Tanzania Safari - The true African Safari Experience

Useful Information to Climbers with Corto

Weather

Nights can be quite cold, betweeen -5 and 5°C (41°F and 23°F), and humid at 3,000 m (9850 ft) altitude, and between -5 and -20°C (23°F and -4°F) on the night of the final ascent between 4,600 m and 5,895 m (15,100 ft and 19,340 ft) altitude.
The days are usually mild, generally dry except below 3,000 m (9,850 ft).

What you need to bring

• A sleeping bag (grade -15°c to -25°c), sarcophagus or with side zip.
• A sewn sheet
• Fleece, thick jacket, shirts, t-shirts (4 or 5 in micro-fibres preferably – avoid cotton as it takes a very long time to dry)
• A high altitude wind and rain shield over-jacket (Goretex or microporous)
• A rain cape
• Jumpers, warm trousers, Goretex under trousers – do not hesitate : IT IS COLD !
  
• Mountain Boots for climbing (-22°C)
• A pair of comfy trainers for the evening
• Warm wooly socks, cotton socks, Gore-tex underwear
• Leggings
• Wooly hat, hood, hat, gloves (silk + muffles).
• Had or cap for sun protection
• Sunglasses, sun screen
• Water bottle (2l or 2 1l bottles) with a drinking glass
• A travel knife (not to keep in your hand luggage during the flights)
• A head torch with batteries and spare bulb, especially for the night climb
• Belt or front pocket / purse to keep your money and papers on you at all time
• Toiletries, towel
• Telescopic hiking stick
• Personal Medicines bag (analgesic, eye drops, Vitamin C, foot care, high protection sun creams for the face and the lips, hydrating cream, anti-mosquito cream or spray, anti-diarrhea, intestinal antisceptic, wide spectrum antibiotics, disinfectant, plasters, elastic sticky band).
• Hydrochlonazone (water purification kits), pens (for presents).
• Energy Snacks (dried fruits, bars etc…)
• Altitude sickness remedies (Paracetamol, analgesic, vitamin C, etc…).
  

Weight

During the climb, your bag will be placed in a waterproof over-bag, and carried by a porter. It must not weigh more than 12kg (the bags are weighed by rangers at the park entrance). You can leave us a bag that will be kept safely in our offices during the climb and we will return it when you when you come back down.
During the day, you will only carry your day things inside a small backpack.

What we supply

• 3 Man domed tents (used for 2 persons) + mattress and its cover
• All the cooking equipment, tables, chairs and large tent for the meals
• All the food for the expedition, with fresh local produce.
• Hearty Warm meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  

Your Safety

Our Kili climbs are supervised by a team of local men, who have been specially trained and who are very experienced for this ascent.
We also supply a decompression chamber.

A rescue organization is managed by the Kilimanjaro Park Association (included in the price). Nevertheless, we strongly advise you to take additional RESCUE and REPATRIATION cover before coming. (Thank you for sending us the details of your insurance policy)

Breathing

As soon as you feel out of breath, stop and breathe until you feel better. Once your heartbeat has come back to normal, you can continue. Take regular breaks, and use the time to admire the view.
If you feel worse, with headaches, nausea, extreme fatigue, and appetite loss, you may have to come down or stay where you are. In any case, your guide is there to help. Don’t hesitate to let him know about any problem you may have… Importantly, do not worry about being left behind, don’t be afraid of stopping, adjust your breathing to your walking pace, instead of wanting to keep up with others, who may be better trained or fitter. Drink a lot (3 to 5 l of water a day). And above all, walking at your own pace is the key to your successful climb.
Our guides, assistants and porters are specially trained to keep a close eye on you and to react at the earliest sign. Trust them and listen to their advice. Do not feel like going beyond your strength if they advise you to stop for a while. They are experienced and know exactly how to react when faced with problems.

Photography and Videos

It is wiser to buy films or memory cards in sufficient quantities before your departure. During the ascent, you will not have access to power points to recharge your batteries or download your pictures, so do not forget to bring spare batteries.

Always ask for consent before taking a picture of a person or a group.

Recommendation

Airlines sometimes forget luggage, which are found and forwarded later on. It is therefore important to carry with you the important equipment you will need in the beginning of the climb: shoes, jacket, fleece, sleeping bag, sunglasses, gloves. As soon as the rest of the luggage is received, we forward it immediately with a porter.

In case you lose your papers, we advise you to keep a copy in a separate location from the originals.

Our Porters

The Price difference you will notice between all the different Kilimanjaro operators in Tanzania are very often due to the differences in the way companies treat and pay their porters and guides during your journey. At Corto, we have been leading the way for many years in terms of fair treatment and responsible tourism.

Porters Salaries

We have been KPAP members (see Responsible Tourism paragraph below), and as such, we respect the rules. Whereas the average salaries paid to porters by the tourism outfitters in Tanzania is 6220 TSH/day, we actually pay them a daily salary of 10 000 Tsh, and we pay them directly on their return at Mweka by one of our office workers. Each porter must show his porter’s card and signs a list when he receives his pay.

Tips for Porters

During the briefing, we give each client a tipping sheet prepared by KPAP and we ask that they use it to spread the tips equally and openly accross the whole team. It is up to our clients to follow this sheet or not.

Porters Equipment

Even though they are not permanently employed by Corto, we have our team of faithful porters. For each climb, we send out a list of porters that the guides must follow. This procedure ensures that the porters can not bribe the guides to be hired. This practice is unfortunately still taking place with other guides and companies. Porters are not authorized to begin the climb unless they are properly equipped for Mountain climbing. The guides are responsible for performing this check. For information, the city of Moshi has a very large second hand clothes market. This allows the porters to equip themselves against the cold with mountain clothing at very low prices.

Further details about our porters Working Conditions

• For every trip, there are between 3 and 5 porters by customer (see table below).
• They receive 3 full meals a day.
• They can carry a maximum of 20kg each plus 2kg for their own equipment.
• They sleep in a tent suitable for mountain climbing.

Number of Staff for Kilimanjaro Climbs (except Marangu)

Responsible Tourism

CORTO Safaris is involved in responsible tourism, by respecting the local populations and the environment.

Our teams are paid in excess of the rates recommended by the Park Authorities.
We care about our teams working conditions, Transmission of knowledge, and Traveler Information and Awareness.

We have developed a special partnership with the NGO “KILIMANJARO PORTERS ASSISTANCE PROJECT” - www.kiliporters.org – which is an initiative launched by “THE INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN EXPLORERS CONNECTION” - www.mountainexplorers.org

Training and Prevention programs are run during our Low Season :

• English Language Courses
• First Aid Courses
• Information Seminaries on HIV / AIDS

Please visit our partner’s websites for more information.