Monday 12 December 2016

First Treetop Walkway in Tanzania

Experience nature like never before!
Manyara Treetop Walkway takes you on a sky-high adventure through the beautiful forest of Lake Manyara. Walk among the treetops, the experience untouched nature and wildlife from a unique perspective.
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Treetop Walkway This 400m canopy walk starts with a short board-walk that gradually rises from ground level up through the canopy of the forest. You walk over a series of suspension bridges with thick netting on the sides, and reach a height of 18m off the ground.
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Birds-eye view of the forest
This is Tanzania's first Treetop Walkway and one of the longest in Africa. It offers a unique birds-eye view of the world around you. Enjoy life in the canopy amongst butterflies, monkeys and birds. 
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Nature lovers
A great outdoor activity especially for nature lovers and adventure seekers. Families, couples, individuals and groups are all welcome.
The average time it takes to enjoy the Treetop Canopy Walkway is approximately 30 minutes to an hour from the time you entered the ground, allow yourself ample time to relax and enjoy the views. Please note that the walkway only allows for one-direction traffic. Guides are available to give interpretation while in the canopy as well as assisting for ease and enjoyable walk.
Only four people are on a section at a time and that everyone is spaced about 5 metres apart.
DOs and DONTs
  • You must be dressed for treetop trekking. That means closed-toe, secure, covered shoes; knee-length shorts or long pants; and clothing appropriate to the weather.
  • All children must be 6 or older and accompanied by an adult. Ages 12 and older can participate without a chaperone.
  • Please note that we may need to limit access during heavy rain and strong winds, thunder and/or lighting.
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For further information and booking please email to ester@wayoafrica.com

Tuesday 25 October 2016

PAKULALA Safari CAMP, The only camp facing the crater of Ngorongoro, Tanzania

Location

We are literally perched on the rim of the crater 2600 meters high,  a short drive to the descend road to the base of the caldera and a starting point for many walking routes makes it the privileged location to be
Situated at a priviledged site right at the crater rim, Pakulala Safari Camp is a perfect place to stay for safari or walking routes in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Nature walk -  Stretch your legs, you can do more than viewing the magnificent scenery from your vehicle, be part of it, feel Africa on feet
Try the magnificent Empakai crater trek, to enjoy the migration of flamingos and descent to feel the soapy water of the Lake.
Visit a traditional Maasai Boma, just 45 min walk from the camp, and without the crowds.
Start a 3 day trek  from here to lake Natron,  passing the sacred Oldoinyo Lengai.
Possibilities are many,  tell us what you feel doing
 Contact Them:
Sura Afrika - Luxury Travels everywhere
bookings@suraafrikasafaricamps.com
+255 765 346 525 (Tanzania)
+34 983 303 666 (Spain)

Deadly Lake Natron Turns Animals Into Ghostly ‘Statues’ (PHOTOS)

VIUMBE wa ajabu wanadaiwa kuonekana katika Ziwa Natron. Ziwa hili ambalo wataalamu wanasema lina kiwango kikubwa cha ‘Alkaline’ ambayo imekuwa ikiwaathiri viumbe wanaokuwa karibu na maji hayo kwa kuchoma ngozi na macho inabadili muonekano wa viumbe hivyo. Hizi picha zimepigwa kwenye ziwa Natron, ziwa ambalo ninajulikana kwa kuwa na “alkaline” ya juu iliyopo kwenye vipimo vya PH9-PH 10.5, inachoma ngozi na macho ya wanyama ambao wanakuwa karibu na maji. Angalia picha mwenyewe ujionee viumbe hawa.

Approaching the shoreline of Lake Natron in Tanzania, photographer Nick Brandt faced an eerie sight: There, lying on the earth as still and stiff as statues, were calcified corpses of a variety of birds and bats that had met their untimely demise after crashing into the deadly waters.
“No one knows for certain exactly how [these animals] die, but it appears that the extreme reflective nature of the lake’s surface confuses them, causing them to crash into the lake,” Brandt writes in his new photo book Across the Ravaged Land. “The water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would strip the ink off my Kodak film boxes within a few seconds. The soda and salt causes the creatures to calcify, perfectly preserved, as they dry.”
(Story continues below.)
calcified fish eagle
Calcified fish eagle.
Other than serving as a breeding area for the endangered Lesser Flamingo and as a home to certain kinds of algae and bacteria, Lake Natron is inhospitable to life.
Blood-red from the bacteria that live in it, the salt lake is steaming hot, with temperatures that can reach up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the New Scientist.
calcified dove
Calcified dove.
“Discovering [these animals] washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron, I thought they were extraordinary — every last tiny detail perfectly preserved down to the tip of a bat’s tongue, the minute hairs on his face. The entire fish eagle was the most surprising and revelatory find,” Brandt, who photographed these calcified animals in 2010 and 2012, told The Huffington Post in an email Wednesday.
The creatures, he said, were “rock hard” from the calcification.
“There was never any possibility of bending a wing or turning a head to make a better pose — they were like rock,” he said, “so we took them and placed them on branches and rocks just as we found them, always with a view to imagining it as a portrait in death.”
calcified flamingo
Calcified flamingo.
calcified bat
Calcified bat.
“The notion of portraits of dead animals in the place where they once lived, placed in positions as if alive again in death, was just too compelling to ignore,” Brandt said of his decision to photograph the animals. “I took these creatures as I found them on the shoreline, and then placed them in ‘living’ positions, bringing them back to ‘life’, as it were. Re-animated, alive again in death.”
calcified songbird
Calcified songbird.
calcified swallow
Calcified swallow.

