Overland : summer & semester programs for 10-19 year olds
open to grades 9-12 From the crowded streets of Dar es Salaam to the vast expanse of the Serengeti, from the warm waters of the Indian Ocean to the snows of Kilimanjaro, Overland’s teen adventure travel trip in Africa will immerse you in the vibrant life, sublime beauty and terrific promise of this remarkable land.
We’ll begin with on-foot explorations of teeming Dar es Salaam; we’ll walk its crowded streets and shop in its lively markets to see how Tanzanians live. In the afternoons, we’ll work together to learn about the geography, culture and history of Tanzania; and, with a native-speaker instructor, we’ll study basic Swahili. We’ll immerse ourselves in the challenges that face a developing country by meeting with aid workers and volunteering in a village, teaching English to children and helping with after-school chores.
From Dar es Salaam, we’ll travel north to cool, mountainous Arusha where, with Maasai guides, we’ll visit Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Our trip will end with Africa’s greatest hiking challenge—a summit bid on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the continent.
Just as Overland’s founders did when they lived here over two decades ago, you will fall in love with Tanzania, and, just as they were, you will be changed by your experiences and explorations in East Africa. At program’s end, we’ll look back on five weeks of learning, serving and exploring—and on the friendships that come from living in a close Overland group.
For students who will finish grades 9-12 in June 2010.
Call us (800.458.0588) to check on current availability.
8 (1-10, 1 is easiest)
Starts and ends in New York at JFK Airport.
5 weeks
Thursday, July 1st to Thursday, August 5th
$6595 (airfare not included)
Trip Start
20 hours of service
Check back for a video of this trip soon. To see other trip videos click here.
In order to travel to Tanzania, each student must have a passport and a visa.
The passport must not expire within six months of the date the student leaves Tanzania (August 4, 2010) and should be applied for as soon as possible in order to obtain a travel visa. It can take between four and six weeks for your passport application to be processed. Complete information on applying for a passport is available online on the U.S. Department of State website. Please note special instructions for students who are 16 & 17 years old and for students who are under 16 years of age. If you do not already have a passport, please apply for it immediately. You need to have a valid passport in order to apply for your visa and later in the spring the turn-around time for passport applications will lengthen as the busy summer travel season approaches. We recommend you have your passport application expedited, either by the US State Department Passport Office or by a private passport expediter, to avoid processing delays.
In order to avoid significant delays at the airport with a group of our size, we ask that all students apply for a visa this spring before the trip start. Visa applications, which can take several weeks to process, are easily obtained by downloading the application from the Embassy of Tanzania website. As with your passport application, please apply for your visa as soon as possible to avoid delays.
To apply for a single-entry travel visa to enter Tanzania, you will need to mail (1) a completed visa application (please check "leisure/holiday" as the purpose of your visit), (2) your passport, (3) two 2' x 2' passport photographs, (4) a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope to facilitate the return of your passport, (5) proof of travel plans (download here), (6) a notarized letter jointly signed by the parents or legal guardians authorizing travel to Tanzania and (7) visa fee ($100, payable by check, money order or credit card) to:
The Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania
1232 22nd St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
New address, effective March 1, 2010.
Please visit the Embassy of Tanzania website or call our office at 800.458.0588 for more information about obtaining a visa.
Please make three photocopies of your passport and your visa. Leave one copy of both documents with your family and put photocopies of each in both your checked luggage and carry-on luggage for the flight, separate from your actual passport and visa. If the parents or guardians of the student will be traveling out of the country for any period of time between July 1, 2010 and August 5, 2010, we recommend mailing or faxing a copy of your passport and visa to our office.
All Overland students must be current on their routine vaccinations. Overland advises students traveling to Tanzania to consult with their family physician for information about protection against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, rabies, yellow fever and malaria. Please check with your physician as soon as possible about receiving the necessary immunizations and to learn more about taking an antimalarial drug prior to departure.
