Safari recommendations

Bigvin

Bigvin

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I'm looking to go on safari either the end of July this year or Easter next year.

Can anyone recommend a good safari and supplier?

Been into a couple of travel agents and they don't seem to have much of a clue about them.

I'd ideally like to see the big 5, but don't really want to be on one of the touristy ones where there's 20 mini buses in a convoy chasing after the animals.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Cheers Lee
 
Hi a good start would be to send off for the naturetrek catalogue they do a huge range of wildlife holidays
I have travelled twice with them and were excellent
 
If you want to get away from the crowds try Selous and Ruaha in Tanzania. I went there a few years ago you were unlucky if you saw anyone else for the hole time you were out, the big five plus wild dogs. You can use tripadvisor travel forum to do some research. As for agents try Tribes ,Expert Africa or Zanzibar Travel or if your a bit more adventurous you could try a local operator.
 
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We have been on safari on many occasions to various locations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa. In my opinion the Masai Mara is by far the best for the amount and variety of game you will see. We have stayed there in both Porini Camps (http://www.porini.com/) and Governors Camps (www.governorscamp.com/). Both were excellent. In fact we have just got back from a 6 night stay at Governors.

However I also agree with @tarric 's recommendation of the Ruaha and Selous. Real get away from it all safaris. I especially loved the Selous but you really have to work quite hard to find the game there. Last year in Selous we didn't see any cats at all in the whole week we were there.

Wherever you decide, have a great time.
 
jennyb said:
We have been on safari on many occasions to various locations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa. In my opinion the Masai Mara is by far the best for the amount and variety of game you will see. We have stayed there in both Porini Camps (http://www.porini.com/) and Governors Camps (www.governorscamp.com/). Both were excellent. In fact we have just got back from a 6 night stay at Governors.

However I also agree with @tarric 's recommendation of the Ruaha and Selous. Real get away from it all safaris. I especially loved the Selous but you really have to work quite hard to find the game there. Last year in Selous we didn't see any cats at all in the whole week we were there.

Wherever you decide, have a great time.
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It was a 7 day stay at Govenors Camp I was looking at. I quite like the idea of staying near the river.
Are they game drives varied? The wife wants to do the hot air balloon as well. Can you recommend?
I've seen lots of safaris where you stay one or two days and then move on, is 6/7 days in one place not too much?

Thanks
 
phil_b said:
Take a look at this forum http://safaritalk.net/ , loads of advice on planning a safari and trip reports from all over the world by regular safari goers.
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Very defiantly this advice :agree: If you want to know about photography you're in the right place here but for safaris Safari Talk is the place. You will find me on there as well floating about under the same Big Andy name.
 
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Bigvin said:
It was a 7 day stay at Govenors Camp I was looking at. I quite like the idea of staying near the river.
Are they game drives varied? The wife wants to do the hot air balloon as well. Can you recommend?
I've seen lots of safaris where you stay one or two days and then move on, is 6/7 days in one place not too much?

Thanks
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Staying by the river is great. We could see hippos and crocs from our tent. There are 4 Governors Camps in that area, Governors, Little Governors, Il Moran and Private Camp. We stayed at Il Moran which is smaller than the others and the tents are bigger and further apart. Otherwise, I guess the camps are all similar. I don't recommend Little Governors because you have to cross the river in a little boat every day to get to the best side for the safari. Someone told us you get a bit fed up with having to make the crossing after a couple of days. The Governors camps are where the BBC stay when making their Big cat live programmes. In fact, there were BBC people there while we were there filming the Marsh Pride.

I found the game drives varied enough because there is so much game. You see something amazing every day. We kept asking our guide to take us to the river crossing. Although we did not go during the migration, there were lots of zebra trying to get across the river and the river was very swollen. It was fascinating watching and when they do go for it, about 10% don't make it. The crocs grab their legs and pull them down.The crocs in that river are the biggest I have ever seen! For the zebra that make it, there are usually lions waiting on the other side to pick them off when they are tired! If you go in July, the migration will probably have started and the Mara is likely to quite busy.

Yes, we did the balloon ride which was very good although it is not something that I would bother doing again. I did not expect to land on my back! The bush breakfast afterwards was fantastic.

If you are completely new to safaris, then you may find a multi-camp option interesting. That is what we did when we went to the Porini camps. We had 2 or 3 nights at each of their camps in Amboseli, Laikipia and 2 in the Mara. The only problem with the Porini camps was the shower was not plumbed in and you had to ask them to bring buckets of water.

One other thing to bear in mind, depending on when you are going - the Mara and also Laikipia are at a quite high altitude and are not necessarily warm so take something warm to wear if it gets chilly.

