Bagamoyo is situated on the coast north of Dar es Salaam, it is only accessible by road, which at present in poor repair. It is a fascinating historical town, being situated on the mainland coast close to Zanzibar it grew in the 1800s as a centre for the caravans travelling in land. Through here the slave trade flourished, together with the trade in ivory. Bagamoyo was the port through which many of the explorers, including Dr Livingstone, passed. The Holy Ghost Fathers set up a mission here in the 1860s, one of the first along the coast. The port however was not suitable for deep draught steam ships, and so Bagamoyo settled into decline.