Travel in Tanzania - the unsurprising truth

First, I thought I'd touch on our experience with Air Tanzania. 

                                                    

It was a bit of a gong show - partially our fault, for not asking more questions, but mostly...well,...Africa. To say that the airline isn't organised may be a bit of an understatement. We received approximately 5 emails regarding changes to our flight, which is okay, but weren't really accurate. 

Originally, we were supposed to fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport, in Arusha, via Dar es Salaam, the capital. There didn't seem to be any direct flights. Now, as mentioned in a previous post, there is a second, domestic, airport in Arusha, called Arusha Airport. There ARE direct flights from Zanzibar to Arusha airport. We really should have flown into there, as it would have saved a lot of travel time and vexation. Anyhow, our flight from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro (via DeS) was changed and we were suddenly flying into Arusha airport...no big deal, as long as we get there, right? 

We had issuing doing online check in and our hosts at Matemwe Oceanside Villas helped us clear that up. (That was a whole procedure in itself - and even having someone who spoke Swahili didn't really help all that much.) We made sure that downloaded our boarding passes, just in case there were technical difficulties.

The day of the flight, we realise that the route is actually Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam (with a 3 hour layover), Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar (with no need to deplane) and then on to Arusha airport. This seems crazy, right? 

We cleared security and not long before the flight, hear our names called, so we go to the gate. They agent says we need to get new boarding passes as they've had to "balance out the flight" and our seats have been changed. She then indicates that we have to leave the secured area, go back to the check-in counter to receive our new boarding passes. We aren't thrilled, but they clearly didn't have printers at the gate. At that point our bags have been scanned twice. Once upon entering the airport and then to get through security. They insist that we both have to go and we must take our bags with us. 

We do as asked and get our new boarding passes and they make us clear security again. (The ticket agents were also quite confused about why we had to fly to Dar es Salaam and back again, but they didn't change anything.) This time the security person is a women who (rather gleefully, I might add) asks if we have scissors in our bag. We do -  a pair of round ended small beard scissors that have made it through four airports so far. They aren't sharp, so we can't imagine they could be a problem, but of course, they are. She confiscates them, as we ask for clarification. "Not permitted!" "But they aren't sharp, we've taken them through several airports already." "Not permitted!" Now, look, I know it's rather pointless to argue with the security people, but what possible threat could they be? We exchange a bit more polite, but frustrated words. She ends the conversation with a smug smile and a insincere "sorry". If she'd actually been sorry, I wouldn't have made such a fuss, but she enjoyed every minute of it. Anyhow, we found ourselves back in the domestic departures lounge, one pair of scissors lighter and infinitely more disgrunted. By the time we arrived at our hotel later that day our bags were x-rayed 7 times.

Back to the flights: as the flight from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam had originated from out of country, they unloaded us at the international terminal, which precipitated the need to go through customs again, which confused the agents and they wound up just waving us through like we had somehow wasted their time by not just taking the initiative to do so on our own. Can you imagine if we actually had just by-passed customs? Weirdly, it actually was possible. Anyhow, unbeknownst to us, our next flight was at the domestic terminal, but there were not signs or flight boards to direct us that way. A kindly boarding pass inspector (also befuddled and bemused at us showing up at the international departure area) directed us to the other terminal. We cleared pre-security and security again, this time shoes had to come off, and found ourselves in the domestic departures terminal waiting for our flight. About the time we should have been boarding, they announce that our flight is delayed by an hour or so. Such is travel these days, and not just in Tanzania. We're currently batting delays on 5 of 7 flights.

The most important part was they got us where we wanted to go, one pair of snub-nosed beard scissors lighter. (Not permitted!) Are there other options? Sure, but according to the internet, they're all mostly the same. Just be prepared for craziness.

Side/side note: if you aren't using standard suitcases (we used 30 litre dry bags) everyone will be very confused. "What's in this?" "Clothes", "Oh, okay." And then the proceed to lift them, feel them and, on one occasion, search them. Dry bags were recommended by our safari company as a defence against dust and possible rain. We were glad we used them, as it was DUSTY in some parts, but I'm jumping ahead.

Arranged transport to and from airports to hotels is actually pretty reliable. We only had one grumpy driver, as his complaint might have been legit if our hotel didn't tell him that our flight was over an hour late. 

Our longest transport was to and from Matemwe, on the north east coast of Zanzibar, a drive that took a little under an hour late at night and in the morning rush, around hour and fifteen/twenty minutes. Both drivers were courteous, mostly obeyed the rules of the road and only answered their cell phones a few times. (There is no prohibition on cell phone use while driving in Tanzania.)

As mentioned before, the main roads are actually pretty good, but any of the side roads are mostly dirt and rock, which can make for some interesting travel. They drive on the left side of the road here, and like a lot of countries we've visited, lane markings and road rules seem to be suggestions, more than actual laws.

The traffic police tend to lurk about on the side of the road in their white uniforms, waiting for an unsuspecting driver to peak their interest. As we understand it, you can choose getting the ticket, or paying a bit of money to make the whole thing go away. I won't use the word that starts with "C" and almost rhymes eruption, but we saw it live and in person. 10,000 Tanzanian shillings seems to be the going price. Most drivers see it as a cost of doing business.

Note the bags and merchandise on the roof.

Other modes of transportation seem a bit less confidence inducing, but wildly tempting, just for the experience. There are dala-dalas - small local busses with long benches running along the each side of the bus. They cram people in cheek to jowl, and some folks (who may be better off, based on temperatures, diet and general sweatiness) who stand on the back bumper and hang on for dear life.

Jaegermeister Tuck-tuck

Then there are the tuck-tucks (or boda-bodas, depending on the region.) These are like the tuck-tucks you might see in Asian countries. I'm not quite sure how many people they can cram into the back, but it looks like something that would be a really interesting experience, if you ever got in one.

Finally, there's the guys on the corner, sitting on their motorbikes, encouraging you to let them take you wherever you need to go. (You can see them on the left of the photo, above.) They may or may not have helmets, and just because there's two (or more) of you, doesn't discourage them. Like Ecuador, we've seen 5 people on one bike. As impressive as it is terrifying.

Sure, there are normal busses - both city and intercity, but where's the fun in that? Our only piece of advice is to bring your sense of humour and adventure and adopt the idea of pole-pole (po-lay po-lay or slowly) and hakuna matata (no worries!)