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Northern Tanzania: How long where?



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 26th, 2004, 02:09 AM
Lola C.
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

Hello everybody,

We´re planing a trip to Northern Tanzania at the end of May begining
of June. It's our first trip to Africa and cannot really wait !!

We'll stay there around 24 days (it will depend on the final flight
arrangements). We want to spend the first two and half weeks visiting
the parks and the last week or so in Zanzibar.

The idea is not to see everything but rather dedicate some reasonable
time to the places we visit. I know we have plenty of time but there
seem to be so many things to see and enjoy...
I wanted some advice on how many days is worth spending in the
different parks.

Our current plans a
- NP Arusha - 1 night
- Serengeti - 4 nights
- Ngorongoro - 2 nights
- Lake Eyasi - 1 night
- Tarangire - 2 nights
- Lake Manyara - 2 nights
- Lake Natron - 2 nights

I indicate the nights as the traveling time in between places will
have an impact on the time we dedicate to actually "exploring" the
places.

Would you recomend other places?
More/less time to any of these?
Is it a bit "too much" of the same? We're very tempted to include
Gombe in our trip but we were told this would need around 4 days
(apart from the cost impact). Would you trade any of these for the
chimps in Gombe? Or rather go to Selous instead?

I appreciate any advise you may have. I was also wondering whether
late May is a good time to go or whether would be better to wait a
couple of weeks. What would you recomend?

I've been reading some of your posts and they've been most inspiring.

Thanks,
Lola

Lola C.
  #2  
Old February 26th, 2004, 10:46 AM
Hans-Georg Michna
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

Lola,

I hope others will chime in with details, but let me quickly
give two general recommendations.

1. I think your itinerary is cramped because you're travelling
too much. I greatly prefer to spend at least three nights in one
place, except if the place is small and has only one particular
point to see, like a small lake. So check these places carefully
again and perhaps drop one to be able to stay at another for a
day longer. Consider that most places are very big, so on your
next day you would still see other places, other landscapes,
other animals, other events, while still staying conveniently at
the same lodge, sparing yourself the packing, squeezing into a
car, the dust, then the unpacking and moving into yet another
unknown place.

2. Unless you have a particular interest in something in
Zanzibar, I would recommend to either drop it altogether or not
to stay there for so long (a few days may be enough), and
particularly not to do it at the end of your trip, because you
may find it relatively boring.

How about going to Zanzibar first, for no more than one week,
perhaps just 4 days?

Of course I don't know your personal inclinations, likes, and
dislikes, so I may be wrong, but I've experienced people
complaining of boredom when dropped into a beach hotel at the
end of a wildlife safari. Others will certainly have different
opinions and hopefully write them down here, so you get a well
mixed bag of opinions.

Hans-Georg

--
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  #3  
Old February 26th, 2004, 10:56 AM
Rita Daggett
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

I agree with previous reply regarding timing - I'd say spend at least 3
nights in each place. The travel between places can be long, uncomfortable
and tiring - although there ARE opportunities for game-spotting on the
journey, sometimes you'll have to be travelling as fast as conditions allow
just to get there! Its nice to have some time to get to know a place a bit
better so that you feel more relaxed, and are not continually
packing/unpacking!
I'm not so against a beach 'rest' at the end - esp if you want to
dive/snorkel, but I'd also advocate a bit of a 'rest' at the beginning to
get over your flights to Tanzania - remember that safaris involve early
morning starts!
Of the places you list, I've only been to Ngorongoro and Serengeti - we
spent 3 nights at Ng, and 3 nights at each of 2 lodges in the Serengeti -
both in the north, which in retrospect was probably a mistake, it would have
been better to have one 3-night stay 'on the plains'.
--
Rita Daggett


  #4  
Old February 28th, 2004, 03:08 AM
Lola Cano
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

Many thanks for your answers; they've been very inspiring and
revealing!! Re-reading my post I see we were a bit anxious to see
everything: exactly the contrary of what we wanted !!!

