| Travelling:Karatu: Beyond the bush | Send to a friend |
| Sunday, 29 January 2012 08:17 |
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(Summary) Here is a town in love with itself, always rediscovering its past and reinventing its future By Elisha Mayallah The soft wind blew in the early morning as I wake up for another adventurous day in the unhurried Karatu town. Everywhere I look, there is something new, some growth or rebirth and there are signs of beginnings all over the town with rows upon rows of young, newly planted saplings. The growth of Karatu is explosive. There is massive investments in hotels – from upmarket hotels to guesthouses, the hospitality industry has taken this laid back town by storm. Besides new hotels, nightclubs and guesthouses, real estate has come in amid a rosy forecast for economic growth, thanks to the booming tourism industry. One of the reasons for the changing face of Karatu is the Ngorongoro Crater. In fact, the Ngorongoro Crater Area Authority (NCCA) is the pioneer of the unique transformation of this little town, which started off with only one dilapidated shop, but now boast varied services and products, all year-round. There is general consensus that it is the booming tourism business in the Ngorongoro Crater that has turned around the Karatu economy since the mid 90s. Varied businesses Ten of thousands of the youth have found jobs, both full time and part time, from varied businesses in the surrounding areas, with the local investors taking a lead. “Over the past decades, the NCCA has been encouraging locals to invest in Karatu,” Adam Akyoo, PR manager of the NCAA says. To promote this agenda, the NCCA buys most of its food supplies and other commodities from local shops. A few banks have also made the town their home in recent years. The list includes NMB, NBC, Exim and CRDB. In Karatu CRDB customers can access to their accounts from Thursday to Saturday every week. Mobile providers Vodacom and Tigo have also set up their agents here for M-Pesa and Tig-Pesa, respectively, for easy money transfers. According to the Karatu District Commissioner, Mr Mathew Sedoyeka, a total of 29 hotel establishments have been built only in the last six years, with opportunities and plans for more investments still in the offing and drawing board. Life here also revolves around a chain of roadside groceries, pharmacies, hardwares, car hire companies, restaurants, guest houses, Internet cafes, drinking joints, nightclubs, veterinary shops and the floating markets, which are the major part of everyday life. Roadside stalls sell various items and street vendors fry chips on charcoal fire. Nearby, one sees freshly slaughtered chickens ready for the market comprising tourists, tour drivers and visitors on different missions in the surrounding areas. A walk on the roadsides and the surrounding neighbourhoods depicts that locals now own prime buildings on streets that three decades ago, when Karatu was a small village, were mud houses or open land. That was a time when travellers heading to Serengeti and beyond, stopped just long enough to refill their petrol tanks before making the final dash out of the town. Most travellers then would give the town an open cold shoulder. But things have since changed. Karatu now offers a one-stop exclusive view of the Ngorongoro Crater, the 8th wonder of the World. It counts tourism as its first largest foreign exchange earner and is hoping for an increase of tourist arrivals. A local I met at a popular nightclub in Karatu – Carnivore – impressed me on how the town’s free spirit has always come to the fore. “Give us your body for a week and we will give back your mind,” he said. My stay throughout the week was filled with laughter and gracious generosity from the welcoming locals, I guess the famous hospitable in the whole of Arusha Region. After spending few days here I had already enjoyed a banquet of experiences, but was still looking forward to the richness of the actual banquet to come, as I packed my suitcase back to Arusha! ENDS UTILITY More about Karatu Most of the hotels here offer the best views of the vast town with different topographies. If you are passionate about cultural issues, Karatu is the place for you. There is a great opportunity for cultural tourism. The locals here are more than happy to help you with the history of their houses, dresses, traditional dances, food, drinks and so on. There are also various farms that add to the various natural attractions that make a visit here truly refreshing. With its verdant landscape it is easy to notice the surrounding areas as a lush food bowl (called the basket of Arusha) there to feed the population with its plentiful produce. Its market, the Iraqw market, is a phenomenally popular every seventh day of the month with locals buying all sorts of goods including groceries and grilled meat cooked to order. Excursions Early mornings are active in Karatu as it is a magical moment for starting safaris. Each tourist on a walking safari here pays a small fee to a local guide and this service is available in most of the hotel establishments here. Karatu counts tourism as its first-largest economic earner and is hoping more local and international visitors. To get there Located nearly 141 km from Arusha. Karatu is preferred for its proximity to both Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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