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TANZANIA'S NATIONAL PARKS &
RESERVES
ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK
This relatively small Park,
covering an area of 137 sq.kms. is just half an hour from Arusha. It consists
of three zones: Ngurdoto Crater, the Momella Lakes and Mount Meru. Altitudes
range from 1500m to 4500m at the summit of Meru. Vegetation varies from
primeval forest on the crater slopes to swampy edges on the floor. In the
forest are to be found duikers, bushbuck, buffalo and black and white colobus
monkeys. Around the lakes are thousands of flamingo and aquatic birdlife, with
reedbuck, hippo, waterbuck and giraffe.
LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
From whichever
direction you approach Manyara, the first view is spectacular. Approach from
the east and the Rift Valley wall looms on the horizon forming an impressive
backdrop to the Lake. From the west, with a pause at the top of the escarpment,
the park lies below in a green strip, the Lake glistening in the sunlight. The
Park covers an area of 330 sq. kms. of which about 230 is the Lake itself, the
rest being ground water forest, acacia woodland and open grassland around the
shore. You can easily find hippo down by the River Simba, elephant in the
forest and a large resident herd of Cape Buffalo on the open plain at Mahali Pa
Nyati, which means in Swahili, 'the place of the buffalo'. There are also 350
species of birdlife and, for the fortunate, a sighting of the tree-climbing
lion.
NGORONGORO CONSERVATION
AREA
It is impossible to give a fair description of the size and
beauty of the Crater, for there is nothing with which one can compare it. It is
one of the Wonders of the World. So did the late Professor Bernard Grzimek
describe the Crater in his memorable book 'Serengeti Shall Not Die'. The
conservation area is 8300 sq.km. of which the Crater is 260 sq.km. consisting
of grasslands, swamps, lakes, rivers, woodlands, forest and an arid area of
shifting dunes. The Crater supports a year-round resident population of varied
wildlife. It has its own magical attraction of sheer physical beauty and an
abundance of unusually 'docile' animals, notably the rare Black Rhino. The area
is also home to the proud and colorful Masai tribe. These truly unique people
will be seen tending their cattle high on the rim.
OLDUVAI GORGE
The Gorge acquired
its name from the Sansevieria bush that grows profusely in the area, named
Olduvai by the Masai. The Gorge is about 50km long and in some places 90m deep.
It was first discovered by a German entomologist named Professor Kattwinkel who
disturbed many fossils and inspired an expedition just before the First World
War with Professor Hans Reck. Later, the search was continued by Dr. Louis
Leakey and his wife who, in 1959, found humanoid remains of Zinjanthropus,
later renamed Australapithicus Boisei, an early form of man. There is a small
museum on the site, overlooking the Gorge.
SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
This the most popular
and spectacular of all the game parks in East Africa. In the local vernacular
it means "The Endless Plains that Go Up to the Sky". It covers a huge area of
14,765 sq.km. It was proclaimed a reserve as far back as 1929, but it was
mainly due to the efforts of Prof. Bernard Grzimek and his son Michael that the
importance of the whole area was appreciated and declared a National Park as we
know it today. Life in the Park centers around the wildebeest herds. Each year,
after the short rains in November, the migration starts when the wildebeest
(gnu) and zebra gather in their thousands on the plains below the Ngorongoro
Highlands. During February, they move north and west following the rains and
the fresh grasslands. The herds overlap into the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya.
Come October, they start back through the Serengeti towards Lake Ndutu and
Lagaja. This yearly phenomenon involves some 1.5 million animals. However, the
whole 'process' affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of other species who
rely on the passage of the migratory herds for their survival; predators,
gazelles, birdlife and lowly insects, not to mention the grasses and trees that
are fertilised by their droppings.
TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
South from Lake Manyara
is this delightful park covering an area of 2,600 sq.kms. It is the numerous
wide-boled Baobab trees that first attract your eye. The gently rolling
countryside is dotted with these majestic trees dwarfing the wildlife that
feeds beneath them. The Park is at its best during the dry seasons of June to
October and December to March when many of the migratory species come to the
permanent water of the Tarangire River. Wildebeest, oryx, zebra, elephant and
eland gather until the onset of the rains.
GOMBE STREAM and MAHALE
Both Parks are accessible
by boat from Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika and also by charter aircraft from Arusha
and Nairobi. Gombe is a small reserve dedicated to the Chimpanzee.
Accommodation is in self-help cottages. Mahale now has a seasonal permanent
camp with trips to see some of the 1,000 chimps in the forest area.
MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
Covering an area of 3,230 sq.km. this makes Mikumi the third largest park in
Tanzania and is the extension of the enormous Selous Reserve to the south. A
small enclave surrounded by the Uluguru and Rubeho Mountains, which form
striking backdrops, it is the Mkata flood plain which attracts the wildlife
with herds of elephant, eland, Lichtenstein's hartebeest and the Cape hunting
dog and, for the lucky visitor, perhaps a Greater Kudu or Sable
Antelope.
RUAHA NATIONAL
PARK
The Park is huge at 13,000 sq.km. but only an area of 1,800
has been developed for visitors. It is probably Tanzania's largest sanctuary
for the herds of elephant which congregate on the flood plains of the great
Ruaha River. However, the Park is rich in all forms of wildlife with Greater
and Lesser Kudu, Sable and Roan antelope.
SELOUS GAME RESERVE
This must be the largest
unspoilt region in the world with 55,000 sq. km. which, until recently, was
only really known to a handful of scientists. The Reserve was named after the
late Captain Frederick Courtenay Selous, a famous elephant hunter, killed by a
German sniper on 4 January 1917. He is buried close to Beho Beho Ridge
attracting many visitors to his monument. Access can be made by road, although
a long and tiring journey, by rail to Funga Station, or a short flight by air
from Dar es Salaam. The reserve is dissected by the Rufiji River joined by the
Ruaha in spectacular fashion at Steigler's Gorge. There are large herds of
elephant, buffalo, sable and roan antelope and the river teems with hippo and
crocodile. There are a number of camps in the northern sector offering exotic
accommodations. Game drives in 4x4 wheel-drive vehicles, boat rides on the
River and escorted game walks are daily fare in the bush.
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