The Walk of Life

Among the extraordinary sea of pale, prairie-like land stood the kopjes - islands of tall granite rock and lush green foliage, strung like an archipelago across the plains. The ride through Ngorongoro NP bordering the Serengeti had been hot and dusty, everything flat and still. Even the small steam-train puffs of cloud hung motionless on the horizon, as if frozen in a photograph.

This was very different to the tropical green foliage on the approach to the mist-rimmed crater, covered in trailing lichen and moss in varying hues. I wasn't sure if the distorted shapes in the distance were just another mirage but, fantastical as they looked, these rocks were real and I knew we'd finally arrived at Loliondo Camp.

These ancient pre-Cambrian boulders play an integral part in Hoopoe Adventure Tours' walking safari - you camp in their shadow, burn logs in the hollows of their well-worn surfaces, stop for picnics on their natural chairs and tables, spot wildlife from their vantage points and avoid them like the plague if they're harbouring old male buffalo that hide in the thickets. Around the boulders, some of which perch quite precariously on top of each other to reach heights of 70m, are wreaths of prolific plant life which differ dramatically from that of the surrounding area. The rocks are also the homesteads of klipspringer, hyrax, leopard, lion, baboon, snakes and lizards.

This region is so rich in bird, animal and plant life that this was not so much a walk as an education. There were no signs of human inhabitants apart from the odd Maasai herdsman with his cattle in the distance. I could have been a caveman stepping outside my kopje dwelling for the first time, eyes not yet used to the light. There was so much to see and learn that my senses were stretched daily, like finely-tuned guitar strings.

Among the savannah grasses and rolling, wooded hills grow a profusion of fig and marula trees and many plants with medicinal qualities. Elekana, my Maasai guide, could name every species in English, Maasai and Latin. He was also incredibly helpful, gathering me a bundle of leaves from Tarchonaths camphorates to put under my arms as I walked with the sun growing higher and stronger in the sky. This was nature's deodorant. Later he soothed my sunburnt shoulders with liquid from the leaves of an aloe plant.

The walking safaris can last two to four days. This was June, and as I set off with a small pack and Elekana's own handcrafted, snake-shaped walking stick, I was told that November and early December are the best time to walk and see the migratory wildebeest, as this area forms a corridor from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara in Kenya. However, I was far from disappointed. The migration simply augments the resident year-round game, which were present in abundance. Thomson's and Grant's gazelle were scattered over the plains, alongside Coke's hartebeest, topi, giraffe, zebra, elephant and buffalo.

The area also teems with birdlife and I heard the characteristic cry of a black-faced "go-away bird" (Grey lourie, nicknamed after the sound of his call), before I saw him. Other, more striking-looking, birds with mellifluous calls were pointed out - White-headed buffalo weaver, African hawk eagle, Augur buzzard, Common kestrel, several types of vulture and, of course, the hoopoe after which the company is named. This region has more than 300 bird species.

The real beauty of a walking safari is your proximity to the heartbeat of life. You can observe the tiniest ant's frantic activities or the slow plod of a tortoise (I almost stepped on one in the grass - the first I'd seen in the wild). We studied fresh lion and elephant tracks; we disturbed a snoozing reedbuck when we were just feet away. There was no engine sound or chatter to disturb or detract, and our itinerary was flexible. Everything was right here and now.

This immediacy could at times be hazardous, but hawk-eyed guides with amazing powers of observation looked out for buffalo, lion and other dangers. Their hearing was razor sharp. I became an explorer without the vulnerability of being on my own. The more I saw, heard, tasted and breathed, the more I understood. My mood was one of ever-increasing ebullience and the constant enthusiasm of the guides kept fanning the flames.

In the cool shade of a tree on a naturally smooth kopje surface, we picnicked and rested. Heading back to camp along a mixture of cattle and game trails, with another Maasai scout walking on ahead as a precaution, I loosened my walking shoes and took in the beauty of the landscape. Hoopoe's activities here and in Mount Makarot in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (where donkeys carry the necessary supplies) are run as a partnership with the local community so members benefit directly. Annual concession fees are paid straight to the Oloipiri government along with a bed-night percentage from each guest, and local people receive employment. Hoopoe has loaned the local women's group money for handicrafts and paid for the secondary education of two children.

Clutching a cold beer, I sat comfortably around the burning embers of a fire, under the full moon, listening as Elekane retold his childhood memories and spun stories of encounters with majestic lions (which obligingly made background noises in the distance). The kopjes were hauntingly beautiful in the milky light, especially with the silhouette of a dead tree in the foreground. My tent seemed so luxurious after the simplicity all around; each night I fell into a wonderfully enveloping sleep.

Kopje in Dutch means "little head". On this walking safari with so much culture, wildlife, botany, geology and ornithology, mine got bigger by the minute. I felt privileged and honoured to have been able to explore this Utopia for a while.

