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Population: 29,710,000 Highest Point in Africa: Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,340’ Lowest Point in Africa: Floor of Lake Tanganyika, –358m (below sea level) Area: 945,090 sq km Official Capitol: Dodoma Features: Great Rift Valley, Maasai Steppe, Serengeti Plain, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Victoria |
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[Trip Description and Journal][Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Below] [The Serengeti] [Tarangire] |
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Parks and Wildlife in Northern Tanzania |
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Maps: East Africa
Triangle
Lake Manyara Photos:
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Tanzania has an outstanding record of protecting its natural resources, with about 25% of its land protected in national parks, game reserves, and conservation areas. These areas are intended not just to protect wildlife resources, but also soil resources, water resources, and cultural heritage. Our trip focused on several of northern Tanzania's most magnificent of these natural areas. In addition we had special visits with two of Tanzania's cultural groups and traveled to the island of Zanzibar. [See People, Places, Things] Our tour began with a brief visit to Lake Manyara National Park.
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Arusha:
Safari
Capitol of Tanzania
In downtown Arusha there is a traffic circle with a clock tower monument said by our guide to be the "Center of Africa". How this is calculated I'm not sure, but Arusha is certainly the center for safaris to the most popular Tanzanian parks: Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, and Arusha. Over 100 safari companies make Arusha their home. Arusha has a congested and busy downtown (beware of the ubiquitous hawkers), a vibrant market area, and is surrounded by lush countryside at the foot of Mt. Meru with coffee, wheat, and maize plantations.
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Lake Manyara National Park is a small park but has diverse vegetation and wildlife habitats, including savanna, marshes, acacia woodlands, and dense forest. There we saw abundant elephants (although the Lake Manyara elephant population has reportedly dwindled in recent years), baboons and zebras. We didn't see any of the park's famous tree-climbing lions, nor many of its hippos. Next we climbed out of the Rift Valley into the Ngorongoro highlands. |
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Ngorongoro Photos:
Tourism: Fees paid by visitors go toward maintenance and improvement of facilities and services. Fees also go to the central government and are an important source of foreign exchange. Education and Research: Scientists from throughout the world come to the NCA for research in anthropology, wildlife biology, botany, geology and other disciplines.
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The Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes a large area (3200 sq. miles) of interrelated ecosystems consisting of the Crater Highlands (Ngorongoro Crater and surrounding uplands) vast plains, bush and woodland, swamps, lakes and rivers. The plains are part of the great Serengeti ecosystem and many animals move freely from one area to another. Climate: Distinct wet and dry seasons characterize the area with most of the rain falling from April to May. Rain in any given area can be quite variable depending on topography and yearly differences. Prevailing winds bring moisture from the Indian Ocean to the east and south sides of the highlands, with the driest areas being the plains and Olduvai gorge in the "rain shadow". From June through October it is mostly dry everywhere. Cold weather sets in during June and July, especially in the highlands, producing dense fog around the crater rim while the crater floor has clear sunny weather. Protection Status: The NCA is an example of multi-use protection, administered by an independent body, the NCAA (Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority) whose purpose is to protect and integrate the following diverse values and interests: Wildlife: all wildlife is protected throughout the NCA. Hunting for sport is not allowed and strenuous efforts are made to prevent poaching. An endangered species, the black rhino, occupies the crater. Forestry: The Northern Highlands Forest Reserve protects the natural forest which occurs on the southern and eastern slopes of the highlands. This forest is important as watershed and soil conservation. Agriculture around Lake Eyasi and Lake Manyara depends on the groundwater springs resulting from rain in the highlands.
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Ngorongoro Crater,
at about 20 km in diameter, is one of the world's largest
calderas (a collapsed volcano). Its steep sides, permanent water
supply, and surrounding intensive agriculture have reduced migration
for many of its species. Many of those that can move freely in and out
of the crater tend to stay there to enjoy its lush conditions. For this reason it is one of Tanzania's premier
and most visited wildlife viewing areas. This has led some to call it
little better than a drive-through zoo. We found it to be a spectacular
setting for up close observations of animals and their behavior. The
wildlife is certainly habituated to vehicles. Because of this we felt like
the proverbial "fly on the wall", the animals behaving as
if we weren't there.
Because of isolation and other factors the crater's lion population has been adversely affected in recent years. Much research has been done and is continuing on the lion populations of the NCA and Serengeti. [See The Lions of Ngorongoro Crater ] People: Wildlife doesn't have the crater to itself. Local Maasai tribes still bring their cattle into the crater to obtain salt. This practice is scheduled to end soon. Traditionally nomadic, the Maasai have been making permanent settlements in and around the NCA, and supplementing their traditional diet of milk, blood, and meat with grain. Until 1992 no cultivation was allowed within the conservation area. Limited cultivation is now permitted but is scheduled to be phased out.
Anthropology: The NCA includes Olduvai Gorge where in 1959 Mary Leaky discovered Zinjanthropus (Australopithecus boisei) and Laetoli, where the first human trackway was discovered. These and other stone age sites are protected by the NCAA.
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Images of Ngorongoro: Click on images and hypertext for the big picture. |
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Who can forget the hippo pool with hippos lazing around, lions alert or rolling around, storks, ibises, crowned cranes, even a buffalo stuck in the mud. And nearby, elephant, zebras, buffalo, warthogs, even an elephant chasing lions away. It's a panoply of wildlife. |
And the lush grass plains with herbivores such as wildebeest, Thompson's gazelles, Grant's gazelles, zebra, along with jackals, hyenas, and lions to prey on them.
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Serengeti Photos: wildebeest and
zebra migration
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