Looking for ideas about a honeymoon safari

Hi all,

my girl-friend and i are looking for some ideas for a honeymoon safari.
We are not newcomers as we spent some time in Africa : two years in
Cameroon, two safaris in Kenya, 1 in Tanzania and one in Botswana.

We are looking for a romantic and luxurious place where we may have two
weeks of safari in a rich wildlife area.

Requirements are the following :
inside a wildlife reserve
beautiful landscape
luxurious tented camp or lodge
highest quality of game guides
opportunities for having other activities like walking, night
safaris, ....
balloon or aircraft trips
fine place for bird watching also

So, your best ideas even the craziest ones are expected.

Thanks for all.

Carine and Frederic

In Kenya - Finch Hattons in Tsavo. http://www.finchhattons.com/
the NEW Larsens in Samburu. http://www.wildernesslodges.co.ke/ (then
select Larsens)
No balloons either place.
Bateleur Camp @ Kichwa Tembo in the Masai Mara. Balloon here, of course.

http://www.ccafrica.com/accommodatio...11/lodgeid-2-1

In South Africa, anyplace in the Sabi Sands reserve - great wildlife -
but these are truly costly.
My favorite is not the most pretentious: Londolozi
http://www.ccafrica.com/reserve-1-id-2-6

Since you have been on safari in Tanzania, Kenya, and Botswana, you have
already experienced
the natural world for safaris. It is less so in South Africa; much more
managed.
But - in fairness - if it is luxury you are seeking, you will find it
there.

In message .com
"Fred" wrote:

Hi all,

my girl-friend and i are looking for some ideas for a honeymoon safari.
We are not newcomers as we spent some time in Africa : two years in
Cameroon, two safaris in Kenya, 1 in Tanzania and one in Botswana.

We are looking for a romantic and luxurious place where we may have two
weeks of safari in a rich wildlife area.

Requirements are the following :
inside a wildlife reserve
beautiful landscape
luxurious tented camp or lodge
highest quality of game guides
opportunities for having other activities like walking, night
safaris, ....
balloon or aircraft trips
fine place for bird watching also

Have you set a date yet?
This may make a difference to our suggestions ...

Slainte

Liz


--
http://www.v-liz.com - Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Galapagos
Photo Gallery:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/g...emberID=165111

Dear Dave,

thank you for your advice, recommandations and adresses.

In fact, luxury is not our primary requirement. The first one is
wildlife !

We have already been to Larsen's Camp in Samburu which is tipiccaly the
kind of place we are looking for. May be do you remember, my story
about our last trip in Kenya and the few days we spent in Larsen's.

Best regards.

Fred

Dave Patterson a écrit :

In Kenya - Finch Hattons in Tsavo. http://www.finchhattons.com/
the NEW Larsens in Samburu. http://www.wildernesslodges.co.ke/ (then
select Larsens)
No balloons either place.
Bateleur Camp @ Kichwa Tembo in the Masai Mara. Balloon here, of course.

http://www.ccafrica.com/accommodatio...11/lodgeid-2-1

In South Africa, anyplace in the Sabi Sands reserve - great wildlife -
but these are truly costly.
My favorite is not the most pretentious: Londolozi
http://www.ccafrica.com/reserve-1-id-2-6

Since you have been on safari in Tanzania, Kenya, and Botswana, you have
already experienced
the natural world for safaris. It is less so in South Africa; much more
managed.
But - in fairness - if it is luxury you are seeking, you will find it
there.

Dear Liz,

thank you for your answer.
In fact, we really do not know the season we are going to travel ...
So this is completely open !
Thank you for your advice.

Fred

Liz Leyden a écrit :

In message .com
"Fred" wrote:

Hi all,

my girl-friend and i are looking for some ideas for a honeymoon safari.
We are not newcomers as we spent some time in Africa : two years in
Cameroon, two safaris in Kenya, 1 in Tanzania and one in Botswana.

We are looking for a romantic and luxurious place where we may have two
weeks of safari in a rich wildlife area.

Requirements are the following :
inside a wildlife reserve
beautiful landscape
luxurious tented camp or lodge
highest quality of game guides
opportunities for having other activities like walking, night
safaris, ....
balloon or aircraft trips
fine place for bird watching also

Have you set a date yet?
This may make a difference to our suggestions ...

Slainte

Liz


--
http://www.v-liz.com - Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Galapagos
Photo Gallery:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/g...emberID=165111

Fred, I do now remember your posting - in fact, I forwarded
it to the owners of Larsens. It was helpful to us as well..
and, as it turned out, the group of 18 clients who traveled
with us in September named it as their favorite stop!

Dave,

i am happy this posting has been useful and that people spent a
delicious moment in Larsens.
For my girlfriend and i this si tippically the kind of place we are
enjoying.

Regards

P.S : you can see some of my pictures at the following address :
http://picasaweb.google.fr/Frederic.Salein/


Dave Patterson a écrit :

Fred, I do now remember your posting - in fact, I forwarded
it to the owners of Larsens. It was helpful to us as well..
and, as it turned out, the group of 18 clients who traveled
with us in September named it as their favorite stop!

In message om
"Fred" wrote:

Dave,

i am happy this posting has been useful and that people spent a
delicious moment in Larsens.
For my girlfriend and i this si tippically the kind of place we are
enjoying.

I suspect your best bet will be Botswana, if its within your budget.
Small camps, personal service and guiding, great wildlife and birds.
Hearsay only, it's way outside my budget!