We definetely need to do some thinking to get it balanced. We're now
thinking in reducing the time in the north. Serengeti and Ngorongoro
are a must. We need to see about the rest. I've read that Lake Natron
is very interesting. What would you think?

Rita, why would you change your choices? Where do you mean by 'on the
plains'?

I'm personally very tempted by Gombe: the chimps, the lake... This
would add more variety on landscapes and animals. We need to see the
cost... It's quite far away. have you been there? Is it worth the
trip?
Alternatively we'll spend some time in Dar es Salam and go to Selous.

About Zanzibar we were planning to do some diving and use it to clean
out the 'dust' of the plains.

Thanks again and happy to hear any other suggestion you may have.

Lola C.

  #5  
Old February 28th, 2004, 06:52 PM
Mathias Kussinger
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

Lola Cano wrote:
Alternatively we'll spend some time in Dar es Salam and go to Selous.

About Zanzibar we were planning to do some diving and use it to clean
out the 'dust' of the plains.

Thanks again and happy to hear any other suggestion you may have.

Lola C.


Hi Lola,

as you now start thinking about southern Tanzania, what
about:
- Ruaha, very nice
- One of the great lakes. I have been at the noth of
Lake Malawi at Matema and will be there back again.

Regards,
Mathias

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Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers

  #6  
Old March 1st, 2004, 01:16 PM
Rita Daggett
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?




Rita, why would you change your choices? Where do you mean by 'on the
plains'?


I'm not good at remembering names but there is a Serena Lodge 'on the
Plains' and I think there are others?
Basically there is a large area of what ones thinks of as 'the Serengeti' -
miles and miles of open land with the odd kopje - we drove through this to
stay further north at Migration Camp (towards the Kenya border) and Kirawira
Lodge (we were hoping to catch the migration just before it went over the
border into the Mara - we managed to catch the very tail end of it); in
retrospect I think we should have stayed at the Serengeti Serena instead of
Kirawira; I liked Migration Camp tho (not a Serena one) tho I've since heard
from someone who stayed there the following year and was not impressed.

I'm personally very tempted by Gombe: the chimps, the lake... This
would add more variety on landscapes and animals. We need to see the
cost... It's quite far away. have you been there? Is it worth the
trip?

Cant answer that as never been there - I would like to see chimps too, but
recent TV progs about the area indicate the chimps are now in quite a small
area; all around has been de-forested.
--
Rita Daggett


  #7  
Old March 17th, 2004, 01:57 AM
Not the Karl Orff
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

Just an additional question, is there any Wildebeest migration to be
seen in June and where would it be?
  #8  
Old March 17th, 2004, 02:26 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

Not the Karl Orff wrote:

Just an additional question, is there any Wildebeest migration to be
seen in June and where would it be?


Very difficult to say, as this year's weather is unusual.
Sometimes they are moving from Tanzania into Kenya in June, but
in some years they come later. Usually they then move back in
September.

Correct me, anyone, if I'm off by a month.

Have the rains come to Kenya yet?

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
  #9  
Old March 17th, 2004, 06:47 PM
Not the Karl Orff
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

In article ,
Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

Not the Karl Orff wrote:

Just an additional question, is there any Wildebeest migration to be
seen in June and where would it be?


Very difficult to say, as this year's weather is unusual.
Sometimes they are moving from Tanzania into Kenya in June, but
in some years they come later. Usually they then move back in
September.

Correct me, anyone, if I'm off by a month.

Have the rains come to Kenya yet?


What's weird about this year? The "long rains" haven't arrived yet?
  #10  
Old March 18th, 2004, 02:33 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
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Default Northern Tanzania: How long where?

Not the Karl Orff wrote:

What's weird about this year? The "long rains" haven't arrived yet?


Haven't had any very recent news, but there were some sporadic
rains in February, then nothing. I don't know whether the rains
have begun in the last few weeks.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
 




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