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African Safari


Ghost of LL

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2 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

Using a local travel agent is worth it just for their connections with ground transportation.  Anywhere we went there was a person waiting for us with a sign with our name on it and a nice, clean late model SUV. 

That's a really good point.  We didn't use a travel agent for that--the folks at Angama Mara hooked us up with our ground transfer at Nairobi.  But you definitely want that ground transfer done at Nairobi.

You arrive at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International, and the flights out to the lodges leave from Wilson Airport.  Wilson is a good 45 minutes from JKIA in light traffic, and two hours away at rush hour.  And you don't want to be relying on a Nairobi cab driver for that.

The transfer people met us at the jetway, took us to the front of the line at immigration, already had our bags once we got through immigration, and hustled us to an SUV parked right out front.  It was as seamless as you can manage, and definitely worth the extra cost.

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Safaris are dope. Wasnt something i was ever keen on, but changed my views of zoos forever. When we have a little tyke of appropriate age to appreciate wildlife but not too young to whine about being stuck in a jeep…we’ll come backb 

 

OTOH, seeing the immense wealth gap in africa gives me a lingering case of 1st World Guilt

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3 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

Using a local travel agent is worth it just for their connections with ground transportation.  Anywhere we went there was a person waiting for us with a sign with our name on it and a nice, clean late model SUV. 

So that's what happens with the link you posted in the other thread? Those prices are steep, but I would absolutely pay it if that's all included. I'm about as adventurous and independent as you can be, but Africa feels totally different to me. At least for this kind of trip. 

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Safaris are awesome and somewhat hard to describe as many people associate a "park" or "reserve" as being fenced in with "tame" animals.  Going on a safari is nothing like that or visiting a zoo.  I have been to Krueger and Pilanesberg multiple times and it never gets old.

Glad you were able to experience it.

FYI, I fly out of SHV with a connection in ATL and then a direct flight to JNB all on Delta.  Pilanesberg is not too far outside of JNB for a decent countryside drive.  I take a commuter flight up to Krueger.

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2 minutes ago, mininghorn88 said:

Safaris are awesome and somewhat hard to describe as many people associate a "park" or "reserve" as being fenced in with "tame" animals.  Going on a safari is nothing like that or visiting a zoo.  I have been to Krueger and Pilanesberg multiple times and it never gets old.

Glad you were able to experience it.

FYI, I fly out of SHV with a connection in ATL and then a direct flight to JNB all on Delta.  Pilanesberg is not too far outside of JNB for a decent countryside drive.  I take a commuter flight up to Krueger.

Pre-COVID that ATL-JNB flight was obscenely expensive.

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8 minutes ago, Mo Horn said:

So that's what happens with the link you posted in the other thread? Those prices are steep, but I would absolutely pay it if that's all included. I'm about as adventurous and independent as you can be, but Africa feels totally different to me. At least for this kind of trip. 

Sort of.  We kind of changed things up a bit when we got there and realized that renting a car was a mistake.  I was fine with it, the wife was terrified to the point that it it was beginning to drive me a little crazy.  So we had to pay extra for a driver for 2 days in the wine country, which was something like $250 total.  The drive to the safari camp (about an hour each way from a regional airport) and a one day tour of the Blyde River Canyon area were included in the package they sent.  They will do whatever you ask them to.

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7 minutes ago, mininghorn88 said:

Safaris are awesome and somewhat hard to describe as many people associate a "park" or "reserve" as being fenced in with "tame" animals.  Going on a safari is nothing like that or visiting a zoo.  I have been to Krueger and Pilanesberg multiple times and it never gets old.

Glad you were able to experience it.

Yeah--those animals are definitely not tame.  A couple of stories:

We're driving along in our Land Cruiser and we come across a herd of elephants led by a massive bull.  The herd is about 50 yards off the road, but the bull is standing there just about 20 yards off the road facing the road and watching.  We start to slow down to take photos, and the bull takes a step toward us and very aggressively shakes his head and flaps his ears.  We kept moving.

