Tag Archives: africa

Zanzibar Island: East African Magic

The romantic Indian Ocean tropics have long been an attractive destination for both leisure and recreation enthusiasts the world over. The historic Zanzibar islands, just off the coast of Tanzania, feature an archipelago consisting of more than 50 islands, most of which have a colorful history and a cultural diversity. The major island, Zanzibar, or Unguja, is a large, fertile landmass featuring spice farms, pearly sand, lush coconut palms, and radiant reefs. The island is home to a myriad of endangered and rare species, including the Red Colobus, Sykes’ monkey, and Zanzibar Suni. This autumn, explore the ephemeral sights and sounds of Zanzibar’s big island.

 

Stone Town

stone town zanzibar
Stone Town, Zanzibar

Each end of Unguja offers its own particular charm. Stone Town, for example, is the pedestrian-friendly heart of the big island, plaited with stoic ancient mosques, flea markets selling tinga-tinga paintings and fresh spices, and Zanzibari artwork. The birthplace of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, this bustling region and world heritage site introduces visitors to prepossessing Tanzanian authenticity.

STONE TOWN, ZANZIBAR
Local people on a street in Stone Town, Zanzibar City, Tanzania

Local food and drink is easy to come by in Stone Town, establishments such as Zanzibar Coffee House, with coffee that comes directly from the owner’s plantation in southern Tanzania, or Emerson Spice, offering fresh seafood and vegetarian options, have a strong sense of place and ingenuity. Local delicacies include lobster, kingfish, prawns, octopus, and coconut dishes. Multiple museums in town, including an emotional memorial to victims of the slave trade, encourage reflection and understanding.

 

East Zanzibar

east zanzibar tanzania nangwa beach
Fish traps arranged at Fisherman village, Nungwi beach in east Zanzibar.

Small fishing villages and tranquil waters are just a taste of what the eastside of Zanzibar’s largest island has to offer. The coast permits fishing, paddling, snorkeling, and sunbathing along its dusty, white sand beaches and barrier reefs. Its most popular beach is on Mnemba Island, about three miles off Zanzibar’s east coast. While waters are rough here, tour guides will take you out paddling and swimming for the best views of the reefs. While you’re there, Shooting Star Lodge is a perfect place to sleep for younger visitors. Built by a well-known Tanzanian-English couple and perched atop a coral cliff, the small inn features a bungalow-style bar and communal social scene.

 

North Region

zanzibar aerial shot
Aerial view of Zanzibar

A general rule in Zanzibar is the further north you go, the less crowded and more serene your experience will be. Being less affected by the tidal range, the north coast beaches are ideal for water sports. Recently, north Zanzibar’s tourism has grown exponentially, but its beaches and nightlife is still quaint compared to its east side and Stone Town. Featuring breezy villas and a heartwarming turtle sanctuary, you’re sure to feel relaxed following a few days in the north.

 

Southwest Zanzibar

red colobus monkey zanzibar
Red Colobus monkey

Wildlife enthusiasts will want to visit the Fumba Peninsula on the islands southwest corner. To see dolphins in the southern fishing town of Kizimkazi or the Red Colobus monkeys in Jozani Forest and wildlife reserve, treat yourself to eco and culture tours local guides offer. A few miles offshore on Chumbe Island, you can explore the most elaborate coral gardens in the world.

 

Other tips

zanzibar iron doors
Iron doors on a Zanzibar city street

Zanzibar is a culturally, economically, and ecologically sensitive island. Being a muslim-dominated autonomous nation, be sure to respect local customs. Dress modestly, don’t flaunt wealth, and ask permission before entering holy places such a mosques and memorials. When exploring the island’s national park, forests, or reefs, leave no trace as you would in your native country’s public lands.

Take it Slow in Namibia’s Etosha National Park

If you’re looking for an atypical international destination far outside the reaches of Europe and the Americas, look to Africa for your next trip. Africa is a complicated and dynamic continent known for everything from domestic conflicts to breathtaking scenery and magnetic culture. Namibia is no different. The outer banks of southern Africa’s dry lands is home to hundreds of scarcely seen reptiles, birds, and mammals, including the endangered black rhinoceros. Visiting Etosha National Park in northwestern Namibia awards you the opportunity to explore preserved African saline deserts, savannas, and grasslands.

It’s likely you’ll see African bush elephants, Angolan giraffe, meerkats, warthogs, and hundreds of other native species too. Park officials boast affordable and safe lodging, making your visit to this 12-million-year-old Great White Place as rewarding as possible. Wildlife is best seen during Namibia’s winter (August and September), when the land is cool and dry, and, as with any international travel, there may be specific requirements to meet before confirming travel plans. Sandboarding, rock climbing, biking, and horseback riding are just a few of the activities Etosha proffers. Once you’re settled in and ready to explore, pack light and check out these things to see and do within the park.


