Republic of Tanzania

Tanzania is a treasure chest of Africa's best. It incorporates Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa's hightest mountain; lake Victoria (Africa's biggest lake; Lake Tanganyika (Africa's longest and the world's second deepest lake; and the world's biggest concentration of wild animals and the most spectacular mammal migration in the Serengeti.

Tanzania boast over 1 000 bird species and is a year-round birding destination. Ngorongoro Crater represents all the best of the world's wildlife, with its protected environment.

Tanzania lies on the Indian Ocean and incorporates the Zanzibar archipelago (the fertile coral islands of Zanzibar and Pemba). the mainland consists of several clearly defined regions: the plains along the coast have lush, tropical vegetations; half the country is savannah and bush and other regions are semi-desert. About 6% of mainland Tanzania is lakes.

CAPITAL

Dar es Salaam (business capital) Dodoma (official administrative capital)

INDEPENDENCE

9 December 1961

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POPULATION

31 270 820 (approx)

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AREA

945 090 (886 040 sq km land, including Zanzibar, Mafia and Pemba Islands; 59 sq km water)

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CURRENCY

Tanzania shilling

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LANGUAGE

The official language is KiSwahili, along with various local languages. English is the second official language and the country's commercial language. Arabic is widely spoken in the coastal areas.

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CULTURE

Tanzania's culture is a result of Arican, Arabian, European and Indian influences. The African people of Tanzania represent about 120 tribal groups.

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CLIMATE

Tanzania's climate is tropical on the coast, on the islands and in the Selous. It is temperate in the other parks. Late March to late May is traditionally the long rainy season and is considered the winter period in Tanzania.

Serengeti National Park

This a plain dwellers' stronghold of 14 763 sq km, reaching up to the Kenyan border and is claimed to be the finest plains area of Africa.

There are 35 species of plain-dwelling animals, including wildebeest and zebra, which feature in the spectacular Serengeti migration to and from the Maasai Mara of Kenya. There is also an extensive selection of birdlife. This is one of the best places in Africa to see lion and cheetah close up. The vast, open grasslands of the Serengeti are home for vast herds of plains animals (including giraffe, eland and kudu).

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

This is the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world. Some scientists maintain that before it collapsed, it would have stood higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa.

Covering a mere 260 sq km, the 600m deep creater is home to a permanent populaton of more than 30 000 animals, and is one of the only places in Africa where you stand a very good chance of seeing the "big five" (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant) in the course of a morning or evening's game drive.

Nights on the crater rim (at 2 400m), where the lodges are, can get icy cold. Unique to the crater is that the local Maasai graze their cattle on the floor, and it is not unusual to see Maasai cattle and buffalo grazing together, with a lion kill just a few hundred metres away. There are around 100 lions in the crater and about 20 black rhino. The spectacular Lerai Forest is one of the best places in Africa to spot leopard.

Selous Game Reserve

This is the ultimate African wilderness experience, a vast region of largely unexplored bush, teeming with wildlife and with almost no roads into the hidden interior.

The Selous is a bird-watcher's paradise with over 350 species of birds. Walking is permitted (with an armed ranger). More than 2 000 plant species make this a most diverse sanctuary to explore. Bisected by the mysterious Rufiji River, the Selous is one of the most remote and least visited parks in Africa.

At 55 000 sq km, it is the second biggest conservation area in Africa, and the largest game reserve on the continent. The Selous is also a proclaimed world heritage site. Once home to the biggest concentration of elephant on the contenent, the "Ivory Wars" of the late 1970 and early 1980s had a devastating effect on the herds, reducing their numbers to an estimated 30 000 to 50 000 today.

Tanzania's national parks and game reserves cover one seventh of the county.

Our photographs are representative of Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Selous Game Reserve.

Find zebra, giraffe, lion, elephant, wildebeest, antelope and many others in the Gallery.

Picha iliyopigwa kwa kamera - Most of the the photos on these pages are available in either 35mm slide format or .jpg format; some are available only in .jpg format. Please contact us at photo@oakhill-sonoma.com for details and/or subject-specific photo list. Fees are available upon request. (c)Carma Spence, 1993-2004.