The Parliament of Tanzania invites all of the Global Conference Participants to participate in a Pre Conference Tour of Arusha and its surrounding areas. The Pre Conference tour is entirely subsidized by the Parliament of Tanzania as is the cost of hotel rooms for participants on the evenings of September 18 th and 19 th, 2006.
Three tours are offered (please indicate on your registration form your preference):
1. Ngorongoro Crater : This is one of the most prestigious of the parks in Arusha and Tanzania. The famous volcanic Ngorongoro crater is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The crater (610 metres deep and 260 km squared) is a microcosm of East African scenery and game and is usually visited on the way back from the Serengeti to Arusha. Scenic grandeur and stunning views are the hallmark of this wonder of the world. All the lodges are built high on the crater rim and afford amazing views over and into the crater - the perfect setting for a well deserved sundowner.
After a tour of the crater, delegates will be provided with lunch at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. The lodge is set high on the saddle of tree-clad ridge commanding panoramic views over the endlessly rolling reaches and volcanic reefs of the Serengeti. Drawing its inspiration from the circular ‘Rondavel’ dwellings and winding paths of a traditional Maasai village, the Lodge features thickly-thatched, stone-built rooms, spaciously set amongst groves of indigenous trees that are cooled by sparkling streams and papyrus-fringed ponds.
On the way back to Arusha delegates will visit the Meserani Snake Park and the Cultural Heritage Centre.
2. Lake Manyara National Park:
Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience.
From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy.
Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes – some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.
Delegates will have lunch at the Manyara Serena Lodge and will also visit the Meserani Snake Park ( www.meseranisnakepark.com) and the Cultural Heritage Centre.
