IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Red bushy Tsavo
Along with the eastern portion the Tsavo National Park is around 20,000 square kilometers, dwarfing the more popular Masai Mara which is 1,510 square kilometers. Although Tsavo is a large park its vegetation may make game spotting a lot more difficult, and thus the popularity of Masai Mara. But Tsavo with its red soil, blue skies and black lava flows offers a unique beauty of its own. Even the animals are coloured red because of the soil! The Mzima spring was a first for me and it was intriguing to see water just appearing from the ground, and quite a bit of it! The water was so pure that we could drink straight from the spring!
If you have some luck on your side Tsavo can be a great place. It's sheer size means there is enough wildlife in the park, but you may have to be patient and spend more time here. Unlike animals, birds are a lot easier to spot and if you are into birding you will certainly not be disappointed.
One more interesting feature of the park is the "Shetani" lava flow. It was surreal to see the landscape suddenly change to dark black. In fact you can see the border between the red soil and the black soil from past volcanic eruptions clearly in certain spots.
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Serengeti National Park by Sudhir
A piece of heaven on Earth! Great any time of the year. Suggest you visit during the rains as the clouds rolling into the crater is a photographers dream. Ensure that a good wide angle lens is in your camera kit along with all your zooms :) Also do not miss to see Oldupai Gorge in the Serengeti NP . This is where humanity started & there is a resident Red & yellow barbet which will allow you to get reaaaal close!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Sudhir
Just for the flamingo's....
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Just aim your camera anywhere & you will hit gold!
The E African " must see's " for me was Bwindi in Uganda, the Masai Mara in Kenya & the Serengeti in Tanzania. The Masai Mara is a rump of the Serengeti in Kenya (though better marketed). For sheer size as well as location , the Ngorongoro Crater in the Serengeti is breathtaking....The weather is good all year round & even during the wet season, the grass is green & the birds are plentiful. Also we get better rates in hotels in the off season, I recommend that a minimum one week is required to get a feel of the scale of this area as well as catch a small part of the Wildebeest migration. A day/2 days stay on a hotel perched on the rim of Ngorongoro crater is a MUST. (Especially with a wide angle lens). The quality of guides in E Africa is high when it comes to knowing the wildlife but it does not hurt to ask for a guide who knows birds if you are a avid birder. It helps to cut the chase & notch more birds in the time you have. The hotels on the rims are always crowded & the evenings are load & dinner is like on a cruise ship:). I suggest 2 days in a resort nearby in Karatu town for 2 days at the start or at the end of the trip. Just to unwind as the holiday will be packed right form early morning till evening:) A must see on any birders bucket list. A veritable Eden indeed!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Lion Sands Game Reserve by Daniel P Barker
It was good but no way as good as Kruger
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best Park in South Africa
Many people go to private parks which almost guarantee you to see all the animals that are listed. This is not teh case with Kruger. Some days you may get lucky other days you won't. I have self driven and used organised drives. Self drive is good as you can stop and stay as long as you like somewhere. Organised drives are great as they do have radios which can take you to certain animals although continuously looking at Zebra's does get frustrating! If you like wildlife photography its a dream place. Make sure you take some good lenses, cleaning cloths (gets dusty) and a bean bag to rest on. Many people just look at the big animals but look for birds and the small creatures. DO NOT drive over the dung in the road as 1/ you run risk of a puncture because of thorns 2/ you can kill the dung beetles. I stayed in Hazey View which is great but plenty of places to stay outside. One thing is for certain you will love Kruger. my photos are on 500px.com/danielbarker . Its a must place to go to and i would avoid the private game reserves at all cost, in addition Kruger is a lot cheaper and more natural.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good introduction, but perhaps not quite "wild" enough
I went to the southern section, from Malelane gate up to Skukuza. This is probably one of the the most popular parts of the Kruger. Access is easy, there are many lodges close by. But popular means busy; this is not the wide open savannah, its relatively dense lowveld, and visitors must stay on the roads and tracks. There are sightings on the roads, and some good ones too, but as guides usually have radios to keep in touch and report sightings, anything interesting tends to be soon surrounded by a traffic jam! I had a two guides, one okay, and one great which helped a lot, but even then we didn't see any cats at all. That's just down to bad luck. :-( Overall whilst it was a great introduction to the whole safari experience, I found it felt "managed" and somewhat canned and commercialised. I wanted and still want a "wilder" safari experience.
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Grey World Nomads
There is something for everyone. From luxury accommodation to camping with a good infrastructure. It's easy to get around. From guided tours to self drive and can still be done without breaking the bank.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kenya by Vinay
We had no troubles in Kenya in terms of our stay, food or safety. The people are courteous and friendly. We came to spot the "Big Five" and in 7 days we managed to see all the five!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by Sudhir
The people are friendly & the guides are very knowledgeable. They are a little laid back but as we will be on a holiday, that fine! The Serengeti National Park/Lake Manyara NP & Ngorongoro Crater can be a route to see a lot of birds indeed. You will not be disappointed!!! If you are arriving via Arusha Airport, Mt Kilimanjaoro can be on the list too.