USVI-On-Line

We've pretty much decided that our next major vacation will be an African safari. We were thinking about trips we've always wanted to take that are physically demanding. I hope that I can get a big snorkel belt and paddle around the Caribbean when I'm 80, but it seemed a good idea to get to Africa while I'm still fairly fit.

Decades ago I worked in West Africa for a couple of years, but never travelled to East or South Africa, which is where the most wildlife is found. But it did give me a sense of African realities.

It'll probably take a couple of years to put this trip together. It'll be expensive and there's a whole lot of research and planning to do. I did a search and see that there have been a couple of threads about safaris. I'll be reading them and certainly will have questions. Any info will be appreciated. Feels a bit like starting to research a trip to the moon.

Hi Lex,

Anthony asked if I would respond some to your inquiry as we were on safari this summer in Kenya. Of course, it was quite wonderful. Several years ago we went on one in Tanzania and always knew we would do it again (next time, Botswana). In Kenya we were in 5 parks. Rather than go into detail here, I'll direct you to my blog where you can read about it some. The link should be in my signature. Scroll down the right sidebar to labels and you'll see Africa. Voila, click and you're there.

Also, if you go to the other link in signature, you'll go to my now defunct website. I did a rather lengthy entry on Tanzania. Unfortunately, it tends not to open right in most browsers--which was not always the case so don't know what happened. If it does open for you, there are some good photos and info there. Give it a try. It used to open in IE but last time I tried, it didn't. Sometimes if you hit refresh it works. (just tried it in Firefox and today it opened perfectly--weird.)

You are right, Safari is an expensive proposition. I can recommend a really good operator there--we didn't use him but in retrospect, which we did. http://www.menengaiholidays.com/

Also, there is a great website done by a friend of mine which is a good resource for mostly east Africa

http://www.bushdrums.com/news/home.php

I should add in Tanzania we went with a small group and that worked very well--fortunately. In Kenya we did a private safari with just 3 of us--mom, dad, son. We worked with the operator which was Southern Cross and designed our own itinerary and chose our own lodges. We had the same guide throughout the trip except for the Mara which is explained in the blog.

Hope this gives some food for thought.

My daughter is going to South Africa in January 2011. Here is the safari they booked. One of her companions has done this safari and got to be friends with the owners. They gave them a heck of a deal for a two day safari at $175USD each.

http://www.mohlabetsi.co.za/index.html

I'd be happy to share their itinerary and photos after the trip.

They are going to Capetown and Zanzibar also.

We did a safari in the Chobe National Park in Botswana. It was fantastic. We did both jeep safari's and river safari's. Both were incredible!! We even spent a day in Zambia and went to Victoria Falls. Definately a once in a lifetime trip!!

Jane, I managed to open up all of your links. I can see whileing away my hours living vicariously through your travels. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Lex, I have some alternative views regarding safaris in southern Africa. Though organized tours are structured and rewarding in their own ways, they wouldn't be my first choice. Personally, I would land in Johannesburg, rent a car, get the heck out of Jo-berg asap,and head towards Kruger Park. Kruger is about 4 hours from the airport if you went there directly, though I would stop in lovely Pilgrim's Rest and spend a night there and then proceed to Kruger where you can rent great private accommodations in the form of cottages called rondovals, which are clean and well equipped. In Kruger, which is huge, you can drive numerous loops on your own and come back to a home base. Now, it is strictly forbidden for safety reasons to leave your car while driving in Kruger, except certain areas. I would strongly advise you to Google Kruger Park and check it out. Just my opinion, which is based on personal experience.
JT

JT is more along the line that my daughter is heading towards. Check out the website that I posted earlier. It's a more intimate safari. Rent a vehicle, but do not drive in the dark. Get out of Jo-ho during daylight and head to your destination.

It's in the Balule Nature Reserve in the Kruger Park area.

.

Lex, What part of West Africa did you live. I lived in Monrovia, Liberia for 4 years. Check out Ngoro Ngoro in East Africa, just gorgeous! Laura

may want to try the following site:

http://www.oattravel.com/

For those of you that have recently been to South Africa, which car rental agency did you use and did you rent a GPS?

Thanks for the responses. There's a lot to learn. I'll be reading all the reports and following all the links. Definitely a lot of follow up questions. I greatly appreciate any info or links.

There's a number of countries where people go on safari. I have to get a clear enough picture to understand why I might prefer one country over another. Then where in a particular country. And what time of year. And what types of safaris there are or what are the alternatives to going on an organized safari. And cost. I have read a little about the Great Migration and it sounds like it would be heaven. I'm really just at the very beginning of what will be an interesting process. Kind of like deciding to go to the moon, then realizing that we'll have to decide beforehand just where on the moon we want to go.

JT---I didn't know you'd been to Africa. When was that? Did you go direct to South Africa or was it part of a larger trip? Did you travel more than to Kruger Park?

Laura--I spent two years in northern Ghana in the late 1970s. When were you in Liberia? Liberia's been pretty stable for several years but before that there was a long stretch of really severe unrest there.

Loveto--I took a quick look at the oat travel site. They offer some wonderful deals. Are you familiar with them at all?

Lex, We left just before the civil unrest got really bad, we lived on the outskirts of Monrovia referred to as Caldwell/Mamba Point area. We saw first hand the devastation that the diamond industry had in the area/locals/tribes(did not realize the facts until later) I will return to Africa one day, I love that continant, east, west and south. Never been to north, but my brother flew somewhere north to Moroco and met the family in Barclona. Good times. Laura

Lex

I am not familiar with them, but a close friend of mine has been on trips with them. They are taking the Kenya and Tanzania 19 day trip in February with them. I agree that their rates are pretty reasonable!!! They come highly recommended.

Hi Lex!

We were in Botswana and Zimbabwe some years ago, and like you we started to plan our trip a year before. First it was our plan to go to Tanzania and end the trip with a beach vacation on the beautiful island Zanzibar. But then there were a lot of riots on Zanzibar, and some friends, who have visited several different places in Africa, told us that the best experience they have had, was in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. So we decided to go to Botswana, we had a great experience, visited Chobe National Park too, and ended up in the fantastic Victoria Falls.

Here you can find the first part of my TR (totally 5 parts)
http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... t=botswana

Botswana was at that time a little more expensive, than for example South Africa.
But there were not so many tourists, which meant that if you saw some lions there was not
a lot of people looking at the same. We really were feeling that we were explorers, sleeping in small tents and with food prepared on the fire. But that was the way we choose to do it. You can easily find trips with more comfort.

Africa is worth a visit!

Linne