Souvenir ideas in Tanzania

Sometimes when you buy souvenirs, you don’t really buy for yourself rather for the people you left at home. You may decide to buy for yourself but don’t forget the people at home because they know that you are on a safari in Tanzania and they are honestly waiting for you. Once you get home, don’t go empty handed, carry some little gifts for each of them.

 Some of the tourists always complain of not having money to buy the souvenirs but as a matter of fact, souvenirs are cheap. Be expected to not spend more than $100, there are some you find at just $4 or below. People like gifts and most of the people don’t really care about the price tag, all they care about is that you had some time to think about them and buy them gifts.

There are numerous gifts to choose from and all are usually dependent on the person’s age that you are planning to give the gift to. Here are some of the gifts you may give to people in almost each age group. I’m not trying to dictate how you are supposed to give your gifts and what type of gift you are supposed to give to someone rather, these are just mere suggestions:

Consider post cards for elderly

If I were the person buying gifts, I would buy postcards to the elderly. Post cards were among the first souvenirs to appear in the tourism industry. People still respect postcards especially those that understand their true value. Whenever you went to a destination some years ago, some of the souvenirs on your list would be post cards.

Any elderly person that you give a post card shall really feel happy. In Tanzania, post cards are available at the all the branches of Tanzania post office. In case you don’t get the opportunity of buying post cards, you would go for some bit of crafts. Sculptures of animals in the park, crafts representing Tanzanian culture would really be a good substitute.

There are so many items to choose from for the young adults

This group of people would really feel happy if you buy them something that is related to art and craft. Get them nice clothes from those art and craft shop. When you enter those art and craft shops, you always see high quality clothes locally made from the available African material.

There are other simple items like key holders all designed to represent African culture. In essence, try to buy something that people can use in their day lives, it shall surely make a difference.

Crafts and art pieces match children characters.

Children would highly welcome gifts which can be used for games purposes. Buy them those art and craft pieces of animals in the park. You don’t need to buy big ones only; there are reasonable sizes you can always choose from. Simply buy them gifts which they use as games.

Pick jewelry for your spouse.

Tanzania’s mining sector is so much developed- it is one of the countries known in Africa for mining. You can pick any reasonable jewelry for your loved one. I’m sure, she/he will like it. There is so much to get out of Tanzania during your safari, choose us today and we take you to those unending and hidden secrets of Tanzania. Book now with us today and our team of reservation managers will get back to you promptly.

Tips on getting the best out of the tour guides in Tanzania

The tour guide is like your driver who is going to drive you throughout the course of the trip- he shall move you from one tourist attraction to another until the end of your journey. The tour guide is employed by the tour operator and he represents the tour operator. Tour guides are always knowledgeable about the national parks – they shall be educating you and give you histories of some of the events that unfolded around parks. They are experienced enough to narrate their experience with confidence. Some tourists confuse tour guides with park rangers. Rangers are usually employed by the government and their role is to protect the wildlife in parks-the rangers also provide security to those that come to the park. Whatever itinerary you choose, you shall interact with the guide more often and being nice to them shall surely improve on your success rating for your journey. How can you be nice to a tour guide on your safari in Tanzania?

Try to be social with them

Some people immediately start their boss mentality once they know that you are mere guide. If you act like a boss, you may remain like a boss and miss out on what it means to interact with people. You should show that you are an open person who respects others.

If the guide notices that you are easy and free with them- they shall unleash stories and tell you things that shall surely give you a better understanding of Tanzania. At the end of the safari, you shall both be winners. I’m not saying that being free with the guide is the only condition for them to talk to you.

They shall surely talk to you even if you act bossy but you shall not get the best insights if you stay in that mood-the guide will only be willing to give you answers and keep quite however if you want deep knowledge and experiences about a certain area, the guide shall be able to tell you all of that as long as he feels that you free with them.

I would to compare this situation to a home; if a father is not free with his children, the children shall always fear him and he might up never to understand his children because they are not willing to share anything with their dad. But to a father who is free with the children, children can always talk about anything without fear.

