Tanzania Experience

Country Information

Tanzania is a beautiful country in East Africa, renowned for having some of the friendliest people and a huge diversity of scenery.  Tanzania has it all, from palm lined beaches to remote wilderness and safaris.  To the south it borders Mozambique, to the west Zambia, Burundi and Rwanda, to the north Kenya and Uganda and to the east the Indian Ocean.  The official capital of Tanzania is Dodoma, however Dar es Salaam is the commercial capital with a busy international airport.

With few exportable resources, Tanzania has been able to escape the exploitation that decimated the growth of other African nations.  This does mean however that it has suffered from economic problems.

In the middle of the 20th century, Tanzania's president, Julius Nyerere, issued a number of farming and economic incentives to encourage local people to help the nation prosper.  However, efforts partly failed, but with the introduction of a new president in the mid 1980's, Mr. Ali Hassan Mwinyi, economic reform started to occur through changes to the way the economy is run.  The current president, Mr. Kikwete is continuing this economic improvement and has a firm policy on removing corrupt government officials.

Tanzania relies on the steady and vital income from tourism to help boost its economy.  It is famous for Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, the Serengeti National Park, rich with diverse wildlife, and the N’gorogoro Crater.  In 1964, Tanzania and Zanzibar signed an agreement to formalize their relationship, joining the two nations and becoming known as the Republic of Tanzania.  Links with the exotic islands of Zanzibar have helped fuel the tourist industry.

Despite a good quality of life compared to other African nations, Tanzania suffers from a low life expectancy, with the average age of men and women living to 46 years old.  The HIV/AIDS endemic is less rife than in other nations on the continent but 1.3 million suffer from the disease, approximately 3% of the population.  The majority of Tanzanians are subsistence farmers, resulting in about half the population living below the World Bank poverty line.

Time
Tanzania is two hours ahead of GMT.

In Africa, time is not a priority like it is in much of the western world – there is a saying that Africa works to ‘Africa Time’, which basically means you must exercise a lot of patience! If a boat is due to leave at 12pm, don’t be surprised if it still hasn’t left a couple of hours later. Everything in Tanzania is “pole pole” (slowly, slowly) and you may feel frustrated at the lack of progress. Fighting against it will only make you feel frustrated and it won't actually gain you anything.  The best way to deal with it is to accept it, enjoy it and make the most of it, its all part of the experience; keep an open mind, and arrive ‘expecting the unexpected’.

Getting There

You will need to arrange your flights to arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania. Here you will be met and taken to your project accommodation. The next day you will start your 2-day orientation.

Once your programme has finished, you will be transferred back to Kilimanjaro Airport to make your way home.

Climate and Weather

Tanzania’s proximity to the equator means that the seasonal variations in climate are not extreme.  The differences that do occur are as a result of location, i.e. coastal regions, on the plateaus and the high mountainous areas. Moshi enjoys a temperate climate throughout the year due to its altitude. The least popular months for tourism are April and May as these months have the highest average rainfall. In July and August period is cool where as December and January the weather is hot, but still bearable.

Kigoma, Tanzania climate chart