Tanzania Guide3.1mb - Sanctuary Retreats

YOUR HOLIDAY GUIDE TO BOTSWANA | FACTS & ADVICE
tanzania
Your holiday guide to
CONTENTS
TA N Z A N I A H O L I D AY G U I D E
tanzania
Your holiday guide to
TANZANIA
04
GETTING INTO TANZANIA
06
STAYING HEALTHY
06
TIME ZONE
06
TIPPING
07
TALK THE TALK
07
MONEY
07
WEATHER
08
WHAT TO PACK
08
PHOTOGRAPHY
09
BAGGAGE RESTRICTIONS
09
LOCAL FOOD AND DRINK
09
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CONTENTS
CONTENTS
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YOUR HOLIDAY GUIDE TO TANZANIA | FACTS & ADVICE
TANZANIA
Tanzania is one of the ultimate
safari destinations.
Tanzania contains many large and ecologically
significant wildlife parks, including the famous
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park
in the north and the Tarangire National Park further
towards the country’s beautiful coast, with white sandy
beaches - this is the perfect way to finish off a safari
holiday in Tanzania.
National Parks and Principal Sights
SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
The beautiful Serengeti National Park is renowned for
the famous annual wildebeest migration, with over
one and a half million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra.
The national park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and
covers around 5,700 square miles of grassland plains,
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TANZANIA
savannah as well as forest and woodlands. The park
contains a variety of wild-life, including the “Big Five.”
There are also many cheetah to be seen, Thomson’s
and Grant’s gazelle, hyena, impala and even the elusive
African wild dog.
borders the ocean. Surrounding the national park are
many villages which make their living through farming or
fishing depending on their location. The park is home to
a huge variety of wildlife from large cats to lazy hippos
and crocodiles.
TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA
The Park’s name originates from the Tarangire River that
crosses through the park. The landscape and vegetation
are incredibly diverse and the hilly landscape is dotted
with many Baobab trees, high grasses and dense bush.
Huge herds of up to 300 elephants roam the national
park while migratory wildebeest, zebra, impala, buffalo
and eland crowd the lagoon and waterholes. The
Tarangire is also home to the more unusual species of
fringe-eared Oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site located 180 km west of Arusha in the
Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. The main feature of
the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the Ngorongoro
Crater, the world’s largest inactive, intact, and unfilled
volcanic caldera. The crater, which formed when a
large volcano ex-ploded and collapsed on itself two
to three million years ago, is 610 metres deep and its
floor covers 260 square kilometres. A large diversity of
animals reside in the Crater, including an extraordinary
population of predators, such as lions, hyenas, jackals,
cheetahs and the elusive leopard; as well as hippo,
wildebeest, warthog, zebra, eland, buffalo, gazelles
and waterbuck.
SAADANI NATIONAL PARK
The Park is one of the only remaining protected coastal
areas in Africa. The Park covers 1100 square kilometres
and is the only wildlife sanctuary in Tanzania which
TANZANIA
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YOUR HOLIDAY GUIDE TO TANZANIA | FACTS & ADVICE
TIPPING
You are travelling on an independent itinerary and the cost
of your program does not include gratuities. Tipping is a
very personal matter and should only be considered when
our staff have gone above and beyond for you. Should you
feel you would like to acknowledge their service, the below
serves as a rough guide. An amount equivalent to the
below scale is in US dollars, per person per day.
GETTING INTO
TANZANIA
Drivers & Local guides
US $5-7 per traveller per day - normally paid on the last
day and is based on 4-6 travellers in the vehicle. For 2 or 3
travellers you may consider increasing this amount to US
$6-8 per traveller per day
Visa Information
Foreign visitors may be required to obtain a visa to
enter Tanzania.
Porter
• US$ 1 per bag
Before travelling to Tanzania please contact the
Tanzanian Embassy in your country for the most up to
date visa information.
Travellers should check for visa requirements
pertaining to their citizenship, as entry requirements
vary between countries.
All travellers, however, must be in possession of
a passport with at least six months of validity left
beyond the intended departure date from Tanzania.
General Lodge and Camp Staff
• This is at your discretion, but we advise US$ 12 per
person per day and this will be divided among the staff.
Anti-malarial medication is strongly recommended for
all visitors to Tanzania.
No vaccinations are currently required for entry into
Tanzania however if you are arriving (or planning to
re-enter) from a country where yellow fever is endemic,
then you are required to have a yellow fever
vaccination. This vaccination is also recommended if
you are travelling outside of urban areas.
TIME ZONE
Tanzania standard time is GMT + 3 hours
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GETTING TO TANZANIA | STAYING HEALTHY
The official language in Tanzania is English, but there are
over 70 recognised regional languages including Nyanja
and Bemba.
Useful phrases
STAYING HEALTHY
For up to date information on the latest health and
vaccination recommendations, please consult with a
qualified health professional at least 6 weeks before
your intended departure.
TALK THE TALK
MONEY
Tanzania’s currency is the shilling. Notes are issued in
denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10000 shillings.
Coins are issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200
shillings, although the first two are seldom used. The local
currency you may need during your stay in Tanzania should
be obtained at authorised facilities such as banks and foreign
exchange bureaus. US Dollars and British Pounds can also be
exchanged at the airport on arrival.
Hello
Jambo
How are you?
Hujambo
I am fine
Sijambo
I am not fine
Siko sawa
Thank you
Asante
Beautiful
Nzuri/Mzuri
Goodbye
Kwaheri
Major credit cards are accepted at most outlets in Tanzania.
Sanctuary Retreats’ camps in Tanzania accept Visa,
MasterCard or Amex. We suggest you carry sufficient local
currency and additional US dollars to cover the cost of any
additional purchases at the lodges and camps.