A few hours later, we came across another vehicle stuck in the mud (it had rained hard the previous night).  We couldn't dislodge him just by pushing bumpers, so the drivers had everyone get out so that they could winch out the other truck. 

Now, they tell you never to get out of the truck.  The animals are very used to the trucks driving around, but they don't ever see humans walking around.  So there we are standing on the road, surrounded by tall grass.  And you can't see shit in that tall grass.  There could be a half-dozen lionesses there--you'd never see them.

I was a bit nervous about that one.

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2 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

Yeah--those animals are definitely not tame.  A couple of stories:

We're driving along in our Land Cruiser and we come across a herd of elephants led by a massive bull.  The herd is about 50 yards off the road, but the bull is standing there just about 20 yards off the road facing the road and watching.  We start to slow down to take photos, and the bull takes a step toward us and very aggressively shakes his head and flaps his ears.  We kept moving.

A few hours later, we came across another vehicle stuck in the mud (it had rained hard the previous night).  We couldn't dislodge him just by pushing bumpers, so the drivers had everyone get out so that they could winch out the other truck. 

Now, they tell you never to get out of the truck.  The animals are very used to the trucks driving around, but they don't ever see humans walking around.  So there we are standing on the road, surrounded by tall grass.  And you can't see shit in that tall grass.  There could be a half-dozen lionesses there--you'd never see them.

I was a bit nervous about that one.

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4 hours ago, mininghorn88 said:

Safaris are awesome and somewhat hard to describe as many people associate a "park" or "reserve" as being fenced in with "tame" animals.  Going on a safari is nothing like that or visiting a zoo.  I have been to Krueger and Pilanesberg multiple times and it never gets old.

Glad you were able to experience it.

FYI, I fly out of SHV with a connection in ATL and then a direct flight to JNB all on Delta.  Pilanesberg is not too far outside of JNB for a decent countryside drive.  I take a commuter flight up to Krueger.

Krueger is dope, South Africa is dope. went in '99, crazy time.

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6 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

A few hours later, we came across another vehicle stuck in the mud (it had rained hard the previous night).  We couldn't dislodge him just by pushing bumpers, so the drivers had everyone get out so that they could winch out the other truck. 

Same thing happened to me in Sri Lanka. I think it’s just part of the safari gig. Wife was freaking out. 

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Did S. Africa in 07 with the wife, and kids. Greatest trip of our lifetime.  Once you decide to go, you might as well make it a 2-3 week trip to see as much as you can.

We had the whole trip planned out down to each event.  Once we left the safari, and landed in Cape Town we had a car, and driver the whole time we were there, and in Stellenbosch (wine region). Having a driver, and car put you right at the front door to most every site or winery you visited, and you could take in the views instead of worrying about driving.  

The Rand was pretty weak against the dollar when we were in country, so it wasn't expensive.  You can or could get direct flights to Johannesburg from Dulles (16 hours over, 18 back against the jet stream).

The poverty is absolutely abysmal in the ghettos or "informal housing" as they refer to them.  They sit right across the road from high rise buildings separated by highways, and rail chain link fences.

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On 7/7/2021 at 11:14 PM, Mo Horn said:

So that's what happens with the link you posted in the other thread? Those prices are steep, but I would absolutely pay it if that's all included. I'm about as adventurous and independent as you can be, but Africa feels totally different to me. At least for this kind of trip. 

most safari trips are essentially hiring a private driver and/or guide who's with you 24/7 from the minute you land at airport e.g. arusha.  you land, whisked off in a jeep, and the guy(s) are with you until they drop you off.  the safari component are the park passes built into the trip and they accompany you to all the lodging (theres usually a cheaper guide room for them to stay in)

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On 7/7/2021 at 4:14 PM, Mo Horn said:

So that's what happens with the link you posted in the other thread? Those prices are steep, but I would absolutely pay it if that's all included. I'm about as adventurous and independent as you can be, but Africa feels totally different to me. At least for this kind of trip. 