Overland requires all students to travel with a yellow fever vaccination certificate to present at passport control. For complete health and safety information regarding travel to Tanzania, please visit the CDC Website.
A good level of fitness and well-broken-in boots are essential to your enjoyment of the trip, specifically the climb of Kilimanjaro. We cannot overemphasize the importance of well-broken-in boots. There have been students who have had to leave their trip because of blisters from boots that were not well broken in or inadequate fitness. Please read the training guidelines below on how to prepare for Field Studies: Tanzania.
Your trip will be significantly more enjoyable if you have a good level of fitness and well broken in boots. The training guidelines below are designed to help you properly break in your boots and develop a solid fitness base.
Five weeks before your trip: Wear your boots for 15-30 minutes a day to walk around your house or neighborhood so your boots will begin to conform to your feet.
Four weeks before your trip: Take three 30-minute hikes or walks in your boots.
Three weeks before your trip: Take three 60-minute hikes or walks in your boots.
Two weeks before your trip: Take three 1-hour hikes or walks in your boots.
One week before your trip start: Take two 2-hour hikes or walks in your boots.
Field Studies: Tanzania is rated 8 on a scale of 1-10 (1 is easiest) and is one of Overland’s more challenging trips. During the last week of the trip, the group will attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. At 19,340 feet, Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa, but also considered one of the highest "walkable" mountains in the world since no serious mountaineering or technical skills are required to hike. However, the most challenging aspect of this trip will be acclimating to the elevation. On Field Studies: Tanzania, our group will hike with guides who will monitor our fitness and our ability to adjust to the altitude. If it becomes neccessary, the guides will also make the decision to send a group member, accompanied by a leader, down to lower elevation. Reaching the summit will be a goal, but not a guarantee since each group member's reaction to the altitude can vary.
Experience with hiking among participants will vary, but a general level of fitness is essential. Your enjoyment of this trip will hinge on several factors:
Train for the trip, be prepared for a challenge and come ready to be an important member of a close-working team.
Below is the Admissions Materials packet and other information for Field Studies: Tanzania.
We welcome your interest in joining Overland this summer!
To apply, please complete and sign the application on page 47 of the Overland catalog or download an application. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the application).
Please refer to page 46 of our catalog for important information you should know before signing the application.
Send your application and $795 deposit to:
Overland
P.O. Box 31
Williamstown, MA 01267
For overnight mail via UPS or FedEx, please use our street address:
Overland
63 Spring Street
Williamstown, MA 01267
Sorry, we are unable to accept applications by fax, and we do not take credit cards. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they arrive at our office and we cannot hold spots over the phone.
To learn about our admissions process, please click here.
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Overland Programs offers more than 40 different trips including New England summer camps and hiking adventures for tweens (5th graders and 6th graders), hiking trips for teens, teen bike trips in Europe and America, and teen summer service programs. Whether you're looking for a language immersion program, summer programs abroad or service programs abroad, summer writing programs, environmental studies programs, teen adventure travel trips, a field studies program, or even a gap year semester in Spain, you're sure to find a program here which will create lasting memories, capture the imagination, and strengthen physical, emotional and social skills. Overland is not simply a summer or semester-long experience—it's a life experience with value and resonance that extends far beyond the boundaries of a young person's time with us.
Overland leaders are students and recent alumni from top colleges and universities, including many schools in the Ivy League and NESCAC as well as other elite schools across the country. Overland leaders are campus leaders, varsity athletes, sports captains, peer counselors, outdoor guides, and honors students. All leaders are First Aid, CPR, and lifeguard certified.
Overland Programs, also known as Overland Summers and even as Overland Adventures, is proud to have ACA accredited summer programs, teen summer camps, teen summer adventures, teen travel, teen summer programs, teenage camps, teen adventure programs, teen adventure trips, summer camp programs, summer programs abroad, language immersion courses abroad, teen bike trips, teen bicycle tours, teen summer service programs and New England camps which are held to the highest safety standards.
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