Which safari, when, and why?

[havoc]

OK, starting to think about another holiday, and a safari appeals to both of us. But, given they seem to range in price from "wow, that looks cheap!" to "OMG, I think I've just had a heart attack!", I thought I'd ask the PH collective for some advice.

Simple stuff to start with:-
- where to go?
- at what time of year? and
- what sort of budget for a decent (not blow-out extravagant) safari with reputable/reliable accomodation and (particularly) guides?
- how long on-safari is long enough?


So far it seems that the 3 most common destinations are:-
- S. Africa (Kruger)
- Tanzania (Serengeti and Ngorongoro (sp?) crater)
- Kenya / Kilimanjaro
...so the final question is - can anyone suggest anywhere else which matches up to those. Please note that Somalia, Zimbabwe, and anywhere else where people with AK47's make the rules are right out!!!


Thanks all,

Martin.

[toasty]

It depends on what you're after and what sort of accommodation you want but Toastgirl and I recently had a fantastic holiday in Namibia and Botswana in November camping with Explore.co.uk. For the safari part we went to Etosha in Namibia (enormous salt pan) and The Okavango delta in Botswana (marshland).

I've been told that the quantity of animals in Tanzania, Kenya and SA can be a lot more but we managed to see pretty much everything bar leopards.

Namibia has some stunning landscapes, and I posted some pics here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a....

[mjrc]

South africa - HLUHLUWE IMFOLOZI park definetly recomended. best going in march or april

[VxDuncan]

How old are you? How much roughing it can you put up with? Literally the options go from a truck full of 25 gap year students getting pished every night and camping or posh lodge types for those who want more privacy/comfort. There's loads of adventure type small group tours, like explore that are already mentioned, along with kumuka, intrepid, dragoman, oasis, overland club, the adventure company, imaginative traveller etc. etc. Your choice of people you want to travel with dictates the company you use in my experience.

If the budget is upto it I can totally recommend East Africa, culminating in a visit to see the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda (or Uganda). Easily the highlight of my africa experience, but costs a fair amount (prob about £400) as the permits ain't cheap, plus you need to stay a few days in Rwanda as the day you trek isn't firm. I did a 3 week trip including Tanzania (Serengeti, Ngorogoro), Kenya (take your pick, possibly Nakuru, Naivashia), Uganda (source of the nile, lakes, Hells gate etc) and Rwanda (Virungas / Gorilla trek / culture), and it was utterly fantastic.

Bear in mind the roads are crap, you're going to be bounced around a lot. Also go somewhere with some culture/ other activities (ie Vic falls area, Namibia, Uganda) as you will get safaried out after a few days.

Also, what ever you do DO A WALKING SAFARI. Seriously. One of the most amasing things I've ever done, a walk round lake Naivashia at sunset, on the ground amoungst the zebra and giraffe. Surreal doesn't even begin to describe it. If you go to africa you HAVE to get out of the vehicle (where safe obviously!) and see the wildlife from the ground. From a jeep it's just like watching tv.

Can't help you with the personal trips though - I've only done group trips.

[tomTVR]

I went to Amboseli National Park in Kenya a couple of years ago. I cant remember the price for the safari itself (package) but it was quite reasonable.

They do get boring after a couple of days though, once you have seen the animals once that is enough. Kenya is good because you can spend half of the holiday by the Indian ocean then what many people do it jump on a light aircraft which can take you to a lodge near the parks themselves.

[havoc]

VxDuncan said:

How old are you? How much roughing it can you put up with? Literally the options go from a truck full of 25 gap year students getting pished every night and camping or posh lodge types for those who want more privacy/comfort. There's loads of adventure type small group tours, like explore that are already mentioned, along with kumuka, intrepid, dragoman, oasis, overland club, the adventure company, imaginative traveller etc. etc. Your choice of people you want to travel with dictates the company you use in my experience.

If the budget is upto it I can totally recommend East Africa, culminating in a visit to see the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda (or Uganda). Easily the highlight of my africa experience, but costs a fair amount (prob about £400) as the permits ain't cheap, plus you need to stay a few days in Rwanda as the day you trek isn't firm. I did a 3 week trip including Tanzania (Serengeti, Ngorogoro), Kenya (take your pick, possibly Nakuru, Naivashia), Uganda (source of the nile, lakes, Hells gate etc) and Rwanda (Virungas / Gorilla trek / culture), and it was utterly fantastic.

Bear in mind the roads are crap, you're going to be bounced around a lot. Also go somewhere with some culture/ other activities (ie Vic falls area, Namibia, Uganda) as you will get safaried out after a few days.

Also, what ever you do DO A WALKING SAFARI. Seriously. One of the most amasing things I've ever done, a walk round lake Naivashia at sunset, on the ground amoungst the zebra and giraffe. Surreal doesn't even begin to describe it. If you go to africa you HAVE to get out of the vehicle (where safe obviously!) and see the wildlife from the ground. From a jeep it's just like watching tv.

Can't help you with the personal trips though - I've only done group trips.

Great answer, thanks Duncan.

We're both early-30s and don't fancy roughing it that much at all, tbh. And a bunch of pished students would be our idea of hell.

