US
20-35 years of age
Great life experience, but very cold at night!
I went with a group of college students and camped for one night at Khutse Game Reserve. The trip was organized by Africa Insight; they drove us there, provided tents, blankets, and food, and in the daylight took us around the reserve. Everything went very smoothly, and we spent several hours driving around the reserve. The highlight was being able to see a bunch of lions who were hanging around a giraffe they had killed the day before. Our trip leader was great- he was funny, knowledgeable and had a good sense of the place, and he was also very good/careful about approaching the animals (e.g. lions). Camping was a unique experience in itself. There was an outdoor bathroom/shower area. It was EXTREMELY cold at night, though. Make sure if you go around June/July, you pack lots and lots of layers! My feet were numb the whole next day, it was kind of alarming. Otherwise it was definitely a unique experience! Glad to have had it.
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by John Carthy
Fantastic on an organised safari, hard work on self drive. Lots of relatively cheap tented accommodation on the outside of the park near the gates. Otherwise very expensive. Compared to comparably sized southern African parks the Mara is hard to find your way around. Otherwise, it is amazing. Birds are great. We missed the migration but still saw loads of lion, cheetah, hyena (including one striped), rhino, elephant, and loads of other good stuff. Won't let you down. If you've got the money, stay at one of the swank lodges in the middle of the park and go on a hot air balloon.
Fantastic add-on if you're going to Kakamega
Saiwa Swamp is the best small park in Kenya in my opinion. We hired a car and drove around East Africa in 2009 and this park was definitely one of our favourites. If you are going to Kakamega, another great park, you should seriously think about a few days at Saiwa aswell. It's quiet because of it's location, we only saw two other tourists in the park. You can camp in the park, we stayed at a guesthouse a few miles away. Both are good options.
The park is, as the name suggests, just a swamp with paths around it. You drive in, park up, and walk around. You can easily walk the whole park in half a day, but if I was going again I would camp overnight.
The best thing about the park is the wildlife - it is totally different to any other major park in Kenya. Sitatunga and otters are easy to see. There are lots of mongooses and plenty of monkeys. We saw colobus and a few others. I'm not a birder but there are lots of birds - swamps are generally good for birds are they not?
Entrance fee is very cheap by Kenyan standards aswell. Go now.
US
35-50 years of age
Review about Kruger National Park by ~lustedtowander~
The wildlife viewing in the Kruger is spectacular, if you are willing to jostle amongst dozens of vehicles for the experience. Camps are crowded and noisy during holidays.
US
35-50 years of age
Review about Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park by ~lustedtowander~
Kgalagadi feels wild and remote.
US
35-50 years of age
Review about Golden Gate Highlands National Park by ~lustedtowander~
Excellent hiking destination.
US
35-50 years of age
Review about Mountain Zebra National Park by ~lustedtowander~
The best kept secret amongst South Africa's national parks.
US
35-50 years of age
The Most Diverse National Park in South Africa
Addo is a triumph of conservation. Elephants were nearly exterminated in the early 1900's, with only 11 remaining when the area was preserved as a National Park. 80 years later, we saw elephants in abundance. South Africa is working to establish one mega park, extending a wildlife corridor from Volkert's River to the ocean. Thus, the photographic opportunities are fabulous, due to the diversity of landscape. In one sublime safari, you can experience grasslands, mountains and ocean. We drive a Land Rover Defender on our safari, but the park could easily be traversed in a salon car.
US
35-50 years of age
Review about South Africa by ~lustedtowander~
Go to Addo for the wildlife viewing in a sublime landscape. Much of the main viewing area is fenced and the roads paved, which limits the 'bush' vibe. But we never experienced the swarms of vehicles one might see in Kruger National Park.
35-50 years of age
Bush, beach and wide open river - a perfect combination
Saadani was the first time I'd experienced a real safari. I'd been to Tanzania before and was bewitched by the place, but I hadn't actually made it properly out into the bush on the first visit. This time, it was going to be different.
The park had recently been upgraded from a Game Reserve at the time, so wasn't very developed as a destination. However, that made for perfect conditions.
The road in was clearly under water during the rainy season, but we arrived at a time that it was passable, finding our way by buffalo skull signposts. The lodge that awaited us was set in the bush and very welcoming, stylish and comfortable without being ostentatious, and the huts we stayed at were set on the beach. Having arrived in from Tokyo, the wafting breeze of the Indian Ocean and a long sandy beach with no-one else on it was the perfect tonic. Apparently, elephants would sometimes come down and frolic in the surf.
If there was anything I could have changed about the visit, I'd have drunk a little less in the evenings and awoken at the crack of dawn to get a better look at the wildlife. With fine food and hospitality, this was a difficult thing to do! However, given that most of the animals try and stay out of the sun in the heat of the day, we saw plenty. It's always going to be difficult for a giraffe to hide much.
What was the best thing about it? The ability to combine a bush safari, a river safari and a beach holiday all in one place. Would I go to Saadani again? If only I could!
