Tanzania: pre-trip reading list?
 

Hello,

My wife and I are planning our first to trip Africa in January, 2005. I have read some really excellent posts and information on this site and thanks to all. We will be going to Tanzania and our basic itinerary is:

- Attempt Kilimanjaro via Machame Route, 7 nights
- Northern circuit safari, 13 nights
- Zanzibar - 6 nights

I can provide full details if anyone is interested.

So we have about six months before we leave. My question is what should we read in this time to get the most out of our trip? This could include the following types of books;

- Natural history, wildlife. To better understand the ecosystems we will be visiting. As an aside to this question, what is the best compact sized field guide to carry with us? It should have both the important mammals and the birds that we are likely to see.

- Personal narratives. Anything from "Out of Africa" to Rick Ridgway's "The Shadow of Kilimanjaro", which my wife is now reading and highly recommends.

- Readable history of the region and/or good historical fiction.

- Photo books. I've seen Art Wolfe's "Africa", but have not had a copy in my hand yet.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Nelson

Nelson,
The book the National Audubon Society Field Guide to East African Wildlife was an excellent carry-along reference for us this past June. Suggest your search also include an internet one of simply typing in names of parks or reserves. Lots of good information on wildlife expected as well as ecology, geology etc. Have a great time getting ready for the trip.
Dick

Excellent question! You will enjoy your trip so much more with good pre-reading.

Let's see...some of these will be more Kenya-oriented, but still give a sense of history, both natural history and of man.

Peter Matthiessen's "The Tree Where Man Was Born"-- superb!! About both Tanzania and Kenya.

The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley is an incredibly beautiful memoir of a childhood in colonial Kenya.

A recent book, about the last few decades in East Africa, Dark Star Safari, by Paul Theroux (warning: not about wildlife safaris! But an excellent and challenging travelogue by a writer who returns to Africa after serving in the Peace Corps as a young man.

The recent German film "Nowhere in Africa", available on video/DVD

Lots more...let's see what others have to say.

Robert Sapolsky's A PRIMATE'S MEMOIR.

I posted a review of it in this forum which might interest you:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34482839

His accounts focus on Kenya but should still be of interest.

The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals by Richard Estes is excellent for learning how to interpret basic behaviors for all of the key mammals.

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals is the definitive guide for mammals. It retails for around $45 but you can order a copy from Amazon for around $30.

For some more in-depth reading The Serengeti Lion is an exceptional natural history book that combines tremendous research without overwhelming a non-scientists written by George Schaller who is probably the greatest conservation biologist ever.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'll start keeping a list. In particular I will certainly check out Matthiessen and Schaller. I have read some of their other work and have always enjoyed it.

Likewise Theroux, I wasn't aware, but am not surprised, that he has written of Africa.

Coincidentially, my copy of "The Safari Companion" arrived from Amazon the other day. It does look really excellent, but maybe a bit too big to carry around on the trip. We'll decide on that.

Kavey, thanks for A Primate;s Memoir. Will check it out. By the way, how did you make a link? Did you just use HTML tags, or does Fodor's have some other method? I tried some HTML tags in my first post, but they didn't work, at least in the preview mode.

Thanks again, and looking forward to more!

Nelson,
Am very interested in the full details of your safari...where you're heading, how many nights, the lodges, etc.
Also would love to know what tour operator you are using for your Kili climb.
I may have an opportunity to climb it in July of '05. It's something I have always wanted to do as well.

Sounds like you're in for a great adventure.

divewop,

We are going with http://www.tanzania-adventure.com/index.htm. They are apparently a relatively new kid on the block, but I got very good vibes from them and they have arranged a nice custom tour all-inclusive for my wife and me. They are handling everything: Kili, the safari, lodges, internal flights, and Zanzibar. There were lots of options and lots of good people out there, but we finally chose them.

