Katavi National ParkDeep in western Tanzania, the Katavi NationalPark is extremely wild. Arriving by light aircraft,you'll pass over the Katasunga Plains beforelanding. Spread out before you are yellowgrasslands covered with thousands of zebra, topi, buffalo and giraffe. Lions lie on the fringes,watching and waiting, shaded by mahogany trees.With only two tiny camps in a million acres,Katavi sees few visitors and you can have animmense wilderness all to yourself. Katavi is aclassic dry season reserve. From June to October,buffalo herds of up to 3,000 graze on the plains.Game drives offer superb photographicopportunities whilst walks beside sluggish riversare exciting, with large crocodiles hiding inmudholes. As the sun falls low in the sky, a visit to the hippo pool, where 600 hippos live, isperfect for a sundowner.CHADACAMP, KATAVINATIONALPARKChada Camp is hidden by sausage trees andoverlooks the plains. The six safari tents have highbeds, simple furniture and are decked with brightEast African fabrics. Outside each, there is asimple tin basin and small washstand. A little waybehind each tent is a private bathroom, made ofreed, sticks and soft grass. The main dining area is under canvas and strewn with books, maps,seedpods and a big chest full of drinks. Notfenced, it's wonderfully wild and old-fashioned.Accompanied by top guides, both walks anddrives are excellent.Mahale Mountains ParkShadowing the dusky blue waters of LakeTanganyika, the Mahale Mountains are dramaticand imposing. Jagged peaks of over 2,000 metressoar into the clouds and are covered in canopywoodland and thick montane forest. Shafts ofsunlight pour through the trees into tiny gullieswhere pink and yellow butterflies flit and you cansee each and every pebble in the crystal clearstreams. The Mahale Mountains are the best place in Africa in which to track and observe wildchimpanzees. There is a population of around1,000; one troop of which, the Mimikire clan(around 70-100 individuals), have been habituatedto humans and can be tracked and observed fromclose quarters. Climbing up the leafy tracks in thewww.audleytravel.com/tanzania ?01993 838 545 ?Tanzania83misty morning and hearing your first chimpanzeeshriek is something you will never forget.Crouching low, you can watch them grooming,drinking and playing. After a morning ofchimpanzee tracking you return to the shores ofLake Tanganyika, where sugar-white beaches slopeinto gin-clear waters. There are over 500 speciesof cichlid fish in the lake, and snorkelling andfloating amongst them is the ultimate in relaxation.GREYSTOKECAMP, MAHALEMOUNTAINSGreystoke Camp is situated on an idyllic whitebeach on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Creamsafari tents under palms have deep chairs, comfybeds, tin washbasins and buckets for washing thesand off your feet. At sunrise your breakfast iscooked over a fire on the beach, after whichtrackers lead you into the forest in search ofchimpanzees. In the afternoons you can snorkelfrom the camp's beautiful dhow or enjoy a snooze on the warm deck.Chada CampThe dining room at Greystoke CampChimpanzee with baby in the Mahale Mountains

Zanzibar IslandThe largest of all the islands in the archipelago,Zanzibar Island is 80 kilometres long and 30kilometres wide. It is covered in coconutplantations, spice farms and lush vegetation. Pretty roads run through avenues of mangoes and the forest at Jozani, where endemic Kirk's red colobus can be seen, while the coastline haspicture perfect beaches. Miles of white sand leadinto shallow turquoise water lined with offshorereefs. Small fishing villages have nets hanging fromcrooked wooden racks and chickens and duckswaddling about. At high tide all the dhows sail inand lively bartering for the day's catch ensues. Zanzibar has more than just beaches, however.Monsoon winds blowing from Persia, Arabia andIndia have led traders to these islands for over2,000 years. In Zanzibar's Stone Town, labyrinthalleys lead to sultans' residences with thick stonewalls and intricately carved doors. Inland, thereare spice plantations where piles of curlingcinnamon bark and nutmegs lie in the sun. Zanzibar is spectacular at sunset, as hundreds ofdhows set sail for the night, their billowing whitesails tinged pink by the sun. Relax, unwind andenjoy the view, as the warm breeze blows aroundyou. Just a short flight from some of Tanzania'swildest parks, Zanzibar is perhaps the ultimatefinale to any safari.The Zanzibar ArchipelagoFifty islands make up the Zanzibar archipelago,which lies in aquamarine seas under a blazingequatorial sun. Just 20 miles off the Tanzaniancoast, the archipelago is easily accessible andtherefore ideal for a relaxing end to a safari. Thetwo large islands of Zanzibar and Pemba are wellknown and have a bustling island life, with ancienttowns, small villages, spice plantations and miles of sandy beaches. Surrounding these two largeislands are numerous tiny coral atolls with namessuch as Chumbe, Chapwani, Bawe and Mnemba.Some of these, such as Mnemba, have exclusivehotels whilst others are home only to seabirdsand nesting turtles and can be reached by relaxing dhow trips. The seas are littered withreefs, with pink sea anemones swaying in warmcurrents and butterflyfish, angelfish and parrotfish darting between the corals.84Zanzibar beachSeaweed farming on Zanzibar