Mzanzitravel Magazine - Issue 9

Explore Africa
Masai warrior on the beach - Matej Kastelic / shutterstock.com
wildebeest and hundreds of thousands zebra and
gazelle, tracked by Africa’s great predators, one of
the truly great natural spectacles on earth. The herds
move in different directions at different times of the
year, depending on rain and grazing conditions, but
generally the best time to observe this migration is
between July and August when the wildebeest move
into Kenya’s Masai Mara crossing the Mara Mara
River in large numbers.
The Southern Regions is perhaps less known
or popular as a safari destination, but it offers
experiences on par with and even better than the
safari destinations of the north, which can at times be
pretty crowded. Main centres here include the towns
of Mtwara on the coast, Matema on Lake Malawi,
Masasi, Liwale, Iringa and Nachingwea. Here some
of the better known attractions include Kalambo
Falls, Kaporogwe Falls, Kijungu Falls, Kiwira River,
Kilwa Kisiwani, Kitulo National Park, Lake Ngozi,
Lake Malawi, Mbozi Meteorite, Mikindani Bay
Marine Reserve, Mikumi National Park, Mnazi Bay-
Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park, Mpanga Kipengere
Game Reserve, Nyumba Nitu Natural Forest, Ruaha
National Park, Selous Game Reserve, and Udzungwa
National Park.
The Eastern Regions is dominated by Dar es Salaam
and the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia on the
Indian Ocean coast. Dodoma is another main town.
Some of the major attractions here include the Amboni
Caves, Chumbe Island Marine Sanctuary, the city of
Dar es Salaam itself, Stone Town on Zanzibar Island,
Dar es Salaam Marine Reserve, Mafia Island Marine
Park, Maziwe Marine Reserve, Mnemba Island
Conservation Area, the town of Morogoro and nearby
Uluguru Mountains within the Mikumi national Park,
Saadani National Park Tanga Coelacanth Marine
Park, and the Usambara Mountains.
Main centres of the Western Regions include Kigoma,
Musoma, Mwanza, and Tabora. The area also
borders on several lakes of the Great Lakes Region
of Africa, such as Lake Rukwa, Lake Victoria, Lake
Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. Some of the betterknown
attractions here include Gombe National Park,
Katavi National Park, Mahale Mountains National
Park, Rubondo Island National Park, Saanane Island
National Park and Ukerewe Island. This area is
perhaps the most underrated of all the tourist regions
of Tanzania, while in fact it offers some of the most
unspoiled and beautiful scenery, and lovely freshwater
bays, beaches and little islands along the lakes.
The islands
Down on the coast, the islands of Pemba, Mafia and
Zanzibar are truly an experience never to be forgotten.
The Zanzibar Archipelago is a semi-autonomous
region of Tanzania. Zanzibar, also known as the
spice island, is fringed with many kilometres of white
sandy beaches, some say the best in the world. The
island offers many water-based activities, like sailing,
surfing, snorkelling and scuba diving. Chartered
diving trips by yacht can be done from here. The
capital is Zanzibar City, which includes the ancient
Arab trading town of Stone Town, the former capital of
the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
The town is home to numerous historical and cultural
sites, some dating back to the 15th century, while
little shops, restaurants and stalls line the narrow
streets. The culture of the island, also reflected in its
old architecture, is a fusion of different cultures from
Arabia, Persia, India and the coast of East Africa.
While on the island be sure to visit the Jozani Chwaka
Bay National Park which is a mangrove swamp and is
the home for the red colobus monkey. It is also home
to 40 species of bird and 50 species of butterfly.
Another of Zanazibar’s famed attractions are the
giant, carved wooden doors found in many of the old
buildings here. These exquisite doors are not found
anywhere else in the world and are quintessentially
Zanzibar. The intricate carvings are said to denote
the homeowner’s place of origin, profession and
economic status.
A darker side to the island’s rich history is reflected
in what was the world’s last operating open slave
market. The island once was a main slave-trading port
in East Africa. The slave trade here was started by
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