Testing HTML:
<a href="http://www.tanzania-adventure.com/in...t;>Tanzania Adventure</a>

The details of our trip, which begins mid January:
- On Kili I have added two extra nights to the most typical Machame itinerary. One during the ascent at Karanga camp as an added acclimatization day. This breaks up the Barranco - Barufu leg into two days. (Actually, it turned out this outfitter does that as standard procedure). The second extra night is on summit day, we plan to just return to Barafu camp, rather than continue on a brutal descent down to Mweka the same day.

The Safari is:
- 3 nights at Tarangire Tented Camp.
- 1 night near Lake Manyara at Maasi Village (E Unoto Lodge)
- 1 night near Ngorongoro, Plantation Lodge
- 2 nights private tented camping, Ngorongoro
- 3 nights Ndutu Lodge
- 3 nights private camping, Serengeti

Then the luxury part on Zanzibar:
- 4 nights Mapenzi Beach Club
- 2 nights Emerson & Green Hotel, Stonetown

So a mix of roughing it and lodges, not travelling too far on any given day. Its a style that suits us. We're excited about it! Our first trip to Africa!

Nelson

You can only make links to FODORS pages and those are automatic - you just paste in the URL. Other addresses are only shown as text.

Re the Richard Estes book - whilst I agree it's great for information it's NOT good for identification. Usually just one image is given for a related group of animals so it can be hard to tell them apart and the images are just pencil drawings. I'd opt for a different field guide next time for sure.

?African Diary,? by Bill Bryson.
?Out of Africa? and ?Shadows on the Grass,? by Isak Dinesen (nee Karen Blixen)
?I Dreamed of Africa? and ?African Nights,? by Kuki Gallmann
?Cry of the Kalahari? and ?The Eye of the Elephant,? by Mark and Delia Owens
?Elephant Destiny,? by Martin Meredith
?Born Free,? by Joy Adamson
?Elephant Memories,? by Cynthia Moss
?Ghosts of Tsavo,? by Phillip Caputo
?Jambo Mama,? by Melissa Atwood
?Dangerous Beauty,? by Mark C. Ross
?Wildlife Wars,? by Richard Leakey
?The Shadow of Kilimanjaro,? by Rick Ridgeway
?Tall Blondes,? by Lynn Sherr
?I?d Rather Be On Safari,? by Gary K. Clarke
?The Flame Trees of Thika? and ?Red Strangers,? by Elspeth Huxley
?The Tree Where Man Was Born? and ?African Silences,? by Peter Matthiesen
?Safari, My Trip to Africa,? by Reginald Oliver Smythe (for children)
?The Snows of Kilimanjaro? and ?Green Hills of Africa,? by Ernest Hemingway
?Dancing with the Witchdoctor,? by Kelly James
?Facing the Lion, Growing Up Masai on the African Savanna,? by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton
?My Pride and Joy,? by George Adamson
?The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior,? by Tepilit Ole Saitoti
?The Africa Diaries: An Illustrated Memoir of Life in the Bush,? by Dereck and Beverly Joubert
?Living Free,? by Joy Adamson
?Forever Free,? by Joy Adamson
?A Lifetime with Lions,? by George Adamson

WOW Susan!
That's an amazing list.
I'm off to add it to my Amazon wishlist right now!

Ditto: WOW SUSAN! Thanks a lot.

Yep, off to amazon to have a look and add to my wish list. Also, I am going to type up a page with everyone's suggestions and keep it handy for when I'm in a bookstore or library.

But, I have to wonder what my wife will say if I bring home a book titled "Tall Blondes"?!

Happy, happy, holiday. Tree where man was born and flame trees wonderful books. I guess Karen Blixen's Out of Africa has been mentioned too.

You might also care to check out:
'Fantasic Invasion' by Patrick Marnham
'The Africans' by David Lamb
'Ukimwi Road' by Dervla Murphy
'The Scramble for Africa' Thomas Pakenham.

The first two are especially informative and not about wildlife at all.

