Tanzania lies just South of the equator so there is little seasonal variation in temperature, but it is slightly cooler in June/July and warmer in January/ February. There is much more variation between the coastal and low lying regions and the high plains and mountain regions. There are two rainy seasons- the long rains during April and May and the short rains in November. The rest of the year is classified as dry season. In practice the rainfall pattern is neither regular nor predictable. In the rainy seasons the rain often falls in heavy but brief tropical downpours during the evening or night with pleasant sunny days in between. Bounded on the east by the lovely shores of the Indian Ocean where sapphire seas and coral sands provide idyllic beaches, to the west is Lake Tanganyika, Africa's longest and deepest lake and to the north one finds the best known feature of Tanzanian geography, Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, along with the best known event, the fabulous seasonal migration of game from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, which is on the Kenya/Tanzania border.

Tanzania is one of the best wildlife destinations in the world and game viewing is outstanding. Antelope, zebra and wildebeest are found in abundance and their predators, lion and cheetah, are also numerous. The country's rivers and lakes contain high populations of hippo and crocodile, lakes are often tinged pink with hundreds of flamingos, and high concentrations of elephant and giraffe are found.

The Ngorongoro Crater is yet another of Tanzania's natural wonders. Twenty-five million years ago the volcano collapsed to form a "caldera" with sides over five hundred meters high and a base of about twenty kilometers wide. This natural arena, often compared to both the Garden of Eden and Noah's Ark, for wildlife is stunning when viewed from above, but possibly even more amazing from the crater floor where you will find thousands of wildebeest, gazelle, zebra and the prides of lion that prey on them. The lush vegetation in the woodland areas and on the crater walls contrasts with the wide open plains grazed by game, while flocks of flamingos turn the central soda lake pink. The crater is at the center of an eight thousand square kilometer conservation area of unparalleled magnificence which includes the Olduvai Gorge, "The Cradle of Mankind". It was here that the Leakeys found early human remains, those of "nutcracker man" and Homo Habilis, "tool making man", the earliest of which were from about 1.75 million years ago. As you watch the endless streams of wildebeest and zebra pouring north towards the Masai Mara you are observing something that man has watched since time immemorial, and few are unmoved by the spectacle