Okaukuejo waterhole

This floodlit watering hole near the Okaukuejo rest camp is one of the best places to spot rhinos, elephants, and — gasp — lions. Dusk and dawn provide the best views, and Etosha park officials permit guided tours of surrounding areas. You’ll be separated by a stone wall and game fence at camp for the protection of both you and the animals. During the rainy season, the massive mopane moths hatch and attract a number of predators for remarkable views.

Etosha National Park Namibia Africa

 

Chase Dust Devils

These willowy whirlwinds are easily identifiable and give Etosha its martain feel. While most of Namibia’s Dust Devils are harmless spectacles, it’s always wise to keep a safe distance. They’re best seen in the most desolate regions of the park, where resources are scarce and desert aesthetic is at its peak.

Etosha National Park Namibia Africa

 

Find the Big Five

Treat yourself to an impressive game of bingo during your travels by making an effort to spot all Big Five animals (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, and leopard) in the wild. This may require long hikes and safari tours if you’re not lucky, but the result is a lifetime of memories and money saved on zoo tickets.

Etosha National Park Namibia Africa

 

Etosha Pan

This 75-mile-long salt desert includes a dry, arid lakebed at its center. The result of 10 million years of plate tectonic activity, the pan is now a wildlife hotbed. During the dry season, it’s comprised of cracked hexagons signaling dehydration and desiccated soil. During the rainy season, it’s one of the best places to see great white pelicans and breeding flamingos.

 

Fairytale Forest

Moringa ovalifolia, otherwise known as fairytale trees, are knobby, Dr. Seuss-esque flora typically found on mountain slopes and hills. Etosha is the only place the trees are found so plentiful on Africa’s plains. Natives once described the trees as upside down, conjuring fantasies of magical, otherworldly vistas. While the landscape bears a dystopian, eerie vibe, the only Jovian-like creatures you’ll encounter are hungry elephants.

Etosha National Park Namibia Africa

Tarangire: Tanzania’s Hidden Park for Elephant Lovers

Baobab trees break up the grassy savannah plains before a meandering river turns the ground into swampland. The roar of a lion echoes in the distance, giraffes tower among the trees and elephants toss up sandy earth as their own brand of sunscreen. This is Tarangire National Park. It’s what you unwittingly picture when you think African safari, where animals outnumber people and where you’ll be humbled by the sheer size of our planet and your brief moment of time in it.

A family of African elephants in Tarangire National Park Tanzania on green grass savanna.
A family of African elephants in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

A Hidden Gem in Tanzania

Situated in Northern Tanzania, less than three hours from the start of most safaris in Arusha, Tarangire is a hidden gem. The national park isn’t on most people’s safari plans. And those that do make it to Tarangire rarely stay for more than a day, missing out on the majority of the park’s 1100-square miles and the second highest concentration of wildlife in all of Tanzania.  Ask anyone who has spent time exploring the country and they’ll tell you that not only is Tarangire the one park not to miss but you should plan on staying a few days. They’ll tell you to get away from the main gate where most of the lodges are and explore the depths of the park home to lions, more zebras than you can count and a rare African elephant success story. So, this past June I did.

Herd of Gnus, Zebra and Impala in the Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
Herd of Gnus, Zebra and Impala in the Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

With one of the densest populations of elephants in all of Africa, you’ll find the magnificent animals in Tarangire no matter the season. We hadn’t even been in the park for an hour before we saw our first elephants, splashing in the river, roaming seemingly unworried feet from safari vehicles, greeting each other by their trunks. To see the mischievous, playful creatures in their natural habit is reason alone to come, a feat we soon may not be able to do.

Two young cheetahs with their mother in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania Africa.
Two young cheetahs with their mother in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania Africa.

Tanzania’s elephant population, formerly the second biggest in Africa, dropped from 110,000 in 2009 to less than 44,000 today. That’s a more than 60 percent loss in seven years. Poaching is the main culprit, although the development of areas around the parks also plays a role.  Every 15 minutes an elephant is killed in Africa, 96 a day, 35,000 a year. The poachers leave the carcasses, taking only the tusks to feed the world’s insatiable taste for ivory and using the profits to fund arms-trades, drugs and terrorism.

Baboon - Tarangire National Park - Wildlife Reserve in Tanzania, Africa
Baboons in Tarangire National Park Wildlife Reserve in Tanzania, Africa.