With all of these places, food and alcohol is included.  At most of them, most of your activities are included (e.g., if you want to do a sunrise balloon ride or whitewater raft the Zambezi, that's an extra charge).

So if you go to one of these lodges, they can arrange your flight and transfers.  For Angama Mara in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, for instance, they arranged my ground transfer from Kenyatta Airport to Wilson Airport in Nairobi.  There was a guy waiting for me with my name on a sign at the jetway at Kenyatta, and he hustled me and my family through immigration/customs (like super-fast--we were through and in a car in less than 15 minutes).

Then there is a flight to Angama Mara.  They tell you that you're the second stop.  You get out at the second stop--it's a little dirt airstrip--and your driver meets you with an open-sided Land Cruiser.  That's going to be your driver/guide for your entire stay.

Before dinner, you meet with your driver and plan what you want to do the next day.  You want to get up at 6:00 AM to go see the early morning movement?  That's cool.  You want to sleep in and have them pack a picnic lunch?  That's cool, too.  Just however you want to play it--that's your driver.

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6 hours ago, 52-80 said:

most safari trips are essentially hiring a private driver and/or guide who's with you 24/7 from the minute you land at airport e.g. arusha.  you land, whisked off in a jeep, and the guy(s) are with you until they drop you off.  the safari component are the park passes built into the trip and they accompany you to all the lodging (theres usually a cheaper guide room for them to stay in)

Not sure that's the whole truth. Many of the safari companies have their own land, lodges, resorts, etc. They also take you to some of the bigger national parks, but you typically stay in their lodge, and go out in the morning then return to the lodge, hang out for the afternoon, then go out in the later afternoon till sunset.

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7 hours ago, 52-80 said:

most safari trips are essentially hiring a private driver and/or guide who's with you 24/7 from the minute you land at airport e.g. arusha.  you land, whisked off in a jeep, and the guy(s) are with you until they drop you off.  the safari component are the park passes built into the trip and they accompany you to all the lodging (theres usually a cheaper guide room for them to stay in)

It is my understanding that is how it works in Eastern Africa.  In Southern Africa you get to the lodge on your own, or through your travel agent, and once you are there you are completely taken care of (food, drink, drivers, trackers, etc.).  

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Giraffes look funny when they run. It's almost like they are running in slow motion. Also, it appears you missed out on the fun of getting into a random taxi, stumbling through the local language to try and tell the driver where you want to go, and then wondering what exactly it is that he is smoking because it doesn't smell like weed or tobacco.

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24 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Giraffes look funny when they run. It's almost like they are running in slow motion. Also, it appears you missed out on the fun of getting into a random taxi, stumbling through the local language to try and tell the driver where you want to go, and then wondering what exactly it is that he is smoking because it doesn't smell like weed or tobacco.

They look like Vince Young running.  They don't look that fast, but then try to drive alongside them and you figure out that they're flying.

 

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  • 2 years later...

Bump. I am doing this, help me.

Much like @Ghost of LL this is my wife's idea and I am 100% down with. We have talked to one outfitter so far and they basically said for the time we want to go (August/September 2025) Kenya is the place to go. They also recommend the lodges ran by Angama (both in the Mara and Amboseli) so glad to see them mentioned here.

@conVINCEdI want my only responsibility to be getting flights into and out of Africa (which will probably be on BA or Qatar) but I don't want to go someplace that feels like Disneyland and has 23 jeeps parked around 2 lioness. What do I need to know, what do I need to ask, who do I need to talk to, should i consider somplace other than Kenya, how much lubricant do I need to procure for the cost of this? Does not seem like the type of trip to skimp on (so we wont) but I don't want to pay for things that are not worth it.

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9 hours ago, millhouse said:

Bump. I am doing this, help me.

Much like @Ghost of LL this is my wife's idea and I am 100% down with. We have talked to one outfitter so far and they basically said for the time we want to go (August/September 2025) Kenya is the place to go. They also recommend the lodges ran by Angama (both in the Mara and Amboseli) so glad to see them mentioned here.

