Tanzania Safari & Hiking Tour

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Once you've booked your trip, you'll have access to a gear list in your portal on exactly what to bring along. The gear list is carefully thought out to provide you with everything you need to be warm and happy, or cool and relaxed, whatever the weather! So it is best to bring everything we recommend along, if you don't bring everything you need, we can't guarantee your comfort.

You will need proper hiking boots - trail shoes are not good enough. We'll be taking you to some awesome places where you'll be hiking over a variety of terrain, therefore your boots should have full ankle support and a stiff sole with a high profile tread. It's also important that whichever footwear you decide to bring that it's well broken-in and waterproofed before you come down. If you have good ankles that will be able to cope pretty well with varied terrain, then good hiking shoes should be fine, but if not then hiking boots will give you better support.

Being in a tropical environment and not treated by the government, the water in Tanzania contains different bacteria to what we are used to at home. So we ask you not to drink it or use it for brushing teeth, even in Arusha. and use treated water at all times.
At the start of the ‘Kibo’ trek you will be provided with 3 litres of bottled water, after that the water will be gathered from the streams, boiled and filtered with iodine tablets added to make the water entirely safe to drink. Guides will carry extra water incase it is needed. You will be provided with 3 litres of water each morning and 3 litres again at lunch time - it is important to keep hydrated on the trail!

The Tanzanian cuisine is delicious, nutritious and quite filling! The reason for this is the usage of starches such as millet, beans, cornmeal, sorghum, and pilaf within almost every dish!
You’ll enjoy some typical mainland Tanzanian foods including wali (rice), ugali (maize porridge), nyama choma (grilled meat), mshikaki (marinated beef), samaki (fish), pilau (rice mixed with a variety of spices), biriyani, and ndizi-nyama (plantains with meat).

We are accustomed to catering to the following special diets:

• vegan (no meat or animal products)
• vegetarian (no meat products)
• fishatarian (vegetarian, and eat fish)
• no red meat (eat chicken & fish)
• gluten intolerant (no wheat, rye, barley or oats)
• lactose intolerant (no dairy products)

You will get the opportunity to specify your particular requirements when you fill in our pre-trip questionnaire. If you have any other dietary requirements please let us know well in advance, via email or the online questionnaire.

Tanzania’s currency is the Tanzanian shilling.

Our trips include all transportation, guiding, meals and activities (except where indicated on the itinerary). As far as spending money, you may want to bring some spending money to buy a souvenir or two, try a local activity or restaurant, or buy a round of drinks.

Usually the easiest thing to do is use your credit or debit card to withdraw money directly from your home account, in local currency. There are plenty of ATM's and banks in larger towns in Africa, and ATM's will accept all major credit cards and many debit cards. Cash advances are the most convenient way to get cash.

Our Mount Kilimanjaro Trek will take you to higher altitudes, so it’s important to be aware of the causes and risks of altitude sickness, and how we manage them. You’ll be accompanied on your trip by a very experienced guide and we’ll be taking all the recommended (and more!) acclimatisation days to allow you time to get used to the higher elevations. Altitude sickness is something that can occur above 2,400m or 8,000ft and affects everybody differently regardless of fitness (after all no-body is the same). Unless you live somewhere with high elevation, it's difficult to predict how your body will react to the higher altitudes, though there are some things you can do along the way to help you acclimatise.

One of the most important of these is to walk slowly and drink plenty of water – it’s really important that your body stay well hydrated at all times and you never over-exert yourself. Also, eat light meals to make it easy for your body to digest food, avoid coffee and alcohol which dehydrate you and slow your breathing down, take plenty of rests and keep yourself warm at all times. If you are concerned or have any problems, then tell your guide straight away. If you are concerned, chat to your doctor about a prescription for Diamox which is proven to help with altitude. If you need any other information, please get in touch – we know the place well and we can give you plenty more specific advice.

