Tanzania

►  Passports.   

      Ensure your passports are valid up to six months after you return home and that the names in them match those on invoices.  You need visas to visit Tanzania.  We have the forms.  Get it done before you leave home.

►  Medical.     

      Tell you doctor four weeks before you leave where you are going on safari holiday and make sure he or she consults the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases if uncertain about what prophylactics your should take.  No medical certificates are required for entry into Tanzania.  Malaria is prevalent at the north and in low lying areas.

► UK departure tax

Current UK departure taxes are shown and included on your invoice.

► Aircraft Seats

It is sometimes possible to book preferred seats for your flight.  No airline will guarantee this but you may want to discuss this with us, the earlier the better.

►  Diets and drink preferences

      Special diets can be arranged on flights and on holiday.  Early notification is essential.  Diets and drink preferences will be better accommodated if you let us know about them in good time.

►  Airline schedule changes  

Please check with airlines 72 hours before departures to confirm your booking and ensure no schedule changes have occurred.   This is important in Africa.  Published information may be inaccurate.

► Luggage and travelling.

Pack in non-rigid, strong bags.   Light aircraft transfer luggage may well be restricted to 12kg – and sometimes 10kg – per person.   Regular laundry is available on safari and you don't need to take much to wear.   Leave jewellery at home.  On safari it is unsuitable and will cause stress.   Check baggage is properly ticketed and labelled and keep the baggage slips.   Get to the airport early; it is more relaxing and check-in staff are easier on luggage that is slightly overweight.   Most airlines ban smoking.   Do not leave belongings unattended.   Drink lots of water on the 'plane. Move around the aircraft at regular intervals.

► On arrival.

Smile. UK passport holders rarely have problems entering Tanzania unless they are scantily dressed or aggressive.   Airport and border crossings can take time and getting impatient makes the situation worse.  Get your visa organised before you leave.  Smile.  If asked where you are staying tell officials you are on a prepaid safari holiday organised by King & King.   Smile.  In the luggage area check your baggage for damage and speak to airport staff about it immediately.   Airport staff will help with lost luggage.

► Tanzania Customs

You no longer have to change currency on arrival and you can bring in a litre of spirits or wine and 200 cigarettes duty free.   Items for your own use are also duty free.  Pornographic literature and narcotics are strictly prohibited; as are firearms unless prior arrangements have been made with the Tanzania High Commission for a pre-arranged hunting safari.

►  Money

      Tanzania currency is the Tanzania shilling [TSH or /=] in denominations of 10 000, 5 000, 1 000 and 500 notes.  Exchange rates fluctuate.  To avoid most currency problems take US dollars.  We recommend lots of small denomination bills (five and ten dollars) which are useful for the small extras like curios and tips; and some US$50 bills which get a better rate of exchange.  US$100 notes are regarded with suspicion in some places due to counterfeiting.  Take travellers cheques as a secure backup. Credit cards are not widely accepted and are subject to inflated additional 'service' charges and wildly unfavourable rates of exchange levied on their use in some places.  A few ATMs accept VISA cards.  Rely on US dollar notes.

► In town.

Petty crime can be a problem in a few urban areas.   If you spend time in built-up areas try to dress and act like locals, walk purposefully, in pairs, not alone.   Body belts are a sure give-away.   Don't leave binoculars, cameras, etc. on car seats in view of passers-by.   Ignore 'beggars'.

► Itineraries.

A detailed itinerary will be sent to you as well as extensive historical and fauna/flora background notes.

► Driving.

Few visitors bother with car hire in Tanzania because alternatives may be more reliable.  For a trouble free holiday it is essential to plan car hire in advance through a reliable organisation.  K&K can arrange this.   Good cross-country bus services are operating.  Dala-dala minibuses are not for the fainthearted. Avoid driving at night.  Under-lit vehicles and billowing exhaust smoke make driving hazardous, especially when overtaking.  

Travelling by train is slow but entertaining.  Take your own food and water.  