Friday 21 October 2016

Turkish Airlines to fly to Tanzania's Zanzibar

Turkish Airlines will begin operating flights from Istanbul to the Tanzanian tourist destination of Zanzibar by the end of this year, the company said in a written statement on Friday.

The airline stated that Zanzibar would be the company's 293rd destination worldwide and the 50th across 31 African countries.

The company added that flights between Istanbul and Zanzibar would operate three days a week to and fro on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, with costs starting as low as $636 all-inclusive. They will start on Dec. 12

Turkish Airlines already offers flights to the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam and to Kilimanjaro International Airport.

Turkey's flag carrier flies to 116 countries around the world, more than any other airline, according to the company.

TANZANIA SETS TO PARTICIPATE IN 2016 W ORLD TRAVEL MARKET (WTM)-TO PROMOTE THE NEW MARKETING DESTINATION PORTAL


Team Tanzania comprising of members from the Tanzania Tourism industry will participate to the forthcoming World Tourism Market  travel show, scheduled to take place from 7th–9 November 2016 in London, UK. Four Public Institutions  namely Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), Tanzania National Park (TANAPA), Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT) will team up with 42 private companies to form a total number of 46 exhibiting companies that will showcase Tanzania’s tourism attractions and services to UK travellers.
Participants from the private sectorswill include representatives from
Tour and Travel operations, Airlines carriers,  Accommodation facilities and Event management who will be exhibiting under the
TTB stand and will beshowcasing the country’s spectacular tourism attractions as well as their services to tourism and travel trade professionals from all over the world.
The participation of team Tanzania will be under the new slogan  ‘Tanzania; The Soul of Africa.’ which was officially launched in October last year by the retired President Dr. Jakaya Kikwete to replace the previous one ‘The Land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and the Serengeti.
The Board is expected to continue to promote its traditional tourism products, its new Tourism portal (www.tanzaniatourism.com),
recently developed tourism facilities and services in Tanzania which include the newly launched Air Tanzania Company Ltd as well as the new Julius Nyerere International Airport’s Terminal 3 and other major developments happening in Tanzania.
The Managing Director of Tanzania Tourist Board Ms Devota Mdachi calls uponthe Press, trade professionals and other visitors from all over the world attending WTM this year to visit the Tanzania Stand. (AF 450)
Issued by:
Public Relations Office
TANZANIA TOURIST BOARD
20/10/2016

Thursday 20 October 2016

CHECK OUT HOW TREES MAKE SERENGETI MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN YOU COULD IMAGINE

Msosi chini ya mti
Serengeti is not all about animals but the diversity of both plants and animals, attractive landscape and beautiful scenery as well as the combination of plants, animals, sky and landscape.

Wednesday 19 October 2016

WAZIRI MAGHEMBE AAHIDI KUISUKA UPYA BODI YA CHUO CHA TAIFA CHA UTALII

Waziri Wa Maliasili Na Utalii, Profesa Jumanne Maghembe, ameahidi kuibadili Bodi ya Ushauri ya Chuo cha Taifa cha Utalii na kuifanya kuwa Bodi ya Utawala.
Lengo la mabadiliko hayo ni kuhakikisha Chuo Cha Utalii Cha Taifa kinatoa wataalamu wenye sifa na viwango stahiki wanaokubalika ndani na nje ya nchi kufanya kazi.
Waziri Maghembe ametoa kauli hiyo jana alipotembelea chuo hicho na kuangalia namna ya kuboresha na kukifanya kiwe cha ushindani.
Aidha, Prof.Maghembe ameutaka uongozi wa chuo kuondoa jina la wakala wa chuo cha utalii ambalo limekuwa likitumika na chuo hicho badala yake kiitwe chuo cha taifa cha utalii ili kionyeshe hadhi yake kitaifa na kimataifa huku akisisitizia suala la ubunifu katika uendeshaji na kuongeza mapato badala ya kulalamika kukabiliwa na changamoto nyingi ambazo chuo kingeweza kuzitatua.
Pia , Waziri Maghembe amekitaka chuo hicho kuwa mfano kwa kuwafundisha wanafunzi kuwa na maadili mazuri kwa kuwa wengi wao wa wahitimu wamekuwa na sifa za udokozi hivyo kuwafanya watu wenye mahoteli kuajiri wafanyakazi kutoka nje ili kuepuka fedheha kwa wageni
‘’Baadhi ya wahudumu katika hoteli zetu wamekuwa na tabia ya udokozi hii ni sifa mbaya kwa wageni kwani huharibu taswira ya hoteli‘’

