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First Time on Safari to Africa Questions



 
 
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  #11  
Old December 7th, 2004, 08:20 PM
Joel
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Eben..I particularly liked your approach and this is how I primarily
plan trips in the US and abroad. For whatever reason I'm getting
intimidated by the thought of putting this together. Let's say I take
your approach and I pick East Africa/Kenya and settle on three parks
for a 2 week period. Do you have names or web sites of some local
companies that do private safaris like you describe? How does this
work with staying at a lodge/camp? Do they meet you there or do they
arrange the whole thing for you? For example, I decided to stay at
the Mara Serena Lodge for three days which costs $250 per night (this
is an example). They do their own morning game drives (probably 6
people in a Land Rover). I want to have a vehicle to myself for the
day where the guide will speak English, point out game, accommodate us
for photography, etc.. I think this is essentially what you describe.
I'd MUCH prefer to do it this way assuming the costs do not get out of
hand.

For travel purposes, where or whom can I contact to arrange flights
between camps if I choose not to drive between them

Terry.. Can you explain further about safety. Do you mean in Nairobi
itself or traveling on the roads?

--Joel

  #12  
Old December 7th, 2004, 09:59 PM
Liz
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In message .com
"Joel" wrote:

Eben..I particularly liked your approach and this is how I primarily
plan trips in the US and abroad. For whatever reason I'm getting
intimidated by the thought of putting this together. Let's say I take
your approach and I pick East Africa/Kenya and settle on three parks
for a 2 week period. Do you have names or web sites of some local
companies that do private safaris like you describe? How does this
work with staying at a lodge/camp? Do they meet you there or do they
arrange the whole thing for you? For example, I decided to stay at
the Mara Serena Lodge for three days which costs $250 per night (this
is an example). They do their own morning game drives (probably 6
people in a Land Rover). I want to have a vehicle to myself for the
day where the guide will speak English, point out game, accommodate us
for photography, etc.. I think this is essentially what you describe.
I'd MUCH prefer to do it this way assuming the costs do not get out of
hand.

For travel purposes, where or whom can I contact to arrange flights
between camps if I choose not to drive between them


I'm just going to butt in here...
(Talking of Kenya/Tz, I haven't been to SA)
If you choose the right company, one which really specialises in 'tailor
mades', you can arrange whatever you want with them. You will meet your
personal driver/guide in Nairobi, say, and he will stay with you for your
whole trip. You could also opt to do some of the trip with your driver/guide
then fly to another place, either to cut the journey or because you're going
to a private ranch.
BTW, if you book through a sizeable company they often have a group discount
with the lodges, so can save you money, even allowing for their markup. I
book in the UK so that I'll have ATOL protection obviously, but also to save
money this way and on flights. Things may be different in the US, I couldn't
possibly say.

Such as Serena Lodges offer various fly/stay packages.
You pick a package and fly between the different lodges.
Advantage: save travelling along bumpy roads.
Disadvantages: Africa lives much of its life outside houses: you can learn a
lot as you travel along said bumpy roads, and its interesting.
You have to get used to a different driver/guide at each
lodge, maybe on each game drive.
You may get lucky and find that no-one else wants to use the
lodge vehicles: most people come on a vehicle and go out with
their driver/guide. However, I don't think they'd guarantee
you a private vehicle on this sort of arrangement: most
lodges only have a couple of vehicles, and would be unlikely
to alienate other paying fly/stayers by not having a vehicle
available for their game drives.
flying is more expensive, and doesn't always save much time,
as the internal flight schedules aren't always 'to schedule':
you can spend a lot of time waiting for your flight (think
"African time").

If you want to mix and match lodges e.g. Serena/Block/Intrepids/whatever,
get a tour company to cope with the logistics.

(BTW, it might seem that the local guides will know their local 'patch'
better: this is probably true in some of the expensive private ranches, but
not necessarily in such as the Mara, Samburu etc, as the 'general' guides
tend to be in and out of these parks constantly. In general the newbie
drivers learn the ropes in Nairobi NP and by being the 'second' driver in a
larger safari (more than six people between two vehicles after their basic
training.

Basically, decide what you want to do, then contact two or three companies
to see what they recommend and see how they would put together the trip for
you: they will arrange everything you want. They might be able to suggest
changes that would either enhance your trip or save you money, but make sure
this is for *your* benefit, not theirs.