Our next safari, whenever it may be, will definitely be back to the Mara.
 
I went with to Zimbabwe helped with Expert Africa. All very good and well organised to Hwange camp.
 
We were lucky enough to have visited Ulusaba in South Africa a few years back. Wonderful safari all in all aspects. Not cheap but if in your budget then I would highly recommend it. You get very close to the animals and can go off the main roads where as some vehicles have to stick to the main roads within the reserve.
The lodges and staff exceeded all our expectations. One day if we can afford it again we will go back there.
 
Well I've just booked up. :D

End of July, 2 nights in Nairobi then 5 nights at Governors Camp.
Really looking forward to it and hopefully will have some half decent images to show at the end of it.

Cheers for the advice.
 
A quick question about the safari drives.
The agent said we could have a private vehicle for our drives so we wouldn't have to "put up" with other people.
Basically I think it was when I mentioned the photography aspect she said it was possible to have the vehicle to ourselves so we could dictate how long we stopped in certain places and when we were taking pictures the less people in the vehicle the better.
Would any of you recommend this? Or will we be OK in the standard vehicle?
 
This is why I recommend the Selous and Ruaha, you get your own vehicle driver and guide, for the duration of your stay, so you can build up a rapport and decide what you want do each day and don’t have to worry about sharing with others. I would always recommend you get own vehicle unless you like having to compromise.
 
Bigvin said:
A quick question about the safari drives.
The agent said we could have a private vehicle for our drives so we wouldn't have to "put up" with other people.
Basically I think it was when I mentioned the photography aspect she said it was possible to have the vehicle to ourselves so we could dictate how long we stopped in certain places and when we were taking pictures the less people in the vehicle the better.
Would any of you recommend this? Or will we be OK in the standard vehicle?
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Having your own vehicle means that you can ask your driver to do whatever you want. IMO that is by far the best. At Governors we shared for one drive and had a private vehicle for all the rest. We spent a lot of time at the main crossing points on the Mara river watching the wildebeest and the zebras trying to cross. Absolutely fascinating. Unfortunately, I was not as lucky as the guy in this article who was obviously waiting in the same location as we were -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3380140/Doomed-zebra-lunch-leopard-crocodile-getting-trapped-two-predators-Kenya.html


@tarric , you don't always get your own vehicle in Ruaha and Selous. We didn't on some occasions.
 
Was it something you paid extra for jenny? Or was it the luck of the draw of how many people were on safari?
 
Bigvin said:
Was it something you paid extra for jenny? Or was it the luck of the draw of how many people were on safari?
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We did not pay extra but the camp was almost empty when we were there in November. We were there for a week and there were never more than 2 or 3 other couples in our camp. It is much more likely to be busy in July. Also we stayed in the Il Moran Governors camp which is more expensive than the main Governors. Maybe a private vehicle was included in the price. I don't know.

When we have been on safari in other places, it always seemed to be the luck of the draw.
 
Bigvin said:
I'm looking to go on safari either the end of July this year or Easter next year.

Can anyone recommend a good safari and supplier?

Been into a couple of travel agents and they don't seem to have much of a clue about them.

I'd ideally like to see the big 5, but don't really want to be on one of the touristy ones where there's 20 mini buses in a convoy chasing after the animals.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Cheers Lee
Click to expand...

Check out my friend Grant Atkinson http://www.grantatkinson.com/
 
Going to the Lakeside Lodge at Entabeni for 7 days in September. I'll report back :-)
 
Just came back from a week's Tiger safari at Ranthambore national park in India, Fabulous time doing 11 drives with 18 tiger sightings of 9 different tigers and an abundance of other wildlife.
 
Take a look at www.wild4photographicsafaris.com the tours offered are specialist photographic tours lead by Stu Porter. Stu is a professional photographer and a fully qualified field guide. Leading small groups ensuring plenty of space for your equipment and access to both sides of the vehicle, Stu and his team work to get you in the right spot for photography, and with the patience to spend time getting "the" image.

If you're looking for a special trip of a lifetime and a wonderfully collection of images, Stu is the man!
 
Have a safe journey and a great safari.

I look forward to seeing some of the pictures when you get a chance to post any.
 
All back safe and sound. The trip was excellent Andy and Sarah couldn't have done any more to make it.
The camp was superb, http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/tented-camps/mara-intrepids/. Great accommodation and great food and great staff.
The weather was a bit hit and miss but still got to see loads of sightings and managed to take over 5000 shots.
I'm going back out in September with David Lloyd for the Great Migration, and also going back next year to Botswanna
with Andy and Sarah http://www.imagesofwildlife.co.uk/.
 
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