East Coast & Dar
Why go?
DAR ES SALAAM
Although it means 'haven of peace' in Arabic, Tanzania's largest
city and main transport hub is anything but peaceful these days.
It's a vibrant place with an industrial belt and bustling port -
though oddly it's not the country's official capital, which is
inland at Dodoma. But there's plenty of atmosphere here - it was a
German, then British, then Zanzibari possession in the 19th and
early 20th centuries, and traces of all cultures remain.
You can see Leakey fossils and one of King George V's cars in the
Botanical Gardens, which were laid out by the Germans; or watch
cricket at the Gymkhana Club off Ocean Road at weekends. Take a
guided tour of the centre and you'll come across a Lutheran
cathedral, a German hospital and the Stae House, where the German
governor resided. Sadly not much remains of the Zanzibari palaces,
though they must have been opulent in their 19th-century heyday;
and links with India and Arabia remain strong. Coffee growing still
flourishes, and some plantations offer accommodation and
tours.
Take a ferry across the river to Kigamboni and things get
much quieter, with a few lazy bars and easy swimming in the Indian
Ocean. 30km southwest of town is the amazingly verdant hill town of
Kisarawe, and the nearby nature trail through what was once ancient
coastal forest. For an alternative safari experience, continue for
4km to the Pugu Bat Caves, where thousands of the creepy creatures
swarm out between 6 and 7pm every evening.
Head north from Dar for 9km and you can witness traditional
dwellings and dancing in the Makumbusho Village Museum. Continue up
the Swahili Coast for an hour and you reach the pretty town
of Bagamoyo, once the mainland centre of spice trading with
Zanzibar.
Stay at Lazy Lagoon Lodge
SAADANI NATIONAL PARK
150km north of Dar, Saadani is Tanzania's newest national park. The
park covers 1000sq. km and is a unique wilderness - a mix of beach,
bush and river - found nowhere else on the eastern African
coastline.
It is the range of different ecosystems that sets Saadani apart
from all other national parks and reserves in Tanzania. In the Wami
River hippo and crocodile are prolific, literally a stone's throw
from the open sea. There is also exceptional wildlife here,
particularly in the brackish waters of the river mouth, a favourite
spot for pelicans and flamingoes.
Game is plentiful in the bush, predators jousting with plains
animals; and elephants have been seen on the beach.
The coastline at Saadani stretches to the horizon in both
directions, with barely any habitation inside the park. Nutrients
in the seawater attract prawns and other crustaceans; there have
been sightings of dugongs. Turtles and dolphins are often seen
around the sand islands off shore.
Stay at Saadani Safari Lodge