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Active Kilitop and Safaris

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The journal

What we are writing, and why. Thirty questions we answer weekly on the phone, being written down properly.

Pieces planned 30Published None yetWritten in Arusha

Thirty pieces we are writing, on the things travellers actually ask us in Arusha — the migration, the mountain, the coast, and the practical detail nobody puts on a brochure. No listicles, no borrowed copy.

Nothing here is published yet. The titles below are the running order, not placeholders — each one is a question we answer several times a week on the phone, and it is worth writing down properly once. Tell us which five matter most and we will write those first

Migration

Where the herds are, month by month

A working calendar for the Serengeti circuit, and how far to trust it.

Coming soon
Migration

Why a river crossing cannot be booked

What actually happens at the bank, and what any honest operator will tell you.

Coming soon
Migration

Calving season in Ndutu

Eight thousand births a day, and everything that follows them.

Coming soon
Migration

The Grumeti, and why it is quieter

June in the Western Corridor, with a fraction of the vehicles.

Coming soon
Wildlife

The tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara

Why they do it, and why you may still not see one.

Coming soon
Wildlife

Tarangire in elephant season

The months when the river concentrates everything.

Coming soon
Wildlife

What changes after dark

Night drives, where they are permitted, and what they turn up.

Coming soon
Wildlife

The rhino of the Ngorongoro Crater

A small, watched population, and how to see them without crowding them.

Coming soon
Kilimanjaro

Choosing a route

Lemosho, Machame and Marangu compared on approach, length and success rate.

Coming soon
Kilimanjaro

Altitude is not a fitness test

Why the strongest walker in the group is often the first to turn back.

Coming soon
Kilimanjaro

What a porter carries

Weight limits, wages, and how to tell a good operator from a cheap one.

Coming soon
Kilimanjaro

Summit night, hour by hour

Midnight to sunrise on the crater rim, honestly described.

Coming soon
Kilimanjaro

When to climb, and when not to

The two rainy seasons, and the full-moon question.

Coming soon
Kilimanjaro

Diamox: what the guides think

A practical view on acetazolamide from people who watch it work daily.

Coming soon
Coast

How many nights on Zanzibar?

Matching the beach to the safari that came before it.

Coming soon
Coast

Pemba or Zanzibar

Two islands, two entirely different holidays.

Coming soon
Coast

Mafia and the whale sharks

The season, the rules, and why it is not a guarantee.

Coming soon
Coast

Stone Town in half a day

What is worth your time between flights.

Coming soon
Practical

What to pack for a safari

A short list that survives contact with a 15kg bush-flight limit.

Coming soon
Practical

Visas, vaccinations and yellow fever

What is actually required, and what merely gets repeated online.

Coming soon
Practical

Tipping in Tanzania

Who, when and how much — without the guesswork.

Coming soon
Practical

Where park fees go

What you are paying for when a day in the Serengeti costs what it does.

Coming soon
Practical

Insurance that covers 5,895 metres

The altitude exclusion most policies hide, and how to check yours.

Coming soon
Practical

Money, cards and cash

What works in Arusha, and what to carry into the parks.

Coming soon
Practical

Photographing from a vehicle

Beanbags, angles and the light that makes the difference.

Coming soon
Practical

Internal flights and the 15kg bag

Small aircraft, strict limits, and how to pack around them.

Coming soon
Culture

Meeting the Maasai without the theatre

How to tell an arranged performance from a real visit.

Coming soon
Choosing

Joining a group, or travelling privately

What the cost difference actually buys you.

Coming soon
Choosing

Lodge or mobile camp?

Comfort, position and what you hear at night.

Coming soon
Choosing

Tanzania with children

Minimum ages, drive times, and the camps that mean it.

Coming soon

In the meantime

Most of what these pieces will cover, a planner will tell you directly and for free. info@activekilitopandsafaris.com, +255 762 914 714, or send us the outline of your trip and we will answer the specific version of the question rather than the general one.