An Authentic, Accessible Experience
I was greatly impressed by the wildlife and scenery of Tsavo National Park. I was even more impressed by the accessibility.
As a working professional, my vacation days are limited. I had booked a week at a beach resort in Mombasa, intending nothing more than to escape the New York winter for a tropical beach while putting another country under my well-traveled belt. Going on safari was almost an afterthought.
After two days of beach, beer and sun, I decided to check out the wildlife. I asked the reception at my youth hostel for a safari recommendation. After one phone call on a borrowed cell phone and one taxi ride into downtown Mombasa to pay the fee (they took American Express) I was booked for an overnight Safari at Tsavo National Park.
We left Mombasa early in the morning, arriving at our hotel for lunch. I stayed at the Voi Wildlife Lodge, which I highly recommend! It combines modern amenities (including air conditioning: a pleasant luxury for Europeans but an absolute must for Americans) with incredible scenery. There are several swimming pools and an observation deck that stretches approximately 50m into the park and overlooks a watering hole.
The safari itself was very memorable. We saw elephants, giraffes, baboons, wildebeest, gazelles, dik diks, cheetahs, and we even saw a lioness in the morning! Our guide was a native Kenyan who spoke perfect English and what sounded to me like very good German. It rained, very briefly, as we were driving from Mombasa to Tsavo. Not a lot, but just enough for me to "Bless the rains down in Africa" as the song goes. Aside from that one drizzle the weather was invariably sunny and warm: 88 degrees for Americans, just under 30 for Europeans.
Tsavo was incredible, I can't emphasize that enough, but the biggest draw for me was the easy accessibility from both Mombasa and Nairobi. If I'd stayed longer, I would have included several other parks in addition to Tsavo. I would have liked to venture into Tanzania and perhaps checked out the island of Zanzibar. Sadly, I have a limited number of vacation days and a lot of world left to explore...
PL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Maciek Bit
It would be great but there was too many people.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kruger National Park by Matt D.
A great place to view game, but as it's a national park there are many regulations that don't allow one to see everything.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
One full day packed with wild life and scenery that only Africa can offer
There is genuine feeling of visiting Africa of the past when experiencing Murchison Falls National Park. The wildlife is plentiful and the tourist are few. It is such a large geographical area that there is a sense of being in a remote part of the world. There is both simple & inexpensive as well as upscale accommodations available in the park. There was freedom to drive you own vehicle around or have a guide take you. The boat trip up the river to the falls is well worth the 3 or 4 hours. The encounters with the Hippos and river creatures was exciting. As a professional photographer / videographer there was plenty of opportunity to captures images that will forever stimulate the imagination.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Tsavo East National Park by WW
We stayed at the former warden's house with a group of friends where we hired a cooked and maid. There happened to be 2 wells/water holes behind the house so it was amazing to see the elephants and buffalo in "our backyard", though a little scary. Lions roaring nearby was even scarier. The self-drive tours were just ok and we didn't try to do more. I wanted to see but did not the famous lions of Tsavo which are descendants of the man-eating lions which were infamous during the construction of the Mombasa to Kampala railroad.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by WW
Soda lakes are interesting. Flamingoes and Pelicans were amazing. Drove from Nairobi as a day trip once. Stayed once at just ok hotel which name I can't remember. Walking safari felt as though we were walking in a zoo without fences.
DK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very Well organised
The safari in selous and mikumi was great and our driver/guide Said was a very pleasent person and with a great knowledge of animals and birds. Everything worked out and we had a very good trip. Gecko adventure was very Quick to reply and being very helpful preparing our trip
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Aberdare National Park by WW
We enjoyed it the 3 times we were there but Treetops, The Ark and Outspan (we were there another time for a business conference) were just adequate accommodations. Even though The Ark was more upscale, the game experience wasn't great. I don't like being captive by having the animals come to the hotel water holes.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Uganda's National Park: The Queen Elizabeth
It is going to be 4 years since we went to Uganda, July 2008, our second destination in Africa in the south hemisphere. Our first destination was Botswana the year before and it made our trip: Kalahari, Okawango (Moremi), Savuti, Chobe river, Victoria Falls, all a "must-see".
This time we were thinking about the high mountains of central Africa. First option was Kilimanjaro, but we couldn't; so we thought about the Mountains of the Moon. We tried to arrange a hiking up to those mountains but we didn't have enough days for it. Finally we chose Uganda because all its highlitghted places: Virunga NP, Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Rwenzori Mountains, Lake Victoria and Queen Elizabeth Park.
We went by our own with a driver and the Bradt guide under the arm. We entered the Q.E.N.P. by Ishasha where the climbing lions live, crossing tea plantations. Unfortunately, we weren't lucky and we couldn't enjoy the beauty of these feline although we saw a variety of animals: buffalos, impalas, monkeys, elephants, antelopes, and the screams of hippos in the river... When we arrived to the camp, we met a dutch guy who showed us the climbing lions on his videocamera. That's safari, luck.
We headed towards our cottage, typical round house with three beds with mosquito net and a oil lamp. The accomodation was fair for our budget and the toilettes I don't remember, but when you are in safari...
Next day we headed to Mweya, where the Q.E.N.P. headquarters are. The trip was a tough one due to the condition of the track. It rained and the dirt road was very muddy. Finally we arrived Mweya. We couldn´t afford the Mweya Safari Lodge, but it looked great. Actually we went there for a delicious dinner and for a whisky on the rocks, all of it for a very reasonable price. If I remember well, the whisky was 2 euros. We lodged at the Mweya Hostel which was simply ok, just for sleeping. That afternoon we took the boat that goes along the Kazinga channel, an extremely recommended activity. We watched lots of animals: hippos, buffalos, elephants, cocodriles, antelopes and, over all, birds, lot of them, it was a great spectacle. And the sunset over the Lake Edward, superb.
Next day, we took a loop around the Q.E.N.P. with no luck again, no felines sighted. We exited the park and we headed towards the close Kyambura Gorge where we enjoyed watching the chimpances jumping from tree to tree and the hippos bathing. And we left behind the Q.E.N.P. stopping at the equator line enjoying a fresh Nile Special.
Conclusion: we enjoyed being at Q.E.N.P. although we weren't lucky with felines. It is a very easy-to-handle park.
Here you can take a look of one of my videos there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_aDSUC6vk
US
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kruger National Park by Tommy
Kruger is an excellent place to view the bush from your car. Obviously, this takes away from the authenticity and vibe of the experience and is comparable to Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. However, Kruger is a great place to view game (although you often have to train your eyes for hours on the bush to see anything) and to get a quick taste of South African wildlife. Birding is somewhat difficult because you will be confined to roads.