Has anyone been on an african safari?

[bryce330]

Hey GQ Geek - are you still planning on going at the end of August? Did you decide on a destination?

I'm trying to find a safari trip around New Year's/early January - I really want to see Victoria Falls as well so I am looking at a few trips that cover S. Africa/Botswana/Zambia.

If anyone else has any thoughts or experiences I would love to hear about them.

 

[SantosLHalper]

I did South Africa in June 2006.

We spent 15 days in SA and used Cape Town as our base for 10 days - we did a day in wine country, drove down to the Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island, etc. All worthwhile trips.

We were at the Djuma Wildlife preserve for about 5 days, and stayed at one of the all-inclusive game lodges with a guide and all that. We had a lot of success with the guides. They were top notch and we were really taken care of. Over the course of 5 days, we say pretty much everything we wanted to see, and were probably able to see things that others didn't because our guide and tracker were good at what they did. A self guided tour would be interesting, but if this is the only trip you'll make there, I say make it worthwhile. The stuff we saw with our guide would have been impossible on our own.

I found that June was a great time to be there. It was warm enough for short sleeves during the day and a light jacket at night. Not much rain at all.

 

[Nugget]

Sorry.. think I was ducking and diving in Jan when this thread started.

GQGeek - or others - PM me and I should be able to hook you up with local rates for most places in Kenya -it's still the best in EA and safe again.

I'll be in Dubai in August should still be able to help.

If I'm around, I can put you up in Muthiaga club for the Nairobi stopovers for about 20USD and that is a special place...

 

[thoran]

No, I hven't been to African safari. I thought of going for African safari in htis summer/

 

[dirk diggler]

went on one in Kenya last year in Masa Mari area. absolutely wonderful. smoked a lot of good cigars, drank too much jack daniels and enjoyed some lovely scenery. well worth the 5 hour drive from hell there from Nairobi.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by bryce330

Hey GQ Geek - are you still planning on going at the end of August? Did you decide on a destination?

I'm trying to find a safari trip around New Year's/early January - I really want to see Victoria Falls as well so I am looking at a few trips that cover S. Africa/Botswana/Zambia.

If anyone else has any thoughts or experiences I would love to hear about them.

No. I was planning on going with a gf from Toronto but that fell through because we couldn't get get our vacations to coincide and I also need to use my vacation time this year for LSAT prep in September (which I hadn't been planning on before).

As I'm sure you noticed, my next big trip is going to be South America for 4 months (already enrolled in an Open Water scuba course), so I'll have to try and fit Africa into an xmas break if/when I get in to law school. I still want to go really badly, but I couldn't fill 4 months with it, and I really want to use the time to improve my spanish fluency.

FWIW, I was seriously considering Tanzania as my destination of choice. If I had unlimited budget, there are other places, but I felt Tanzania struck a decent balance between good value and being too crowded with tourists. As you'll see, safaris basically start at $500 pp per day and go up to about 1000. Some countries are more expensive than others, and not all safaris are created equally. Wish I could be more help but that's all I can really remember from my initial research.

Also, if you can afford it, go on a tour that takes you into the jungle looking for gorrillas. I can say from experience that the jungle is awesome and it would be an experience of a lifetime. Visiting countries like these really changes your outlook on things (maybe we should force artisan fan to spend some time in the jungle).

 

[X-It]

 

[Davidko19]

bump!


Just booked a trip for November and would love to hear more recent experiences.


Im going form LAX-Nairobi, stay there for 2-3 days then head south to visit a friend who lives in Tanzania doing volunteer work. Then 4 of us are going on a 5-day safari then flying over to zanzibar for a few days before flying back outta Nairobi.

Flight was 1200
5-day safari looks to be about 1300
additional flight to zanzibar about 400
plus other rooms and incidentals puts us at probably 4k total

 

[michellefashion]

I have been to Nairobi and Kenya to be specific.

