NOTE: This letter is to all of you who would like to visit Tanzania AFTER this COVID-19 pandemic is safely behind us. That day WILL come, and Tanzania and Unite Tours are waiting to warmly welcome you.
Dear future safari-goer,
So you are planning a safari to Tanzania? Excellent. I’m excited for you. The Tanzanian people are some of the warmest, kindest, and joyfully-spirited people you will ever encounter, and the country is one of the most beautiful on Planet Earth. You will surely be enthralled by the vastness of the Serengeti plains; the sheer size of the setting orange equatorial sun; and the snow-covered peak of Old Man Mzee, the local people’s pet name for Mount Kilimanjaro. You will find yourself lulled to sleep by glow of the Southern Cross in the draping canopy of the night sky, and even the high-pitched whooping sounds made by the prowling hyena and the wafting aroma of fresh elephant dung will grow on you.
Wherever you choose to safari – whether it be in the Serengeti, the Selous, Lake Manyara, Mikumi, Ngorongoro, or Ruaha – you will see an abundance of wildlife. Fear not. A country twice the size of California, Tanzania has more than a quarter of its mass (an area larger than all of Germany) set aside as protected lands. It is one of the only places, other than being out in the middle of the sea, where your gaze can stretch to the horizon 360-degrees in every direction. And while you may feel small and insignificant in the face of this awesome universe, do not be fooled. Your presence here matters, and the choices you make have an impact. Pay attention.
Whether you consider yourself wealthy, a bit well off, middle-class, or even poor, chances are the value of your luggage alone is more than a typical Tanzanian family earns in a year or longer. This is a land where children die because parents cannot afford $4 antibiotics and $8 malaria treatments; where the majority of the people live as subsistence farmers cultivating small swaths of land with hoes and sickles; where about half the population has access to clean drinking water and a small fraction to improved sanitation; where some people choose witchdoctors over hospitals believing in a greater chance of survival; and where — in certain rural areas — infants who are born with disabilities are seen as curses sent by demons. With one of the highest incidences of HIV/AIDS in the world, it’s perhaps not surprising that the average life expectancy in Tanzania is just 63 and nearly half of the country’s ~60,000,000 people are under the age of 18. Believe me, you have more than you think.
Tourism is an essential part of Tanzania's lifeblood. It is a major engine of the economy and the source of employment for thousands. So don’t be cheap, but also, spend your money wisely.
“How do I do this?” you may ask. “By doing your homework,” I say. Research outfitters, camps, and lodges carefully. If they say “Our philosophy is to give back,” dig deeper. If their slogan is: “Our promise to you: a genuine safari that makes a genuine difference,” find out more. Inquire how exactly these highly-profitable companies fulfill such lofty claims. Find out exactly what percentage of your money will be allocated to these promises. Ask to meet the beneficiaries of your funds in person. You have a right to do this and if all is legitimate and as they say, this should be a warmly welcomed request. If it is not, look elsewhere.
Here, a few “musts” to help guide you:
Know the man whose face is featured in the framed photo displayed on the wall of every business in the country alongside that of the current president John Magufuli. His name is Julius Nyerere, and he was Tanzania’s first president. Nyerere is lovingly referred to by the Tanzanian people as “Mwalimu,” or teacher, because he taught them that their fight was not against each other or any other African nation but instead against the three most powerful evils: poverty, ignorance, and disease. While Nyerere may have devastated Tanzania economically with his socialist policies, he succeeded in uniting more than 120 tribes and making Kiswahili the country’s primary language. As a result, Tanzania is one of the few peaceful countries in Africa, and more times than I can count I have heard Tanzanians say, “I will choose poverty over war any day.”
Take time to learn at least a few Swahili words, and don’t rush your hellos and goodbyes. In the morning, say, , “Habari za asubuhi? Umeamkaje?” “Good morning, did you wake well?” At night before retiring for bed, try “Usiku mwema. Lala salama. Tutaonana kesho.” “Good night. Sleep well. See you tomorrow.” And remember, just as you do at home, always use your “asante” and “tafadhalis,” your “please” and “thank yous.”
Dress modestly. Leave your mid-drift shirts, cut off shorts, and fancy jewelry at home.
Everyone in Tanzania has a powerful faith, whether it be Christian, Muslim, or Indigenous beliefs. Watch your language, everyone is listening. (You cannot imagine the x-rated conversations I have overheard in nearby safari vehicles from loud, foul-mouthed Americans while their guides blush with embarrassment in the front seats.)
If you are a woman who is not married, people will feel sorry for you. Don’t be offended.
Listen to your guide. When he says at the entrance gate of the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area to sit inside your vehicle and wait for him with your windows closed while he goes inside the building to process paperwork, do as he says. Once I had a group of teenagers who went rogue and were nearly mauled by a huge baboon who jumped through their opened window in search of a lunchbox.
The Tanzanian people do not like having their pictures taken unless they are your friends or you have asked their permission. Why? It’s rude. Would you want strangers hanging out their car windows snapping photos of you?
Try the local food. A few good options include ugali (simple porridge made with millet or sorghum flour), chapati (fried dough), sukumawiki (cooked okra-type greens), and goat soup (the horns, skull, hoofs, and every other unused part of the animal thrown into a stew). Your pioneering culinary spirit will surely put smiles on many faces.
Before you finish your safari, if you haven’t already, please invite your safari guide to join you for dinner. Inquire about his life. He has a compelling story to tell. And if you want to have your mind blown, ask how many languages he speaks. Then ask how old he was when he learned his third, fourth, and fifth languages. And, if he hasn’t told you already, ask him the Latin names of all of the animals you have seen and about the mating patterns of your favorite bird (mine is the Love bird). If he is good, which he likely will be since the competition is fierce, he will know. Ask him about his country and its history, its land and its people, the government and the next presidential election. Again, he will know. Every Tanzanian knows.