TIPPING | TALK THE TALK
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YOUR HOLIDAY GUIDE TO TANZANIA | FACTS & ADVICE
LOCAL FOOD & DRINK
WEATHER
WHAT TO PACK
Tanzania has a tropical climate which is mainly
characterised by warm days and cool evenings.
December to March are usually the warmest months
of the year, while June to August are the coolest.
April and May often see intermittent rains, and from
September to November the days are warm with
short scattered rains falling in November.
Clothing on safari should be comfortable and colours
should blend in with nature as much as possible.
Greens, browns and khaki coloured clothing are
advisable. Evening dress in the lodges and camps is
‘smart casual,’ there is no formal wear required. We
advise guests to dress in a way they feel most
comfortable.
SEREN G ETI AVERAG E M AX TEM PERATU RE IN ˚C
D AY
40
N IG H T
30
20
10
5
0
JAN
FEB M AR APR M AY JU N
JU L AU G SEP O CT N O V D EC
AVERAG E M O N TH LY RAIN FALL (M M )
89
72
160
198
206
93
61
69
110
117
141
112
AVERAG E D AILY H O U RS SU N LIG H T
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The most practical items to pack for safari are:
• Fleece, sweater or warm jacket for morning and
evening game drives
• Light cotton shirts and T-shirts; Blouses or shirts
with long sleeves
• Comfortable walking shoes for walking safaris
• Swimwear (for lodges and camps with swimming
pools)
• Shorts, trousers and chinos
• Sun hat and sun block
• Camera and Binoculars
• For winter, pack a warm jacket and a scarf
and gloves
• A complimentary laundry service is available at all
of our camps and lodges in Tanzania.
TARAN G IRE AVERAG E M AX TEM PERATU RE IN ˚C
D AY
40
SAAD AN I N ATIO N AL PARK AVERAG E M AX TEM PERATU RE IN ˚C
N IG H T
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
5
5
0
JAN
FEB M AR APR M AY JU N
JU L AU G SEP O CT N O V D EC
AVERAG E M O N TH LY RAIN FALL (M M )
59
28
66
79
39
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WEATHER | WHAT TO PACK
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JAN
N IG H T
FEB M AR APR M AY JU N
JU L AU G SEP O CT N O V D EC
AVERAG E M O N TH LY RAIN FALL (M M )
19
2
24
26
216
118
70
60
100
150
110
30
30
20
35
75
100
125
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AVERAG E D AILY H O U RS SU N LIG H T
AVERAG E D AILY H O U RS SU N LIG H T
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D AY
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BAGGAGE
RESTRICTIONS
Maximum of 15kg of luggage per person is allowed
for light aircraft flights, including hand luggage and
camera equipment.
It is important that you carry soft-sided bags (bags
without wheels are allowed.)
It is highly recommended that you lock your luggage
if you are travelling through Southern Africa. It is also
advisable that you do NOT pack valuable items in your
checked luggage.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Many travellers, viewing this as their “trip of a
lifetime” for animal photography, bring more than
one camera in case of a malfunction. Sun filters
will help block glare and heat haze. A dustproof
camera bag and an air brush will help protect your
equipment from heavy dust. If you plan to travel with
digital photographic and/or video equipment, make
certain to pack the specific charging apparatus for
each piece of equipment (as well as the appropriate
socket plug adaptor and voltage converter if
required). When photographing people, especially
members of the Maasai tribe, always ask permission
first. Because so many local people are asked for
permission to be photographed, many will expect a
tip or an outright fee for this. There are some places
where photography is prohibited, and these areas are
usually clearly marked.
Food in Tanzania greatly varies depending on where you are
in the country and what food products are available locally.
On the mainland and away from the coast, most hotels serve
Tanzanian dishes that usually consist of meat stews or fried
chicken, accompanied by staples including chips, boiled
potatoes or ugali (maize meal porridge eaten all over Africa).
Many Tanzanian towns have a significant population of second-generation immigrants from the Indian sub-continent,
and restaurants serving Indian dishes like biryani, spicy
curries and chapatti bread are common.
On the coast, the Indian Ocean provides a full range of
seafood, and the Swahili style of food is delicately flavoured
by spices and coconut milk and features fragrant rice, grilled
fish and prawn curries; it’s best sampled on Zanzibar where
a tourist must-do is to treat yourself to a whole lobster (at a
surprisingly affordable price). Tropical fruit such as coconuts,
paw-paws, mangoes, pineapples and bananas are abundant, as
are the delicious fresh juices made from them. There is much
greater variety of cuisines in the cities and tourist spots.
Dar es Salaam is a fairly cosmopolitan large city with a good
choice of world-food restaurants and the major hotels and
safari lodges offer Western and other international food. Many
of the larger beach resorts and safari lodges offer breakfast,
lunch and dinner buffets for their all-inclusive guests.
Famous Snacks: maandazi (fried dough), isheti, kashata,
kebabs, samosa (sambusa), mkate wa kumimina (Zanzibar
rice bread), vileja, vitumbua (rice patties), bagia, and
many others.
Many people drink tea (chai) in Tanzania. Usually tea is drunk
in the morning, during breakfast with chapati and maandazi,
and at times at night during supper. Coffee is second, and is
usually taken in the evening. Many people drink coffee with
kashata (a very sweet tasting snack made from coconut meat
or groundnuts).
Our lodges and camps serve a variety of fresh produce and
traditional western cuisine. Local beers and a wide selection
of wines are also available. With prior notice, our camps
are able to arrange halaal meals, however, please note our
kitchens aren’t strictly halaal and our chefs are not trained
in halaal food preparation. Unfortunately, we are unable to
arrange kosher meals.
BAGGAGE RESTRICTIONS | LOCAL FOOD & DRINK
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