@conVINCEdI want my only responsibility to be getting flights into and out of Africa (which will probably be on BA or Qatar) but I don't want to go someplace that feels like Disneyland and has 23 jeeps parked around 2 lioness. What do I need to know, what do I need to ask, who do I need to talk to, should i consider somplace other than Kenya, how much lubricant do I need to procure for the cost of this? Does not seem like the type of trip to skimp on (so we wont) but I don't want to pay for things that are not worth it.

I was very happy with my experience with Rhino Africa.  We booked the international flights, they took care of everything else.  5 days in Cape Town, 2 in the wine region outside of Cape Town, and 4 days at a safari camp was something like $5k for 2 of us.  That got us this:

https://www.kensingtonplace.co.za

The place we stayed at in the wine region went kaput during Covid, but it was upscale.

This is the safari lodge we stayed at:

https://www.kambakulodge.com
 

Their website needs an update, but their hospitality and food certainly don’t.  You can spend as much as you want to on the safari, I’m just giving you an example of what $5k (flights not included) got us.  We saw every animal we wanted to see, multiple times, and we sipped cocktails while watching elephants drink out of the swimming pool.  They are in a private reserve that borders Krueger, no fences, and we never felt crowded at all.

East Africa is more expensive than South Africa, and if all you want is the safari, it is probably the best choice if you can afford it.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cape Town, and there is not a comparable city in Eastern Africa, which is why we chose South Africa.  Penguins and great white sharks also tilted things in SA’s favor.  
 

Spoiler

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Hands down the best trip we’ve ever done.

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I did a four day Safari in January to https://www.parsonshilltop.com/ in South Africa, about 10 to 15 miles from the place conVinced stayed. I found and booked it on booking.com. I thought it was an amazing experience. This particular camp only has four tents and one Landcruiser safari vehicle and it's in a reserve with fewer nearby camps, so none of the 20 vehicles parked around a lion nonsense. We saw every animal (most many times) minus the leopard or cheetah (I forget which one is in KNP). It was about $400 a night for two people including safari rides, meals, and drinks from their self-serve bar. The camp offered a 5 a.m. morning ride and 5 p.m. evening ride around the reserve with each lasting about 3 hours depending on if we were getting lucky. My buddy and I did both morning/evening rides while other guests did just one. 

We flew into Capetown and stayed a week and then flew two hours to Krueger National Park. Capetown is an amazing beautiful city. If you decide on a Safari in South Africa, I'd highly recommend spending time in Capetown. We stayed in the Gardens neighborhood which turned out to be my favorite neighborhood in the city. I will say that self-booking the flights to CT and KNP as well as the Safari was easy and straightforward. You can use an agent or service for the convenience of course. But for South Africa at least, I don't think it's necessary or even necessarily easier. The Safari camps send a vehicle to the airport to gather you, so once you book your flights and a Safari camp, everything else is typically taken care of by the Safari camp. We did three days in Johannesburg after KNP for the cultural sites (Cradle of Humankind, Soweto township tour, Mandela museum). It was an interesting city to visit for a couple days, but unless one just has a lot of time to kill, I'd suggest skipping it.  

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On 3/29/2024 at 11:04 PM, millhouse said:

Bump. I am doing this, help me.

Much like @Ghost of LL this is my wife's idea and I am 100% down with. We have talked to one outfitter so far and they basically said for the time we want to go (August/September 2025) Kenya is the place to go. They also recommend the lodges ran by Angama (both in the Mara and Amboseli) so glad to see them mentioned here.

@conVINCEdI want my only responsibility to be getting flights into and out of Africa (which will probably be on BA or Qatar) but I don't want to go someplace that feels like Disneyland and has 23 jeeps parked around 2 lioness. What do I need to know, what do I need to ask, who do I need to talk to, should i consider someplace other than Kenya, how much lubricant do I need to procure for the cost of this? Does not seem like the type of trip to skimp on (so we wont) but I don't want to pay for things that are not worth it.

I cannot recommend Angama Mara highly enough.  We were there for five days, at the end of which Mrs.LL and LLDaughter both cried when we had to leave.  The location is amazing, but the staff are really unparalleled.

