Our tour of Africa came right after our Peace Corps service (we were over 50 year old volunteers). But, we continued to follow our frugal Peace Corps approach for our African tour. So as you read this about Tanzania, written by DW, understand your choice of lodging and transport could easily be upgraded. Although, if I did this again, I would do it in a similar way.
The ride through southern and eastern Tanzania is beautiful; the large, open country is dotted with small villages, fields, baobabs, and hills. Half of the 22 hour ride to Dar Es Salaam was during the night; we arrived in Dar early on the morning of August 22 and, at the suggestion of our cab driver, found a comfortable room at the Safari Inn, a backpackers in the city centre. Here we parted ways with Liz; she was off to meet up with other PCVs. We found Dar to be a friendly, safe city, where we were able to walk to dinner after dark. The following morning we boarded the early, fast ferry to Zanzibar.
I could ramble on and on about Zanzibar, the exotic island off the coast of Dar. We spent a glorious 5 days there, three nights in Stone Town and two nights at Kendwa Beach. Stone Town is an African-Arab town whose narrow alleyways and buildings reminded us of Jerusalem. We spent one day on a spice tour, learning and seeing dozens of different spice plants that used to be a large part of the industry; now only cloves are exported from there. Our two wonderful days at the beach near the northern tip of the island were picture and book perfect. The accommodations at Kendwa Rocks were very comfortable ; the food was great, and the beach....ah, the beach. Soft white sands, and the most crystal clear, turquoise water. With no waves (not sure why) it was possible to see several feet to the bottom. Tofo Beach in Mozambique had been like paradise; Kendwa probably only beat that because of the lack of the waves-allowing the visibility. The one other thing I must mention about Zanzibar, because it was the first place we saw this, was the prevalence of Obama stickers and signs! They were everywhere, from bumper stickers on cars to handwritten scrawls on homemade pushcarts. The upcoming election was big and important news to Africans everywhere; we never had trouble finding a local to talk about it; and Tanzania seemed to have more evidence of Obama supporters than in any other country we visited.
After a very bumpy ferry ride back to Dar, we arranged a two day safari from Arusha, in northeast Tanzania, where we were headed the next day. We fortunately nabbed two of the last seats on a 'luxury' bus for the next morning. The all-day bus ride passed near Mt Kilimanjaro, though it was covered by clouds. Arusha was our least favorite city, being filled with touts, who constantly bombard tourists selling either souvenirs or safaris. The city's location near Kili and the Serengeti make it a busy place. We spent a fantastic two days/one night on a safari that took us to Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. Prior to taking this trip we had decided we wouldn't be doing any safaris or game drives; we had done our share already and seen most of the big game. But this safari was so different; we are so glad we listened to other travelers' advice. Lake Manyara was beautiful; the crater was exceptional. The drive starts out on the rim, then you descend into the huge crater; it's filled with large herds of animals. We had seen all of these animals before, but the sheer numbers were amazing. Wildebeests, or gnus, by the hundreds, as well as the dwarf antelope, the dik dik, roamed the crater floor. Hyenas, warthogs, gazelles, hippos, elephants, buffalo, rhino, and so many birds were sighted. The only animal that doesn't live in the crater, understandably, is the giraffe. But we had seen them the day before in the Park. Giraffe had become my favorite park animal during our stay in South Africa; and here I was treated to seeing a new species, the Masai giraffe (as opposed to the Cape giraffe). The crater was definitely another highlight of our trip so far; we began recommending it to other backpackers as well.