My two usual bits of advice:
Don't try to cram in too many different place on one trip, or you'll spend
most of your time travelling between them.
If visiting Kenya, visit Samburu/Buffalo Springs.
For the rest, it depends on your main interests.

Safari njema

Liz

--
Virtual Liz now at http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"
  #13  
Old December 7th, 2004, 10:34 PM
Chomkuti
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Try email Tor Allan he is with out doupt one of
the most experianced guides and Safari opperators in East Africa. Some
info on were he leads safaris can be found at 'www.africanexp.com'
(
http://www.africanexp.com) under the Tanzania page.


--
Chomkuti
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  #14  
Old December 8th, 2004, 01:51 AM
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Joel

Can you give us an idea (month) of when you can travel?

We need to narrow down the country and parks a bit before I can be more
specific. The questions you ask vary considerably between parks and
lodges/camps. For example, I will certainly fly-in to Kleins Camp,
Grumeti Camp or the Governors Camps and depend on them to drive me.
They have open vehicles which is great and their guides know the areas
around the camps best. And they often put only 2 people in a vehicle -
no need to pay surcharges.

But I will not do this at many other lodges. Lodge vehicles are often
"out of commission" with various excuses so they can fill each with
tourists! It will be impossible to get exclusive use - even if you
reserved months ahead. The 2004 jul-sep period in Tanzania was a zoo.
Serena Hotels were overbooked and with stranded tourists everywhere
their vehicles were tied up while they drove people around - not to see
wildlife, but to find places to stay!

Some of the better tented camps have their own safari operations and
will pick you up and drive you around the parks just like independent
outfitters. During peak times, this may be the only way to get you into
their camps at prime locations!

  #15  
Old December 8th, 2004, 04:35 AM
Joel
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I can pretty much travel when I want. I understand that the migration
happens in July-Sep in Tanzania but it is also peak season with many
tourists. I'd be willing off travel off peak. Towards the end of
summer/beginning of fall would be ideal though.

--Joel
wrote:
Joel

Can you give us an idea (month) of when you can travel?

We need to narrow down the country and parks a bit before I can be

more
specific. The questions you ask vary considerably between parks and
lodges/camps. For example, I will certainly fly-in to Kleins Camp,
Grumeti Camp or the Governors Camps and depend on them to drive me.
They have open vehicles which is great and their guides know the

areas
around the camps best. And they often put only 2 people in a vehicle

-
no need to pay surcharges.

But I will not do this at many other lodges. Lodge vehicles are often
"out of commission" with various excuses so they can fill each with
tourists! It will be impossible to get exclusive use - even if you
reserved months ahead. The 2004 jul-sep period in Tanzania was a

zoo.
Serena Hotels were overbooked and with stranded tourists everywhere
their vehicles were tied up while they drove people around - not to

see
wildlife, but to find places to stay!

Some of the better tented camps have their own safari operations and
will pick you up and drive you around the parks just like independent
outfitters. During peak times, this may be the only way to get you

into
their camps at prime locations!


  #16  
Old December 8th, 2004, 05:37 AM
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Ok, September/October is Kenya time!

Your main focus must be the Masai Mara. 3 groups of Wildebeests and
zebra join together to form a huge concentration of wildlife. When I
close my eyes and envision Africa, this is about as close as it gets!

The resident herds, the Serengeti herds from the south and the Loita
herds from the north (in total close to a million) are now milling
around, going back and forth across the Mara River where the crocodiles
await in the water, the predators watch on the banks and the hippos
relax with little regard for the life and dead struggles around them.

By early Oct, the herds are starting to split. The Loita herds are
moving north and north east, and the Serengeti herds are moving towards
the south, staying more or less on the western half of the park.

This time of year, I would fly in from Nairobi to the Mara and stay at
the Governors camps or Mara Serena (cheaper) - basically as close to
the Mara river as I can. Kichwa, Olenana and others are good options
too (they are outside the park). These are fly-in safaris using the
camp driver/guides. At Little Governors, the hippos feed next to your
tent at night, and elephants walse through in the afternoon during
their swamp visit.

Would spend at least 3 nights, maybe splitting my time between two
camps to try and see the few leopards.