You can see from the website that the location is up on the top of the 1,000-foot bluff overlooking the Mara game preserve.  The pictures on the website don't oversell it.  If anything, they undersell it.  From both your tent (which really is only technically a tent because it has canvas walls, but it feels like a room) and from the common areas, you can look down through binoculars and see all of the animals down on the floor of the valley. 

It takes about 40 minutes to drive from the Lodge down to the floor of the valley, during which you'll see plenty of zebras and baboons and, as you get close to the valley floor, a bunch of giraffes.  And once you're down there, you'll see everything from hippos to lions to leopards to buffalo.  At that time of year, you may be there for the tail end of the great migration crossing the Mara River (we caught it in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania).  I can't really describe the sheer number of wildebeest.  And if you can catch them crossing that river, which is crocodile infested--I can't imagine how cool that would be.

But really, what made the Angama Mara special was the service and people.  As soon as you arrive, they assign you a driver, a butler, and a room attendant.  All three were just fascinating people and took good care of us.  The second day, LLDaughter got sick--a combination of fatigue from the flight and the high altitude (the Maasai Mara is at 6,000 feet and the Lodge is 1,000 feet above that).  So she and Mrs.LL stayed in the room that day and just watched the animals through binoculars.  Except for the baboons who ran across the balcony deck periodically--they got an up-close view of those fuckers.  Anyway, they didn't go to breakfast.  When LLDaughter fell asleep for a nap, Mrs.LL went out of the tent to walk to the common tent to grab some lunch, and there was our room attendant just sitting on a bench outside with a menu.  No telling how long he had been waiting.  He just decided that they might get hungry at some point and he wanted to be available.

All this is going to cost you.  Plan on $1,000 per person per day.  Now, that does include all your food, drink, and wildlife fun.  And you can get plenty of drinks--they'll email you ahead of time to ask what booze you would like in the room and what drinks you want in the minifridge.  But still . . . that's pricey.  Gratuities are not included.

We flew Qatar business class in the QSuites.  I can't recommend that more.  And the fare for Qatar in QSuites was the same as BA wanted for Economy.  So that was a no-brainier.

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17 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

For those who went with kids, how old were they? I've got a 2 year-old and another on the way, so I know it won't be anytime soon, but I'd like to go while wildlife is still a thing that exists.

The boy was 13 and the girl was 11.

The sweet spot would be to go when the oldest is 12.  That's when there are a lot of cut-offs on price.  Kids 12 and under stay at a reduced rate at a lot of the lodges.

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On 3/30/2024 at 5:04 AM, millhouse said:

@conVINCEdI want my only responsibility to be getting flights into and out of Africa (which will probably be on BA or Qatar) but I don't want to go someplace that feels like Disneyland and has 23 jeeps parked around 2 lioness. What do I need to know, what do I need to ask, who do I need to talk to, should i consider somplace other than Kenya, how much lubricant do I need to procure for the cost of this? Does not seem like the type of trip to skimp on (so we wont) but I don't want to pay for things that are not worth it.

safaribookings.com is booking engine for basically all operators, and will have the prices listed there.

you dont have much of a choice in the experience of disneyland or not.  consider that a safari is a guide driving you around large parks, no operator has exclusive routes or knowledge or land or animal access.  the drivers have CB radios and they share info with eachother so if theres a spectacular viewing (like a lion feed) and there are other jeeps nearly its inevitable they will converge in the same spot.  but no, its never like a bukakke circle.

when picking a safari package, youre really just picking the driver.  the exact itinerary, the quality and style of lodging (traditional hotel, treehouse hotel, in-park luxury lodge), the food (prepared by hotel or accompanying cook), are all dictated by your schedule and budget, and are common across all operators.  if you want to see parks A, B,C in succession and paying midprice accomodation and another party does the same with another operator... youre likely to see their truck next to yours at the hotel each night.

