Tanzania

A book on the parks of the Tanzanian northern circuit: Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire and Arusha National Park.

It's a gift book or a book to bring home as a memory from the safari. It contains some text and maps, but mainly good-looking pictures. It has 80 pages in A4 size. This type of book may be an alternative to bringing a camera; it has much better pictures than most of us may shoot during a safari.

In English. No ISBN.

An A4 size book (50 pages) with many pictures. The book describes the wildlife, nature and other features of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, of which the well-known Ngorongoro Crater is an important part. Much space is used for describing the different areas of the crater, where the different species of mammals may be seen etc.

In English. ISBN 1-86825-749-5

A web version of the book is found at www.pbs.org/edens/ngorongoro/index.html.

A traditional guidebook (280 pages) on Zanzibar Island, situated off the Tanzanian coast. It covers topics such as history, culture and wildlife, plus practical information on where to stay, travelling on the island, money, food etc.

Half the book describes, in one chapter each, the main parts of the area: Zanzibar Town and Stonetown, Zanzibar Island, Pemba Island, and the safari parks of southern Tanzania, which may be accessed from Zanzibar by air.

In English. ISBN 1-84162-063-7

This 175-page book is as close to a complete manual to Serengeti National Park as you can get. It covers a number of areas, including how to get there and where to stay, history and geology, climate and seasons. The different parts of the park are described, as is the nature.

Some 100 pages are used for describing the flora and fauna. The mammals are described most extensively, followed by the birds.

The maps are informative, but probably not good enough to navigate from. The overall print, picture and colour quality isn't very good.

In English. ISBN 0-620-34190-4

A book on Ngorongoro Conservation Area, similar to Travel and field guide of the Serengeti National Park above.

In English. ISBN 0-620-34191-2

This 65-page book is published in co-operation with Tanapa, the Tanzanian national park authority. In text mainly it describes Tarangire National Park, including geology, environment, people and history. There are mammal and bird checklists, and information on where to stay in and around the park.

The book is part of a series, in which you'll also find books on Ruaha, Mikumi, Lake Manyara and Serengeti.

In English. ISBN 1-77901-144-X

Kenya – A travel guide and manual
(Kenya Association of Tour Operators, around 1995)

This 80-page book is mainly meant for the safari industry and foreign travel companies, not for safari tourists, and can't be found in bookstores etc. It's published by KATO, the Kenyan tour operator association, and you may be able to get it from there (see Addresses and links). It's focused on doing safaris and covers the different areas of Kenya, including simple road maps and maps of the most important parks. Other topics are mammals and birds, options for safaris and lodging, eco tourism, fishing and golf. It has a lot of useful information, but is now getting a bit old.

In English. No ISBN.

National parks of East Africa
(Williams, Arlott & Fennessy, HarperCollins, 1981)

This book is getting quite old by now, and some information is outdated. Still, it is a good overview of the national parks of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The main parks are well described, other parks more briefly. The book includes mammal and bird species lists for each parks.

In English. ISBN 0-00-219215-2