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Essential information
Fundraising Deadlines | Health | Altitude Sickness | Insurance | Passports & Visas | Money | Food & Drink | Support & Safety | Hotel Information | Climate Protection
Accenture Kilimanjaro Trek Briefing
Feb 2008
This briefing is given by Lisa Russell from VSO's tour operator The Ultimate Travel Company. It includes vital pre-departure information for your Kilimanjaro trek.
It is important that you are familiar with the content of this film and the attached notes before you travel. Once you have watched it, please e-mail rachel.watts@vso.org.uk to confirm. If, after having watched the briefing you have any remaining questions about your trip, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
The briefing is broken down into 11 chapters so that you can watch one section at a time and can review a section without needing to watch the whole briefing again. For the moment you can only watch it as a real player file. However we will be making this available as a podcast soon!
Download the video here:
- Chapter 01: Introduction -
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MP4
- Chapter 02: Weather -
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- Chapter 03: Food & Drink -
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MP4
- Chapter 04: Accomodation & Camping -
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- Chapter 05: Money -
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- Chapter 06: Health & Vaccinations -
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- Chapter 07: Insurance -
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- Chapter 08: Visas -
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- Chapter 09: Photography & Video -
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- Chapter 10: Altitude Sickness -
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- Chapter 11: Support & Safety -
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Fundraising Deadlines
Your fundraising target for this trip is a minimum of £1,000 due 10 weeks before you depart. If you raise the minimum amount you will pay your £1,200 cost balance 8 weeks before you depart.
The more you raise, the less you will pay in cost. For example, if you raise £2,800 or above you will take part for just £200 (your deposit) plus the cost of your flights.
Please see the fundraising section for more information.
Health
It is essential that you complete and return the medical form to us six months before you depart. We need to know all medical information to make sure this trek is safe for you. Your information will be passed on to a trek doctor at TUTC who has the final say on your suitability to take part.
Please consult your doctor for information about vaccinations. We recommend Typhoid, Hepatitis A and Yellow Fever and that your Tetanus and polio vaccinations are up to date. Anti-Malaria protection is also advised.
Please keep us informed if there are any changes to your medical situation at any point before the trip departs.
Altitude Sickness
Altitude sickness is caused by reduced levels of oxygen in the blood due to the lower atmospheric pressure at altitude. Symptoms include headaches, tiredness, irritability and nausea. Not everyone is affected by altitude sickness, and fitness, size, age or sex does not make one more or less susceptible to it.
Our guides know the difference between altitude sickness and a simple need for encouragement. Should anyone show serious signs of altitude sickness they will be accompanied down to a lower level.
This route has been designed to allow time for us all to acclimatise. It is important people don't put themselves under pressure whilst on the hike and to walk more slowly than they normally would as this helps the body to acclimatise. We will have a very thorough briefing about Acute Mountain Sickness at our hotel before we depart on the trek.
If you have a medical condition for which you are taking/have taken medication, please speak to your doctor about the effects of trekking at altitude.
Insurance
You must arrange adequate insurance to cover you in full for the duration of the trip and inform us of these details well in advance.
Explain fully to the insurer that you are undertaking a charity trek, at altitude (of up to 5895 metres), and will need cover for air evacuation and repatriation. We need to have the name of your insurance company, your policy number and the company's emergency 24 hour contact number. We will not be able to book your place on the trip without these details.
Passports and visa
Your passport must be valid for at least six months after the end of the event. Please let us know if your passport details change after registration.
Tanzanian visa
You can obtain you visa for Tanzania upon arrival however you may wish to purchase it before you leave- see the website of your local embassy for details of the application process. Usually, you can apply by post (this can take several weeks), or in person. Visas have an expiry date, so do your research and don’t apply too early. We will send you a reminder to obtain this along with helpful details you may need to complete the application.
You will need the following information when applying for a Tanzanian visa:
Date of entry- depending on your plans
Port of entry- Dar Es Salaam
Duration of stay- depending on your plans
Name of Tour company- The Ultimate Travel Company
Reference in Tanzania - Tanzania Rift Valley Safaris Ltd
P O Box 11381
Arusha
Tanzania
00 254 20 4447669 (office/fax)
Kenyan visa
If you are travelling via Kenya a Kenyan visa will be payable on arrival
in Nairobi for your stay there and will cover you for your return.
This will be payable in dollars - approx $50.
Money
The local currency is Tanzanian Shilling (only available in Tanzania). You should take out US dollars in small denominations, which can then be exchanged at the hotel.
We advise against Traveller's Cheques, as they are difficult to cash on trek. However, people extending their stay should bring US Dollar traveller's cheques.
Credit cards - Visa and MasterCard are widely recognised and useful to have in emergencies. American Express is not usually accepted.
Approx $300-400 spending money is sufficient for drinks, tips and some souvenirs.
Food and Drink
All the water on trek will be treated and safe to drink. You will need to buy your own water at the hotels for drinking and brushing teeth before we depart on the trek.
We will be eating lots of carbohydrates e.g. pasta and potato. Plenty of cereals, bread, fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs, plus some meat will be available. There will be a vegetarian option at every mealtime. All meals are provided. We will need to know in advance of any special dietary requirements to advise our cooks in the hotel and on trek..
You must stick to the diet you have requested e.g. no meat eaters turning into vegetarians half way through the trek and vice versa!
Support and safety
- Your contact from VSO will accompany you throughout the trip
- A TUTC Tour Manager will accompany you throughout the trek.
- An English speaking doctor from the UK will be with you during the trek.
- Local guides who are knowledgeable about the route will trek with the group
- The guides will carry radios for safety.
- A Satellite phone will be carried for emergencies.
Please note that although mobile phones work in some areas the service is extremely expensive and your battery will drain very quickly at altitude. It is wiser to consider yourself out of contact while on trek.
An emergency contact procedure will be in place for the duration of the trip and details will be sent to you nearer the time. Please make sure we have your Next of Kin details (which cannot be someone who is on the trip with you).
Dar Hotel information
The official start of the trip will be at 11.00am on the morning of the 14th/26th June (Global 1/Global 2) will be the Peacock Hotel (in Dar Es Salaam. If you plan to arrive early and wish to book an extra night in this hotel please contact tem directly on the below telephone or email:
Peacock Hotel Ltd.
Bibi Titi Mohamed Road,
P O Box 70270
Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania.
TEL:
+255 22 2120334 /
+255 22 2114071,
FAX:
+255 22 2117962
E-MAIL:
info@peacock-hotel.co.tz
reservation@peacock-hotel.co.tz
Climate Protection
Offset your CO2 emissions!
Should you wish to offset your flights you can do this through this reputable organisation: www.myclimate.org
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