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safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?



 
 
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  #11  
Old March 24th, 2006, 12:39 AM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

In message
pervinca wrote:

Liz wrote:
In message
pervinca wrote:
-can anybody suggest me what area would be better, as far as it concerns
the most probable presence of animal and their migration?


In August, the Mara would be the better option.


if we fly to nairobi and visit mara, what would you suggest: to cross
the border and visit serengeti - as dave suggested - or to go to amboseli?

I really like Amboseli, but if it were me I'd always choose
Samburu/Buffalo Springs for the contrast of habitat and the different
animals and birds you'll see there.
The Mara is contiguous with Serengeti and has much the same wildlife.
Of course, you never know what you're going to see, but you can't go
straight from one to the other, it's quite a convoluted route.
I didn't see Dave's post: I seem to be missing quite a few news posts
since the w/e.


we would like to rest and enjoy the beaches, and to explore the island
with short trips. i'd love to go to pemba, too.
experiencing local good food will be a priority

On our first visit to Zanzibar we stayed at Mbweni Ruins Hotel, which
has its own beach, a bit outside Stone Town. However, they have their
own transport into town, or you can get a taxi. We went into town from
there, and also went out to visit Chumbe Island. We didn't get to
Pemba.
I can't remember the name of the place we stayed for the second trip,
but it was also nice and in the town. Also there are some bigger
hotels in town, I think there's a Serena, and some hotels right out of
town on the other side of the island.
It's a few years since we were there, but at the time Emerson and
Green's (which was called the New Emerson's to distinguish it from the
old one) was the place to visit for dinner. You booked through your
own hotel: we were told this before we went and I could hardly believe
it, but it seemed to be expected! If anyone has been there recently,
could they confirm it's as great as it used to be? You could also stay
there - we saw some of the rooms, which were characterful.
Both places we stayed at also had nice restaurants.
There was a nice seafront restaurant called Blues. Someone posted here
saying it had closed but they were hoping to open it again - I haven't
heard since, maybe someone else has?

Is there any way you can increase your safari time? Two weeks safari
and 4-7 days in Zanzibar might be a better balance,


in that case, would you rather suggest to visit: mara + serengeti +
ngorongoro, or serengeti + ngorongoro + manyara + tarangire?

If sticking to Tanzania, we flew to Nairobi and visited the national
park, then got a bus down to Arusha (I'd try to avoid this in future)
did Tarangire (2 nts) + Ngorongoro (3 nts) + Serengeti (6 nights) +
Lake Manyara (2 nights) + Selous (5 nights) + Zanzibar (4 nights) and
flew back from Dar. We could have done with another night at Manyara
and at Ngorongoro.

In August, though, I think you'd be better to stick to Kenya, as most
of the migration will be in the Mara by then. I'd definitely do the
Mara and stay there for 3-5 nights; also 5 nights at Samburu/Buffalo
Springs (I suppose you could cut it to 3 or 4!) a night at one of the
tree lodges (Treetops, The Ark or Mountain Lodge) and if you had time,
Amboseli or Nakuru. As you suggested, Nairobi NP is also well worth a
visit! This wouldn't be the most sensible order to do it in, but your
tour operator would advise! You can (or certainly could) fly to/from
Zanzibar from Nairobi.

Another time we went to Zanzibar/Chumbe first (via Dar), then flew to
Mombasa and went stright up to Shimba Hills, Tsavos East and West,
Amboseli, Samburu, Naro Moru and Nairobi NP and flew back from
Nairobi.

and maybe consider
putting Zanzibar at the beginning of the trip.

why? i thought safari is tiring, it is better to rest afterwards...

It's not tiring, you're in a vehicle most of the time, and most
itineraries have quite a long break in the middle of the day when
you're just hanging around the lodge. If you're on a private tour, you
can specify that you want your driver/guide to be 'at your disposal'
which means you can go out whenever you want, but standard brochure
safaris usually have a game drive before breakfast and one in the late
afternoon.
We go out early morning, after breakfast and late afternoon - I have a
very low boredom threshold for 'leisure time around pool', though most
of the lodges offer guided bird walks, visits to tribal villages etc
nowadays. I try to get a swim before lunch for some exercise and grab
a doze after lunch and sorting out my camera stuff. It gets dark just
after 18.30, and there isn't usually much to do after dinner (some of
the big lodges have naturalist slide shows or even videos, so you can
have an early night ready for your early morning drive. Some smaller
lodges/camps have night drives (extra cost usually) which are
variable, it's just your luck on the night.