Monday 17 October 2016

Conquering Kili

It rules over the sky – Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, distinguished by its three distinctive volcanic cones. First conquered in 1889 by Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller, it has called adventurers to its base ever since. And that’s just where G Adventures traveller and soon-to-be-newlywed Sarah Manion found herself last spring, standing on the precipice of a grand adventure. This is her story of ascending to the fabled “roof of Africa.”
Kilimajaro calls adventurers to its base.

Kilimajaro calls adventurers to its base.

What we were about to do didn’t sink in until we were on the plane from Amsterdam to Arusha. I looked out the window over the clouds and repeated the name in my head: Kilimanjaro.
We’d never even come close to doing anything like this. I’d been through Europe; my fiancé, JP, had ridden bikes through central America; and together, we’d been to Southeast Asia and a handful of beaches. But this was on a different level. We’d yet to say it out loud, but it wasn’t hard to see the correlation between this daunting adventure to the roof of Africa and the fact we were getting married in about six weeks.
Holy blatant metaphor.
We’d never even come close to doing anything like this.

We’d never even come close to doing anything like this.

We met our group and Kenny, our Chief Experience Officer (CEO), in the quaint town of Moshi. What had just begun to seem real on the plane was now a physical tightening in my stomach, brought on by our first glimpse of the mountain; so high and wide, it was its own landscape – its own planet.
We’d opted to trek the Marangu Route – at five days, the shortest of the options available. Our journey took us across fields and other areas Kenny called “moorlands.” We hiked over rocky passes and even through a rainforest, almost always uphill.
Truth be told, I hadn’t expected to encounter a rainforest on Kilimanjaro, but it was probably the most pleasant introduction to the mountain and its environment possible. A light rain had started to fall a few minutes before we entered the canopy, and for the next five hours, our group walked and talked and got to know each other, sheltered under a gorgeous leafy green roof as the storm rolled past overhead.
On our route, Kilimanjaro sort of pounces upon you. Past the rainforest, we hiked around a bend and suddenly boom: there she was, lit up by sunbeams peeking through the clouds. That first glimpse is burned into my mind like a mental postcard. You look at it, off in the distance, and the first thing you think is, "I’m going to climb that.” The second thing you think is, “Holy moly. How am I even going to get there?”
The first night was magical, but it had nothing to do with the mountain. We set up our camp in the dark (the crew provided headlamps) and then disappeared. A few minutes later, they came back bearing our night’s meal – delicious, warm, and satisfying after a long day on foot. And plentiful; the food just kept coming, leaving us wondering how on earth they managed to carry it all up here.
Morning coffee on Kilimanjaro.

Morning coffee on Kilimanjaro.

On a trek like this, your experience is only as good as the people who help you get there. In our case, we were blessed with a team of charming, knowledgeable CEOs and porters who saw it as their duty to get us to the top in the best spirits possible. They set a pace for us that was relaxed and comfortable, ensuring that the group stayed together and nobody fell behind. This had as much to do with safety as it did with building camaraderie; the slow pace helped us acclimate to our surroundings and pass the time with conversation and jokes. What’s the point of doing something like this if you’re not having a good time?
Kilimanjaro support team greets the dawn.

Kilimanjaro support team greets the dawn.

The challenge for me wasn’t in the terrain or the altitude, but in the unknown of what lay ahead. Nothing was consistent. The sun shone for a while, and then it got cloudy. Then it rained. Then it was foggy. The temperature. The terrain. Hungry some moments and anxious others. After a while, though, you get used to it and accept it as part of the experience. If climbing one of the world’s Seven Summits were easy, it wouldn’t be an accomplishment, right?
JP and I almost always walked together, but I learned that when you’re doing something as challenging as this, there are times when you’re just alone with your thoughts. Kenny was so caring, visiting each of us in the group periodically to gauge how we were feeling and encouraging us to continue. Our porters were inspiring too, carrying everything the group needed in a way that seemed almost effortless.
The trek felt deeply personal and I thought if it resembled marriage in any way, we were off to quite a start.