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Blotto said:

Well let's just say my friend wants to see a lion bukkake circle.... how much extra is that going to cost him?

the teaser is free

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6 hours ago, 52-80 said:

safaribookings.com is booking engine for basically all operators, and will have the prices listed there.

you dont have much of a choice in the experience of disneyland or not.  consider that a safari is a guide driving you around large parks, no operator has exclusive routes or knowledge or land or animal access.  the drivers have CB radios and they share info with eachother so if theres a spectacular viewing (like a lion feed) and there are other jeeps nearly its inevitable they will converge in the same spot.  but no, its never like a bukakke circle.

when picking a safari package, youre really just picking the driver.  the exact itinerary, the quality and style of lodging (traditional hotel, treehouse hotel, in-park luxury lodge), the food (prepared by hotel or accompanying cook), are all dictated by your schedule and budget, and are common across all operators.  if you want to see parks A, B,C in succession and paying midprice accomodation and another party does the same with another operator... youre likely to see their truck next to yours at the hotel each night.

Two caveats with that:

1) If you see the Great Migration crossing the Mara River, then you're going to have a line of vehicles.  That is the prime wildlife spectacle in all of Africa--seeing the wildebeest trying to get across that river and dodging the dozens of crocodiles.  

But when we went (June) the Great Migration was still down in the Serengeti.  So up at the Maasai Mara, things were still a little low-key.  The most vehicles we saw grouped around one thing was when we spotted a leopard.  Leopards are fucking hard to spot.  So when you spy one in a tree, you're going to have some vehicular traffic around it.  But even then, there were only four trucks (including our own) around the tree with the leopard in it.

Alarmingly, there was also a leopard in the tall grass on the ground that we never fucking saw.  That was unnerving.

2) The situation you describe with hiring drivers and lodges separately is consistent with your mid-range lodges.  But for your high-end lodges like @millhouse is talking about (e.g., the Angama properties), the driver is directly employed by the lodge and is assigned to you when you arrive.  The game drives are all included in the price at the Angama properties (and other high-end lodges), and the drivers will just take you out whenever you want to go.

So that's a bit of a different experience than what you're describing.  And if you want to go that high-end route, you can cut out the travel agent entirely.  Because Angama will arrange all of your internal flights and everything if you want them to.  

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1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

Two caveats with that:

1) If you see the Great Migration crossing the Mara River, then you're going to have a line of vehicles.  That is the prime wildlife spectacle in all of Africa--seeing the wildebeest trying to get across that river and dodging the dozens of crocodiles.  

But when we went (June) the Great Migration was still down in the Serengeti.  So up at the Maasai Mara, things were still a little low-key.  The most vehicles we saw grouped around one thing was when we spotted a leopard.  Leopards are fucking hard to spot.  So when you spy one in a tree, you're going to have some vehicular traffic around it.  But even then, there were only four trucks (including our own) around the tree with the leopard in it.

Alarmingly, there was also a leopard in the tall grass on the ground that we never fucking saw.  That was unnerving.

2) The situation you describe with hiring drivers and lodges separately is consistent with your mid-range lodges.  But for your high-end lodges like @millhouse is talking about (e.g., the Angama properties), the driver is directly employed by the lodge and is assigned to you when you arrive.  The game drives are all included in the price at the Angama properties (and other high-end lodges), and the drivers will just take you out whenever you want to go.

So that's a bit of a different experience than what you're describing.  And if you want to go that high-end route, you can cut out the travel agent entirely.  Because Angama will arrange all of your internal flights and everything if you want them to.  

I didnt suggest for the customer to hire each element separately; they only need to interface with a single agent or a tour operator. But the agents and operators themselves cobble up the full package from the same commoditized assets. They have canned packages but will accommodate any modifications so long as youre on a private tour. 

Point being that almost no aspect of the trip has exclusivity , so that the customer dont have to scrutinize too much over whether they pick Operator A vs Operator B, because of some unique amenity or experience they might miss out on.

Of course, certain high end lodges like the Four Seasons Serengeti are capacity limited and may only hold their own safaris…but inside the park your vehicle is literally next to theirs seeing the same animal.

