East Africa, anyone?

[justginger]

We've chosen our holiday destination for 2013 (yes, a bit early, but the motivation to do overtime never hurts!) -- safari! I'm ridiculously excited...until I think of all the immunizations I need to get...

Has anyone spent any time in Tanzania or Rwanda? I'm interested to know how practical it would be to plan and organize my own itinerary versus using an established tour operator. We definitely aren't interested in large-ish group tours, so no Peregrine, Intrepid, Gecko, etc. Having a handful of traveling companions in a locally organized tour would be fine though, especially if it works out to be highly favorable in terms of timing/pricing.

Soooo, speak up safari gurus! I'd love your advice and recommendations.

 

[OneFifty]

My inlaws went to Tanzania a few years ago and loved it. Seriously, they said it was the best vacation they had ever been on and they travel quite a bit.

As to the tour groups, they signed up with a group from their city zoo. So it was a group, but maybe 15 people max. It would probably be geared toward the older crowd, not sure if you are interested in a more active vacation. The tour took care of all of the logistics. They stayed in tents (nice tents) and even had to have someone bring them water to take a shower.

It was pretty touristy, but they saw so many wild animals up close. So many good pictures of the animals and scenery. Absolutely beautiful. The group also took a hot air balloon flight at sunrise that was amazing.

So, not my own experience, but the inlaws couldn't stop talking about it for a long time after they got home. Good luck on your planning.

 

[aviastar]

My husband and I are heading over this year! We are mostly planning our own itinerary, no tour groups. All the safaris we found were private anyway, or a max of four or six people per vehicle. We wanted to bounce around between Kenya and Tanzania, so we did a lot of research on transportation options, lodges to stay. One of the lodges we chose in Kenya recommended Liberty Africa Safaris to help us with transport, so we are working with them to arrange private transport in between some of our destinations. It's been confusing to sort out, but I think we mostly have our plans set now and I am really happy with how the trip is shaping up. I did a lot of reading on the Lonely Planet and Frodor's forums; you'd be surpised how many small in country companies have reviews and people posted their plans and tips, it was really helpful.

We are mixing luxury with affordability; camping sometimes and lodges other times (always in the cheapest room ) We were very lucky to have some contacts in Kenya (randomly, friends of some of our neighbors own a lodge outside of Nairobi) so we got some good, local, recommendations and they are being kind enough to welcome us into their home in Nairobi and as sort of a home base.

I'm really excited about the trip; it's our must-make-this-trip-before-kids year and as it comes together I just can't even believe that I am going to get to do some of the stuff we have planned!

 

[EricaR]

You need to get Kelpie to respond - she's an expert!

 

[kelpie]

Hi!

I think I've been on at least 8 safaris in the past 18 months since I live in Tanzania and it's cheaper than it'll ever be. I mostly use tour companies if there are logistics involved and I need a driver. You don't save a lot by doing it yourself, instead piecemeal may cost more. Usually we have a rented safari vehicle (toyota landcruiser with pop-up top) with just our party driven by a guide knowledgable about the wildlife.

I think you HAVE to go to serengeti. There's no place more amazing. It blows my mind so much that I've been there twice since April. You see the same sorts of animals in all the parks but the vastness of the landscape is so impressive and there's no place I've seen so many big cats. Other parks I've been to in Tanzania are ngorongoro (save for the wet season), arusha, selous, and mikumi. I've been to volcanos national park in Rwanda, and can tell you what not to do. We stayed at cold damp lodge and weren't prepared for the intense hike through the volcano jungle to find the gorillas. Once we found them it was super cool and the gorillas come do people tourism but you are only allowed to stay for an hour. Besides serengeti, my favorite trip has been victoria falls which included lunch on a boat on the zambezi. I flew there and stayed on the Zimbabwe side (better view) but some people I know took the train from Tanzania to Livingstone Zambia to get there and you see a ton of cool stuff on the way.

Here's two tour companies I like:
http://www.andbeyond.com/ (for a really luxurious experience)
http://www.kearsleys.com/safari_island_details.php?safari=2 (for a budget)

I was traumatized by my gorilla package so I asked my friend who said she had an amazing experience what she used. She says:

We stayed at the Serena in Kigali and the Virunga Lodge up in the
mountains. They both offer a nice East African rate.
They can google the Serena and here is the Virunga:
http://www.volcanoessafaris.com/safari-lodges/virunga-safari-lodge/

I have 2 companies that I can recommend for transport and permits:
BiziDanny:
http://www.bizidanny.com/
and
ADVENTURE TRAILS LTD
[email protected]

To sell you on serengeti I'm attaching some highlights from my april trip:

 

[justginger]

Kelpie! What excellent info! The plan was 5ish days in Rwanda (yes, to see the gorillas), a week in Tanzania doing Serengeti and Ngorongoro, and then 5ish days in Zanzibar on the beach. I'm going to have a look at your links as soon as I get home from work (working Sat...to pay for safari!).

 

[kelpie]

Sounds like a fantastic itinerary! My only advice is in regards to the amount of time spent in each place. You will only get to spend one hour with gorillas no matter how long you spend in Rwanda so it's something most people here do in a weekend. The countryside is the most beautiful I've ever seen, but you'll see it from your drive and hike. As much as I love safaris, most of your day is spent in the car so a day for travel on each end and 2 or a max of 3 days of game drives in each park will be sufficient to see millions of animals. Except for the rare rhino, you really don't need to seek out the animals, the parks are teaming with life. Don't feel like you need to hit every park, choosing ones with certain environments is a good way to see everything. For example Lake manyara is famous for its flamingos, but ngorongoro has a lake with thousands of flamingos too and you actually have to pass through manyara on your way to the airport so don't feel like you need a special trip. The animals are going to be mainly the same everywhere, so just choose stops with interesting landscapes. Lushoto is a really different landscape (they call it the Switzerland of Tanzania) so it might be a fun stop. You'll be exhausted from all the time in cars on dusty roads so spending a long time in Zanzibar to decompress is a good idea. There you can actually get out and be active or just relax on the beach. You need to pack for both really cold and really warm weather and bring some pencils or crayons for the children you'll meet.

 

[justginger]

We were going to spend extra time in Rwanda because I've heard excellent reviews in terms of friendliness, cleanliness, landscape, etc. The gorillas will only be a one day thing - at $750/permit now, we can't afford to go day after day! Nor do I think our stamina would be sufficient, though we'll be hitting the gym in the upcoming year to get our fitness up a bit before trekking.

Lushoto does look beautiful; it hadn't come up in any of my searches before now so I appreciate the suggestion.

Do you think doing Serengeti and Ngorongoro both is a bit of overkill? It seems that most suggested itineraries (group tours, etc) make a definite point of going to both. Maybe skip Ngorongoro and go to Lushoto instead? Or make an effort to get to Vic Falls?

What I have, basically, is 3 weeks. Maybe a day or two less, when you add in travel time (we're spending a couple of weeks in the States as well, catching up with family and friends). What sort of itinerary would you suggest for a first time visitor?

Avia: you sound like us - this is one of the final checks off our list before having kids! It was between East Africa and Chile/Argentina, but because of the time of year we'd like to travel, South America was excluded. That will be the following year, and then we can settle into the babymaking, lol.

 

[kelpie]

Rwanda is all those things, there's just not much to do. I was astounded by the cleanliness and infrastructure compared to Tanzania but the people are really really poor. In Tanzania people may be poorer but it's always warm so the poorest have their basic needs met just from the bounty of fruit and fish. Rwanda is so cold that it's tough to meet kids who might have on a sweater and nothing else. It is also a police state which is a little unnerving at first, but it's very safe as a result.

