Supporting all this is a well-functioning network of roads, dependable air transportation and comfortable lodging for all budgets. Equally important, Tanzania is politically stable and most welcoming to all visitors, including North Americans.

Dar es Salaam, a raucous, bustling port, is definitely worth a day's exploration. Highlights include a vibrant fish market, the "anything goes" Kariokoo market, and plenty of colonial-era churches and landmarks. Fossils from Olduvai Gorge are on display at the National Museum.

When it's time to seek out game, the possibilities include the justifiably world-famous Serengeti, well-developed Selou in the south, or Ruaha, a developing area for tourism the government hopes will take pressure off the Serengeti. Aside from being less crowded, another Ruaha appeal is that it is much wilder and off-road driving is permitted.

Occupying some 5,000 square miles, Ruaha is Tanzania's second-largest national park after Serengeti. While accommodations in Ruaha tend more towards basic rather than luxurious, a recent visit to both Mdoyna River Lodge and Jongermero demonstrated that food at both sites was excellent, and lodge guides were friendly, savvy and knowledgeable.

At Mdoyna, the more Spartan of the two, sturdy permanent tents attached to a wood-topped platform are entered via zippered "doors." Interior space is sizable, and though there is no electricity, camp-provided flashlights provide needed illumination. Since water is solar-heated, showers and shaving are best accomplished as close as possible to sundown.

Candle-lit dining is communal and delicious. Grilled meats and fresh vegetables predominate, and good conversation fills the early evening hours. On our trip my wife and I saw animals constantly — between the Dar-Msembe airstrip and the camp, on scheduled game drives and during our several-hours' transfer to Jongomero.

Highlights included elephants, zebras, giraffes, water buffaloes, impala, warthogs, a monitor lizard basking on a branch and a plethora of fantastically colored birds. Things really got interesting when we watched a group of cheetahs position themselves for an attack on a gathering of impala. Ultimately the impala, sensing serious danger, dashed away before the cheetahs could strike. We also encountered an elephant family chomping on grass. From no more than 15 feet away, they ignored us as they foraged and ate in peace.

In much more upscale and expensive Jongomero, where eight tents with electricity are much more spacious and attractively appointed, food and company were also excellent. Drive highlights included an hour's stalk of a lion that woke up with a bad stomachache. Ultimately, after he found and ate some grass, he regurgitated whatever was bothering him, then sauntered off to join his pride.

The guide explained how tan-furred impala earned their nickname, "McDonald's." Since black stripes at their rear look like the famous "M" logo and impala are among meat-seekers' favorite meals, dubbing them "McDonald's" was deemed ruefully appropriate for animals destined to be many carnivores' "happy meal."

In both Mdoyna and Jongomero, drivers freely piloted their four-wheel-drive vehicles anywhere they could safely venture. They were also most pleased to linger at a site and did not seem to be following a strict "must-see" checklist.

Things are more controlled in the Serengeti, where off-road driving is prohibited. Following a Coastal flight to Arusha, we were met by a prearranged driver who drove us to motel-like Rhino Lodge. Here the prime assets are low cost and relatively close proximity to the Ngorongoro Crater park entrance.

The next morning, descending through surprisingly dense fog, we entered the 100-square-mile meteor-caused depression. Elephants, lions, Cape buffaloes — indeed just about every African mammal except giraffes — and myriad birds seem to thrive here. Giraffes don't because there are no trees within the crater to produce the high-above-ground leaves they require.

The following day we stopped at Olduvai Gorge. Here, in a 30-mile-long stretch, fossil discoveries dating from more than 2 million to 15,000 years ago have created invaluable evidence of the stages of human evolution. Olduvai is where renowned paleontologists Richard and Mary Leaky and their son Richard worked for more than 70 years searching for, finding and analyzing critical fossils and their role in man's evolution.

Onsite is a small museum detailing their work, sporadic lectures about their finds and guides who, for a fee, will walk visitors through sites where important discoveries — including the most ancient skulls and bones — were made.

For a complete change of pace, we were then driven to the 2-year-old, 72-room Kempinski Bilila Lodge, several hours to the west. Magnificently appointed rooms, excellent food, clever landscaping and, above all, fabulous guides made this an ideal change of pace.

Bilila game drive highlights included watching elephants knock down trees and strip off the bark, then chew the moisture from the soft center wood. We also spotted two leopards reclining on tree branches, zebras grooming each other's coats and skins from forehead to tail, lions positioning themselves for a wildebeest attack and dozens of zebras jostling each other for the best spots at a water hole. We also watchmaed another zebra bringing her young to a safe viewing distance from a reclining lion. You could almost hear her say, "Watch him — he's your greatest threat."

From Bilila we were driven to the Seronera airstrip for our final Coastal flight, this time to the exotic island of Zanzibar. Here, many travelers spend their final post-safari days unwinding and exploring fascinating Stone Town, and/or relaxing on its beaches.

Tanzania is vast, and most visitors can only sample a portion of what it offers. One good strategy is to combine a Ruaha flying safari visit with a land-based Serengeti venture. The key difference here is that in Ruaha camps handle accommodations and food as well as airstrip pickups, game drives and ground transport between camps.

In the Serengeti, independent travelers must arrange for their own airport/site pickup as well as moves between often quite distant attractions.

While lodges such as Bilila offer superb game drives and transportation for flight connections, travelers have to arrange their own long-haul Serengeti ground moves.

Game trekking is a most costly affair. Daily per-person rates can range from $320 per person in Mdoyna to double-room rates starting at $640 at Bilila. And there are the costs for car and driver hire as well as flights within Tanzania.

Like many other African countries, tourist expenditures — including park fees and lodging taxes — are a prime part of Tanzania's economy.

But seeing animals in their natural element is unforgettable, and Tanzania is a wonderful place to have that experience. With its stability, diversity of attractions, and extraordinary range of animals, terrains and accommodations, this nation is as appealing as any in Africa.

WHEN YOU GO

As with any visit to Africa, flights to Tanzania are long and expensive. Many travelers choose European carriers where southbound links bring them to Dar es Salaam. Passengers can also choose to fly South African Airways, nonstop from New York to Johannesburg and one-stop via Dakar, Senegal, from Washington, D.C: www.flysaa.com.

For general information, contact the Tanzania Tourist Board: www.tanzaniatouristboard.com.

Kempinski Kilimanjaro Hotel is a 132-room luxury property with excellent cuisine that overlooks the harbor in central Dar es Salaam: www.kempinski.com/en.

Air is the only practical way to get to Ruaha, and quality carriers such as Coastal Aviation regularly fly nine- to 18-seat aircraft to airstrips at or near Ruaha's major campsites. Coastal will also make arrangements for flight/accommodation packages throughout the region. Their new nine-seater aircraft should reduce Ruaha-Arusha flight times to just over an hour: www.coastal.cc.

Leopard Tours is the major Tanzanian operator specializing in land transportation and tours: www.leopard-tours.com.

Mdoyna River Lodge: www.ed.co.tz

Jongomero: www.selous.com/jongomero-camp

Bilila Lodge: www.kempinski.com/en/serengeti

All images courtesy of Barbara Selwitz. 

Robert Selwitz is a freelance travel writer.