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  #11  
Old February 26th, 2006, 12:51 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

Michael Kilpatrick writes ...

How would you get around between the lodges?
In Sth Africa I would just hire a car but I'm having real trouble finding
an option that doesn't involve booking into a tour, or hiring a guide who
would be with me for the whole trip (which seems a bit of an odd way of
doing things).


In Tanzania you cannot enter the National Parks or Ngorongoro
Conservation Area without a guide. I suggest hiring someone out of
Arusha from one of the safari companies and letting them take care of
the park fees, hotels, 4x4 and driver. All the hotels we stayed at had
staff quarters where the drivers stayed, this is part of the ticket.
If you email me I'll give you the name of the safari company we used
and I can also recommend five of the drivers that we shared on our
trip.

Kenya is different, you can go on your own.

Bill

  #12  
Old February 26th, 2006, 01:05 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

In message
"Michael Kilpatrick" wrote:

Thanks Liz

Yes, it could all change - I'm pretty much forced to plan at least 4 mnths
ahead because of work, so I might just have to hope for the best.

Tell me about it!
In fact, if you leave it too late, you might find it a lot harder to
arrange exactly what you're looking for, since as Dave says, tourism
has picked up.

I think you have to plan as best you can, but try to have a flexible
mindset. For example, when we went to Seychelles, I had the whole
thing planned out to include a day on Fregate to see the Magpie Robin,
which at that time was only to be found there (some have since been
located onto another island as 'insurance'. But when we got to
Praslin, they'd changed the flight days, and the only day we could
have gone there was the day we had to go back to Mahe to connect back
to Nairobi and onwards. Sooooooooo frustrating, but I learned things
about myself that I didn't like (I seemed to be on the verge of a
'toddler tantrum'!) and learned about the importance of 'accepting the
things I can't change', and relaxing and enjoying the moment.
(Ironically, the flight to Nairobi was cancelled, meaning a delay of
30 hours, but that's another story).

The best way to hedge your bets might be to plan on enjoying seeing
things other than the migration, so not spending all your time in one
place, e.g. Ngorongoro is great most of the year. Although some people
have complained about the crowds, we had our own vehicle/guide so
could do what we wanted. We even had late lunches so the thieving
Kites were already sated by the time we got to the picnic site. It's
cool in the Caldera in July, and cold at the rim where the lodges are.
The Texans and people from Florida were wearing puffa jackets (!), but
we're made of sterner stuff - a fleece was fine on the rim, and a
long-sleeved shirt over the t-shirt in the caldera, for most of the
day.

Safari njema

Liz

--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm
  #13  
Old February 26th, 2006, 01:15 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

In message
"Michael Kilpatrick" wrote:

Thanks again Liz. That sounds like well informed advice.

How would you get around between the lodges?

In Sth Africa I would just hire a car but I'm having real trouble finding an
option that doesn't involve booking into a tour, or hiring a guide who
would be with me for the whole trip (which seems a bit of an odd way
of doing things).


Interesting info from Bill that you must have a guide. That must be
new, we definitely met people who were self-driving when we were in
Tz.
However, having a guide for the whole trip is IMO the best bet since
they can get used to you and your quirks, and get to know what you're
interested in and help you to find it.
I don't know if you can fly from lodge to lodge in Tz like you can in
Kenya, if so you can go out with the lodge guides, who are likely to
be very good, but you have no control over who else is in your vehicle
and you'd probably have to compromise on interests.

IMO, the guides are worth every penny (they're not paid all that well
by our terms, so aren't as expensive as you might think) since they
know the area well and can help you find things you'd find difficult
on your own. They know the language and can get additional info from
other people, and they have the infrastructure in case of vehicular
problems: they all help each other, but often, understandably, don't
help self-drivers in difficulties (though sometimes they do,
especially if they might be in danger).

YMMV etc.

Safari njema

Liz
--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm
  #14  
Old February 26th, 2006, 01:16 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

In message
Liz wrote:

In message
"Michael Kilpatrick" wrote:

Thanks again Liz. That sounds like well informed advice.

How would you get around between the lodges?

In Sth Africa I would just hire a car but I'm having real trouble finding an
option that doesn't involve booking into a tour, or hiring a guide who
would be with me for the whole trip (which seems a bit of an odd way
of doing things).


Interesting info from Bill that you must have a guide. That must be
new, we definitely met people who were self-driving when we were in
Tz.
However, having a guide for the whole trip is IMO the best bet since
they can get used to you and your quirks, and get to know what you're
interested in and help you to find it.
I don't know if you can fly from lodge to lodge in Tz like you can in
Kenya, if so you can go out with the lodge guides, who are likely to
be very good, but you have no control over who else is in your vehicle
and you'd probably have to compromise on interests.

IMO, the guides are worth every penny (they're not paid all that well
by our terms, so aren't as expensive as you might think) since they
know the area well and can help you find things you'd find difficult
on your own. They know the language and can get additional info from
other people, and they have the infrastructure in case of vehicular
problems: they all help each other, but often, understandably, don't
help self-drivers in difficulties (though sometimes they do,
especially if they might be in danger).

YMMV etc.

Safari njema

Liz



--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm
  #15  
Old February 26th, 2006, 01:18 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

(Whoops, replying to myself, I must get off this machine and get my
second year reports written!)

In message
Liz wrote:

In message
"Michael Kilpatrick" wrote:

Thanks again Liz. That sounds like well informed advice.

How would you get around between the lodges?