Learn more here about dealing with altitude

We strongly recommend seeing your local travel doctor for a full medical checkup prior to travelling to Tanzania for the Mount Kilimanjaro Trek. Trekking in general, especially at altitude can expose you to health risks and pre-existing medical conditions might get worse at altitude.
If you’re taking any regular medication, it’s essential you see your regular doctor well before the trek and get adequate supplies for the trip. It’s also recommended that you get a letter from your doctor listing your regular medications and stating you’re carrying them for your personal use. This is also useful if you need to get replacement medications if you’re unlucky enough to lose your medication.

Medical Kits and Medications
We carry comprehensive first aid kits and all our guides have received in depth emergency first aid training. However, our guides cannot dispense prescription medication to clients. We expect clients to bring a personal first aid kit with supplies to deal with common problems including blisters, cuts, grazes, aches and pains, travelers diarrhea, coughs and colds and altitude illness. Medications will need to be prescribed by a doctor, taking into account individual allergies and regular medications. We have provided a list of suggested items to discuss with your doctor.

Suggested contents of personal medical kits
Plasters & Dressings
Blister prevention tape, dressings etc
Strapping tape
Small bandage
Iodine swabs/solution or other antiseptic
Cough lozenges
Acetaminiphen/Paracetamol and/or ibuprofen
Acetazolamide (for prevention & treatment of altitude
illness). Suggested dose:125mg twice daily commencing 24
hours before going to altitude > 2500m
Oral rehydration solution (ORS)
Loperamide
Azithromycin (broad spectrum antibiotic, good for travellers
diarrhoea). Suggested dose 500mg once daily for 3 days.
Ondansetron (or other anti-emetic)
Antihistamine
Any regular medication (if required)
Spare prescription glasses (if required)

Eastern Africa Time (EAT) is the time zone for Tanzania, it’s 3 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

Electrical current in all the African countries is 220 volts, 50Hz, with the 3-pin circular (Type M) for Tanzania being the most common, though nothing is guaranteed, a plug type can be different, even in the same rooms! If you have issues once you arrive you can easily purchase a new plug there.

While on your Tanzania trip, WiFi will only be available while in Arusha. If you have WiFi, then you’ll be able to use your cell phone about 60% of the time during your trip, and 3G/4G is available too for accessing the internet from a smartphone or tablet.

From a wildlife persepctive, it’s important to follow the below guidelines as you’re likely to encounter animals on foot or in water:

• On all game activities (game drives, mokoro, boating and on foot) follow the instructions of the guides at all times.
• Being quiet is not only important from a safety point ofview, but also to have the best possible experience for all guests.
• The camps are unfenced meaning that animals might walk through at any time (especially at night) so guests to be aware and take caution.
• In the camps the guides will always accompany guests to their tents/rooms after dark.
• Never approach any animal and should you encounter one, stand your ground and never run

Due to Tanzania’s proximity to the equator, this region does not experience the extremes of winter and summer weather, but rather dry and wet seasons. The weather conditions on Kilimanjaro can be somewhat unpredictable to say the very least. Rainfall varies from 2100 mm per year in the rainforest belt to less than 120 mm per year in the summit zone. Similarly, daily temperature changes are unexpected when compared to normal weather cycles, and are largely dependent on altitude.

Mount Kilimanjaro has five major ecological zones, each approximately 3,280 feet (1,000 m) in altitude. Each zone is subject to a corresponding decrease in rainfall, temperature and life as the altitude increases. At the beginning of the climb, at the base of the mountain, the average temperature is around (27- 32°C (70- 80°F). From there, the temperatures will decrease as you move through Mount Kilimanjaro’s ecological zones. At the summit, Uruhu Peak, the night time temperatures can range between (-18 to -26°C (0 to -15F). This make Kilimanjaro weather very dynamic and you.

You will spend all of your time in the Northern Serengeti where the winter (June/July/August) mornings can be very cold however they warm up to nice sunny winter mornings from mid morning onwards.
In spring (Sep/Oct), it’s very dry therefore the day temperature can rise rapidly and it can be very hot around midday. The temperatures are mostly pleasant, with nighttime temperatures dropping down to 4-9°C (40-50°F) and daytime temperatures occasionally reaching up to 24- 27°C (75-80°F)