Lovebirds
Now, here is what you need to know to respect yourself. First and foremost, as it is with most tourism industries across the “developing” world, there is a masterful, behind-the-scenes game being played, and you are a pawn with a big dollar sign on your back. An example of how it works: I am a safari outfitter who has a friend who owns a camp in the southern Serengeti where beds are empty. I send you there for a few nights so he makes money, and I get a hefty commission. He, of course, will do the same for me when my business is slow. However, chances are, if you knew better, you would have preferred spending those precious and very expensive nights a few hundred miles to the north, closer to the Grumeti River where wildebeests are crossing by the thousands on their migration north into Kenya and where crocodiles are feasting.
While on safari, you will likely be taken out for an early morning game drive and then brought back to camp for lunch and a siesta before being taken out for an evening game drive during which time you will be served “sundowners” (which, in the safari world, is the name for cocktails consumed in the bush around the time of sunset) on the ancient Ngong rocks in the Serengeti or on some other spectacular vista point. While this is all lovely and good, how you spend your day is actually up to you. (You are the paying client.) So, if you want to go out and safari all day long and take boxed lunch with you, you can. Some outfitters impose a mileage limit so the guides can only take you out so far. You won’t know this, so ask ahead. And, if your driver stops the vehicle alongside a pride of sleeping lions and wants to sit there for 15 minutes, you can tell him it’s time to move on. The polite way to do this is, “Samahani kakangu. Tuko tayari. Twende.” “Excuse me my brother, we are ready. Let’s go.” Followed, of course, by “Asante,” which means “thank you,” once you are rolling.
You will notice that when you are out in the bush driving around searching for the leopard, lion, cheetah, or any other rare find like the wild dog, anteater, or topi gazelle, your guide will be on his phone or transistor radio speaking in Swahili. Most often he is talking to other guides and assuming you aren’t listening. But if he thinks there is even a small chance you understand even the easy Swahili words like tembo (elephant), simba (lion), and twiga (giraffe), he will use special made-up terms for the animals, terms that only the guides themselves understand. Why? To get you, the paying-and-hopefully-big-tipping client, well-positioned to take a good photo of the massive bull elephant, the leopard sleeping high up in the umbrella acacia tree, the mama cheetah hunting for her babies, or the mating lions, your guide needs help. And these guys are clever; they work as a team and take turns being the one who finds the best photo-ops. Clients don’t know this, so that they naturally think that their guide is the one with superhuman instincts who can smell giraffe poop from miles away (some can) and have eagle eyes that can spot the camouflaged head of a lion peering just slightly above the tall dried-out grasses (some do). If your group is more than four to six people, you will likely be split between two vehicles, and in no time you will find yourselves competing. Dinner conversations will turn into boasting matches of who saw what first, who saw the most, and which group’s guide is better. It’s all part of the game.
The last thing we need to discuss is tipping. Whew. This is a big one. Here is what you need to know but few people will tell you: Nearly all the men and women who have waited on you hand and foot throughout your entire journey – from the porters, waiters, cooks, and gardeners to the maids, security guards, front clerks, and your drivers and safari guides themselves – rely mainly on tips for their income. Some are paid a basic or meager wage. Some are not. And all of them have extended families back home that they, as the one who is working, must take care of. Prepare for this by carrying stacks of cash in small- and medium-sized bills in your secure fanny back. (Note: $100 bills dated before 2009 are not accepted in Tanzania. No one trusts them, so they are as good as trash.) Many safari clients are annoyed when I tell them this. They say, “I just paid more money for this two-week family safari than I paid for my first car, and now you want me to bring hundreds of dollars in cash to stuff into every tip jar and extended hand I see?” My answer? “Yes.”
When it’s all over and you arrive home, safe and sound, you may decide that Tanzania was one of the best trips of your life, and, like me, you have fallen in love and must go back. Or you may feel perplexed, thinking that you have discovered a magical and mysterious place on Earth where, as David Lamb writes in his book “The Africans,” “nothing is ever quite as it seems and nothing ever happens quite as it is supposed to.” (Lamb, 1987). Or you may even feel slight dismay over being a bit taken advantage of. Or you may experience all of the above. In any case, you will be different. It may be that your spirit is now more connected to Mother Earth or that your smile now reflects those of the dozens of little barefoot children who chased your vehicle beaming and waving, calling out enthusiastically, “Mzungu, Mzungu!”“White person, white person.” (Regardless of whether you are white, black, or brown, if you are from America, you are mzungu.) Or perhaps you can feel the lingering warmth and wonder of the cracking fire dancing in front of you while you enjoyed your evening sundowners. However microscopic the change may be, it will be there, and — I dare say — you will be better for it.
Any questions, give me a call.
Anne Wells
Founder & Director, Unite Tours Service Safaris
Unitetours.org * 314.239.3997 * anne@uniteafricafoundation.org
SOURCES
Editorial Staff. 50 Interesting Facts About Tanzania. The Fact File. July 16, 2020. Retrieved from https://thefactfile.org/tanzania-facts/
World Population Review (2020). Tanzania. July 16, 2020. Retrieved from https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/tanzania-population
Asilia Africa. Our Story. July 16, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.asiliaafrica.com/about-us/
Ker & Downey. Giving Back. July 16, 2020. Retrieved from https://kerdowney.com/giving-back/
David Lamb (1987), The Africans. New York. Vintage Books.