Looking for somewhere a little different for your vacation – some where off the beaten track? If you like to travel and don’t mind roughing it just a little then there are so many places on offer the choice is bewildering. Here I fight the corner for a place close to my heart, Tanzania in East Africa.
Africa is dangerous and often there is such bad news about so many countries. Tanzania is different, the people here are fantastic and love peace. However a warning: once visited, if you can see passed the poverty, this magical land and its people will steal your heart and you will keep you coming back again and again.
How often do you hear that vacation destinations are off the beaten track? Over the past few years Tanzania has become very popular. Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and the Spice Islands of Zanzibar have become firm favorites and top the itineraries for all tourists. One would be forgiven, in high season, for assuming that this place is anywhere but off the beaten track.
Yet Tanzania is huge with remote game parks in the west that are so remote they get very few visitors. Here there are vast herds of wildebeest and where there are wildebeest the lions are not far behind. There are Chimpanzees in places only accessible by boat. There are the beautifully silent Usambara Mountains, strewn with African violets. The incredible Udzungwa Mountains National Park created for the protection of flora. This park infamously has no roads and the only way into this pristine wilderness is to get off your but and hike.
Yet, either these places are too remote for many - as the remoteness suggests they often [but not always] necessitates expensive light aircraft flights. They boast exclusive and secluded luxury camps which indicate by their very title that they are prohibitively expensive. The distances are huge and roads in the west are impassible, except for the most durable and determined 4x4. Public transport is also not an option, as what is in place is extremely unreliable, slow, uncomfortable and really not geared for western tourists.
So where is this adventure and off-the-beaten-trackness of the Tanzanian adventure, as promised in the title? Often just a stone throw away from the well beaten touist track is the key to true adventure.
I would also state that the poverty I mentioned above can be helped by visiting somewhere that isn’t touristy. There is a possibility you may come into contact with community projects and charities on a cultural safari and apart from being very interesting at the time of your visit many people chose to become involved long term.
I am not suggesting to go where it is dangerous or indeed to do anything foolish on the spur of the moment – itineraries can be planned to incorporate some real adventure without it being contrived.
For example on Kilimanjaro there is the village of Uru high above Moshi Town – this is not a tourist destination and all the more special for that very reason. If you are lucky your Safari driver & guide has family here and is willing to take a day showing you around. The scenery is fantastic but it is a must to walk to fully experience the beauty of this Eden. Plenty of birds to spot here including hornbills known locally as honda-honda birds because of their haunting call echoing around the mountain side.
On a cultural visit if your guide takes you to meet friends or family it is an opportunity not to be missed. To entertain guests is an honor in Tanzania. However, you will be expected to eat, not to eat is to be very be rude. There are no excuses to lessen this rudeness. You are not being asked if you are hungry, you are not being asked if you want to eat, you are being offered hospitality; the only polite response is ‘thank you’.
Be warned the food may take an age to prepare and cook. The good news is once you have eaten you can - and in most cased should - say thank you and leave immediately. To say thank you nicely, particularly if the household you visit is poor, is with money. .
In booking a safari I would suggest using of the boutique safari operators – known as ground operators. Many of these companies are well established and as they have to work harder to make a living, they are willing to make the effort to ensure your itinerary is more interesting. If not change the operator!
The Serengeti for example, a lot of operators are lazy and will send you to the central Serengeti where there is a large concentration of animals year round – which is why you may hear some complain the Serengeti has become overcrowded. Whereas a boutique operator has to work harder for his living and should ensure - with prompting from you - a more varied itinerary.
I could suggest several companies I have worked with in the past but a better option is to contact tourist information in Arusha – they can recommend the perfect list of operators for you. The tourist information office in Arusha is excellent and could not recommend them highly enough.
Enjoy your time in Tanzania and I encourage you not to pick an off the shelf safari – be involved with the planning of the itinerary as this is all part of the adventure.