►Health and welfare

      Skin cancer is becoming common everywhere.   People with pale skin and fair or red hair and anyone prone to sunburn or who has not been in the sun for some months should apply sunblocks of at least SPF 30. Apply it liberally and re-apply after swimming; whatever your skin type do not sunbathe between 10am and 3pm for the first few days and even then for a maximum of 20 minutes each side.  Drink lots of water.  Check locally that it is potable.

  Malaria is a lurking problem.   Mosquitoes are developing resistance to prophylactics.   Lariam may be prescribed but it has a devastating effect on those who react adversely to it.   The best way to prevent malaria is to avoid being bitten.   Keep limbs covered at dusk.   Use a repellent.   Lodges usually supply them.   Ask for a net if one is not provided.   Mossies don't like fans; in the disturbed air they can’t settle to bite you.   Nor do they like smoke - and wild sage rubbed into the skin is also supposed to deter them. 

  Water at most lodges in Tanzania is normally safe to drink and no water purifying preparations are necessary. Ask local management about local water and water further afield.  Some bottled water on sale in urban areas may not be safe for non-visitors to drink. Take Immodium.   An upset stomach sometimes accompanies people on safari holidays.  Meals are lavish.   Local drinks are free on specified safari segments (check it) but excessive drinking lowers concentration in the bush and does nothing to aid enjoyment of wilderness areas for you or your companions.  

  Smoking may be allowed, with the consent of other guests or out of doors, but don't smoke in thatched rooms.

  Unless competent guides decree otherwise swimming in rivers and lakes is suicidal.   It is surprising how many people do not realize they are home to crocs, hippos and bilharzia snails.

  See BA's health information on:

www.britishairways.com/travel/healthclinicintro/public/en_gb_

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►Clothing   

    Safari clothing should be comfortable and blend with the bush: khaki, tan, or dark green cotton shirts, shorts or trousers.  Camouflage is illegal. A bush hat is essential to cut glare and protect you against sunburn; the wide- brimmed variety giving most protection.   Daily laundry is free at most bush camps.   Sunglasses are not vital but are useful as a precaution against grass seeds and small flying insects in open vehicles.   In June and July a pullover, socks and gloves are useful, especially at night.   Walking in the bush requires light weight boots that breathe and are broken in, trainers if they do not harbour fungus, veldshoen, or robust sandals.   New footwear is not recommended.
Socks attract prickly grass seeds.

►Game and bird spotting

    Your safari holiday will be enhanced by good reference works of which a wide variety is available. Recommended soft backs: 'The Safari Companion' by Richard Estes makes fascinating reading; Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals; Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Russell Friedman Books.   Many can be ordered from specialist book dealers in UK.   Good safari lodges have extensive wildlife libraries and safari vehicles should carry quick reference books. Your King & King safari notes will have pages at the end to record sightings, to help make a composite journal of your holiday.  It is best to take rough notes on safari and enter these at the back of the safari notes later.  Local check lists should be available on safari.

  Children particularly get a thrill from keeping checklists and looking up relevant information in wildlife books.  

►Photography

    We recommend two camera bodies on holiday - at least one should keep going if the other packs up - and in both formats 35mm or digital SLRs with zoom lens; one wide angle lens and a telephoto 300mm lens or zoom to cover 75-300mm.  Film and memory cards are often not available.  It is essential to bring your own.  Some experts speak highly of Nikon's fast 200 ASA for low light near sunrise/sunset when most animal sightings are made.  Otherwise the sun is bright.   Good results will be obtained by working around 250th/sec at f11, two hours after dawn and before sunset. Bring a video camera and a spare battery for charging.

  Photographing from safari vehicles can be tricky.  Always ask guides to stop for that special pic. but be aware that animals become alarmed when vehicles stop moving and vehicle shapes change as people leave them.   Ask for a sack of sand or to take a cushion on which to rest arms and camera, or take a monopod.   On inland waters and rivers the birdlife has to be seen to be believed, often numbering more than 300 varieties in one area.  A 200mm lens will suffice for most animal shots but a 500mm lens will be required for good bird shots and requires a monopod or tripod.