Cheers

Sorry about the ? marks. Cut and pasted the list from one of my Word documents. All the Adamson books on the list I had to purchase used, as most are not being printed anymore. Some are better than others (Dangerous Beauty, Cry of the Kalahari, Eye of the Elephant, Dancing with the Witch Doctor and African Diaries and Wildlife Wars are my personal favorites), but all have something to offer for anyone interested. Anyone heading to Selous may want to read Peter Matthiessen's "Sand Rivers." I can't say I enjoyed the book, but it did offer me a preview of what to expect when we went to Selous.

2 of my favorite also are-

Winds of Havoc by Adelino Pires- This guy got kicked out of most African countries and was even tortured for two years in Mozambique, but a great, poignant read about Africa's problems and hope.

Rules of the Wild by Fraces Marciano- A pretty light, brainless read about moder "White Mischief" in Kenya, but a lot of fun.

Thanks once again for the replies everyone. Keep 'em coming! I may be going to a used book fair this weekend so I'll have list in hand and see what turns up. On a big trip like this we really like to do a lot of reading during the months approaching it.

I'll throw out a slightly obscure favorite of mine, unless you are into mountaineering books, in which case it always gets high marks:

"No Picnic on Mount Kenya" by Felice Benuzzi. It's the story of Italian POWs during WW II who escape their prison camp to climb Mount Kenya, then have to sneak back in. It's been re-issued in paperback and can be found on amazon.com. In spite of what one reviewer said, you don't have to be a climber to enjoy this one.

Another vote for the books by the Owens. I had a chance to meet them several years ago- very nice people.
Gerald Durrell's books on his adventures in Africa are good. If you would really like to go back and read about Africa on how it once was the books by Martin and Osa Johnson are worth reading.

A great website for used, or out-of-print books is abebooks.com. When I discovered this site, I went overboard on my book buying.

Hi

If you want some advice when it comes to climbing Kili you should visit my homepage gardkarlsen.com :-) I went to Kilimanjaro last year in September and I did the Machame route. On the homepage I have posted a day by day diary, pictures, links to Kili sites, review of equipment that I used etc. I hope it can be of some help

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

rj007, Thanks for the info. I've known about ABE for some tiem, and they have received some of my dicrectionary spending money!

Gard, Thanks for the Kili site, Are you on summitpost.com? I've seen your website before, maybe it was a link from there? Anyway. its a great site and I'll dig deeper.

I'm in Singapore on business now and read Rick Ridgeway's "Shadow of Kilimnajaro" on the way over. Highly recommended. I've purchased "Out of Africa" for the return flight on Friday.

Dear Nelson

I am getting married in July. We have found an itinerary on the tanzania-adventure website that's straight off our wish list, but I can't find any reviews of them anywhere (most reviews seem to be written by the tour guides anyway).

I would be very grateful for any news of how your trip went and what you thought of them.

Many Thanks

Simon*

West with the Night, by Beryl Markham (personal narrative by pioneering female aviator from Kenya -- first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west, also friend of Karen Blixen and Denys Finch-Hatton).

In The Dust of Kilimanjaro by David Western – autobiography of the former director of the Kenya Wildlife Service who grew up in Tanzania. A wonderful insight into the co-existence between people and wildlife in Amboseli.

The White Masai by Corinne Hoffmann – not well written and badly researched, but the candid personal story of a Swiss woman who, when on a beach holiday with her boyfriend, met and soon afterwards married a Samburu warrior, is difficult to put down once you’ve started reading. Not yet (but soon) translated into English. It’s translated into many other languages and a film has been made.

Hello h3rne,

Congratulations on your marriage and good luck with your trip. Ww have been back two months and are still excited about how wonderful the trip was. Ronnie, Gibson and their staff took great care of us from the moment they picked us up at the airport in Arusha until the time that they dropped us off for the return flight a month later. The trip was fantastic. The guides were friendly and knowlegable and after a month we were in no rush to get home.

I have posted a Trip Report here:
http://www.summitpost.org/mountains/...mountain_id=17

It is mostly about our climb on Kilimanjaro, but also includes safari photos, partial book list, swahili, and other stuff.

Let me know if I can answer any specific questions.

Regards,
Nelson

Message:
Nelson, what a better way to begin the weekend than to read your report and see the photos!! Thanks. Your wife is one tough lady! I am not into climbing so I really can not appreciate all that that part of the trip involved but WOW!
Great photos. Am interested in knowing what camera you used and film (if a 35 mm camera). The shots were excellent! More photos please. We all relive our trips thru posts and pictures such as yours. Thanks
Dick

Nelson:

I actually read your trip report before this post and was so inspired by both you and your wife.

My husband and I will be attempting Kili in August and I know your story will keep us going strong. I already have hand warmer packets (with no objections from DH) and I am convinced now that I must bring Dove chocolate bars--though my skepitcal husband thinks they will melt.

Anyway, thanks for the great info and story!

rsnyder and schlegal1,

Thanks much for your kind remarks about my TR, photos, (and wife!). We had doubts that she would make the top, but she did great.

Dick, the camera used was a 12 year old Canon Rebel XS, with Fuji Provia 100F and 400F film. I used the 100 on the mountain and 400 on safari, mostly. I had Canon 24-85 and 100-300 zoom lenes. Yes, at least one of the wildlife photos (the gazelle & stork) was taken at 24mm. The only time I really wanted more than 300 was with the birds. (The Malechite Kingfisher and Lilac-breasted Rollers shots were cropped slightly after scanning). I used a beanbag for steadying the long lens on safari actually a rice bag - a kilo or so bought at a market in Arusha, then dumped into a soft stuff sack.

For the first time I did bring a digital (Canon S70) as a backup, and my wife ended up using that, but I used it less than I should have.

Dick, I won't be scanning any more shots in the near future as I am packing right now for a month-long business trip, leaving next week for Singapore. But one of these days I'll load some more shots and post it here. Thanks for asking.

schlegal1, I can tell you that the Godiva chocolate did not melt, and don't forget your Downy Fresh fabric softener sheet!

- Nelson

For a light, fun read, there's always "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."

And "Things Fall Apart" is also wonderful.

Hello Nelson

Thank you very much for the reply. I'm afraid my spam filter is a bit overly aggressive, so I didn't get notification you'd replied and it's been about two weeks since I checked this thread.

The trip report is super, with lots of great information, but I do have a couple of slightly bizarre, but very important questions related to how bumpy and dusty the safari is.

My fiancee Claire has very poor eyesight (~ -15 D) and is heavily dependent on her contact lenses - her glasses tend to produce headaches after a couple of hours. I've read a number of reports that contact lens wearers suffer from the dust and therefore end up using their glasses mostly. Do you have any insight into the actualities and practicalities of this?

Secondly her retina has deteriorated in one eye and she has been advised to avoid any prolonged bouts of mechanical shocks to prevent a similar occurrence in her other eye - for instance rollercoasters and bungee jumping are banned. She has, however been ski-ing (so that's okay). Exactly how bumpy are these "dried river beds" that you drive along?

Obviously we take full responsibility for any decision we make, but any input would be most appreciated.

Cheers

Simon*

Hi Simon, I don't check this too often either, but happenned to look today and see your reply. Glad you enjoyed my trip report.

Regarding your questions, obviously this will be my opinions, so take that FWIW. First, plan for dust and a lot of it. If you happen to luck out and it isn't dusty, great but plan for it. So what can you do? You've probably thought of this but:

1) Bring some good fitting goggles that Claire can wear to keep as much dust out of her eyes as possible. During periods of bad dust just put those things on regardless of how funny they look. My wife suffers from respiratory problems if she inhales too much dust and she brough along surgical masks to slip on when it was really dusty. She got some weird looks from people in other vehicles, but maybe some envious one too. Clair could also cover her face with a scarf a la a Toureg nomad. There are good reasons why those folks dress like that!

2) Bring a ton of saline eye drops and use it frequently to keep flushing the dust out of her eyes. That was another thing Jude brought. I almost never use the stuff but was glad to have it on this trip. Lying down on the bed in the lodge and dripping some of that in your eyes was pure heaven.

3) Bring glasses and wear them as much as possible.