Safari njema


thanks a lot liz, i was hoping you were going to answer after having
googled a bit

Teehee!

I'm quite opinionated, also I've only been to Africa in July, so
listen to what others have to say too.
Your needs/expectations could be quite different to mine!
Whatever, you'll have a great time, provided you don't try to cram too
much into your trip. Either take a longer trip or plan on making more
than one safari.
I'm really longing to get back again....
Apart from anything else, my advice could be getting a bit dated.
:-(
But I'm sure most things don't change quickly, except that lots of new
lodges keep opening!


Apart from the tree lodges, stay at least two, preferably three nights
at any one place.

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
  #12  
Old March 24th, 2006, 12:58 AM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

In message
pervinca wrote:

Dave Patterson wrote:
Not the best of timing to be in the midst of the migration..

Huh???
i know


The animals are up in the northern Serengeti (usually)
just considering the idea of crossing into Kenya.

is it possible?

I'm surprised Dave said that.
The migration is usually in Kenya by mid-July, though there will still
be plenty of wildebeest in Tz then too. Sometimes they are in the Mara
at the end of June, though I wouldn't go to the Mara in June or early
July if the migration was my main wanna-see.
I've been in the Mara and missed the migration was the second week of
July (1995): they arrived in their thousands the next week. In '02,
they arrived while we were there in the third week. On our other two
visits to the Mara ('94 and '97), they were already in big numbers by
mid-July.

I suggest the Masai Mara, Keekorok Lodge. Not costly,
good location for the migration entering Kenya.

great

I agree, but surely in mid-July - early August?
In mid-August, I'm told the best lodge to stay in is Serena: the
wildebeest cross the river very near there from around the 14th/15th
August, though it's not an exact date!

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
  #13  
Old March 24th, 2006, 10:51 AM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?




i suppose we have two options, before flying to zanzibar:
1 - we go to tanzania, kilimangiaro airport, and we visit serengeti and
ngorongoro parks.
2 - we fly to nairobi and visit nairobi park and masai mara.


Concerning your options and the time of the year, the game will be in the
Mara. Normally I prefer Tanzania above Kenia, but in this case I would go
for Kenia.

Bushregards,

Corné.

www.amukela.com




  #14  
Old March 24th, 2006, 02:23 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 23:37:25 +0100, pervinca wrote:

Liz wrote:


and maybe consider putting Zanzibar at the beginning of the trip.


why? i thought safari is tiring, it is better to rest afterwards...


Safari is thrilling, the beach is comparably boring.

But then not everybody has the same preferences, so I can't be
sure how you will take it.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
  #15  
Old March 24th, 2006, 03:56 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

Bill wrote:

Dave,

I went to your web site recently and was going to ask you some Q's
about booking a trip to Kenya but it looks like your site has 'gone
corporate' and that you may have sold the name ... are you out of the
tour booking business now?


Hi Bill.. I did sell the domain name and the new owner is one
of the country's top travel companies. As the web site shows, they
book tours for a number of the leading tour operators in all
price categories.

We are retiring when all of our clients have traveled this year.
Thanks for asking.

  #16  
Old March 25th, 2006, 12:29 AM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

Corné wrote:
Concerning your options and the time of the year, the game will be in the
Mara. Normally I prefer Tanzania above Kenia, but in this case I would go
for Kenia.


thanks a lot for confirming that.

Bushregards,



--
ciao
GiorgiaG
letterine a pervinca at tiscali punto fr
  #17  
Old March 25th, 2006, 12:40 AM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

Liz wrote:
In message
pervinca wrote:


if we fly to nairobi and visit mara, what would you suggest: to cross
the border and visit serengeti - as dave suggested - or to go to amboseli?


I really like Amboseli, but if it were me I'd always choose
Samburu/Buffalo Springs for the contrast of habitat and the different
animals and birds you'll see there.


good suggestion, i'll look for some infos about that.

The Mara is contiguous with Serengeti and has much the same wildlife.
Of course, you never know what you're going to see, but you can't go
straight from one to the other, it's quite a convoluted route.


ok, good to know.

