Hi Joel,

I might offend several regulars to this NG with what I'm about to say,
but I've got a thick skin, and I can handle the repercussions :-)

Besides, I'm entitled to my opinions, just as they are entitled to
theirs.

Personally, I'd recommend South Africa.

1) It's an easy country for Americans or Britons (or other English
speakers) to visit: There are very few language problems, everything
is much more "familiar" than in East Africa.

2) Service provision and service levels are, in general, far higher
than in East Africa.

3) South Africa can offer so much more.It's been called "The world in
one country" for good reason. You have access to literally hundreds
of excellent parks and reserves, you can choose between many different
types of area from desert, semi-desert, savannah, African sub-alpine,
montaigne forests, tropical forest. It offers great beaches, modern
cities, rural villages, all of the "sad" stories of Africa, and all of
the "happy" stories of Africa.

4) I believe that South Africans are, in general, more friendly than
the east Africans that you're likely to meet.

5) On this point I stand to be corrected, but I think that South
Africa will be cheaper to visit than Tanzania or Kenya. My experience
is that accomodation and meals of similar quality are 50% to 100% more
expensive in East Africa than in South Africa.. eg. you can stay at a
5-star hotel in Johannesburg for the same price as a 3-star in
Nairobi.

Please have a look at:
http://www.sanparks.org/
(I'm not involved in torism or the hospitallity industry at all, so I
have no financial interest in this NG. I just happen t travel
extensively in Africa for business and for recreation)

If you do decide to visit SA, please contact me. I'll be more than
happy to give you whatever info and assistance I can.

Regards,
Marc


On 6 Dec 2004 15:52:16 -0800, "Joel" wrote:

Hello to all. My wife and I are contemplating a safari to trip to
Africa this coming year. This will be our first time there. I've done
some reading in the newsgroup and the overwhelming response seems to be
to visit either Kenya and/or Tanzania for the first time. I had
originally planned on visiting South Africa, renting a car and going to
Kruger and Hluhluwe-Umfolozi but now I am not so sure. Some of my basic
parameters for putting together this trip a

1. I will spend between 9 - 12 days in country excluding travel days
from the US and back..

2. I personally dislike tours, have never used one although I realize
that independent travel to game parks while possible may be self
defeating. Without knowledge of animal behavior and how to approach, I
may essentially be driving around for a week and spending a lot of
money to do so.

3. I have no desire to be on a bus with 8 -10 people looking through a
small window and constantly driving around. I suspect that in order to
fully experience the parks that one must be patient and wait for things
to develop. I suspect that I will not get that on a typical safari
minivan.

4. I am not looking for this to be a photography trip per se. Being a
photographer myself, I will use a specialized photography photo safari
trip at a later date for that. This trip is designed for both my wife
and I to enjoy and savor.

5. I do not necessarily need 5 star luxury surroundings but we are not
interested in camping out in a small tents. Tented permanent camps are
fine.

My preliminary questions a

1. Is it advisable to use a tour company the first time around? What
do I gain or miss by doing so?

2. Where does one find reputable companies to deal with?

3. Is it possible to combine self touring on several days and hire
guides/driver for other days? Kruger has options like this where you
can pay to go a game drive.

4. Would I better off spending several days on a private reserve?
Although it costs significantly more I might have a better experience.

5. Putting US State Department hyperbole aside, is there any validity
to their concerns about Kenya? Curious to here feedback from other
Americans who have traveled there within the last year.

Any information would be greatly appreciated and I will certainly ask
more pointed questions as I research further.
Thank you in advance for your responses.

--Joel Turner