I would probably do ngorongoro after serengeti but only spend two nights so you do one day down in the crater. It's the only place you're fairly sure to see a rhino (though they are really shy and stay far from the cars). I think it depends on the time of year, January through May the crater should be really cool but I went two weeks ago and it was just a giant expanse of dust. I haven't been to the parks in Lushoto but I went to visit hospitals in neighboring Korogwe a few days ago and the landscape and the weather are so beautiful. It would be a fantastic place to go hiking and be a little more active. I think victoria falls ought to be a different itinerary all together unless you want to do something like see chimps instead of gorrillas and take the railway through western Tanzania to Zambia.

 

[justginger]

I'm not sure DH would mind being somewhere with not much to do for a few days - I tend to rush him around on holidays a bit!

I agree about Vic Falls - seemed too far out of the way for such a short holiday, saving that for the future. Just thought maybe you thought it would be a good idea, and I didn't want to throw a decent possibility out of the window.

I think we'll be going in the middle/end of July. We've got to get to the States for the first weekend of August, so probably the three weeks before that. I am hoping that as the water dries up there will be plenty of wildlife around the various watering holes?

I've been looking through Zanzibar photos, inserting myself in a hammock...

 

[vc10um]

ginger and avia, it sounds like you, your DHs, and myself and Mr. vc are all on the same wavelength! We are hopefully going to start planning a safari trip for Nov/Dec 2013 as our last big pre-baby hurrah trip!

Because of the timing of the trip, we'll be heading south to South Africa for our game drives and most likely adding on Victoria Falls as well. We are not sure if we'll make it over to Capetown or not, b/c Hubs is very much NOT a city kind of person. If it has lots of streets, lots of buildings, and lots of people, it's pretty much all the same to him, whether it's NYC or Berlin! The *single* exception might be Paris...but I'm not even sure about that one! Any idea on how to convince him otherwise?!?!

The one thing we really want to do is take the Rovos Rail luxury train (this might be how we travel to VFalls...otherwise we'll likely take it between Pretoria and Capetown). Like I said...this is a BLOW OUT trip, and we're going to leave "pre-parenthood" behind in STYLE.

 

[aviastar]

ginger and avia, it sounds like you, your DHs, and myself and Mr. vc are all on the same wavelength! We are hopefully going to start planning a safari trip for Nov/Dec 2013 as our last big pre-baby hurrah trip!

Because of the timing of the trip, we'll be heading south to South Africa for our game drives and most likely adding on Victoria Falls as well. We are not sure if we'll make it over to Capetown or not, b/c Hubs is very much NOT a city kind of person. If it has lots of streets, lots of buildings, and lots of people, it's pretty much all the same to him, whether it's NYC or Berlin! The *single* exception might be Paris...but I'm not even sure about that one! Any idea on how to convince him otherwise?!?!

The one thing we really want to do is take the Rovos Rail luxury train (this might be how we travel to VFalls...otherwise we'll likely take it between Pretoria and Capetown). Like I said...this is a BLOW OUT trip, and we're going to leave "pre-parenthood" behind in STYLE.

Exactly! AviaStud and I really saved for this and while we do have to mix some economy in with our luxury, we are determind to not regret not spending the money to have exactly the experience we want. So economy in Arusha, but 5 star in Mombasa on the beach; camping for our overnight safari but luxury for our stay in the game lodges

We heavily debated Serengeti vs. Crater and decided on Crater because a)it works out really well in our current itinerary to do just a short trip out of Arusha and the tour companies need more days than we have to go past the Crater and b) when we looked at our combined game viewing days across the various locations, animals will by far be what we spent the most time looking at and I think we've chosen locations that give us a good chance at catching what we most want to see (LIONS!) and a good mix of the others.

One thing we are currently debating: cameras. I have a fab little Canon G10 that I bought for my last big trip around the Mediterranean and it's awesome. Great quality, small enough to stash unobtrusively, takes HD video, all digital, great zoom- this thing has never let me down. But we also have a whole DSLR rig; telephoto lenses, filters, you name it. I think it would be awfully difficult and nerve wracking carry all that gear around all the time, buuuuuuuuutttttt...once in a lifetime chance to shoot pics of lions? Don't I want my best equipment? Thoughts?