This is a place you can share a life time moment that will not easily fade from your mind.
I had an opportunity to visit their sunny beaches at Mombasa. A great moment to be in your shorts, sandals or other beach wear.

The country is also a home to great animal parks with a wide range of animals.
The people are friendly this even makes the trip a better experience.

Well if you are worrying about the cost... trust me you get more than you have bargained for.

 

[taxgenius]



I have been to Nairobi and Kenya to be specific.

This is a place you can share a life time moment that will not easily fade from your mind. 
I had an opportunity to visit their sunny beaches at Mombasa. A great moment to be in your shorts, sandals or other beach wear.

The country is also a home to great animal parks with a wide range of animals. 
The people are friendly this even makes the trip a better experience. 

Well if you are worrying about the cost... trust me you get more than you have bargained for.

Was safety an issue?

 

[blukoi]

When in Nairobi several years ago, I was fortunate enough to go on Safari. It was amazing.
We got to see lions with a fresh kill feeding their cubs.

I'm a big fan of East Africa, we got to do a quickie Safari in Tanzania a few years ago,
it too was great.

If you get the chance, go. It's so amazing.

BK

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

I'm thinking about going on safari in Kenya, but the State Department travel warning has my worried. Any thoughts?

 

[GQgeek]

I wouldn't worry about it. Just exhibit caution. Those sorts of warnings are almost always in effect for countries like that. what you should pay attention to are particular areas to avoid. for instance, when i was in colombia, I stayed the hell away from places like turbo and buenaventura but overall had a good time.

I do admit to being very tense a couple of times though. I drove through this ratty little town at night (which is a no no but i got stuck so it was unavoidable). It was a bit like a scene out of mad max with all the dirt, dilapidated buildings and all the shady guys on bikes etc (probably 50 of them). the road became one lane and everyone was out in the streets and i had motorbikes on either side of me, people staring at me through the car windows, banging on the windows, etc. it was obviously fine in the end but that kind of attention in that type of place can put you on guard. I also think I was being followed by 3 guys once but i I stepped into a restaurant and got a cab before anything could happen. And who knows if it would have but it's best to leave your ego in the US and do the safe thing if you feel something is wrong. i have more stories but don't want to worry you.

In your case, you probably want to stay away from the border with Somalia. Read up on the local security situation before you go because those state dept. warnings aren't updated that frequently and often aren't precise enough.

If you're going on safari you'll be fine since most of your time will be spent with people that know the country. When you're traveling between cities, or doing stuff alone in the city, you'll have to exhibit more caution than you would in dc. Keep your cell phone out of sight. Don't wear anything flashy. Always watch where you're going and as much as possible maintain an awareness of the people around you. I also carry mugging money (seriously). Don't want to be pissing off some unstable armed guy with no respect for life because he thinks you're holding out on him.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Thanks for the feedback, GQgeek. I did a lot of research on the security/crime issue and decided to take the plunge.

 

[JLibourel]



Like Conne, I am a bit of a *****. I don't like having to think about diseases or run around looking for yellow fever shots.

It does strike me that a lot of the guys I have known who have hunted or otherwise spent time in Africa have died young.

A lot of people have asked me if I would like to go to Africa. I have replied, "Not particularly." Mostly, this is because I simply hate flying. The idea of flying to anyplace in Africa is positively daunting. I am not afraid of flying. I just really dislike the discomfort (in no small measure due to my size) and general indignity of the whole business.

And then when I get to Africa, what do I do? Shoot a kudu, have its head mounted so that it can look down from the wall on me in spiral-horned. glassy-eyed reproach for the rest of my days, or what? When I was young, I thought it would be cool to live in baronial splendor and have a capacious trophy room adorned with triumphs of the chase from around the world. Well, I don't live in baronial splendor, and I can only imagine the reaction of my wife if I began festooning the walls with the heads of kudu, gemsbok, roan, eland and such. Besides, the older I get, the less appealing the recreational killing of animals becomes to me.