Since I see you're interested in birds, the best places in Kenya are
Lake Baringo, Kakamega Forest and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.

At Lake Baringo you have two main choices of accommodation in the
non-basic category: Baringo Island Camp and the Lake Baringo Club.
The Camp is more romantic and secluded, not as luxurious as Larsen's.
At weekends it can be quite busy with expats and residents coming out
from Nairobi. The Club has a much bigger variety of bird species (more
habitats), but since Block lost it, it's been going downhill: I was
there in July and although it was more than adequate for my needs, it
might not be small/luxurious enough for you. Both the Club and the
Camp have bird guides and boats. Also on the mainland there's a local
guy called Cliff who can take you into the village areas and take you
a boat trip, though it will be expensive if no-one else wants to share
the boat. He took us to see Heuglin's Courser, which is pretty
difficult to see normally (it's nocturnal). He puts his money back
into the local community, and since he's looking towards marriage,
he's training up some young lads in bird guiding so they can take over
when he goes for personally paid employment in the next couple of
years. From the boats, the guides whistle down Fish Eagles for fish,
so you can get some nice photos: mind you, it depends who goes out
first - if they've already been fed, they just stick in their tree
when whistled! I got some nice pix on the boat trip especially, we
were out for about 3 hours (wear a hat and take water!), but still
haven't had time to get any of my pics form this trip onto my website.
Bird list from two earlier visits:
http://www.v-liz.com/safari/baring.htm

At Kakamega Forest you can stay at Rondo Retreat and they will find
you a bird guide. We had Wilberforce Okeka who was great; we heard
from others that at least two of the other guides are excellent too.
Bird list: http://www.v-liz.com/safari/kakamega/kaklis.htm

If you're going all the way out to Kakamega, you might as well go to
Rusinga Island Camp on Lake Victoria, small, remote, very romantic.
It's mostly for fishing, but if you're not interested (I'm not) just
tell them you want to watch birds, and they'll help you. The Luo
boatman took us out on the lake and told us lots of his tribe's
stories and traditions (because I asked). I think he was a bit
perplexed by us not wanting to fish (I don't know what kind of fish
they get, but they had one of these seats they strap you into when
going for sailfish off the coast), but was happy to show us the birds
and otters.
List: http://www.v-liz.com/safari/lakvic/rusin2.htm

For Arabuko-Sokoke Forest you can stay at any of the Malindi/Watamu
hotels and hire a car. We stayed at Ocean Sports (aka Open Shorts) in
Watamu. At the forest, you can hire a bird guide. We had David Ngala
who was mega excellent, but he isn't always there nowadays, but he
certainly was about for part of last year, so you could ask. Anyway,
if he's trained the other guides, they should also be very good.
List: http://www.v-liz.com/safari/aralis.htm

I hear the luxurious lodge at Meru is fantastic and very romantic.

Safari njema

Liz

--
http://www.v-liz.com - Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Galapagos
Photo Gallery:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/g...emberID=165111

Another suggestion, more within the range of 'bog-standard safari
circuits for two or three nights, might be Loldia House on Lake
Nakuru: it's an old colonial house from the 1930s. Food is great -
watch out for them constantly refilling your glass - they do it
without you noticing and the bill might be a shock.

(Also the much cheaper, less 'romantic', Lake Naivasha Club, though I
don't know who's running it now.)

Again you can go bird/nature walks (small bucks and monkeys), or boat
trips, or visit Crescent Island or even visit the local school.
http://www.v-liz.com.safari/naivasha/naivlis.htm

Slainte

Liz


--
http://www.v-liz.com - Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Galapagos
Photo Gallery:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/g...emberID=165111

Dear liz,

thank you for all your kind advice.

In fact, we have already been to Botswana and we had a beautiful safari
there but i think we prefer Kenya.

Moreover, we have already been to Navaisha and to Baringo (especially
the lodge on the island which is a really rimantic place) and we had a
marvellous time seekin and watching birds on the lake, on the bank and
in the bush near the cliffs where we have seen many interesting birds
(may be do you remember the message i sent to you about this safari in
Kenya).

My girlfriend and i went on with this idea and our last focus is to
stay in Masai Mara and have game drives, bird and bush walks and
romantic diners in one or two different locations.

Depending on the season and on th places, we would like to know what
part of Masai Mara are the best ?

In parallel of our e-talks, we have also consulted some french travel
agencies. One of them made a proposal (which seems very attractive but
also very luxurious and expensive) which is the following : Cottars
1920.

Do you know this place and the services provided there ? Have you hear
about it ?

Thanks in advance and i wish you an happy new year full of wilderness
dreams !

Best regards

Fred

P.S You can see some of my pictures at the following address
http://picasaweb.google.fr/Frederic.Salein/


Liz Leyden a écrit :

Another suggestion, more within the range of 'bog-standard safari
circuits for two or three nights, might be Loldia House on Lake
Nakuru: it's an old colonial house from the 1930s. Food is great -
watch out for them constantly refilling your glass - they do it
without you noticing and the bill might be a shock.

(Also the much cheaper, less 'romantic', Lake Naivasha Club, though I
don't know who's running it now.)

Again you can go bird/nature walks (small bucks and monkeys), or boat
trips, or visit Crescent Island or even visit the local school.
http://www.v-liz.com.safari/naivasha/naivlis.htm

Slainte

Liz


--
http://www.v-liz.com - Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Galapagos
Photo Gallery:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/g...emberID=165111