Molly, tell me about Tanzania! I sponsor a child there and would like to go with my eldest daughter .
It's a lovely, lovely country, Karen! The people are warm and welcoming, the wildlife is wonderful, it's just brilliant!
When Tanzania got its independence from Britain, Julius Nyerere followed the route of African Socialism. While this system had its faults, it does seem to have resulted in a country where there is far less in the way of extremes of rich and poor than there is in neighbouring (capitalist) Kenya. Nobody in Tanzania has much, but everybody seems to have a little bit. Mind you, by our standards that "little bit" would be the direst poverty; but by their standards it isn't.
When you visit, take plenty of spare US dollars along, and spend them freely directly with the people of Tanzania (rather than in great tourist-oriented shops packed with machine-made wooden carvings). The Maasai in particular need things like exercise books, biros and pencils for their children's schools; buy more than you need of their (lovely and colourful) beaded bracelets, or have your photo taken beside one of their camels at a price of $10. Oh, whenever you want to photograph anyone in Tanzania, ask their permission and don't be surprised if you're asked for $10, although not everyone will do this, especially if you have already been in conversation with them. I guess what I'm saying is that whatever you can put into the economy at this basic level is worth 100 times to them what it is to you! But I'm sure you already know this, from your experience of sponsoring a child.
Do go on a safari when you're there. It's the experience of a lifetime! But as soon as you get away from any large conurbations like Dar es Salaam or Arusha, you must make sure that you have essential medical supplies with you - a course of antibiotics, for instance, anti-histamines (although most camps can supply the latter), DIY temporary tooth filling stuff, that kind of thing. (I turned out to be severely allergic to tsetse fly bites, and developed blood poisoning; I was very thankful for the antibiotics I had with me, as those little red lines marched up the inside of my forearm. If I ever return, I'll take a bee-keeper's veil to protect my face.) Only drink bottled water, and only then if the seal is still on the cap; and avoid ice in your drinks unless you are able to establish 100% that it is made from bottled water. The general recommendation is to start on anti-malarial drugs before you go, and take them religiously while you're there. I never saw a single mosquito, and the Lariam didn't suit me, so I stopped taking it half-way through; but that was my choice, to take that tiny risk of malaria rather than spoil my once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Apart from the game reserves, I recommend a visit to Olduvai Gorge, where your ancestors (and mine) came from. It's a very moving experience. On the same trip, ask your driver to take you to see the Shifting Sands, a huge crescent of black volcanic ash which marches across the land at an astonishing speed, propelled by the wind. And you mustn't miss the Ngorongoro crater!
But Howard knows the country far better than I do. I was only there for two or three weeks; he lived there in his childhood (back in the dawn of time, when Tanzania was Tanganyika), and I hope he'll post up with his memories of the country.
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