Happy to travel light though, so long as there's a decent bed and a cold beer at the end of the day...

Your trip sounds fantastic, and your comment (Tom's also!) about doing different things is spot-on...I think we'd look to do a week in-country (safari and sightseeing), then a short week on the beach (Zanzibar looks beautiful, but need to check prices...).

Walking safari also sounds really cool...not sure how Becs would feel about it, but wow. How much hard work is it (heat, how many miles/km, terrain etc.)?

Edit: PS - lovely photos toasty!

Edited by havoc on Sunday 1st February 22:13

[uk_vette]

Buy a Land Cruiser and drive there !"

[VxDuncan]

I went with Dragoman which was good, still truck based, but slightly more mature than the pished students, however you never know. Explore has a rep for slightly more adult groups (30's 40's) so worth a punt. However, you're budget will go up a lot if you're not sluming it! Possibly consider (posh) tented safari in Tanzania and nice hotel in zanzibar?

Walking safari I did was a doddle, all flat, about three hours. Wonderful though. I did mine round lake Naivashia (Kenya) - safe as the only big preditors were leopards, and they avoid human contact. There were hippos though, but you're fairly safe during the day when they are in the water. I also did a mountain bike safari through hells gate NP. Wonderful seeing massive groups of baboons and zebra from up close, but a nightmare cycling on sand for five hours!

The Gorilla thing is a once in a lifetime experience. If you can run to it, it really is amasing (though only an hour!).

Bed wise, don't worry, you'll be down by 7pm most nights! Once it gets dark most people go to bed - but that's 'cos you'll be up ready to be at the park gates before sunrise!

If you're off to Tanzania/Kenya consider timing it with the wildebeest migration. I cought part of it (June) and it was quite mad- silly amounts of animals and noise/smell!

[Catz]

We went to Selous in Tanzania which is less well known than others but suited the time of year, July, to be guaranteed seeing lots of animals.
We did jeep, river and walking safaris which was great to have variety rather than just be in a jeep all day, also our jeep was open rather than the closed style (if you know what I mean.)

I was a little worried about the walking safari but it took place very early morning when the temp was cooler, we walked for a few hours but it was at an easy pace.

My advice is to call some of the specialist travel agents in this field, they were very knowledgeable and gave helpful advice about the best places to go at certain times of the year depending on what you want to see.

We used this place http://www.africatravelresource.com/ to organise ours. Fair bit of info on the website too.

[Nevin]

toasty said:

It depends on what you're after and what sort of accommodation you want but Toastgirl and I recently had a fantastic holiday in Namibia and Botswana in November camping with Explore.co.uk. For the safari part we went to Etosha in Namibia (enormous salt pan) and The Okavango delta in Botswana (marshland).

I've been told that the quantity of animals in Tanzania, Kenya and SA can be a lot more but we managed to see pretty much everything bar leopards.

Namibia has some stunning landscapes, and I posted some pics here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a....

I would second Namibia. We did a three day safari at Etosha with Crazy Kudu/Wild Dog Safaris and it was excellent. We were camping on the sites in the park (which is freaking huge, its got a salt pan it would take you hours to drive across) but there were bars and swimming pools on the site. The second campsite had a watering hole at the edge with a big terrace up above where you could watch. The family of rhinos pottering about maybe 50 metres away was awesome. And we had lions through the site one night so all got locked in our buses for safety.

There were so many animals though that three days was more than sufficient. There are only so many pictures of elephants, giraffes and zebras you can take. In fact the coolest thing was a tiny little wild cat. It was only the second one our guide had seen in 20 years of touring (although he probably tells everyone that!!).

The second half of that week we went down to the Namib Desert and did some hiking, walked up some huge sand dunes at dawn and sunset etc. All very cool. You can also go a bit further towards the coast and do sandboarding, quadbiking etc.

I would do it all again tomorrow if I had the money.

[LDNrevs]

havoc said:

So far it seems that the 3 most common destinations are:-
- S. Africa (Kruger)
- Tanzania (Serengeti and Ngorongoro (sp?) crater)
- Kenya / Kilimanjaro

You know that Kilimanjaro is also in Tanzania, right? + you also have Zanzibar if that takes your fancy. As an aside and without getting 'done' for advertising; a close relative runs a resort in Tanzania on the Indian Ocean coastline called Changani. See www.changanibeachcottages.com - if you're up for a whirlwind tour of Africa's 'gem' then feel free to email them for more details.

[E36GUY]

Can't comment one others as I have only done one but we did the Selous Safari Camp in Tanzania and it was excellent. They have driven, walking and river safaris (being aside a river) so you get lots of choice and can see hippos and crocs at closer quarters. We were also lucky enough to come across three lionesses actually swimming across the river that our guide of over 30 years exp had never seen. Then, as the three were climbing out, we saw a croc coming at the rear-most lion, submerge then the lion let out a huge yelp and leapt out of the river like it was on springs!

A fantastic place where your very posh tent is on a platform in the brush with no border fencing so all sorts of wildlife is wandering about at night. They even have armed guards to collect and escort you to dinner after dark!

