Top 10 Maasai Mara Wildlife Safari Lodges, Camps and Rentals

1. Mara Safari Club

The Mara Safari Club is located on an oxbow of the Mara River at the foot of the Aitong Hills and bordering the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. The club is approximately 4 hours drive from Nairobi or 45 minutes by air.

The accommodation is in 50 luxurious ensuite tents all with river frontage allowing guests to watch wildlife. These are 45 standard tents, five premium tents, all with netted four poster beds, electricity and permanent bathrooms. Main building has the dining room, lounge and bar and is cantilevered over the river.

A free-form swimming pool and game drives by land cruisers are also offered including nightly entertainment.

2. Mara Serena Safari Lodge

The wildlife park lodge is set on a high ridge in the Maasai Mara National Reserve; the Mara Serena Safari Lodge has one of the most spectacular views in the whole of Kenya. It?s breath taking. The lodge is an interpretation of a traditional Maasai village of domed huts; these are spaced apart to allow guests an uninterrupted view of the Maasai Mara Landscape.

Accommodation consists of 74 guest rooms, two-twin with double bed and the rest with twin beds.

The main dining room, with its attractive multi-domed ceiling, offers international menus, buffets and barbecue and authentic African dishes. The lodge has a vantage outdoor pool as well as a full service lounge and bar.

3. Fig Tree Camp in Mara

The fig tree camp lies on the banks of the Talek River in the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve with good access to all areas of the reserve for game drives.

Guests here can choose to stay in either a tent or a cabin. There is a total of 75 spacious rooms and tents, all en-suite with private balconies. There are 38 tents with twin beds; 22 cabins with double and single beds; and five twin-bedded cabins.

Latest additions are 10 executive tents suites with luxury four poster beds, butler services and spectacular views of the Mara. Facilities include; two bars, main dining room, an open air dining area, a tree house/coffee deck, a swimming pool and guest lecture facilities, curio shop, video room, and a medical clinic and resident nurse. Local naturalist gives lectures on and slide projections on the Mara eco-system. Evening Maasai entertainment also included.

4. Governor?s Camp in Mara

Set up in 1972, governor?s camp has 36 luxurious tents on the bank of Mara River with views across the sweeping Mara plains. The camp sets standards in luxury accommodation in the Mara and is Africa?s best under canvas.

Guests stay in well appointed tents, each with their own bathroom. Evenings are devoted to cock tails around a bon fire and dinner by candle light. Each morning breakfast is prepared over blazing coals; mountains of bacon and eggs, fresh milk (flown in daily), hot ?baked croissants, exotic fruits and freshly brewed priced Kenyan coffee.

Both breakfast and lunch are served on the shady river bank with views across the Mara. Governor?s camp is for the tourist in need of that intimate interaction with nature under canvas.

5. Governors? Il Moran Camp in Mara

Governors il Moran camp is small but has added touches that make this top-of-the-range tented accommodation in Maasai Mara.

Secluded in the forest, there are just 10 tents that line the winding banks of the Mara River.

Each tent has a very private location and is furnished to a superior standard. Beds are hand made from specially selected wood taken from ancient olive trees. Large en-suite bathrooms have flush toilets, a big shower with piping-hot water and a Victorian bath.

The tents have an extended verandah so that guest can take dinner in private in their tent. Or visitors can just relax and enjoy the sights and sounds. Birds will be heard singing, elephants walk through the camp and at night leopard call nearby. Game drives and walks are included in the rate and complimentary wine is served with dinner.

In the day meals are served under the shady trees to include fresh fruits, cereals, hot-baked breads and a cooked breakfast. Deep in the bush, cordon-bleu dinners by candle light are truly unforgettable experience. The camp is a big favourite for honeymooners due the extremes they have gone to ensure privacy.

6. Governors? Private Camp in Mara

Governor?s private camp is for those that want some-thing exclusive. Private Camp can only be booked by one family or group at a time. As its name suggests, it?s private. It means up to 16 people have a beautiful bend of the Mara river all to themselves.

The camp is located at a spot where animals come to drink, hippo laze in the shallows and elephant bring their calves for wallowing. The surrounding forest is home to many birds too.