Photographing people can cause problems.   Tell your guide who you want to snap.  He may want to discuss the matter with the subject, and offer a financial inducement. 

AND - your guide may well have developed significant photographic skills of his own.  Tap into his knowledge.

►Communications

    Email has revolutionised communications; recent privatisation has resulted in a much improved 'phone service.   International telecoms offices in towns offer international calls at about a third of the rate in hotels.  Internet cafes exist in some towns.  There are several mobile telephone providers.  Zanzibar has its own telecoms provider: Zantel.   There is no ‘phone card agreement with Tanzania.  Hotels may make an extra charge for overseas calls.

►Advice and assistance and complaints and disclaimers

   Ask staff for assistance with any domestic queries you may have.   Trackers and guides at most camps are well trained and will include a briefing session before they take you out in vehicles or on foot.   If they don’t ask for one, or if you have any doubts about a situation, express them straightaway to a responsible person.   If at any stage in your safari holiday you have a problem do not hesitate to seek the advice of, or complain to, local management first.  That invariably fixes the problem.   If that does not work call the handling agents listed in your K&K itinerary who will sort it out.   And, please make a note of the incident and report it to us when you return home.   Action will be taken.   Please look at the K&K terms and conditions and do not hesitate to contact us before you leave if you have any queries.

  Some organisations insist clients sign disclaimers before setting out on a safari excursion.  It does not mean they are sloppy; just trying to protect themselves.  It reminds you that you are entering a wildlife sanctum with different rules. 

►Tips   

    Staff in Africa are keen to please and appreciate it when their efforts are rewarded by tips which are best worked out with local management.   A rough rule of thumb is between five and ten US dollars per person in your group per night.   Many lodges spread tips over the range of employees – not just the high profile workers.   In Africa a little goes a long way.

►Airport departure taxes at ports of exit   

    International departure taxes have to be paid at Tanzanian departure airports and the current tax [Spring 2005] is US$30 per person.  Sometimes these are included in the price of international tickets.   Small departure taxes are also levied on local internal flights.  We will advise you accordingly. Usually K&K is able to ascertain how much you will be asked to pay before departure.  Land crossings are not affected.

►Wild animals and liability

    Enjoy your wildlife experience to the full by observing animals silently without disturbing their natural surroundings.   Talking, attracting animals’ attention, imitating animal sounds (except bird calls), clapping hands, slapping the side of the vehicle and throwing objects are taboo.   Guides are experienced.   They know how close or how far away to be from wild animals or reptiles, many of which are potentially dangerous, some of which they may know by sight.   Neither King & King, nor its associates, nor its suppliers can be held liable for any injuries or loss caused during an incident involving wild animals.  

►Electricity and video batteries   

    Camps and lodges are remote.   When guests are out electricity may be generated to charge batteries for 12v lights in tented rooms, and other gear.  Tanzania voltage is 220-240 volts with British type plugs.  Bring a 12 volt car adapter to charge video camera batteries.

►The following checklist may be helpful:

►A final word about the environment and your enjoyment of it.

    Much of East Africa has a fragile environment which is acutely dependent on seasonal rains which do not always arrive ‘on time,’ nor in sufficient quantities to avoid drought conditions.
You are asked to respect the environment and the living space of all those who live in it.  Remember you are guests in this wonderful land.  Please behave as guests should.
To add to you enjoyment we supply an animal check list and hints about identifying species.  
Check lists are all very well but they should never rule a safari holiday so that it becomes a dominating challenge to see everything and tick the species off the check list as soon as possible.    The veld and the creatures in it are best enjoyed at their own pace, not some arbitrary timescale man has set to clocks and watches.   The sun is the all-important timepiece in the bush.  

   You and other visitors and the wildlife will benefit from acknowledging it is better to put 'time' aside and stay in one spot, preferably on the advice of a local guide, and look and see what there is to be seen there rather than charging around wildlife areas in a demented urge to see “everything” and probably understand nothing.

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