Wheels and Deals

If you're feeling energetic and want to immerse yourself in Africa's beauty, a mountain-bike safari will bridge the gap between walking and driving. I was feeling slightly unsure of cycling in the bush until I arrived at Tarangire Treetops, where a Verreaux eagle owl winked at me from a branch before slowly flying off into the dusk. I took this to be a good sign.

Treetops' lodges are set high in the branches of baobab and mopani trees situated just outside Tarangire National Park in the Conservation Area of the same name: 23,000ha of reclaimed hunting land, 98km from Arusha. They are in real Tarzan-and-Jane style but offer high-class comfort, including luxurious beds which you literally sink into after a day in the saddle.

There is a variety of cycle trails to choose from, differing in length to suit all degrees of fitness. Mountain biking is relatively inexpensive and the guides are incredibly knowledgeable about their patch of land. Some trails include overnight camping at Kirouwa - also known as Sunset Hill - from where you can see Lokisale Mountain.

On a bike, you feel incredibly close to everything around you but you can cover more ground and are mobile enough to move away from danger quickly, as I did from a small blue cobra in the path ahead of me. The saddle gives great vantage point and the wheels are quiet, so you rarely disturb the surrounding wildlife until you are literally upon it.

As we cycled past countless ebony trees and watched the sunlight glinting on Lake Manyara in the distance, some Masai giraffe stood tall and proud in the nearby bush as if guarding our route, before changing their minds and taking off ungracefully into the distance.

The Silent Safari

When I first stepped onto the amber soil of the island of Mafia, it was to help free the wheel of the small plane I'd arrived in from a hole in the rain-soaked runway. People appeared from nowhere to help us extricate the heavy aircraft. This Indian Ocean island, 35 minutes from Dar es Salaam, with small islets and coral gardens offers the perfect alternative safari experience - and time to relax. Diving safaris around Chole bay, within Mafia Island's Marine Park (Tanzania's first), are outstanding. This is one of the highest-diversity marine sites in East Africa.

The Marine Park covers an area of 822km2 and is a diver's paradise. There are over 380 species of fish, 48 genera of soft and hard coral, at least two species of endangered marine turtle which nest on the beaches, dolphins and the rare dugong. Mafia has so far managed to escape the onslaught of mass tourism, as building has been restricted to three tourist lodges with a combined bed capacity of 120. The lodges are like "bush resorts" in that everything is quiet and entertainment is based on reading, or talking about the environment and culture.

This is not a typical coconut island. There is a rich variety of vegetation which combines a mixture of bush with baobabs,mangroves and dream sandbanks. There are wild pigs, duiker, monkeys, nocturnal primates such as bushbabies and the Chole fruit-bat (or flying fox). At twilight, these nocturnal animals fly from Chole to Mafia Island en masse. Fish eagles nest on the islets in Chole Bay, while the Gukata heron favours the Rafiji delta. Countless other wading, forest and wetland birds frequent the shoreline.

Mafia is a wonderful destination to round off a visit to mainland Africa. The island retains its unique heritage and the atmosphere is safe, happy and relaxed. Locals talk of the Mafia "glue" which sticks you to a chair the longer you remain. The warm waters and vast bays are hugely enticing and you can see plenty while snorkelling on the shallow reefs surrounding the islands, so even non-divers won't miss out.

The silent safari is no less exhilarating than a mainland safari. Underwater, you're close enough to really observe nature and have the freedom of swimming where you like (on the advice of your underwater guides). The lagoon of Chole Bay, shielded by its archipelago, provides a rare alternative destination when the Monsoon produces particularly windy days and the ocean is raging beyond the reef at other Tanzanian diving destinations.

Adventure dives (night, wall, and drift dives) are regularly offered by two of the lodges, depending on the tide. Each day the dhow drops guests off at spectacular observation posts to watch schools of barracuda and jackfish or stingrays and black grouper, alongside myriad smaller coral fish. The exposed fringing reefs, rock walls and colourful coral are dramatic and the visibility can be needle-sharp. The numbers of pelagic fish (large, open-water swimmers) are astounding.

Night dives give a wonderful new perspective on life underwater. As diurnal fish rest among the corals, octopus, sea-cucumbers, crayfish and other nocturnal reef creatures start to forage. When the polyps emerge to feed on the rich plankton rising from the deep water, the rock-like appearance of many corals is transformed into brilliant colour. Clouds of glassfish, groups of lionfish and violin sharks are all immobilised by the light rays of divers' torches - yet we are illuminated within, by what we see and learn in the belly of Mafia's beautiful, secret underworld.

Julia Robinson is a freelance writer who works for a UK-based conservation group.

Published in Travel Africa Edition Fifteen: Spring 2001 Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)