The tents are luxurious with hand made furniture. Private bathrooms have flush toilets, hot showers, with crystal clear water. Guests are allowed to even tailor their own menus and drinks are all free besides champagne.

The camp must be booked by a minimum of four guests staying for at least three nights.

7. Mara Explorer

Located on a thickly forested bend of the Talek River and opened in 2000, the Mara Explorer is widely regarded as one of the Maasai Mara most luxurious and well appointed camps.

Mara Explorer consists of 10 luxurious tents each with a butler on call 24 hours a day. Guests can enjoy morning and evening game drives, walking safaris, bush breakfasts and dinners or romantic sundowners in selected river side or hill top locations.

Mara explorer is an eco friendly camp with all non-degradable waste sent to Nairobi and water is heated using coffee husks.

8. Mara Intrepids

Only a 45-minute flight from Nairobi is the Mara Intrepids, located near the Mara River, where over a million wildebeest and zebra make the crossing during their migration in July and august.

There are 30 luxury tent and these are spread over a large riverside site to ensure privacy and peace for each guest. Tents are furnished in classic safari style, with four-poster beds and reproduction furniture and modern en-suite bathrooms.

Each tent sits on a shady raised platform with views over the river banks where a wide variety of animals come to drink.

Activities include three guided game drives each day; escorted walking safaris outside the reserve; bush breakfasts and dinners under the stars; and visits to neighbouring Maasai communities.

Guests can also arrange a dawn balloon safari or a fishing trip to Lake Victoria.

9. Olonana Camp in Mara

Olonana is a luxury camp idyllically located in the heart of the Maasai Mara big game country. The camp features 12 spacious tented pavilions each tastefully appointed with two queen-size beds, ensuite bathrooms and river view verandahs where guests can relax and watch the hippos wallowing.

A wide range of activities includes bush walks, visits to the adjacent Maasai cultural village, sundowners and day and night game viewing drives.

Olonana is at the fore front of in Kenya with solar power, a tree planting project and a wetlands project which allows for used water to be totally recycled before being released to the natural environment. In addition Olonana supports various projects to assist the local Maasai community.

The camp received a bronze rating award from the Ecotourism society of Kenya Eco-rating scheme and has also been selected as one of the top 15 safari camps in the world by ?Conde Nast Traveller? magazine.

10. Sarova Mara

Sarova Mara offers an opportunity to experience a tented safari. There are 75 luxurious tents, with permanent floors and roofs and their own bathroom set amid rush gardens an exotic flowers.

The resort has its own large pool with poolside bar. There is also a good restaurant, a second bar and a permanent barbecue. Guests can also book hot air balloons and see wildlife awakening in the savannah before landing to a sumptuous breakfast with champagne.

A variety of dinning experiences are on offer including bush, boma, garden, pool barbeque and salt lick. Walking safaris can also be arranged.

Robert is a tour consultant and co-owner of Landmark Safaris Ltd in Kenya. He is degreed in Tourism management and conservation. More information: http://www.landmarksafaris.com/tours/wildlife.php Grab your relevant and free safari info: http://www.eastafricasafari.blogspot.com

Kenya Safari: The Fate of the Rhinos

In Africa today, the fight for growth of the rhino population is an everyday activity. After being declared an endangered species, Kenya has put up big efforts financially to see to it that their habitats have been safe guarded.

The history of the rhino can be traced back to 45 million years ago. The Baluchitherium, an ancestor of the Indian rhino, was the largest land mammal that ever lived. It was 18 feet high and 36 feet long. It lived over 20 million years ago. Fortunately, the rhino is on its way back, thanks to the efforts of well wishers and volunteers.

THE PROBLEM

The problem of the rhino has been its beauty, the horn. It is made of keratin, a substance found in human hair and nails. Powdered Rhino horn has been used extensively in traditional medicine in Asia and to make ornamental dagger handles in the Yemen. The demand is so great that traders are prepared to pay poachers vast sums to kill rhinos for their horns. Because of these, Rhinos have faced wholesale slaughter. To stop these abuse governments and bodies such as Save the Rhino teamed up together to halt the abusive. Thanks to them, the overall decline of the rhino has been halted, and populations in Africa are beginning to stabilize.

