Wood carvings IMPORTANT

Thanks Achnab!

Long time since we heard from you!

enzo (Bundu)

Jambo thanks for the good news. Is there a reason why the TZ authorities have introduced( reintroduced) this practice? Of course for us Aussies we then have the problem of declaring ANY wood items to AQIS to inspection and/or fumigation (or worse - confiscation). About the only wood products we can get in (without too much difficulty) are those made from ebony (the really dark, dense wood). Cheers.

Hi Bundu - Mike
Seem its the foresty ministry, i dontr know how serious it is we only got the mail yesterdays, even though it was implemented since 17.feb - ihave not heard anythng from pax leaving - left yet

I flew out of Tanzania (from Dar) on Wednesday morning.
No one asked me if I had any wood carvings!

Hi
Good news, but for sure something is in the air otherwise we would not ahve been sent the roundmail - i guess
maybe after low season ............... hope not

Head's up for all those going to Tanzania. I just got back from doing a seven day camel safari with Mkuru Camel Safaris (planned by ETrip Africa, highly recommended, great planners and work with your budget). Couple things to keep in mind: During this cross country very authentic fly camp trip from Arusha to Lake Natrone and back via 4x4 our party - made up of this white chick, three Maasai and one Meru cook and three camels- were repeatedly harassed by greedy local authorities and bogus bureaucrats imposing the mzungu tax (white person tax) when we came through the area. What this meant was that while both ETrip and Mkuru had already paid all the fees and required passes in advanced, some local yokel would come out and say, sorry sorry, rule change as of yesterday, now you must pay (bogus rule inserted here) or you can't (stay overnight, pass through town etc.) It's classic. We got stuck in the very hot sun waiting, and I got to the point where if I saw a plume of dust on the road I assumed an enemy was coming. Not the way I want to feel as a traveler in the country I paid a fortune to visit. BE AWARE of this bogus operation. I would not carry a single extra shilling with me, only a copy of my passport, not a single thing more. And take lots and lots of photos of these guys, their license plates, demand their creds, and suggest that perhaps you might be happy to forward all this information to the TZ Dept of Tourism. It's a real problem. The government is aware of it, but not enough is being done. Photos and reports help.

Other than this, this was my second trip planned by ETrip Africa. They did a superb job of organizing both itineraries, working with my budget (both trips were a month or more) and keeping in close touch with me throughout the entire process. I won't work with anyone else when Africa is on the menu. This was the last of three countries I've visited after Rwanda and Uganda- and they did a beautiful job with those, too.

This corruption is not limited to tourist vehicles. During 6 weeks of travelling by public transport in southern Tanzania, I noticed that nearly all the buses and dala dalas regularly have to hand over cash at police checkposts for no reason other than general extortion.
As far as I could tell it was usually 5000 or 10000 Tsh a time, left on top of the bumper or on a back wheel rather than handed directly to the official. There was a big article in the Citizen newspaper a couple of weeks ago, complaining about it.

But did you get asked about wood carvings when leaving Tanzania?

No inquiries about carvings at all. I had kangas ( the traditional clothing) and a Maasai bush knife . I did get stopped and they checked my bag at kili airport but didn't find the knife. They could well have been looking for carvings.
What I do is put all my gear into waterproof bags like for kayaking. Not only does that keep stuff dry and organized, in this case the guy couldn't be bothered with opening up some 20 bags. He took one look and waved me on. The knife was up against the spine of the bag.
This is one case where I think it looked like too much work. Who knows? My packing system has saved me many times over.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.