This trek felt deeply personal and I thought if it resembled marriage in any way, we were off to quite a start.

How do you describe the moment when you’re watching the sunrise from the highest point on a continent? You just can’t. You can look at pictures and read books, but nothing – nothing – can prepare you for what it’s really like to stand there and gaze down at how far you’ve come.
Mt Kilimanjaro is waiting for you.

Mt Kilimanjaro is waiting for you.

Getting There

G Adventures runs a number of departures to Kilimajaro encompassing a wide range of departure dates. We’re thrilled at the prospect of showing you this big blue planet of ours — check out our small group trips here.

Thursday 13 October 2016

The 19,000-year-old meeting place: 400 ancient human footprints are found near a sacred African volcano

  • Footprints were preserved in the mud in northern Tanzania
  • No other site in Africa has as many homo sapien footprints 
  • It was previously thought the footprints dated back 120,000 years
  • 'There's one area where there are so many prints, we've nicknamed it the "dance hall"', paleoanthropologist, William Harcourt-Smith, said
  • Researchers were able to identify at least 24 tracks, including evidence that some of the prints were made by people jogging
    A massive set of more than 400 human footprints found by geologists is thought to date back to between 10,000 and 19,000 years ago.
    It was previously thought that the footprints dated back as far as 120,000 years, and that they had been preserved by ash falling from the sky, following the eruption of a nearby volcano.
    But the research team has now been able to date them more accurately after discovering that a muddy flow of debris and ash from the volcano's sides was responsible.
    The huge collection of footprints was discovered on mudflats on the southern shore of Lake Natron in the village of Engare Sero in northern Tanzania (pictured)
    The huge collection of footprints was discovered on mudflats on the southern shore of Lake Natron in the village of Engare Sero in northern Tanzania (pictured)
    The footprints were preserved in the mud nine miles away from a volcano that is sacred to the Maasai.
    'It's a very complicated site,'  William Harcourt-Smith, a paleoanthropologist at the City University of New York and a member of the research team told National Geographic
    'There's one area where there are so many prints, we've nicknamed it the "dance hall", because I've never seen so many prints in one place....it's completely nuts.' 
    No other site in Africa has as many homo sapien footprints. 
    The huge collection of footprints was discovered on mudflats on the southern shore of Lake Natron in the village of Engare Sero in northern Tanzania.
    The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, known to the Maasai people as 'Mountain of God', towers over the lake. 
    The researchers were led by Appalachian State University geologist and National Geographic grantee Dr Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce.
    'The footprints were created (and then preserved) sometime between 19,000 and 10-12,000 years ago,' Dr Liutkus-Pierce told MailOnline.
    'This means that the Engare Sero prints are latest Pleistocene in age.'
    'The footprints at Engare Sero add to the unique record of fossil footprint sites throughout the world. 
    'They record traces of our ancestors, their activity and behaviour during the latest Pleistocene along the margin of Lake Natron in Tanzania.'
    The Maasai regularly travel on pilgrimages to the volcano to pay tribute to their god Engai. 
    The huge collection of footprints was discovered on mudflats on the southern shore of Lake Natron in the village of Engare Sero in northern Tanzania. No other site in Africa has as many homo sapien footprints
    The huge collection of footprints was discovered on mudflats on the southern shore of Lake Natron in the village of Engare Sero in northern Tanzania. No other site in Africa has as many homo sapien footprints
    Due to high levels of ash present in the mud preserving the footprints, researchers the believe it may have washed down from the volcano.
    It is thought that the the surface would have dried out in days, or even hours, preserving the prints. 

Friday 7 October 2016

Diamonds La Gemma dell'Est, Zanzibar

In one of Zanzibar’s best places, with the island’s best beaches, you will find yourself sorrounded by the luxurious tropical environment. It is the ideal resort for a total relaxing holiday in all inclusive.

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Discover Essque Zalu Zanzibar. Luxury is no longer just about material wealth or ostentation.


Take a deep breath of fresh Indian Ocean air.
Relax and unwind at our luxury Zanzibar hotel.



Welcome to Essque Zalu Zanzibar. Discover a destination off the coast of Tanzania, steeped in legend and mystery, an evocation of the exotic. Stroll the tumbling streets of Swahili, inhale the lingering fragrance of the spice plantations.

At Essque Zalu Zanzibar hotel, create your own personal paradise, your own kind of luxury, an experience of a lifetime.

Where to find Them!

Essque Hotels
PO Box 3151
Zanzibar, Tanzania

T: +255 778 683 960
E: reservations@essquehotels.com
VOTE for Essque Zalu to be World’s Honeymoon Resort at World Travel Awards 2016.
LINK: http://www.worldtravelawards.com/vote