A CLOSER LOOK

The rhino belongs to the family Rhinoceroteridae. They are 5 species placed in 4 genera. Three of these species are found in south-central Asia and the other two live in Africa south of the Sahara. Rhinos inhabit savannahs, shrubby regions and dense forests. The African species live in more open areas than do the Asian species. Their habitat has to generally have access to water. They usually drink everyday. Their horns are dermal growths originally composed of compressed keratin. Usually they have 1-2 horns. Both hind and forefeet have 3 digits with a small hoof. They are known to have poor eye sight but strong hearing and smell. The tough and wrinkled skin has very few scattered hairs. The tail ends with stiff bristles. Breeding..

Female rhinos give birth every 2 years to a single calf, which is active soon after birth. The calf remains with the mother until the next offspring is born. Gestation is 420-570 days. Sexual maturity is reached at 7-10 years for bulls and 4-6 years for cows.They a life span of up to 50 years.

Note that the African rhinos are more aggressive than Asian species. They use their horns to attack and toss their enemies. This can be especially dangerous and can kill attackers instantly. African white rhinos have a preference of feeding low to the open grounds whereas the black rhino usually browse on leaves and have a tendency to stay hidden. They have been noted to be more active in the evening, through the night and in early morning, spending their days resting in heavy cover. Rhinos sleep in both standing and laying positions and love to wallow in muddy pools and sandy riverbeds. They penetrate dense thickets by shear force, often leaving behind a trail that other animals later use. Rhinos run with a cumbersome motion, reaching top speed at a canter. They can, however, attain speeds of up to 45 km per hour for short distances.Basically the black rhino is more solitary and territorial except for the mother-child unit.

Groups of adult cows or bachelor bulls are sometimes formed, however, and during the mating season pairs of rhinos may stay together for up to 4 months. Rhinos mark their territories with urine and by dropping their dung in well-defined piles that can reach up to 1 m in height. They often furrow the areas around these piles with their horns and make the piles even more conspicuous. The black rhino has a wide vocal range and can possibly communicate like an elephant, through frequencies below the range of human hearing. Breathing is an important part of communication. Unlike the white rhino-calf, the black rhino calf normally runs behind its mother.

CURRENT STATUS

There were an estimated 20,000 black rhino in Kenya in the 1970s. By 1982 the population was reduced to fewer than 400. Since then, their number has increased and now stands at over 450. The number in fenced areas has risen at an average rate of four percent each year when the conditions are good. Since 1984 the Kenyan government has pursued an active program devoted to the recovery of Kenya?s black rhino, with efforts centering on the development of specially protected or fenced sanctuaries on government and private land, such as Lewa.

Rhino populations under custodianship both on private land (Solio Ranch) and in some State-run areas (such as Nairobi National Park) have provided set up for new populations (including reintroducing animals into an electrified-fence sanctuary inside the KWS-run Tsavo West and Meru National Parks). The private sector thus plays an important part in the conservation of rhino in Kenya and currently supplies many of the animals being used to restock state parks.

Kenya is currently the stronghold of the Eastern African subspecies Diceros bicornis michaeli, a home to about 88 % of the population in 1995. Like South Africa and Namibia, Kenya is doing translocation to set up new populations while aiming to ensure that donor populations remain productive. The public plight of the black rhino has attracted support from many different areas. Today, scientists are formulating a method of ?fingerprinting? rhino horn based on the nutrient content of each specific rhino conservation area. This will enable them to pinpoint the area a rhino came from, its family group, and even its preferred diet. It is also an important step toward eradicating poaching, as scientists will be able to determine where a rhino was when it was killed.

For more facts about Kenya wildlife visit http://www.natural-track.com

Peter Philip is the operator of Natural Track Safaris, a Kenya based nature safari company catering for family outdoor adventures, camping and overland safaris. For more safari information visit http://www.natural-track.com

African Animals And Safari In Disney World?

