Wildlife Safaris To Ikola , Karema & Gombes National Parks Tanzania.

Sailing south from Kigoma, Thursday morning sees the ferry drop anchor off IKOLA , famed among Topical aquarium fanatics for giving its name to a highly prized family pride of cichlid fish. Therese connecting road transport to Mpanda (at least 5hr) owned by local taxman MR Mollo and a basic restaurant -buy the ingredients at the market and let the chef work his magic.

If the lake-or its history -appeal , rent a-bike from Akola’s guest house or stay on the ferry until KAREMA 15km to the south. During the nineteenth century Slave trade , the lake region was conversed by war and slave hunting .

The first to occupy Karema was the Belgian Comitia d’etats du haut Congo in 1879 which named the place Fort Leopold in hour of King Leopold 11, whose notoriously tyrannical rule over Central Africa only recently made into Belgium’s school curriculum.

Belgium went on to claim the sardonically named Congo free State as its African domain but was obliged to relinquish Karema in 1855 following the European partition of Africa, when Germany took over Tanganyika. With the slave trade effectively at an end , it was the Missionaries of Africa. Their church was erected in 1890 , and the fortified mission house-which will stand -was completed in 1893.

The Catholic mission in Karema has a rest house (1) and there are regular Land rovers to Mpanda ( upwards of six hours ) most days around noon ,and certainly when the ferry calls.

Kasanga and muzi

Kasanga is the last Tanzania port before Zambia , and is where Tanzania border formalities are dealt with, . The immigration officer is unusually help full, and boards the ship on arrival. In German times Kasanga was known as Bismarck burg -the ruin of its fort are outside the village but on military land so there is n access . The ferry usually arrives at Kasanga between midnight and down on frays. For accommodation, there’s the Mwenya Guest House(1) on a hill behind the harbor , with a bar and novelty of novelties-a TV.

The tranquil fishing village of MUZI 5km north of Kasanga ( 90min on foot or squeeze into a local boat . Daily Land rovers and Pick-ups to Sumbawanga leave Kasanga 6-7am the badly rutted road tacking four to five hours in the dry season and nine hours in the rain. Returning from Sumbawanga, they head off around 9am.

Kalambo Falls

Sitting right on the border with Zambia a few kilometers east of Lake Tanganyika , the breath taking 215-mitres Kalambo Falls are Africa’s second -highest Gombes chimpanzees .

Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives : they share 98.5 percent of our genome, and of curse -unless you’re a creationist – we share common ancestors . Like us too.

They also hunt in a human way; use plants medicinally, raid each others communities and sometimes descend into a state of war. We owe much of our knowledge of chimpanzees to two on going research project in Tanzania, one at Gombe , the other at Mahale.both at which started in the early 1960’s.

Dr Jane Good all began a fifteen -year study of Gombes chimpanzees in June 1960 having encouraged by the Kenyan paleontologist Luis Leaky who bereaved that by observation the behavior of the great apes we could reconstruct something of the early life of mankind.

The sturdy’s first surprising discovery were capable of making and using tools .This is best seen in December at the start of the rains . The sturdy has also demonstrated chimpanzees knowledge and use of medical plants, In their use of Aspasia mossa-worm killer and are eaten in morning before moving to other foods .

This causes the leaves to fold up like an accordion , which are then swallowed without chewing , there by not only killing but physically removing worms.

Studies revealed that chimpanzees are omnivorous rather than vegetarians. Indeed their success rate at hunting -primary of red colobus monkeys , young bush pigs and bushbuck- is far higher than that of some specialized predators such us Lion .The uninterrupted falls. Their water plugging into the canyon of the river that forms the border with Zambia. Aside from the falls natural beauty, they’re also a breeding ground for the giant marabou stork. And several site in the vicinity have great archeologist importance: 300,000-years old Stone age tools had been uncovered as well some of the oldest evidence for the use of wood in contraction. Excavation of early iron age villages and camp sites have also revealed a wealth of earthen ware pottery main globular pots and shallow bowls-the earliest of which have been dated to around 350ad.

Access to the falls, which lie 130km southwest of Sumbawanga , is easiest from Katanga ; catch a pick-up at around 6am to Kalambo village , From where you’ll have to walk, Seek local advice about crocodiles.

