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i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - robfilms - 07-02-2017
i'm thinking of taking myself, wife and young adult daughters (27 & 24) to africa.
we have a small window of 10-12 days in december 2017 that works for all of us.
(i know it is not ideal but it is what it is)
i'm inquiring about who has been to africa and would welcome sharing their thoughts.
as simplistic as it might seem, we are hoping to see magnificent animals in their natural habitat.
all four of us are pretty fit so we don't mind roughing it if necessary.
none of us have any medical issues nor special dietary requirements.
in my initial research, i have seen some pretty high prices.
i am not thoroughly turned off but i am looking for something thoughtfully reasonable (whatever that means!)
thanks in advance to those who care to share.
be well.
rob
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - Markintosh - 07-02-2017
My wife is currently in South Africa on the tail end of three weeks. Earlier in the trip she did two safari experiences in Kruger National Park:
The first was at the Pafuri Border Camp, where accommodations are a bit more spartan and food is self service. I believe this is where she said that they were able to do some self guided tours, as well as guided tours. They saw more on some of the self guided tours. This was obviously much cheaper.
The second was at the Umkumbe Lodge in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. This was an all inclusive resort with meals and all guiding included. It cost much more money and was more about the experience as opposed to seeing game.
For what it's worth...getting to South Africa was a long trip. Living on the left coast, my wife went SFO - NYC then NYC to Johannesburg. The JoBurg part of the flight is 17 hours. From the left coast, the cost for flights themselves was about $1800.
This week she has been in Cape Town, where I am hoping she can catch a classic picture of her on a beach with a penguin. She returns this Friday.
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - Buzz - 07-02-2017
If you feed the daughters to the magnificent wild animals, you can probably get a better close up view of those animals, plus you'll save on return airfare...
I have some friends that have been a few times, so I'll ask next time I can get a hold of them. I know they take small group, photo tours, and have lots of great stories and pictures. They don't rough it, but I'll try to get some info on how they do it. They're going back in Nov/Dec, but I'm not sure of the dates. My mom went a couple of times last century, but she went the ultra-high priced route, and she passed away quite awhile ago. Last I heard, my brother had her travel logs and mementos that were full of info, but was was contemplating chucking them, and that info probably wouldn't be beneficial anyway. Though I do have the crappy film camera the maternal unit used stashed somewhere. Her photos weren't nearly as good as our friends'.
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Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - pipiens - 07-02-2017
I can recommend Explore Inc. They will design a trip to meet your budget.
http://www.exploreinc.com/
I have traveled with them many times.
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - DeusxMac - 07-02-2017
We traveled in Northern Tanzania in early 2013. Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Tarangire, and points in between.
http://www.eastafricansafari.net
Fantastic trip. Highly recommend it.
You will need to have your immunizations up to date and likely have to take a regimen of an anti-malarial drug.
Edit: added link to tour company.
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - Mike Johnson - 07-03-2017
Certainly you’ll want to choose where you go in Africa based on what time of year you go.
We went on a safari in the Masai Mara in mid December 2015, right before the rainy season. We stayed at the Mara Explorers Camp http://maraexplorers.com and it was fantastic. It wasn’t a fancy place but we were out on safari during the day so it wasn’t like we were missing a swimming pool or a bar.
They arranged for a driver to fetch us from Nairobi. It was a long drive, and he was pleasant enough, but he didn’t speak much English.
Since we saved money not paying for a froufrou Disneyfied resort, we splurged and booked our own private safaris through Mara Explorers. It was the three of us, a guide, and a driver in a Land Cruiser. Going in a rugged off-road vehicle meant we could go where we wanted -- there were caravans of safari minivans that had to stick to the roads -- and being on our own meant we could do things our way. If we wanted to stay and watch the lion cubs, we stayed and watched the lion cubs. Also, because we were on our own, we got a tip from the cheetah preservation folks where we could go to see some cheetahs, as long as we promised not to bother them or stay very long.
We saw everything except a rhino.
Probably the highlight was, we spent one of the nights not at Mara Explorers, but camping in the park. It was actually just over the border in Tanzania, so technically it was the Serengeti. It was the three of us, our guide, our driver, a cook, and three guards. Plus another two park guards who came and hung out with us. All night long there were a couple lionesses that were pacing the perimeter of our camp. We slept well but our guide did not. Of course it was a bush camp, so no facilities, but I’m not embarrassed to have pooped on the Serengeti.
We also walked with our guide from Mara Explorers down to the local village, where he was from, and were introduced around, met his mother. There are still people there that dress traditionally, not just for the tourists.
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - davester - 07-03-2017
I will be watching this thread closely. Over the next two years our travel plans are Africa and Himalayas, two destinations that we have not yet visited. I definitely appreciate Mike Johnston's post.
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - stephen - 07-03-2017
I went to celebrate my 50th birthday and had a one-in-a-lifetime experience.
I had been to S.A. to shoot commercials before and asked the local production company in Cape Town who could help me. They recommended a travel agent, Vanessa Walker with Greatest Africa (vanessa@greatestafrica.com), who did a great job.
I stayed at a truly unique place. Jock Safari Lodge https://www.jocksafarilodge.com is inside Kruger National Park and is a 5-star experience. The food, the safaris, the service and care of the staff were superb.
About the name: Jock was an explorer's dog who lived in the African bush in the 1880s in a famous true story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jock_of_the_Bushveld that became a book and a movie, kind of like Lassie in the States, and there are props from the movie scattered about the lodge grounds.
They didn't have a room in the main lodge so they put me somewhere even more unique. Fitzpatrick's Lodge https://www.jocksafarilodge.com/luxury-kruger-national-park-accommodations/fitzpatricks is an even more personalized experience a half-mile from the main house.
Only three rooms with a swimming pool overlooking the hippos in the river, and we shared our own cooks and safari guide. It was just me and a family from Brazil... and on the last day they left. It was just me. I literally had my own house and staff in the African bush, cooking me meals and taking me on safari. Like I said, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And at about 11 PM, the staff left. It was literally me, alone in a house in the bush. (Well protected, mind you.... screened fencing to keep the monkeys out.)
I recommend it without reservation.
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - vision63 - 07-03-2017
Mike Johnson with the boss photo adventure!
Re: i'm thinking african safari-who has been and can recommend? - Rick-o - 07-03-2017
Great shots, MJ!
miley-score010: