There are a number of walking safaris across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of Northern Tanzania they vary in length from eight to twelve days. Generally your safari will begin with a day or two of game drives. The Tarangire is a nice place to have your pre-walking safari game drives. These first few days can also include morning walking safari along the border of the park it is essential you take a guide and an armed ranger with you. Bellow is an eight day itinerary

On day three the walking safari proper begins. Starting in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and walking to the Olmoti crater takes about four hours and is a pretty walk as you advance up through the rainforest slopes to the crater rim and viewpoint.

As you walk across the Ngorongoro Conservation area the altitudes will vary considerably. So be prepared and have many layers of clothing available as the temperature may vary as dramatically as the altitude. A water proof jacket is essential.

Altitude related Illness can kill you and every year tourists die from altitude related illnesses. Higher altitudes are colder even in Africa; there is less oxygen and to walk slowly is essential especially if you climb above 1,500 to 3,000 meters above sea level. You should be breathing easily with no panting and no extreme physical excursion. Drink water regularly and eat a light diet with lots of carbohydrates. It is essential to keep warm.

The fourth day will continue across to the distant Empakai Crater. This walk covers open grassland through a dramatic natural amphitheatre created by encircling volcanoes. As you pass the local villages the Maasai will rush out of their traditional homes to greet you. A few moths ago as we passed a village the elders of the village asked for help with a woman who had just been bitten by a snake; we still had the vehicles with us were able to take this woman to a hospital. Ordinarily this woman may have died as there are no clinics or hospitals in the area.

Day four: The walk up to Empakai is steep and slow going but affords awe-inspiring views, especially from the top where the sheer sided sunken crater can be seen. This is a special day as you will camp on the Crater Rim, with Empakai on one side and Ol Donyo Lengai, the holy Masai volcano, on the other. Be warned this day has about eleven hours of walking and is a very tiring trek.

Hiking in hot or sunny weather often causes heat exhaustion the signs/symptoms are weakness/fatigue, headache, vertigo, thirst nausea/vomiting faintness high body temperature. The treatment is to lay flat in shade, remove clothing to cool the patient, soak the body with cold water, re-hydrate patient and monitor body temperature.

Heat stroke is more serious with the signs/symptoms being delirium, coma, rapid pulse, rapid breathing; skin hot and dry, body temperature above 40c [104 f]. Treat as for heat exhaustion but this condition can be fatal so seek medical assistance quickly - evacuate if possible.

Day five will have you scramble down the sheer-sided slopes of Empakai onto the crater floor for a foot safari. Empakai Crater is a sunken volcano with a soda lake covering most of the crater floor. Flamingos nest here during the day to escape the blazing heat of the Rift Valley. A large forest on the western shore is home to antelope, buffalo, leopard and lion, with large seasonal zebra and wildebeest populations when they pass through on their migratory circuits. Today makes the hard slog of the previous day well worth the effort. This is Africa as few tourists will ever experience.

Day six and the Maasai Mountain of God, Oldonyo Lengai looms out of the sunrise as we head out early to avoid the African heat. We arrive at the escarpment, the sheer wall that looms out of the Rift Valley floor, to admire one of the finest views in Africa. Bellow lays the sweeping vistas of the great Rift Valley; a drop of 1500ft. The scattered active volcanoes, primitive rock formations, glimmering soda lakes and clustered Maasai bomas make for a dramatic and moving experience. The final six kilometers are across the tough uncompromising terrain of the valley floor is in extreme heat; it is a long six kilometers. The reward to your walk is a shaded camp that is perched above a refreshing stream, only a half-hours walk from a heavenly waterfall.

Day seven has a very early morning an optional climb of Ol Donyo Lengai (2878m), an active carbonated volcano with spiritual significance to the Maasai. It is best not to book this climb in advance as many people are just too tired to climb this mountain. The climb starts at midnight so as to see the dawn from the top - it is also because the climb is very steep and on loose scree and there is no shade from the sun. The cost will be about US$50 per group of six people.

The end to this walking safari is a visit to Lake Natron one of the soda alkaline lakes that jewel the East African Rift, here is a display of water birds including a multitude of resident pink flamingos. There is also the opportunity, body willing after the past few days hiking, to walk up a gorge carved into the Rift Escarpment to a waterfall to wash off five days of dust.

Day eight is a return to Arusha town where most safaris in Northern Tanzania begin and end.

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If you feel you are ready for an African safari, think again. Even if you are travelling to a country you are familiar with, it is still very important to be aware of the physical conditions and safety. This is very important if you are considering a visit to most of the African countries. Here are tips on what to do before leaving home and while you are abroad.

Before leaving home

Make sure you have enough Information about the country you are visiting, including that on traditions and security concerns. This can be got from the travel guides and Directory. Ensure that you are updated on the current issues and changes in the politics.
Remember to make a computer scan of your passport, write your passport number down and potentially learn it in case you lose it. Its important that you note down the diplomatic mission offices to the country you are going to. This ensures easier processing of your documents in case you lose or misplace them.

Photocopy any official documents you might have with you, scan them and email them to your self so that you can access them wherever you are. The internet cafes are almost in every Major and small centre districts of Africa so you would have no trouble over this.

It is very important to have a medical check up to prepare for a healthy holiday. Remember you are looking forward to having the best time, so you would not like a simple illness to distort every thing you planned. if you have a chronic illness( like diabetes, high blood pressure, sinus problems or even nervous disorder), check with your doctor, who can at the same time give you a letter explaining the same problem in English and the details .

Its important to read the health tips for the traveler. Diseases like Malaria have to be avoided. Some of the things you will eat won’t go down well. Be armed!

Make sure you have seen your dentist recently. And it is also advisable to pack a medical kit with pain killers , repellants , bandages , and an antiseptic cleaners, for your self and children travelling with you If you are on regular medication , take care to pack enough to last the travel time.

Ensure that you’re insurance coverage is valid in case you become sick or injured abroad. Some insurance campanies specialize in overseas travel insurance and may allow you to buy short-term coverage.

It is recommended that you attend practical training courses to equip your self with the skills and state of mind for a safe and productive mind for a safe and productive trip.

Check out the political situation in the country you are to visit and get psychologically prepared. Official web sites on the Internet will provide you with the ideal information. Inform your self on the quality of public transport at your destination.

Set a limit on your credit card, so if it is stolen, thieves will be unable to takeout a large amount of money on it.

Clothing is very important. Please get to know the climate and weather conditions before you take on a safari. If you have hired a safari operator, contact the company for recommendation on clothing during the specified period of your travel. Remember that decency is preferred by all the African countries.

At the destination

After you get to your destination, there are more important points worth considering to avoid illness so as to enjoy your holiday .

To relive symptoms of jetlag, eat lightly, drink a lot of fluids but avoid alcohol and caffeine a few days after your trip.

Try to relax and sleep on your flight so you can be energetic nonce you reach your destination .Try to sleep when locals do in order to get used to the local time.

Watch out for road signs: the most common reasons for death abroad is car accidents. Visitors are not always aware of the driving culture at the place they visit.

Use two wallets. Hide one of them with essential belongings in your jacket pockets. Fill the other with a small amount of money. In case of an assault you can hand this one over.

Do not count your money in public, as you might become a target for thieves

Know what notes you have in your pocket and wallet. Keep larger denominations away from prying eyes.

It is better to book an earlier flight than a later one. It is easier and safer to find your hotel and the people you may need to meet during the day than the night.

Try not to stand out in the crowd and if you have an expensive laptop, cover it so it is not apparent.Do not use or take an expensive mobile phone; an older one, reliable model will do.

Learn to identify what the uniforms of the local police look like.

Do not take any taxi you find - check to see if it belongs to an official company . Ask the hotel reception about rates you can expect to pay when you use a taxi.

Always set a price before getting in the taxi or ask for a meter to be used. Pick up the hotel’s business card. You can always present this to a taxi driver if you cannot find way back especially in the local language.

This presents a just a few tips on Travelling to Africa. If you are planning a Safari, some countries not to miss out include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Botswana and Rwanda.

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Tips for a successful safari are simple; many tips miss the basic points. Much advice is offered for the successful safari forgets about the essential truths.

By far the most luxurious, convent and most relaxing way to participate in a safari is by air. The flying safari is the easiest and the most expensive way to go on safari. To simply fly into the Serengeti and have the car waiting for you, to be whisked away to you luxury tented camp, is what safari dreams are made from.

The alternative is to be rocked and bounced around in your safari 4×4 for hours on end whilst [at times] fighting off hard biting tsetse flies. Going on a safari can be hard and uncomfortable work. It is tiring to sit and bounce through the heat and dust. Does this put you off taking a safari? It shouldn’t; the euphoria far outweighs the discomfort endured through the long day.

A much kept secret to the successful safari is to do everything slowly. To avoid ‘safari fatigue’ [where by day four you can’t wait for it all to be over] take things slowly. Spending two or three days at each camp or lodge in the National Parks. To shoehorn what you can into a short time frame is counter productive unless your aim is simply to say I have been there and done that. The slower you go on safari the more your see, the closer you get to experiencing what the first explorers must have felt. Itineraries I see now seem to be a whirlwind tour of camps scattered across the national parks.

Try to go for camps that are out of the way, off the beaten track and are intimate. The larger lodges are not really adding to the safari experience. The small tented camps are ideal although usually expensive. If you look around there are small camps that do not empty the bank account. If you spend a few nights at a single camp or use several camps belonging to one organization they will usually give you a discount.

Low season is a great time to have a safari; with few tourists in the parks and accommodation. Low season in Tanzania is through the rainy season; however it has been known to rain more in the so called dry season than it has in the long rains. Low season is an opportunity to have a luxury safari at a relatively low cost. Single room supplements are often waved in low season.

The budget safari is not a good way to see the parks. With the operators who specialize in this be prepared for over crowded safari vehicles that often break down. The budget lodge safari should be avoided at all costs.

The two-man tent camping [budget] safari is also a good way to experience Africa. It is not as comfortable as the lodges but there are campsites in all areas of the park. You can get away from the madding crowd and not have to pay the heavy charges of the tented camps that usually are in the secret areas of the parks. If you are not prepared to pay the heavy cost of the luxury safari then the best alternative is at the other end of the scale; basic camping. Try to avoid joining a group and set departures; this is the soulless mass produced safari. Get your own group together and plan an exciting itinerary with the help of a good, established tour operator.

The more work you put into your safari, as in planning and researching, the more of a success the whole experience will be. Do not rush into anything, think, plan and then go on your adventure. It is not a time to be lazy when organizing your safari; the time to be lazy is whilst you are on safari.

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