Hope that makes sense to people new to safaris.  My experience was incredible and im looking forward to going again when children are of age (prob 7 minimum)

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Small addendum on the viewing. When i was researching tours lots of people put emphasis on timing it to the big migrations. 

i saw it, and it was cool, but if i didnt it was still cool because the rest of what you get to see is so spectacular. Its all relative and relative to the best zoos in the world theres obviously no comparison. 

the only thing i regret not seeing is a rhino up close. Was told theyre super rare and only spotted 2 way the fuck far away through binoculars. 
 

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51 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

I didnt suggest for the customer to hire each element separately; they only need to interface with a single agent or a tour operator. But the agents and operators themselves cobble up the full package from the same commoditized assets. They have canned packages but will accommodate any modifications so long as youre on a private tour. 

Point being that almost no aspect of the trip has exclusivity , so that the customer dont have to scrutinize too much over whether they pick Operator A vs Operator B, because of some unique amenity or experience they might miss out on.

Of course, certain high end lodges like the Four Seasons Serengeti are capacity limited and may only hold their own safaris…but inside the park your vehicle is literally next to theirs seeing the same animal.

Hope that makes sense to people new to safaris.  My experience was incredible and im looking forward to going again when children are of age (prob 7 minimum)

 

37 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Small addendum on the viewing. When i was researching tours lots of people put emphasis on timing it to the big migrations. 

i saw it, and it was cool, but if i didnt it was still cool because the rest of what you get to see is so spectacular. Its all relative and relative to the best zoos in the world theres obviously no comparison. 

the only thing i regret not seeing is a rhino up close. Was told theyre super rare and only spotted 2 way the fuck far away through binoculars. 
 

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That's all correct, and thank you for clarifying.

There are some differences on the vehicles that may be worth pointing out, though much of the variation is between parks and not between operators.  In the Maasai Mara (Kenya), the vehicles are all open sided.  In the Serengeti (Tanzania), there weren't any open-sided vehicles that I saw.  They are all Toyota Land Cruisers that have been modified with a pop-top that allows you to stand up and photograph.

Now, among the operators, there are some differences among the vehicles.  The Four Seasons operates its own vehicles that are kitted out with refrigerators and charging stations.  I mean, not that you have a good cell signal.  But it's nice to be able to charge your phone for the camera functionality.  And having a refrigerator in the truck is obviously a nice thing.

But your underlying point is right--the Four Seasons truck is going to be right next to any other operator looking at the same leopard.

 

 

That is a really great shot of the cheetah.  We didn't get to see one of those.  But we did see a rhino in the Maasai Mara. 

And then when we went down to Victoria Falls, there is a small preserve along the Zambezi with a small herd of rhinos.  And that's wild.  Those rhinos are guarded 24/7 by armed rangers.  I mean--those rangers are standing right there with AK-47s within thirty yards of the rhinos.  And the rhinos are just chilling.  It's the only place along any game drive where we got out of the truck to view an animal.  The rangers don't let the vehicles get very close to the rhinos, so you get out and walk up to them.  And you can get . . . well, probably a lot closer than you really should get to something as big and heavily armored as a rhino.  That was pretty damned cool.

Edited by Ghost of LL
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@Ghost of LL @conVINCEd @52-80 @Orale fuck yeah, thats what im talking about. The insights you all have provided definitely confirmed somethings but also gave a different (but extremely helpful) perspective.

Here is where things are at right now. We are a pretty heavy lean on doing Kenya this trip (maybe SA in 10ish years when the kids are old enough to appreciate something like this). Right now it would likely be a combination of Maasai Mara, Samburu (with a side trip to Reteti elephant sanctuary) and Amboseli. Still in the August/September time-frame.

As far as games drives go, I am aware there will be thousands there at the same time with the same objective (especially at the river crossings), so the first hand experiences from @Ghost of LL and @52-80 were excellent. It is just the two of us going, and given that I never expected her to even consider going to Africa, we are mostly looking at the high end places. That is subject to change when dollar values start being brought up, but I am mentally preparing myself to likely pay more than I "want" to but that it will 100% be worth it for the experience and someone else taking care of every detail of the logistics of the trip.

Got a meeting with the Angama trip planners next week. I'll continue to chronicle this and ask more questions along the way I'm sure.

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i was gonna do gorillas this summer.  when i was looking into it, it seemed to me that tourists prefer (by quite a bit) the trekking experience in Uganda over Rwanda.  (based on talking to people and reading the reviews).  But Bwindi (in Uganda) is a pain to get to - either a long ass car ride (like 8 hours each way, iirc) from the main airport, or you have to take a second flight, which is fine, but I would want to budget an extra day or two in case your main flight gets delayed or there are issues with that second flight.   My trip was kinda tight, and adding an extra day on each end was annoying.   Rwanda seemed easier to get in and get out.   

Re safaris in general, I strongly recommend safari at a private conservancy in Kenya or at a private game reserve in Sabi Sands. 

I can def recommend mahali mzuri and mara plains in olare motorogi. 

I could go on forever, but at the private reserves/conservancies, your guide can drive offroad right up next to the wildlife, your guide can drive any time, including at night, there are way fewer people/vehicles, and reportedly more big cats per square mile (at least in olare motorogi - https://www.porini.com/blog/olare-motorogi-ol-kinyei-have-highest-lion-density-in-africa/). 

these are all pics I took from my last trip in olare motorogi.  we got to see (separately) a leopard and cheeting hunting/killing and we were the only car around. 

you'd go hours without seeing another human, and the amount of wildlife (monkeys, lions, cheetahs, rhinos, ostriches, etc) was insane. 

I can't 100% vouch for it, but I almost stayed at Angama Mara and it definitely looked rad. 

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oh and if you go to olare motorogi, no need to work with a travel agent, imo. 

you book your days at the camp directly with the camp.

you book a flight to/from nairobi. 

then you book a small flight to and from the reserve.  (camp can help you with this)

then you book hotel for the nights you stay in nairobi.  (don't stay at the giraffe manor, just visit the giraffe center right next door for like $10 and get a better experience.  visit Fatso's Authentic Swahili Dishes on the way back from the giraffe center.  thank me later). 

that's it. 

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14 hours ago, alphahydro said:

i was gonna do gorillas this summer.  when i was looking into it, it seemed to me that tourists prefer (by quite a bit) the trekking experience in Uganda over Rwanda.  (based on talking to people and reading the reviews).  But Bwindi (in Uganda) is a pain to get to - either a long ass car ride (like 8 hours each way, iirc) from the main airport, or you have to take a second flight, which is fine, but I would want to budget an extra day or two in case your main flight gets delayed or there are issues with that second flight.   My trip was kinda tight, and adding an extra day on each end was annoying.   Rwanda seemed easier to get in and get out.   

Re safaris in general, I strongly recommend safari at a private conservancy in Kenya or at a private game reserve in Sabi Sands. 

I can def recommend mahali mzuri and mara plains in olare motorogi. 

I could go on forever, but at the private reserves/conservancies, your guide can drive offroad right up next to the wildlife, your guide can drive any time, including at night, there are way fewer people/vehicles, and reportedly more big cats per square mile (at least in olare motorogi - https://www.porini.com/blog/olare-motorogi-ol-kinyei-have-highest-lion-density-in-africa/). 

these are all pics I took from my last trip in olare motorogi.  we got to see (separately) a leopard and cheeting hunting/killing and we were the only car around. 

you'd go hours without seeing another human, and the amount of wildlife (monkeys, lions, cheetahs, rhinos, ostriches, etc) was insane. 

I can't 100% vouch for it, but I almost stayed at Angama Mara and it definitely looked rad. 

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When I was doing all of the research, the gorilla permits were a lot more expensive in Rwanda.  Uganda is the budget option, if you will, or if you are really adventurous, you can see them in DRC as well, but that is a level of sketchiness that would never fly with the wife so I didn’t bother looking into it beyond the fact that I know you can see them there.

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