 

[justginger]

Same thought pattern, avia. I've got a 6 month old Panasonic TZ30 with 16x optical zoom that handled our holiday this year very well. BUT does safari necessitate a big, badass camera? I feel compelled to go shopping for one! What did you take, kelpie?

Honestly, I'll probably stick with the little one I have. It's not disappointed me in the past and I already know how to use it to it's best capability - and it's easy to grab and use quickly. I'm sure I'd end up buying an expensive monster and never figure out how to use it properly.

 

[aviastar]

So here's something else I am learning...go ahead and start all your vaccinations now! We started as soon as we decided to go, but some need to be given closer to departure, some are series. And no matter how prepared you are there is always some complication.

We have learned today that after months of research, speaking with doctors, public health, that you have to have a perscription for yellow fever and typhoid. Our GP can't do the shots themselves, our pharmacy can, insurance will cover it, but not a single person has ever mentioned a perscription. Until today, the very day we had set aside to go over there and get it done and now it must be put off till I can speak with our GP about a perscription. And don't even get me started on the rabies protocol!

So start early, leave room for adjustments, and ask a lot of questions!

 

[Blackpaw]

Aviastar i wouldnt get the rabies vac! sorry if im repeating what you already know, but it doesnt protect you from rabies at all, it just reduces the number of shots you have to get after you get bitten by something that may be infected (very unlikely this would happen in any case!) - so its a case of get them now and still get them later, or get them later if you need to...we found travel vac clinics are often out to make a dime on this stuff unfortunately and recommend more than you really need.

JG, my SO and i went to Africa a few years ago, spent probably 2 or so months in East Africa. Id recommend doing Ngorongoro crater and the Serengeti. I agree with Kelpie, the Serengeti is the must do, its the lion king africa you know?! and Ngorongoro is just a sure bet to see lions etc, plus its really pretty. And they're conveniently located to each other so its pretty typical for itineraries to include both.

I cant really help with operators im afraid, we were backpacking and just found a local op in Arusha when we got there.

We did the gorillas from Uganda too so im afraid i cant help there either!

Oh Zanzibar is good fun, id have a couple of nights in stone town (if LIvingston bar/restaurant is still there on the waterfront i recommend it!) because its very cool, and then a few nights in a nice hotel on the beach if you're able to splash the cash.

And re the camera, i would invest in something with better telephoto if i were you! we took a larger point and shoot with us, and it had the longest zoom available in point and shoots at the time. But now i have a basic dslr and i wish like crazy i had it for that trip. But thats because we would like to print our photos down the track in larger sizes, if you're not into that than maybe dont bother, but i think you'd find with a regular compact camera you wont get much impact in your wildlife shots (at least for the animals that arent likely to be under your noses, like lions, rhinos etc).

Exciting trip to be planning, i really loved going on safari

 

[aviastar]

Blackpaw- we did decide against the rabies vaccine, but it was quite a circus between different recommendations, and insurance, and who had it, and who could give it. But since you can take the protocol after a bite, we decided to just try our luck cause we don't really plan on handling an animals.

My Canon G10 is a bit more than a point and shoot and I love it's zoom (optical) and it's pictures are 14.7 mega pixels, so I can blow them up as much as I want- I just don't want to regret not having my professional stuff (my husband an I both play around with amateur photography- play being the operative word). The other thing I really love about my G10 is that I can hold it steady in one hand; the big rig really needs two hands and something to brace my elbows on- we have a 200 and a 300 telephoto and they are BIG. I think we will want two cameras in any case, so the G10 will be in attendance and I'll let my husband decide what other equipment he wants to pack.

So fun to hear how other people are putting together their trips, too!

 

[April20]

ginger and avia, it sounds like you, your DHs, and myself and Mr. vc are all on the same wavelength! We are hopefully going to start planning a safari trip for Nov/Dec 2013 as our last big pre-baby hurrah trip!

