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"Rita Daggett" wrote:

Personally, I'd go for more nights per place at fewer places.
The roads arent that good so the travelling is tiring (although you will see
game along the way, and African life).

Sorry I'm getting into this thread late. I've not been able to get
onto Usenet for months!

Definitely, but better still have a longer trip!
If you move on every day, you'll have very little time in the game
parks and reserves.

Nothing wrong with the places mentioned in your itinerary, but the
distances between them are big. You'd want at least two weeks to do
that itinerary!
Also, Shaba is off the main tourist itinerary: there's nothing wrong
with it, in fact it's one of the more scenic reserves, and the lodge
is fine, but usually the game is mostly in Samburu/Buffalo Springs. We
stayed at Shaba one year, and ended up driving into Samburu or Buffalo
Springs every day since there was so little game in Shaba.. Nowadays I
understand, if you did that you'd be charged extra (one fee for Shaba,
one for whichever of the others you went into), not to mention the
waste of time (about 1/2 hour each way). Mountain Lodge is OK, I was
there in July and there were very few animals at the waterhole, but
there were some Bush Pigs the first evening just as the sun was going
down. Even the Syke's/Blue monkeys were scarcer than the last time I
was there. However, if you're interested in birds and go out the
nature walk (quite expensive) there are birds there you won't see
elsewhere.
Lake Nakuru was great in late July: the third time I've been there,
and definitely the most flamingoes! That's just luck, they move around
at will.
I was really, really lucky in the Mara. The wildebeest and zebra were
crossing the river on 2nd August (but not the previous day, though
they had been in late July, apparently) which is very early. It
usually starts in mid-August, and doing a trip timed to see the river
crossing was going to be my second retiral trip.

Really, Mazda, try to get a longer safari. The trouble with the trip I
was on this year was that it was only 13 days: the longest I could get
(not being able to afford a private trip on my own in July). :-(

Slainte

Liz

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