayyida Salme) makes good pre-visit reading.

Best sundowners: Africa House Hotel on the coast in Stone Town was the English club from 1888 onwards and still has a colonial expat feel to it. It is a perfect place to end a walk around Stone Town: you can watch the sun sink into the Indian Ocean, with a dawa in hand.

Best end to the evening: Tower Top Restaurant at Emerson & Green Hotel, 236 Hurumzi St, Stone Town, a five-minute walk from Africa House, is world class. Atop a hotel, in a tower straight out of Arabian Nights, the restaurant seats about 20, most lounging on Arabian-style cushions and eating off low tables. The fixed-price menu includes dishes such as battered pepper shark and curried fishcakes with chutney and yoghurt. Enjoying a five-course meal, I look over Stone Town with all its faiths and facets, at an Anglican church, a minaret and a Muslim temple. There is a warm breeze from the Indian Ocean. Children scramble to collect kangas put out to dry on hot tin roofs. A violinist in a white robe plays eerily beautiful music, as if trying to raise a magic carpet, while his robe moves in the breeze. www.emerson-green.com.

Best last word: Locals greet tourists with jambo and enthusiastic tourists say jambo back, thinking they are saying hello in Swahili. But locals instead say mambo vipi, Swahili slang for “stay cool”. Use it to say hello and goodbye and impress the locals.

Reproduced from The Australian – Michael Stothard – August 09, 2007

If I had to survive in the bush, I’d kill a buffalo,” announces my son, Michael, aged 19.
“How?”
“I’d get a huge stone and crash it on his head.”
The young Masai warrior who is with us begins to laugh, long and deep. This is clearly the funniest thing he’s heard in a while. It’s like a Masai telling us he would survive in London by asking a passer-by for £100. “The buffalo weighs two tons,” our guide chortles. He turns the idea over in his head. “Hit a buffalo on the head with a stone…” he repeats delightedly.
Some trips are holidays and some are much more than that – voyages into another way of thinking and feeling. A journey into the Tanzanian bush is a journey into another dimension. From the threadbare airport at Arusha, our small plane wafted Michael and me to Manyara airstrip; from there, we were driven to the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. The first glimpse takes your breath away. Ngorongoro is an 11-mile-wide volcanic caldera with a lake shimmering in the middle. Its 1,600ft walls turn the crater into an amphitheatre, a savage playpen for the animals that gather there to feed, drink – and be eaten.
The lodge is a hobbitlike community of thatched cottages, right on the rim. Step inside, though, and operatic silk curtains sweep down beside french windows overlooking the crater. There are immense beds, opulent in purple; the tissue box is made of porcupine quills; crystal beads hang from a chandelier. And when we returned from our first game drive, my “butler” had run an aromatic bath drenched in rose petals. I sank blissfully into the bubbles.
Down in the crater, the animals are so used to vehicles it was as though we were entirely invisible. Magical, bizarre, deeply luxurious, this is an astounding place. There are hippos, black rhinos, elephants and many thousand zebras, wildebeests and gazelles. We watched two young lions chase each other across the open plain, giving their deep, vibrant, almost comforting roar.
In the evening, after a dinner to make the gods jealous, we sat in leather chairs by an open fire, drank sherry and played poker – easy to feel like a god here. In the early morning I watched a cloud drift over the crater, while all around our cottage the buffaloes grazed.
THE NEXT leg of our safari was a searing contrast. We took a tiny plane out into the Serengeti, 120 miles from the nearest town, to a tented settlement without running water. This is Tanzania Under Canvas, and it moves every few months to chase the great migration of wildebeests and zebras.
My tent was right on the margins of the camp, and it made me uneasy, especially when I was told nobody had a gun. My whistle and torch didn’t feel like much protection from the lions. Not that staying there is a hardship. Like Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, it is run by CC Africa, and the mischievous camp manager, Bruce, welcomed us into the canvas “living room” erected just a week or two before our arrival, with its crystal glasses, leather-bound books and khaki sofas.
But there really are lions in the camp at night. I would have felt safer sharing a tent with Michael, and Bruce conceded that was perfectly reasonable – because then I would be only half as likely to be attacked. “It isn’t that he’d save you – it’s that while the predators munch on one, the other can escape. It’s the principle behind large herds.”
Later, I read from Out of Africa as I tried to sleep. “The views were immensely wide,” Karen Blixen writes. “Everything you saw made for greatness and freedom. Up in this high air you breathed easily, drawing in a vital assurance and lightness of heart.” On any trip, the best literature of the place intensifies and enlarges your experience. But for all Blixen’s delicacy of language, I still couldn’t sleep.
EARLY NEXT morning we stepped out into the gentle danger of Africa. A red dawn stained the skies, and I felt the space of a whole continent – at once exhilarated and relaxed by the rising murmur of insects, the famous light. That first day we saw a cheetah, a leopard and a pride of lions with their cubs. Most impressive, though, was the thunder of the wildebeests as they stampeded over a hill, carried by dust clouds like an apocalyptic vision. Watching them, I found myself thinking like a lion: here was a banquet it would be impossible ever to finish. Later we witnessed the fear and despair of baby wildebeests parted from their mothers, as vultures went jauntily about their business nearby.
“Where there’s death there’s life,” said Ivan the ranger, matter-of-factly – yet he helped us to save one youngster by encouraging it to follow our vehicle.
But fear is part of the deal here, as I came to understand. Here you are not gods, as you are at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, and the experience offers a different kind of intensity. Spending all day watching the predators, and most of the night listening to them hunt outside your canvas wall, you soon begin to identify with the primal stimuli of the bush. You forget your wearisome human pride, and lose that sense of difference between man and other animals. I’d expected the worst thing about Tanzania Under Canvas to be the strip of tent separating me and the bush. It turned out to be the best.
From The Sunday TimesJuly 1, 2007; By Sally Emerson

The Tanzanian government has been asked to reconsider a proposed soda ash mining project in Lake Natron.
Experts say the project is a threat to the flamingos in Lake Nakuru and other Rift Valley lakes. BirdLife Africa Partnership members and associates from 23 countries meeting in Nairobi warned that the proposal by Tata Chemicals and the Tanzanian government to construct a soda ash extraction plant at the lake in Tanzania would disrupt the breeding of flamingos.
Lake Natron is the World’s most important breeding site for the Lesser Flamingo, a bird listed in the World Conservation Union red list of threatened species.
It accounts for 75 per cent of the world’s lesser flamingos and is the only site in the region where the flamingos have bred for the last 45 years.
Experts say during breeding, flamingos are sensitive to disturbance.
“Regional extinction of the Lesser Flamingo will in turn have far reaching impacts on national economies and the tourism industry in the region,” warned the conservationists. They petitioned the Tanzanian government to reconsider the proposed development, given the potential negative impacts of its implementation.
“We call upon all governments, both in Africa and globally, all organisations concerned, and all people of goodwill who care about biodiversity and the environment and future generations to stand up against the proposed development.”
Concerned that the Environmental Impact Assessment process was not participatory enough, the conservationists called upon Tanzania and Tata Chemicals to ensure due process was followed.