The Journal
Guide dispatches, travel essays, and practical advice from the bush and the coast.
The Journal
Guide dispatches, travel essays, and practical advice from the bush and the coast.
Long-form writing about Tanzania — by our guides, our staff, and occasionally by guests who've written something we want to share.
Practical advice, essays, species deep-dives. Updated monthly.
Latest Dispatch
The newest deep-dive from our guides.
The Best Time for the Mara River Crossing
The internet will tell you 'July to October' — true, but useless. Here's how the Mara River crossing actually plays out week by week, and what a realistic safari should look like.
What's Covered
Thirty posts across four broad areas. Browse by topic or scroll the full list below.
Deep-dives on the Great Migration, calving season, elephant behaviour, cheetah vs leopard tracking, baobab trees. Our guides' favourite subjects.
Species & seasonsRoute selection, success rates, packing specifics, altitude strategy. Everything we tell climbers before they fly to Tanzania.
Mountain
Best beaches, best hotels, best food, best time. The coastal side of Tanzania — often the highlight of a bush-and-beach combo.
Islands
Packing, tipping, malaria, insurance, visas. The unsexy but critical posts that save travellers headaches.
How-toFrom the Field
30 dispatches covering safari, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, conservation, and travel practicalities.
What to Pack for a Tanzania Safari
A packing list, honest and unsponsored. What you need, what you don't, and where the ideal middle ground is. Revised for the 2026 season.
5 Things That Determine Your Kilimanjaro Success
65% of climbers summit Kilimanjaro. 35% turn back. The difference isn't fitness — it's five specific decisions, made before you ever arrive at the gate.
Safari as a Solo Female Traveller
Is Tanzania safe for solo women? Yes, and this is a quick guide on the realities of solo safari travel here — from a Tanzanian woman's perspective.
The Calving Season in Ndutu
500,000 wildebeest calves drop in three weeks. Lions, cheetahs, hyena, and the largest concentration of predator activity on Earth. Why January–February is the quiet superstar of the safari calendar.
Which Kilimanjaro Route Should You Take?
Seven routes. Different success rates, different scenery, different costs. A frank comparison of Lemosho, Machame, Marangu, Rongai, Northern Circuit, Umbwe, and Shira — with our honest recommendations.
The Tipping Guide for Tanzania Safaris
How much to tip your guide, your camp staff, your Kilimanjaro porter team, and your beach hotel butler. In USD, with specific ranges and context.
The Best Time for Zanzibar
Avoid April and May. Everything else works. Here's how Zanzibar's climate actually plays month to month.
Camera Gear for a Safari
What lenses, what body, what accessories. And what you don't need despite what YouTube tells you. Specific recommendations for budget, mid-range, and professional kit.
5 Mistakes First-Time Safari Travellers Make
The five patterns we see again and again. Each is easy to avoid if you know about them.
Why Private Vehicle Safaris Are Worth It
The price difference between a shared vehicle and a private one is real. The experience difference is bigger. A cost-benefit breakdown.
The Ethics of the Big Five
Checklist tourism has real conservation costs. How to enjoy the wildlife without contributing to the problems. Thoughts from fifteen years in the field.
How to Visit a Maasai Boma Ethically
Many Maasai village visits are staged — community theatre. The good ones aren't. Here's how to tell the difference and where the ethical operators go.
Serengeti vs Masai Mara — Which Should You Choose?
Same ecosystem, two countries, two different experiences. A frank comparison from a Tanzanian-based guide.
Elephant Behaviour in Tarangire
What the herd dynamics actually look like — the matriarch system, allomothering, male coalition behaviour — observed over a dry-season week in Tarangire.
Cheetah vs Leopard — Tracking Tips
Different cats, different habitats, different tracking strategies. How our senior guides find them.
The Baobab — Tanzania's Oldest Resident
Some baobabs in Tarangire are 2,000 years old. They store 120,000 litres of water. They're not really trees, botanically. A love letter.
A Food Guide to Zanzibar
From Forodhani night market to the spice farms to the fish auctions of Nungwi. What to order and where.
The Ethics of Wildlife Photography
Off-road driving for the shot. Calling out lions. Baiting. The pressures photography exerts on wild animals — and where the lines should be.
What Your Conservation Fee Actually Pays For
Park fees, concession fees, community levies, government taxes. Where a safari dollar goes — broken down clearly.
The Best Arusha Hotels for Your First Night
Arusha is your base before any northern safari. Five hotels across the price range that we actually put clients in.
Staying Healthy on Safari
Water, sun, malaria, altitude, food. The five things to get right. Our standard pre-trip briefing for every guest.
The Right Age to Take Kids on Safari
Six? Eight? Ten? When is a child genuinely ready for safari? And what changes at each age.
Five Best Sundowner Spots in Tanzania
A sundowner at the right spot is one of the defining moments of a safari. Our five favourites, by park.
Where Can You Do a Night Drive?
National parks prohibit night drives; private concessions allow them. Here's where the night game viewing is actually spectacular.
The Best Binoculars for Safari
If you bring one thing, make it binoculars. Here's what to buy, from $150 to $2,500 — and why cheap optics ruin safaris.
Malaria on Safari — The Realistic Risk
The hysteria, the reality, and the sensible precautions. A frank read of the malaria risk on Tanzania safaris in 2026.
Tanzania Visa Guide 2026
Visa on arrival, e-Visa, multi-entry. Which to get and how. Updated for 2026 pricing and process.
Packing for Kilimanjaro
Layers, boots, batteries, and the single most-forgotten essential. Our guide-approved Kilimanjaro packing list.
5 Underrated Tanzania Parks
Everyone does Serengeti and Ngorongoro. These five parks are what we recommend for travellers on their second Tanzania trip.