First Time on Safari to Africa Questions

I havent been to South Africa but from what I've read I think that if you want to drive yourself then that will be your best bet.

A good tour company will not cram lots of people into a mini-bus - you will each have a window seat. You will have a qualified driver/guide who will know where to go to find the animals/birds and know how to get you into the best positions to see them. You can spend your time looking at the animals and not the road/map. Extra eyes in the van may well mean you see more. You will have the back-up of the organisation to sort things out if anything goes wrong/get replacement vehicle for example. You can also have the option of your own vehicle and your own driver/guide. My own experience of this in Tanzania was not that good but it obvioulsy gives you much more flexibility. I think I prefer to fly from lodge/camp to camp and use the services of the local experts at each camp. Lodges and camps vary tremendously - some tented camps are more luxurious than the lodges, and (usually) a lot smaller. Dont know about USA; Kuoni is a very well-known and good company for first-time trips to East Africa (they will also do 'tailor-made'; Abercrombie and Kent is expensive but reputable. Sunvil will do tailor-made - dont think they do Kenya but they do Tanzania.

Marc, as you may have noticed, we are US safari operators with a home in South Africa.. and since most of our business has been in east Africa, I can speak from our experiences in both parts of the continent.

Not more friendly.. really warm and friendly, yes. But the Kenyan people, particularly, are the best we see in the tourism industry in making our clients feel welcome.

In the days when we got 10 rand for a dollar, certainly. But not now. Prices have remained stable in east Africa, while prices (to anyone spending US dollars) have risen dramatically in South Africa. The actual exchange rate today for tourists at an exchange window in South Africa is (12/7) is 5.5 rand to the US dollar, and a commission is then deducted from that.

I wish this was still the case, but (see above) exchange rates have changed the landscape. The rates to me (as a tour operator) are $ 160 per night more for the Grace in Rosebank, and $90 per night more for the Sandton Sun, than the rates I pay for the Serena in Nairobi. You have to step down to the Crowne Plaza in Sandton to find an equivalent rate to the Nairobi Serena.

On the other hand, restaurants in South Africa are still great values and amazing experiences for those of us from the US. No 'cookie-cutter' meals at most of them. Wonderful food both in the preparation and the presentation.

I was born in South Africa and grew up there. My whole family still lives there and I visit often. I think it is the best country in the world, but when it comes to game-viewing the answer is not so cut and dry.

What do you want your experience to be? Do you have a vision of open plains with thousands of animals milling around - under the opportunistic eyes of hyena, lion, fox, cheetah and leopard on the surrounding kopjes? In this experience it is almost a guarantee that you will see all of the above and more, including hippo, crocodile, elephant and even rhino in some areas.

Are you thinking of packing a picnic lunch, then finding a hill top and settle in for a few hours to watch the action in all 360 degrees?

Or are you thinking of searching for wildlife in a bush environment, not sure what you will see? You may spend 3 days and not see lion or cheetah or leopard - or maybe you will but they may be far away, or you spot them only briefly.

In a nutshell, that is the main difference between South African wildlife viewing and the open plains of East Africa.

For a first time safari, I would head to the open plains of East Africa. On my next trip, I would start to specialize. But then I have to compare South Africa with Zambia, Botswana, and even Uganda and Namibia.

Once you make this decision, the rest is easy. Depending on time of year, you can narrow down your park options. Then look for a private safari offered by just about all companies - thanks to stiff competition the two of you can enjoy the thrills of your own driver/guide starting at about $150 per day for the two of you (and you will see safari vehicles with 6 or more guests each paying upwards of $500 per person per day on their 'luxury' safari with one of those big safari companies!) But don't feel sorry for them.!

The lodge/camp decision is next. You can pay from $100 per night in decent lodges, or go for permanent tented camps from $180 per tent per night and scale up from there. (And guess what, you may end up at the same camp as those 'upscale' tourists you saw earlier!). They paid double but that is not your problem!

And so it goes! It always is a tough decision. Personally, I think the planning part is just as much fun as the trip itself!

I just want to add that I would avoid those big USA and UK tourist concerns with their packaged tours.

It is sad to see people in these packaged safari-taxis, driving from lodge to lodge on the same tour that departs every Monday for 7-14 days - visiting the same parks and lodges regardless of season and animal patterns.

Every country in Africa has many reputable local companies and many have been in business forever. Most are now completely capable of handling your safaris without the added expense of middlemen. Many take credit cards and all of them accept wires. All will be happy to customize your trip.

If you are worried about your money, please consider the fact that many ask for only a small deposit and you can pay the balance upon arrival with traveler checks! Go with a registered company in the country of interest and you will be fine. At the very least, most of your money will end up in the country where it is needed most. The UK and the USA don't need your safari money.

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?

Try email Tor Allan This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 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.

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

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!

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.

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?

The lions will rest, but in the afternoons they 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.