Regarding the roads, Jude and I both felt that they were nowhere near as bad as we feared. Of course this is highly subjective and based experience, but there was not a constant bumping and jarring. In the places where the roads were particularily bad our driver just slowed down a lot - he wants to save his vehicle after all. If its just the two of you in the car then you can make sure the driver understands this and they'll take extra caution. Bottom line: not that bad, certainly nothing like being on a bus in Nepal.

Hopefully someone else will chime in, since this is pretty subjective stuff.

Good luck!

Hi Nelson

Thanks for the reply. The opinions and the advice are really helpful. As this is really our dream trip and anything else would be "Plan B" we're really looking at practical work-arounds much in the vein you suggest.

The "Pole Pole" approach to the "road" travel seems to be sensible too.

We'll let you know how we get on.

Incidentally, I also read your account of Jude's lightning strike. Dramatic and harrowing stuff. Would you mind if I used an edited version next time I teach Electrostatics to my third form?

Thanks for all your help.

Simon*

Hi Simon,

Good luck on your trip! Odds are you will have a great time.

Yes, please feel free to use my lightning story. If it keeps someone else from being in the same situation (or makes sure they know CPR!) then that is what it was intended for. I would just appreciate if you use my name and maybe a copyright notice.

Take care.
- Nelson

Hello
I just want to add a wonderful book:
The Circle of Life, Wildlife on the African Savannah.
- Anup and Manoj Shah
Extraordinary photograph book whose pictures have been included in National Geographic, National Wildlife, Natural History and so on.
Web address: www.abramsbooks.com
Concentrating on the Serengeti-Maasai Mara region and Ngorongoro Crater. Beautiful book to own and look at.

Your trip looks wonderful!

Did anyone mention :

"The wilderness family" by Kobie Krüger ?

A remote ranger station in the wilds of South Africa's Kr�ger National Park provides the landscape for this memoir of the 17 years that the author, her game warden husband and their daughters lived in the bush amid the big cats and other exotic fauna of this idyllic region. Whether she's recounting a near-slapstick encounter with a creeping python in the bedroom on the family's first night in the backcountry, the nocturnal calls of a prowling local leopard, continual and scary confrontations with a grumpy hippo or a raging bull elephant's death charge, Kr�ger's sturdy and unadorned prose is well suited to the book's natural setting. The animal anecdotes tumble across the pages, at a pace that will engage readers who enjoy natural history and plainspoken yarns; indeed, the book hit #1 in South Africa. Meanwhile, the adversities of a stifling climate, jungle diseases and ornery vipers provide grim balance to the more uplifting adventures recounted here. The land, its creatures and its unchanging laws of survival serve as mentors to the author and her family, and lead the reader toward deeper insights about life beyond the furthest reaches of civilization. For instance, the poignant episode of raising an orphan lion cub into adulthood becomes a lesson in responsibility, freedom and loss for the girls and their mother. The wilderness depicted in this book, is by turns, a demanding teacher and a provider of wondrous gifts. Illus. and photos not seen by PW.

My recommendation is ~Shadow of the Sun~, written by Ryszard Kapuscinski. I didn't read it until after my husband and I got home from our trip to Tanzania in January...It really helped solidify some of the thoughts and ponderings I'd had while over there, and also helped explain some of the things I was still questioning... It's an extremely well-written book about all of Africa (not just Tanzania) and I think it's a very important read, for before or after a trip to Africa (or even for those who aren't travelling there, but want a greater understanding of the continent and its people)... highly, highly recommended. Enjoy your trip! Oh, and I've included a little write-up about the book that I found online:

What emerges is a depiction of Africa -- not as a group of nations or geographic locations -- but as a vibrant and frequently joyous montage of peoples, cultures, and encounters. Kapuscinski's observations, analysis and humanity paint a remarkable portrait of the continent and its people. His unorthodox approach and profound respect for the people he meets challenge conventional understandings of the modern problems faced by Africa at the dawn of the 21st century.

Happy Reading and Happy Travels!