Gombe Stream National Park

Just 16 km north of Kigoma , Gombe steam is the smallest but one of the most inspiring of Tanzania’s national park-and also the most expensive . Its 52 square kilometers covers a narrow trip of hilly country rising from lake Tanganyika to Eastern ridge of the Western Rift Valley escarpment , cut by thirteen steep -sided river valleys, running East to West .

Secret of their success is co-operative hunting as several chimps may be responsible for killing fifteen n percent of the red colobus population every year. Good all sturdy also found that most of the dominant ‘Alpha males” in the studied communities were not necessarily big.

The parallels became even more unset ting when the sturdy of our own conflicts. on occasions different groups of chimps invade neighboring territories , attacking and sometimes killing any stranger uncounted , with the exception of young females without young who are taken into the community. In a series of raids between 1974 and 1977, the males of the Kasakela community exterminated those of attacked strange females , and in there cases the strangers child was killed and later eaten on a savage act of cannibalism.

In the shadow of man ( 1971); The chimpanzees of Gombe : pattens of behavior ( 1986) ; Through a window ; My thirty years with chimpanzees of Gombe ( 1991) ; and reason for hope (2002).

Lake Tanganyika and the unremitting Miombo woodland that stretches to the east have acted as a natural barrier for the last twenty million years , and as a result Gamble contains several plant and animal species common in west Africa but unknown further East.

The evergreen reverine forest are especially diverse. And the abode of the parks famous chimpanzees which have , since 1960 been the subject of what has been habituated to humans and can be visited.

Gombes dilutives size and dense human population surrounding it three sides make it highly venerable to environmental degradation , something that sadly appears to be coming to ahead thanks in part of the ascertainable needs of refugees from Burundi , barely 20km to the north . that said the resent cessation of fighting in Burundi and the on going return of the refugees should help to alleviate the pressure on Gombe.

Accommodation

Despite the white sandy beach and glorious lake view , neither of Gombes accommodation options is perfect manly thanks it increasingly threatening behavior from both chimps and baboons , which had led to communal eating areas being screened with wire mesh .Whilst Camping -either in the campsite near the bandas It appears to be mite dangerous these days , and you’ll need permit ion first from the park warden in any case-enquire at the TANAPA office in Kibirizi.

THE PARK

Whilst chimp trekking is the main reason for visiting gombe there are a number of other possible hikes in the park , both along the shore and up through the forest to the crest of the mountain ridge -attraction in their on right , and handy for filling in the time whilst waiting for a slot with the chimps . Night walks are an exiting novelty especially around full moon when you can dispense with a torch , giving glimpses of nocturnal animals such us genet , white tailed mongoose , the slow-moving giant rat (up to 90cm long. Including the tail), porcupine and bush buck. You might also hear the loud cracking of palm nuts, a favorite with the hairy bush pig and also popular with palm civets.

When planning for your holiday safari in Tanzania you have a variety of safari packages that you can choose from ranging from cultural, wildlife, windsurfing, chimpanzees tracking, hiking, mountain climbing, golfing and bird watching. There are other activities like swimming, fishing, boating, scenic safaris, filming safaris and many others just to mention but a few. You can reach these areas by private charter flights, domestic daily flights, train, and road or by boat. http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/safaris-east-africa/tanzania-tour-packages.html

Anthony Mmeri is the Editor and Tours Director at Wings Over Africa Safaris Limited. This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Private Charter Flights into Kenya. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/safaris-east-africa/tanzania-tour-packages.html

Author Bio: When planning for your holiday safari in Tanzania you have a variety of safari packages that you can choose from ranging from cultural, wildlife, windsurfing, chimpanzees tracking, hiking, mountain climbing, golfing and bird watching. There are other activities like swimming, fishing, boating, scenic safaris, filming safaris and many others just to mention but a few. You can reach these areas by private charter flights, domestic daily flights, train, and road or by boat. http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/safaris-east-africa/tanzania-tour-packages.html

Category: Travel
Keywords: scenic safaris,wildlife safaris,birding safaris,golfing safaris,cultural safaris,hiking safaris