Because of the timing of the trip, we'll be heading south to South Africa for our game drives and most likely adding on Victoria Falls as well. We are not sure if we'll make it over to Capetown or not, b/c Hubs is very much NOT a city kind of person. If it has lots of streets, lots of buildings, and lots of people, it's pretty much all the same to him, whether it's NYC or Berlin! The *single* exception might be Paris...but I'm not even sure about that one! Any idea on how to convince him otherwise?!?!

The one thing we really want to do is take the Rovos Rail luxury train (this might be how we travel to VFalls...otherwise we'll likely take it between Pretoria and Capetown). Like I said...this is a BLOW OUT trip, and we're going to leave "pre-parenthood" behind in STYLE.

If you can talk your DH into Cape Towm, GO!! DH and I lived in SA for 6 months last year and snuck down to CT for a week. It is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever been to. Seriously, it is amazing. I can dig up some pics if you need convincing. . There are wonderful wineries in Stellenbosch and Paarl and the drive around to the Cape of Good Hope amd the park itself is beautiful.

On a side note, if you are up in the Jo'burg/Pretoria neck of the woods, there's a lion park called Ukatuka that's not terribly far away. You can do a lion walk (2 guides and three juvenile lions) amd they also let you hold baby lions! That's the best part. It's worth the drive to hold a baby lion!

 

[vc10um]

ginger and avia, it sounds like you, your DHs, and myself and Mr. vc are all on the same wavelength! We are hopefully going to start planning a safari trip for Nov/Dec 2013 as our last big pre-baby hurrah trip!

Because of the timing of the trip, we'll be heading south to South Africa for our game drives and most likely adding on Victoria Falls as well. We are not sure if we'll make it over to Capetown or not, b/c Hubs is very much NOT a city kind of person. If it has lots of streets, lots of buildings, and lots of people, it's pretty much all the same to him, whether it's NYC or Berlin! The *single* exception might be Paris...but I'm not even sure about that one! Any idea on how to convince him otherwise?!?!

The one thing we really want to do is take the Rovos Rail luxury train (this might be how we travel to VFalls...otherwise we'll likely take it between Pretoria and Capetown). Like I said...this is a BLOW OUT trip, and we're going to leave "pre-parenthood" behind in STYLE.

If you can talk your DH into Cape Towm, GO!! DH and I lived in SA for 6 months last year and snuck down to CT for a week. It is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever been to. Seriously, it is amazing. I can dig up some pics if you need convincing. . There are wonderful wineries in Stellenbosch and Paarl and the drive around to the Cape of Good Hope amd the park itself is beautiful.

On a side note, if you are up in the Jo'burg/Pretoria neck of the woods, there's a lion park called Ukatuka that's not terribly far away. You can do a lion walk (2 guides and three juvenile lions) amd they also let you hold baby lions! That's the best part. It's worth the drive to hold a baby lion!

April, I think I would die. And cry. OMG...we MUST look into this! We'll definitely be in that area b/c regardless of which train we take (either to Cape Town via the Big Hole or to Vic Falls), we'll leave from Pretoria.

I have friends that have been to Cape Town, so I've definitely seen some amazing pictures...but if it's a tipping point between us going or not, I'll gladly give it up (for now) in hopes of making it back to SA and CT sometime in the future!

Off to do some research on Ukatuka!

(BTW, on the subject of cameras, my P&S is dying, so not only do I need to replace IT, but I'm also doing research on dSLRs as well, and plan on taking both with us to SA.)

 

[April20]

Here's some baby lion pictures. They also have a cheetah that was injured and rehab'd and you can pet her! Her name is Emma.

Here's a link: http://www.ukutula.com/

 

[vc10um]

::dies from cute::

THE PAWS!!!

Will be showing these to Mr. VC ASAP...we both are biiiiig cheetah lovers. Pretty sure he'd love to visit with Miss Emma.