On our first visit to Zanzibar we stayed at Mbweni Ruins Hotel, which
has its own beach, a bit outside Stone Town. However, they have their
own transport into town, or you can get a taxi. We went into town from
there, and also went out to visit Chumbe Island. We didn't get to
Pemba.
I can't remember the name of the place we stayed for the second trip,
but it was also nice and in the town. Also there are some bigger
hotels in town, I think there's a Serena, and some hotels right out of
town on the other side of the island.




It's a few years since we were there, but at the time Emerson and
Green's (which was called the New Emerson's to distinguish it from the
old one) was the place to visit for dinner.


i will try it for sure

In August, though, I think you'd be better to stick to Kenya, as most
of the migration will be in the Mara by then. I'd definitely do the
Mara and stay there for 3-5 nights; also 5 nights at Samburu/Buffalo
Springs (I suppose you could cut it to 3 or 4!) a night at one of the
tree lodges (Treetops, The Ark or Mountain Lodge) and if you had time,
Amboseli or Nakuru. As you suggested, Nairobi NP is also well worth a
visit! This wouldn't be the most sensible order to do it in, but your
tour operator would advise!


you know, this will probably be our trip.

You can (or certainly could) fly to/from
Zanzibar from Nairobi.


yes, i checked, at least twice per day.
nfortunately, we found no prime tickets to nairobi

i thought safari is tiring, it is better to rest afterwards...


It's not tiring, you're in a vehicle most of the time, and most
itineraries have quite a long break in the middle of the day when
you're just hanging around the lodge. If you're on a private tour, you
can specify that you want your driver/guide to be 'at your disposal'
which means you can go out whenever you want, but standard brochure
safaris usually have a game drive before breakfast and one in the late
afternoon.
We go out early morning, after breakfast and late afternoon - I have a
very low boredom threshold for 'leisure time around pool', though most
of the lodges offer guided bird walks, visits to tribal villages etc
nowadays. I try to get a swim before lunch for some exercise and grab
a doze after lunch and sorting out my camera stuff. It gets dark just
after 18.30, and there isn't usually much to do after dinner (some of
the big lodges have naturalist slide shows or even videos, so you can
have an early night ready for your early morning drive. Some smaller
lodges/camps have night drives (extra cost usually) which are
variable, it's just your luck on the night.


hmm, i am a real dummy...

thanks a lot liz, i was hoping you were going to answer after having
googled a bit


Teehee!




I'm quite opinionated, also I've only been to Africa in July, so
listen to what others have to say too.
Your needs/expectations could be quite different to mine!
Whatever, you'll have a great time, provided you don't try to cram too
much into your trip. Either take a longer trip or plan on making more
than one safari.


that's what we want to avoid, we know the story...

I'm really longing to get back again....


wow, i guess i will really understand only after having been there, won't i?

Apart from anything else, my advice could be getting a bit dated.
:-(
But I'm sure most things don't change quickly, except that lots of new
lodges keep opening!

Apart from the tree lodges, stay at least two, preferably three nights
at any one place.


thank you so much for your advice, it's only thanks to that that i'll
manage to organize that holiday!

Safari njema


warmest regards, liz, and my best wishes to be back there soon ))
--
ciao
GiorgiaG
mail to pervinca at tiscali dot fr
  #18  
Old March 25th, 2006, 04:40 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?


"pervinca" schreef in bericht
...
Corné wrote:
Concerning your options and the time of the year, the game will be in

the
Mara. Normally I prefer Tanzania above Kenia, but in this case I would

go
for Kenia.


thanks a lot for confirming that.

Bushregards,



--
ciao
GiorgiaG
letterine a pervinca at tiscali punto fr


Welcome!

Corné.

www.amukela.com



  #19  
Old March 25th, 2006, 10:00 PM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Posts: n/a
Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

In message
pervinca wrote:

Liz wrote:


Apart from the tree lodges, stay at least two, preferably three nights
at any one place.

thank you so much for your advice, it's only thanks to that that i'll
manage to organize that holiday!

You'll have a fantastic time.
Remember to post back to tell us how you got on!

warmest regards, liz, and my best wishes to be back there soon ))

Thanks.
I just have to find a travelling companion and I'll be there!

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
  #20  
Old March 26th, 2006, 12:16 AM posted to rec.travel.africa
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Default safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

Liz wrote:
You'll have a fantastic time.
Remember to post back to tell us how you got on!


sure, but i suppose i'll bother you again before that

I just have to find a travelling companion and I'll be there!


i'll keep my fingers crossed, then
--
ciao
GiorgiaG
letterine a pervinca at tiscali punto fr
 




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