Ask responsible questions.

Sometimes people tend to get off the professional ladder and ask questions which are beyond tourism. I would highly recommend staying along tourism questions and simple questions that would make the guide uncomfortable.

Follow their guidelines.

Always respect what the guide tells you. If he tells you not to do something, please make sure you don’t do it. It could a simple instruction like please make sure you don’t put your hand out of the vehicle but because you are taken by happiness, you may end up forgetting and once something happens to you, it is so easy to shift the blame to the guide.

Simply respect what they tell because it is always in your best interest.

Come and benefit from the experience of our tour guides, Travel with us today.

Notable variations between a tour guide and tour ranger in Tanzania

If you are not careful enough, it is very easy to interchange those two terms: tour guide and tour ranger. In fact, I have seen and heard several people in confusion because they found themselves talking one term yet they were referring to another. There is a great noticeable difference between a tour guide and a tour ranger and I’m going to highlight those differences:

Tour rangers have guns to protect tourists and wildlife.

The tour ranger protects people and wildlife in a park. Wildlife needs to be protected in a national park because of poaching activities-poachers normally enter the park and kill those innocent which pose a threat to the endangered species and also to the lives of other wildlife.

Poachers are always very hash to the animals and their main purpose of killing is normally related to the economic aspect. Recently, the killing of Elephants has been on the rise due to their ivory which costs millions of shillings. Lucky enough, there are rare cases like those in Tanzania, due to the several sensitization programs around the parks. When a tourist reaches a park, it is always advisable to hire the park ranger to protect him.

For the case of tour guides, their role is about driving the tourists to the tourist’s attraction and showing them around depending on the nature of the tour.

The government of Tanzania pays for the tour rangers’ salary

Every tour ranger is employed by the government in Tanzania while a tour guide is normally employed by tour operator companies. Depending on the employment agreement, most tour guides are paid monthly or as per tour while the tour rangers is always paid monthly.

The tour rangers work in national parks.

Tour rangers only offer their services in a national park and are always in that national park unless they are shifted to another. For the case of the tour guide, their services are provided depending on any national park being visited. They are not limited to one park

It is in the best interest of the tour ranger to protect animals against poaching

Like I said that the work of tour guide is to protect the tourists and wildlife-they do that with the help of a gun. If an animal attacks a human, they can shoot to kill and in case they see someone who they think is a poacher, that poacher is arrested.

Some poachers are well prepared and they know the challenges ahead. Some of them can have illegal guns which they use for poaching. In brief, tour rangers are army or police officials who protect the animals and wildlife while tour guides are drivers who take tourists from one location to another. Come and we take you to the best and hidden secrets of Tanzania by booking your safari with us today.

Common filming tours in Tanzania

There is always a reason for doing something. Most film crew that come to Tanzania for their filming always have a particular goal behind. Many film those movies for their clients. Sometimes, this could be per as request from a certain organization or client, think of documentaries or something. I have come to understand that most of the film crew includes either one of the following safaris or a combination of more than two. Here are examples of popular safaris that filming tourists are always interested in:

There is a lot filming in Zanzibar.

When you look at Zanzibar, it is one of those destinations that have gained a lot of talk because many people have travelled to Zanzibar and many are looking towards visiting the islands very soon. When you make a simple survey across the streets of any country and you ask people about Zanzibar, I’m certain that you will get some responses of people who have heard about the destination. Because of that, there is always need to create more content all centered about what the Islands have to offer.

When you go to Zanzibar, there are so many activities that you shall be able to land your figures upon. Talk about the spice tour, stone town tour, Prison Island, Jozani forest, princess Salme tour, I mean the list goes on. There are specific filming permits that give you permit to film in Zanzibar. Ask your tour operator for that information and they shall surely share it with you and guide in acquiring the permits as well.

National parks attract a lot of filming.

Tanzania is surely a wildlife haven, there is so much to expect once you decide to come for a wildlife tour. Wildlife is a tourist magnet, many simply come because they want to see the several wildlife experiences in the country.

