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#11
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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
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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
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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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chomkuti's Profile: http://travelforums.org/forums/member.php?userid=228 View this thread: http://travelforums.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19172 This post was submitted via http://www.TravelForums.org |
#14
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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! |
#16
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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
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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
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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 -- No mail, please. |
#19
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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 -- No mail, please. |
#20
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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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