In Sth Africa I would just hire a car but I'm having real trouble finding an
option that doesn't involve booking into a tour, or hiring a guide who
would be with me for the whole trip (which seems a bit of an odd way
of doing things).


Interesting info from Bill that you must have a guide. That must be
new, we definitely met people who were self-driving when we were in
Tz.

But now that I think about it, you could hire a non-driving guide from
the Serengeti HQ at Seronera, maybe that actually was compulsory.

Slainte

Liz

--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm
  #16  
Old February 26th, 2006, 03:50 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

Liz writes ..

Interesting info from Bill that you must have a guide. That must
be new, we definitely met people who were self-driving when we
were in Tz


I've only been there once so I could easily be wrong, but what we were
told is you can drive around on your own and even stay at campgrounds
outside the parks, but you couldn't visit parks like Serengeti or the
Ngorongoro crater without a guide. Maybe it's different for Africans.
The paperwork was checked pretty carefully at all the entrance points.
Maybe Dave Patterson can give us a definitive answer?

I don't know if you can fly from lodge to lodge in Tz like you can
in Kenya


Regional Air has regularly scheduled daily air service from Arusha to
Lake Manyara, then Seronera (central Serengeti), then Grumeti (west of
Seronera in Serengeti) and less often they fly to Klein's Camp (north
Serengeti) ... we were told this was a reputable company if you wanted
to fly and they also can arrange private charters ...
http://www.airkenya.com/docs/regair3.htm

I can't see the point in flying to Manyara since it's two hours on nice
paved roads from Arusha but I can understand why someone might want to
fly into Seronera and meet a driver there and avoid many miles of
bumpy, dusty roads.

Bill

  #17  
Old February 26th, 2006, 04:04 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

A couple of comments about Michael's questions and
experiences in South Africa, as compared to east Africa..

I think you must have a guide no matter whether it is
mandatory or not. Their experience in the reserves is the
strongest asset they bring to your trip; you could easily
get disoriented in the Serengeti and have a hard time
just finding your way back to your lodge or camp!

If you want to see the migration, and can get to Tanzania by
June- then you will have a good experience there - except for
one factor that's out of your control: the lodges are heavily
booked and it will not be simple to string together an
itinerary that will satisfy you.

Do not go to Kenya in July expecting to find the migrating
herds there. Late August through October would be the most
reliable period for that.

A reasonable cost for your own guide & vehicle in Tanzania
would be (in US dollars) $175 per day. Could be a little less,
but you get what you pay for. A 3 to 4-star lodge the time
of the year you are considering will total $300 a day for
2 people, full board. Some places are considerably more
expensive, and there really are not a lot of lodges in the
Serengeti.

Kenya costs from July 1 onward are similar.

Park fees in Tanzania are $50 per person per 24-hour day, and
rise to $50 in Kenya July 1.

If all of this sounds discouraging, I don't intend that.
But, here at the end of February, it is very late to initiate a trip
to Tanzania at the time the migration is still there, and do
it without difficulty. Even Kenya in September is already
very heavily booked.



  #18  
Old February 26th, 2006, 04:16 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

In message . com
"Bill" wrote:

Liz writes ..

Interesting info from Bill that you must have a guide. That must
be new, we definitely met people who were self-driving when we
were in Tz


I've only been there once so I could easily be wrong, but what we were
told is you can drive around on your own and even stay at campgrounds
outside the parks, but you couldn't visit parks like Serengeti or the
Ngorongoro crater without a guide. Maybe it's different for Africans.
The paperwork was checked pretty carefully at all the entrance points.
Maybe Dave Patterson can give us a definitive answer?

It's ages ago since I was there, and things change all the time.
=:-0
Mind you, if they were checking at entrance points, the scenario of
hiring a guide at Seronera wouldn't apply, inasmuch as you could say
you were going to hire a guide, then not do it, or even buy a voucher
for a guide at the entrance (in theory) then not 'redeem' it. So I
guess the rules have certainly changed. It's a good idea, as it means
more people can get employment from wildlife tourism (economic
benefit).

Slainte

Liz


--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm
  #19  
Old February 26th, 2006, 06:14 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

Michael Kilpatrick writes ...

Hello Again Bill


Michael, sorry I didn't recognize you from our email exchange The
email address was different, my fault ...

Really my main reason for going would be in the hope of seeing the
huge numbers of animals in the migration


You might find this site interesting, it gives updates on exactly where
the migration is at the moment ... from reading last year's archives
you can see how difficult it is to pin-point it with exactness, yet the
basic pattern is moderately clear ...

http://www.atta.co.uk/nomad/index.html

Bill

  #20  
Old February 27th, 2006, 01:38 AM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default Bad Year to Go To East Africa?

Bill wrote:

Dave, I think it's still $25 USD per day in the lesser known parks like
Lake Manyara, Tarangire, Arusha, etc ...


Good news in one respect - I have 7 clients spending a couple
of nights @ Tarangire in June and I put $50/day in the costing.
I'll give them a nice surprise when I send out the final bill!
Manyara is also a place where the rate is charged per entrance,
not per day, and it is $25 still.

Have you actually sent many clients to Serengeti in the April - May
rainy season?


I haven't. Knowing that you are a lot more comfortable than
the average client would be with things like rain, I say GO..
Now that we are about 130 days with NO measurable
precipitation in the Phoenix area, a little rain sounds pretty good.

We're off to visit the son and his family tomorrow in a place
where a lot of rain is predicted - Kauai. I'm looking forward to it!

 




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