There are rare exceptions, like Tarangire, where the elephant population has grown since the 1980s. Partnerships that have spanned the globe, led by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Tarangire park rangers and the local population, are to thank and are an example of a global solution.

Elephant in Tarangire national park, Tanzania
Elephant in Tarangire national park, Tanzania, Africa.

The elephants munch on grass, an old bull walks to for a drink, a mother keeps an eye on her young while glancing at our safari vehicle and we stay and watch for as long as we can.

Jane Goodall: the Woman Advocating for Endangered Species

“Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved.”  -Jane Goodall

 

Jane Goodall is best known for decades of studying chimpanzees in Tanzania, during which time she revolutionized the way scientists see primates and other animal behavior. Goodall went on to become a champion for animal rights and sustainability.

Today, in her 80s, she’s still active , and the Jane Goodall Institute is involved in some amazing conservation efforts for both people and animals. Read on to learn about this inspiring woman, her active legacy, and how you can get involved.

 

Jane Goodall: A Short Biography

Goodall, with roots in England, has a love of animals which started at an early age from reading books like “Dr. Dolittle” and “Tarzan.”

Goodall’s passion for Africa eventually sent her to a friend’s farm in Kenya where she eventually corresponded with the famous archaeologist and palaeontologist Dr. Louis Leakey. Leakey needed a primate researcher, and decided someone with a fresh perspective outside of academia was needed. In 1960, when Jane was 26-years-old, she went to work in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania with Dr. Leakey.

It was there that Goodall’s dedication and passion as a researcher really stood out.  Back in those days, Goodall had only a notebook and a pair of binoculars. It took years of patience to gain the trust of the shy chimpanzees, but she emerged from the experience as the world’s foremost expert on primate behavior.

Without a strict scientific background, Goodall came to her research with truly unconventional methods for the day. She named the chimps, rather than numbering them, and closely observed the unique personalities of the animals. At the time, seeing personalities in animals was beyond the scientific doctrine. Yet Goodall observed all of it and used it to gain an inside view into the chimps’ social and behavioral structures.

Goodall is famously noted as saying, “It isn’t only human beings who have personality, who are capable of rational thought [and] emotions like joy and sorrow.” Goodall picked up on hugs, kisses, tickling, and patting backs among the chimps pointing to the stark similarities primates share with humans, not just genetically, but behaviorally as well.  Further, she debunked the old scientific beliefs that only humans could use tools and that chimps were vegetarians.

“During the first 10 years of the study I had believed… that the Gombe chimpanzees were, for the most part, rather nicer than human beings,” said Goodall in her book “Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey.” “Then suddenly we found that chimpanzees could be brutal—that they, like us, had a darker side to their nature.” Previously undiscovered behavior like that is what marked Goodall’s career as one that had a huge influence in changing scientific fact.

In 1961, Goodall started studying for a Ph.D. in ethology from Cambridge University, and stood as the eighth person to study for a Ph.D. at the school without a bachelor’s degree. She graduated from the program in 1966.

As Chairman of The National Geographic Society Gilbert Grosvenor puts it, “Jane Goodall’s trail-blazing path for other women primatologists is arguably her greatest legacy…Indeed, women now dominate long-term primate behavioral studies worldwide.”

Yet Goodall’s work goes far beyond the field of primatology.

 

The living legacy of the Jane Goodall Institute

Goodall first established the institute in 1977. Since then, the institute has gone on to have one of the most comprehensive environmental activism approaches.

One major threat to chimpanzee populations is poachers looking for bushmeat, or meat that is from non-domesticated animals, which is treated as a delicacy in some cities. This can cause the spread of tropical diseases, which easily migrate from primates to humans. On top of that is the desire for chimpanzees as exotic pets, meaning many chimpanzee young are abducted after poachers kill their mothers.

The institute runs the Gombe Stream Research Center to continue studying the primates and offering a sustainable, safe habitat. The institute also helps orphaned primates through the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center. To spread knowledge about the threats to animal habitats, there are local billboard campaigns, school programs and community outreach.

Perhaps some of the most empowering work the Jane Goodall Institute does is to promote sustainable livelihoods. Programs in Africa help people live in such a way that does not damage primate habitats or require reliance on illegal bushmeat. One of the promoted efforts even involves supporting sustainable coffee production. Programs foster livelihoods that are not as dependent on exploiting natural resources, such as animal husbandry, tree nursery projects and permaculture.

The institute also helps women get access to education so that they can stay in school past puberty.

Visit The Jane Goodall Institution’s “Get Involved” page to donate.