When you are in Tanzania, there is no short of options for you to view wildlife, all you need to do is to choose the itinerary and start your adventure. There are over 10 national parks in Tanzania that shall give you the best wildlife safari.

Talk of national parks like Serengeti national park, Lake Manyara national park, Ngorongoro crater, Tarangire national park, Arusha National park, and others. Because wildlife is already a major tourism activity, a lot of filming tourists come to offer their clients insights that are unique about different wildlife aspects. A filming crew can just decide to concentrate on a particular animal and cover it in depth or come up with a unique idea.

Birding is gaining ground.

Birders are flocking Tanzania in numbers to come and enjoy the activity. There is a lot to learn from birds and this has prompted many filming in the area. With the many bird species, you can be short of ideas about the kind of film you want to come up with.

Most actors are interested in cultures.

Though not on a large scale, many people want to know how other people are living and this is one of the reasons as to why there has been an increase in the number of cultural filming happening in Tanzania. Book a filming today with us today.

Why hire a porter on a Tanzanian safari?

The word porter is one of the common words you shall probably read in almost every itinerary. Porters are important people in the tourism sector-they add a lot of value to tourism. There are so many things that they do to simplify the work of tourists. One may be asking who is a porter and why is he necessary? Porters are people who help tourism in several aspects:

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Safety measures to take on a safari in Tanzania

Safety is one of the things that should be on your mind when you decide to travel to a particular destination. A lot of tourists underestimate that aspect because they think that there is no need to feel insecure.

The kind of insecurity that could come by may not be necessarily in terms of security threats but rather minor illness that if you not careful enough, they can have a diverse effect on your health. Keeping yourself safe should be a top priority once you decide on taking a trip to Tanzania. So how do keep yourself safe?

Don’t go against any park guidelines.

Every national park has its own instructions, you must make sure that you follow them to ensure that there is guaranteed for your safety. If they tell you not to do something, please don’t go ahead and try it out. I know that it is sometimes in human nature for people to try out those things which they refuse them to do.

There is always a reason for any national park to clearly write an instruction. The best part of the story is that each instruction is usually meant for your own benefit-it is meant to keep you safe. To go against those instructions is to simply go against your safety and life in general.

Follow the tour company’s advice

Tour operators shall always give you a little briefing before you start your journey. They will advise on the things you shouldn’t be doing and those that you should do. Make sure, you listen carefully and understand all those little bits to stay away from trouble.

They shall brief you on what to do once you reach at the national park, the clothes to wear, when to take photos, what to carry and what not to carry, how to behave when you are close distance with the animals. Just listen and follow their advice.

Find preventive techniques against malaria.

Malaria is a threat in the tropical areas on Africa. Since Tanzania is in the tropics, Malaria is a threat in Tanzania. The good news is you can travel even without any preventive measure against the disease and you don’t catch it.

Actually, most residents stay for years without any preventive measure against the disease and they don’t catch the disease however this is one of the most deadly diseases in Africa and accounts for the most infant deaths.

Malaria is caused by a female mosquito once it bites you when it carries the disease. The truth to the matter is that Malaria is curable without even spending a lot of money and within few days of taking the medication.

However as a tourist, you should take preventive measures against the disease to make sure that you stay safe. To prevent malaria simply buy anti-malaria tablets which are available in pharmacies around Tanzania. Make sure that you sleep under a mosquito net. You should close your hotel windows early enough to ensure that your room is free from the mosquitoes. Use insecticides to kill the mosquitoes when there is need for that.

Save some contacts in your mobile phone.

For safety purpose, make sure you save some important contacts in your phone book. Telephone contacts of the police, ministry of foreign affairs, your nearest embassy, and tour operator should be in your contacts to make sure that they come to your rescue in case any unbearable event unfolds.

There are other measures you can do to keep yourself safe but for now, I guess you can apply the ones I have listed. We are here for you and we shall ensure that you only have great memories on your safari in Tanzania, Book your safari with us today.