Nearby Ras Kutani (on the weblink as well) is worth a visit for ultimate chill out on an utterly deserted beach that seems endless and it's all only a 1/2 hr flight from Zanzibar and Pemba islands if you fancied that too.

http://www.selous.com/selous-safari-camp

[LDNrevs]

E36GUY said:

Nearby Ras Kutani (on the weblink as well) is worth a visit for ultimate chill out on an utterly deserted beach that seems endless and it's all only a 1/2 hr flight from Zanzibar and Pemba islands if you fancied that too.

Hah, Ras Kutani is the neighbouring resort to my families! E36, what was your overall impression of Ras Kutani, did you get it as a package with your safari?

[Catz]

E36GUY said:

Can't comment one others as I have only done one but we did the Selous Safari Camp in Tanzania and it was excellent. They have driven, walking and river safaris (being aside a river) so you get lots of choice and can see hippos and crocs at closer quarters. We were also lucky enough to come across three lionesses actually swimming across the river that our guide of over 30 years exp had never seen. Then, as the three were climbing out, we saw a croc coming at the rear-most lion, submerge then the lion let out a huge yelp and leapt out of the river like it was on springs!

That's where we went as well.

Did you see the elephants crossing the river too? We were lucky enough to be in a boat at the time.

As for the tents, had a hippo pass one night which was a bit scary and a bit smelly too. Another night the armed guards forgot about escorting us to dinner so we thought we'd be ok to head over ourselves, walked out of the tent with our torch and came face to face with a hyena!
It's amazing walking to your tent during the day and encountering giraffe just wandering about, we decided they were "the rabbits" of Selous because they just popped up everywhere then dashed off.

I want to go back!!!

[E36GUY]

LDNrevs said:

E36GUY said:

Nearby Ras Kutani (on the weblink as well) is worth a visit for ultimate chill out on an utterly deserted beach that seems endless and it's all only a 1/2 hr flight from Zanzibar and Pemba islands if you fancied that too.

Hah, Ras Kutani is the neighbouring resort to my families! E36, what was your overall impression of Ras Kutani, did you get it as a package with your safari?

Cool.

It was 4.5 years ago we where there on honeymoon so it may have changed a lot since there but we loved it. We went there first for a three chillout days after the wedding before going on adventures. Had a lovely time and enjoyed the charm factor of no electricity and if you wanted a hot shower you told them the night before and they'd send someone to light the boiler outside your hut. I recall the food being fantastic with mostly fresh fish on the menu.

We booked through the company my sister works for www.scottdunn.com

[LDNrevs]

E36GUY said:

LDNrevs said:

E36GUY said:

Nearby Ras Kutani (on the weblink as well) is worth a visit for ultimate chill out on an utterly deserted beach that seems endless and it's all only a 1/2 hr flight from Zanzibar and Pemba islands if you fancied that too.

Hah, Ras Kutani is the neighbouring resort to my families! E36, what was your overall impression of Ras Kutani, did you get it as a package with your safari?

Cool.

It was 4.5 years ago we where there on honeymoon so it may have changed a lot since there but we loved it. We went there first for a three chillout days after the wedding before going on adventures. Had a lovely time and enjoyed the charm factor of no electricity and if you wanted a hot shower you told them the night before and they'd send someone to light the boiler outside your hut. I recall the food being fantastic with mostly fresh fish on the menu.

We booked through the company my sister works for www.scottdunn.com

Hey thanks for the feedback and will check out Scott Dunn also. It's early days for my families venture out there so any pointers are a great help. Cheers.

[havoc]

Thanks for all the replies.

As for costs - I just saw one trip on the Scott Dunn website which was coming up at almost £11,000!!! HOW fkING MUCH???

[schmokin1]

I am a Namibia fan having been there a few times over the last 25 years. Last trip was Sep/Oct '07, guaranteed good weather at this time (also March is good). Flew direct from Gatport to Windhoek with Air Namibia for about 375 each return (economy). Did 2 1/2 weeks in the Skeleton Coast, Swakopmund, Etosha and Windhoek itself. Absolutely fantastic. We drove round but you can do fly round tours, or join a group on a 4x4 tour where you get a hilux per couple with built in tent (proper beds). Be aware that lodges in Etosha are booked up well in advance (state controlled) and that the booking system itself can be shambolic (comments book in the camps full of comments such as 'booked and paid deposit, got confirmation, turned up to be told no record of our booking, trip ruined etc') so would recommend you book through a private operator. There are all levels of luxury available in and around the parks, with budget to suit. We stayed in a mixture of B&Bs, a few nights in 4* hotels and camped a couple of nights, did quite a few trips/days in game parks, and ate out all the time and only spent 2 1/2 grand all in for two.

Also, it's an easy enough side trip to fly up to Vic Falls (please go to Zambia side, not Zim side for obvious reasons) and there are other things to do rather than animal spotting (gold/diamond mines, bushmen camps,rafting, boating, dune driving/surfing/climbing, fabulous fishing, best steaks in the world (Joes beer house, windhoek,mmmmmmmm!)

We'll be going back to do the bits we missed no question!