Merwyn Nunes pioneered the introduction of certificates to people who managed to reach the top of the Mount Kilimanjaro
THE GOAN NETWORK | LONDON
A noted Goan safari businessman in Tanzania who pioneered the introduction of certificates to people who managed to reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, in the late 1960s, passed away in Dar es Salaam on January 17.
Merwyn Austin Nunes, who ran his successful tour company Wildersun Safaris in Arusha, was widely acclaimed for his services in the tourism industry for five decades.
A Mass was celebrated on January 21 at the Holy Spirit Church in Ngarenaro, Arusha, followed by the last respects. In accordance with his wishes, the body was laid to rest at the Mwanakwerekwe Cemetery in Zanzibar after a Funeral Service at St Joseph's Cathedral Zanzibar. He is survived by his wife Pervin and children Jervin/Alain Randria, Ervin/Lillian Nunes and four grandchildren, Brian, Caitlin, Keith and Jason.
Mervyn Lobo described the late Merwyn Nunes as a person who “was always dependable when anyone faced a problem.”
In his tribute, Lobo said the late Merwyn Nunes “was by far, the most enjoyable person I liked talking to as I knew the conversation would be funny and intelligent.”
“That combination is very difficult to find today. I last talked to him for the D.I. (Dar es Salaam Institute, formerly known as Goan Institute) centennial celebrations and he was at his prime, cracking jokes that all long-time Tanzanian residents would really appreciate.”
“All Arusha residents knew that Merwyn Nunes was always dependable when anyone faced a problem. I have heard of how he helped people from the 1970s onwards,” Lobo added.
WILDERSUN SAFARIS
Merwyn and his wife Pervin had set up Wildersun Safaris in 1980 and their business has been highly respected in the Tanzania tourism industry.
Merwyn had trained in Israel and Germany and worked for the Ministry of Tourism in Tanzania for 12 years. He was the founder chairman of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), while Pervin spent 12 years in the Airline sector before diverting her talents to Wildersun Safaris.
Following their retirement from company operations, Merwyn and Pervin would take part in Trade shows and attend seminars. Wildersun Safaris is now being run by their son, Ervin Nunes and his wife, Lillian.
MAN BEHIND CERTIFICATES
According to Tanzania’s leading daily English tabloid ‘The Citizen’, Merwyn Nunes was the person who introduced certificates to people who endured the mountain trek to reach the glacier-covered, Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point on the 5,895-metre high ‘Roof of Africa’ in the late 1960s when he was working in Moshi for the Natural Resources and Tourism ministry.
“It was I who in 1968 came up with the idea of issuing certificates to the mountain climbers when I was stationed at Moshi. By then, I was working with the ministry and seconded to the (now defunct) Tanzania National Tourist Board (TNTB),” Nunes was quoted in an article in The Citizen in 2017.
The article stated that Nunes, while in his 20s, was dispatched to Moshi from the ministry headquarters in Dar es Salaam to oversee major tourism projects in the area, including mountain climbing on Kilimanjaro.
Nunes told The Citizen that he had pressed for the introduction of the certificates as awards for those who conquered Mt Kilimanjaro instead of the flowers from the mountain creepers which were presented to the successful climbers before 1968.
According to Nunes, “Until then, those who made it to the summit of the mountain had a reed made of the creepers coiled around their heads while those who reached the Gilman’s point were garlanded with the flowers around their necks.” (Gilman’s Point is one of the three official summit points on Mount Kilimanjaro at 18,885 feet).
“But the flowers were getting scarce and scarcer in the forest. Those picking them have to go deeper into the dense ravines. Because of depleting flowers, I came up with the idea of certificates (to the successful conquerors) instead of the reeds. I was conscious of the environment of the mountain,” Nunes had told The Citizen.
Two types of certificates were designed by the retired tourism official; a Silver and Gold lined for those who would reach Gilman’s Point (18,885 feet) and Uhuru Peak (19,340 feet), respectively, the article stated.
