Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai

In November 2007, I spent one month in Tanzania, East Africa. First 14 days on safari in Northern Tanzania, thereafter 10 relaxing days on Zanzibar, the spice island just off the coast of Tanzania. Ever since I was young I have wanted to visit the famous national parks of Northern Tanzania. Fabeled places like the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti National Park, the caustic Great Rift Valley lakes, the Ol Doinyo Lengai vulcano, Kilimanjaro and other famous places. I did not climb the Kilimanjaro, as my primary goal was to watch and photograph wildlife and nature. Spending one week climbing Killi would have been to vasted too much time at one location.

The safari started in Arusha, the capital of Northern Tanzania with almost 2 millions inhabitants, situated on the hills of Mount Meru and next to the Kilimanjaro Mountain. Arusha is green and lush, and receive quite a lot of rain, because of its location next to the 4,566 meter high Mt. Meru. First we drove to Lake Manyara National Park, for an afternoon game drive. Next day we drove to Lake Natron, on a very rough road. Thereafter we went to the Serengeti National Park, and then to Lake Victoria. On our way back to the Ngorongoro Crater, we stopped for another couple of days in Serengeti. Then we visited the Hadzabe bushmen of Lake Eyasi, before another stop at Lake Manyara. The last safari destination was Tarangire National Park, before returning to Arusha and the flight to Zanzibar.

I saw a lot of animals during the trip, including the Big five. Except from nocturnal animals, I saw most of the anticipated animals. But also many bird species, and a few reptiles. All in all, I have to say that Tanzania was a great land, with nice people and very little hassle (maybe with the exception of Zanzibar Town). And Tanzania has preserved a lot of land as national parks, offering visitors the joy of watching wildlife in undisturbed nature. If you plan going on a safari, Tanzania is a safe destination, and offer willdlife equal to any other destination in Africa.

In these pages you will find some impressions from the trip, and many photos of landscapes, animals and birds from the region. Most of the photos were taken in Northern Tanzania, but I have also included a section from Zanzibar, the fantastic tropical island in the Indian Ocean.