Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

One more card for today, from a pretty different location. It's not like I receive postcards from Africa all the time.. Last year I found a thread on the Postcrossing forum about donating some money to a charity called 'Hearts in Unity' and then receiving a postcard from Tanzania as a thank you. I couldn't resist the offer, and the money went to a good cause anyway. This pretty postcard arrived in December.



The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.

Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.

The picture on this postcard shows the Ngorongoro Crater. It is located in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA),a conservation area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated 180 km west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. The conservation area is administered by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, an arm of the Tanzanian government, and its boundaries follow the boundary of the Ngorongoro Division of Ngorongoro District.