Tanzania Travel Guide


SOUTH AFRICA


AFRICA

A large central plateau makes up most of the mainland (at between 900m and 1800m) and the mountain ranges of the Eastern Arc and the Southern and Northern Highlands cut across the country to form part of the Great Rift Valley. The country has the largest concentration of wild animals. It also has Africa’s highest and snow-capped mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. It is home to the world famous Serengeti region which encompasses the Serengeti National Park itself, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve, the Loliondo, Grumeti and Ikorongo Controlled Areas and the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Over 90,000 tourists visit the Park each year.

Scuba diving in and around Pemba and Zanzibar is a good experience. Tanzania has some of the best, most unspoilt beaches in the world - white sands, palm trees and the cooling Indian Ocean.

Tourists should wear modest or conservative attire in general, and especially in Zanzibar. Theirs is a conservative Muslim society. Western women especially should take care not to wear clothing that reveals too much skin. 'Kangas', affordable, brightly-colored wrap-around cloth, are available throughout the country and can serve as a discreet covering.

It is common practice among Swahili-speakers to use 'shikamoo' (prounounced 'she ka moe' and literally meaning, 'I hold your feet') when greeting elders or superiors. The usual response from an elder will be 'marahaba'. The 'shikamoo' equivalent in Zanzibar is 'chei chei'. The traveller will get along very well when using these verbal expressions of respect. In addition a title after the 'shikamoo' is also a useful indicator that you are not just a dumb tourist - use 'shikamoo bwana' for the gents, and if you are addressing an elder female 'shikamoo mama'.

Many Tanzania sellers are persistant and ordinarily a simple shake of the head accompanied by an "asanti-sana" is enough. However, as a last resort a firm "Hapana", meaning "no", will do the trick. Tanzanians find the word "hapana" quite rude so please don't use it too casually only as a last resort. Whatever you do, do not tell someone you will come back and buy from them later when you have no intention to; better to be honest and say 'no' than have to avoid someone for days. They have a funny way of finding you when you have promised to visit their stall or shop! The most polite way to refuse something is to say "sihitaji" - I don't need.
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