During the day, it's simply matter of finding a hill top and wait.
Something will happen before too long. Watch for hyenas (they are my
favourite) - always up to something. The cheetahs to the north of the
Mara will hunt daily. The lions will rest, but in the afternoons they
will start to position themselves - just look where the Big Cat Diary
vehicles are going!

And in the heat of the day, listen to the radio or watch the large
herds on the move - a crossing may be eminent. It is hard to watch, yet
you cannot turn away. Nature is doing its thing in brutal ways every
day.

After 4 or 5 days, what do you do for an encore? Go for something
different. Samburu to see the gerenuks and reticulated giraffes or Lake
Nakuru if you did not see leopard earlier and for rhino, flamingos
Rothschild's giraffes.

I would probably do the Mara at the end of my trip - it is a tough act
to follow.

What do you think?

  #17  
Old December 8th, 2004, 03:35 PM
Rita Daggett
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The lions will rest, but in the afternoons they
will start to position themselves - just look where the Big Cat Diary
vehicles are going!

Talking of which - there was a programme on BBC TV recently about lions
being in trouble, and they quoted the famous Mara/Big Cat Diary prides as
examples. I cant recall the details now, but it was to do with pride
structures breaking down with no mature males to take them over.
When we were in Zambia last year we were told that the lions in Lower
Zambezi were 'in a mess' - there were too many young males; few females, and
if the females had cubs, one of the males would kill them, as there wasnt a
strong enough 'pride male' to defend them.
--
Rita Daggett




  #18  
Old December 8th, 2004, 06:12 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
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On 6 Dec 2004 15:52:16 -0800, "Joel" wrote:

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.


Joel,

that's only half true, but if you drive yourself, you can take a
ranger or guide along on your first few game drives. There's not
that much you need to know. Only a few species can be dangerous
to a car, and you need to know these and keep a certain
distance. Actually, just observing the behavior of the animals
should already tell you everything, because animals always give
clear signals when you begin to come too close.

As to finding the animals, you will find many anyway, but there
are a few that a ranger or guide can find more easily. Taking
somebody along is inexpensive. I still recommend to do some game
drives on your own.

You need a GPS, of course, since you don't know the places. You
can download routes and waypoints from
http://www.michna.com/gps.htm.

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


Third world countries have a few traps you can fall into. It all
depends on how much experience you have with travelling in
developing countries.

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.


Yes, that's possible. Have a look at www.rasuls.com for Kenya.

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


Speaking for Kenya, I would tend to say no, particularly for a
first time trip. The big nature reserves like Samburu and Maasai
Mara are hard to beat.

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.


I'm not American, but this should hardly matter. The concern, in
my view, is crime, not terrorism.

Please have a look at http://www.michna.com/kenya.htm, which is
a fairly complete guide to a self-drive safari. At least he
check lists should be useful even if you end up using the
services of a tour company.

Did I mention a GPS? Don't go without one and make yourself well
familiar with it before you leave.

Hans-Georg

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  #19  
Old December 8th, 2004, 06:12 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
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On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 09:13:16 -0700, Dave Patterson
wrote:

Joel wrote:


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.


Especially true of self-drive safaris in east Africa. Parks are big, roads
are generally not marked, and you could waste time just trying to
find your way around.


Dave,

can't confirm that. Good maps are available for the whole of
Kenya, maps including an excellent GPS map are available for
Maasai Mara, you don't need a map for Samburu and buffalo
springs, but again GPS routes are available for that area as
well.

Your comment would be true though if somebody tried to move
there without a GPS, which I think is foolish.

Hans-Georg

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No mail, please.
  #20  
Old December 8th, 2004, 06:12 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
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On 7 Dec 2004 19:35:07 -0800, "Joel" wrote:

I can pretty much travel when I want. I understand that the migration
happens in July-Sep in Tanzania but it is also peak season with many
tourists. I'd be willing off travel off peak. Towards the end of
summer/beginning of fall would be ideal though.


Joel,

October is the peak of the short rains in Kenya, the second
rainy season. Most people would probably say that it's not an
ideal time for Kenya, but actually the short rains aren't too
bad. Some people even say it's a good idea to use that time.

September is a very good month if money plays no role. June is
the month where you pay off-season prices in most lodges, which
can be a lot cheaper.

I almost always visit Kenya in June.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
 




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