No Vacancy

Since the establishment of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve in 1971, the eco-tourism business in the area has grown rapidly. Today, a number of hotels provide various levels of accommodation for visiting guests. Many of these, especially in the older part of town, are inexpensive and cater to young foreign tourists. From the Hotel Shangilia (advertised near the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris; "shangilia" means "praise") to the Hoteli Burudika ("burudika" roughly translates as "be refreshed"), these establishments offer simple rooms with little more than a bed with mosquito netting, a table and stool, and a tiny bathroom.

The Burudika is especially popular with visiting college students who love to catch some rays on the hotel's Kivulini Terrace. One can usually find an assortment of lawn chairs, towels and portable radios left behind.

These hotels are among the closest to the actual reserve, which can be great for quickly going from sunbathing to safari, and then back for a Sundowner at Dr. Dawa's bar. There are disadvantages, though. The animals are protected on the reserve, but not confined to the reserve. At night, baboons come into town, taking anything not locked down. An ill-advised moonlit walk could also bring you face-to-face with something larger, like an elephant or rhinoceros. In Africa, where people and wildlife compete for space, the boundaries can become blurred.

Of course, sometimes even the least expensive of hotels isn't cheap enough. Apparently, Harambe has had some difficulty at times with travelers camping out in places they shouldn't.

Signs like this can be found throughout Old Town Harambe, informing and advising the area's tourist population. The signs are in English, but while some (like the one above) have clearly been written by a native English speaker, others have been cobbled together by locals from different backgrounds. These graphics, complete with indiscriminate line breaks in the middle of words, were inspired by real examples seen by the Imagineering team on research trips to eastern Africa.

Many of the hotels in Harambe cater to the budget traveler, but not all. For considerably nicer and more expensive accommodations, some guests may opt for the elegant Pwani View Guest House ("pwani" means "coastal"; the expression "nyumba ya wageni" translates as "house for visitors"). Rooms here offer a premium experience, from fine linens to private showers.

Alas, as appealing as a night's stay in one of these hotels might sound, there is no vacancy. Each of them exists as nothing more than a facade, helping to tell the story of Africa at Disney's Animal Kingdom.