Some 75 kilometers to the north of Dar es Salaam is the former capital of German East Africa, Bagamoyo once the mainland  centre of the slave trade. The name Bagamoyo is said to derive from the Swahili bwaga moyo, “lay down your heart”, because from here kidnapped Africans were sent to Zanzibar and across the sea into slavery.
Many of the European explorers passed through here, including Burton, Speke, Grant, Stanley, and Livingstone. The church, built by the Holy Ghost Fathers, is the oldest in the East Africa, and it was here that Livingstone’s remains rested before being taken to Zanzibar and then to England. The mission had a museum with wonderful collection of photographs and mementos relating to Livingstone and to colonial times. Reminders of the slave trade can also be found here: shackle rings, stone pens, and freedom certificates.

The beach that stretches to either side of Bagamoyo is everyone’s idea of tropical paradise.Located on the Bagamoyo-Pangani road, the Saadani Game Reserve is one of the of the least visited in Tanzania: it is the only East Africa coastal reserve to harbour large mammals and is also the only place where elephants can still be seen bathing in the Indian Ocean.