We all know that Disney do not have theme parks in Africa. Well, at least not yet. Then why is it that people are talking about taking a vacation in Disney's African theme park lodge?

They are actually talking about The Animal Kingdom Vacation Lodge which is in the southwest corner of the Disney World situated close to the Animal Kingdom theme park. This excitingly themed and interesting lodge was officially declared opened in 2001. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is a fusion of African tribal native architecture with the exotic rugged style of East African National Park lodges. The Animal Kingdom Vacation Lodge was designed by Peter Dominick of Disney's Wilderness Lodge fame.

Stunningly breathtaking view of the 33 acre terrain architecture with flowing streams and elevated rock outcroppings can be viewed from half of the rooms at the lodge. Hundreds of friendly animals and birds of mostly African origin roam freely at the area. Most of the almost 1,300 rooms are about 340 square feet big and decorated with hand-crafted African furniture and furnishings. Almost all rooms come with a balcony to view the astounding surrounding.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge also offer fine dining in a casual setting at the Jiko restaurant. Jiko serves light, fast and simple meals. Another restaurant, the Boma is a family restaurant. This restaurant is the African version of the Whispering Canyon restaurant located at the Fort Wilderness Lodge and Villas. Boma serves buffet food in African thatched roofs and most dishes are grills - African tribal style cooking.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge is connected to the rest of the Disney World by buses as its location is rather remote and out of the way.

There are two wings at the ladge, branching from the rear of the resort are the Kudu Trial and Zebra Trial forming a semi circle around the central wildlife savanna. Each wing have seven five storey buildings with guest rooms for visitor to stay.

The best rooms are on third and fourth floors. This is because these rooms are high enough to overlook the entire savanna and yet at the same time just low enough to appreciate the flora and fauna at almost ground eye level. The second storey rooms are too low to view the savanna and rooms on the fifth floor are too high for viewing the friendly animals close up.

There are two smaller wings called the Ostrich Trail and the Giraffe Trial. However, rooms from these wings do not enjoy views as beautiful as the ones at the Kudu and Zebra Trail.

By staying in The Animal Kingdom Resort, you not only have a Disney vacation, but a touch of the African plains as well. Interesting mix, don't you think so? So if you are thinking of taking a Disney vacation, why not consider staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World?
Read more exotic travel tales at Chris Chew's blog and website Hawaiian Cruise Vacation and China Travel Lijiang

Where To Go For Lion Safari

All African safaris offer rare opportunities to catch a glimpse of creatures that may only be found in the wild. And as vast and diverse as Africa can get, it can provide unimaginable things from the strangest to the wildest creations there are.

Lion safari, one of the keen focuses for most travelers since it offers satisfactory game can be found in various sites in Africa. It is the passport for adventure where a guest may spot nature working within itself to maintain the equilibrium.

Lion safari is best encountered in its natural habitat. Some of the well-known sites of lion safari are the following:

Kruger National Park
Because of the Kruger's excellent game-viewing opportunities, it is included in the top priorities when it comes to lion safaris. It is created even before the emergence of some of the national parks that we now enjoy, which makes it the pioneer in the field. The preservation was initiated in 1889 to help protect the wildlife of South Africa, which then was faced, with the swelling problems of unrestricted hunting.

Pilanesburg National Park
Lion safaris are found in Pilanesburg, which is revered for its being malaria-free, thus the comfort of game-viewing.

Kalahari Gemsbok National Park
Because it is naturally intended to create a haven for wildlife animals, Kalahari is home to unimaginable number of animals. It is characterized by being semi-dessert, which borders in between Namibia and Botswana.

Chobe National Park
Found in Botswana, Chobe is recognized for harboring the largest congregation of buffalo and elephants.

Linyanti Game Reserve
Linyanti Game Reserve, on the other hand, nurses the largest prides of lions and equally large population of some good preys such as the elephant.

Lake Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Being included in the list of most famous reservation parks, these two harbors the impressive tree-climbing lions and black-maned lions respectively.

Masai Mara National Reserve
Found in Kenya, Masai Mara collects a year round game-viewing and is the finest national park in all Kenya.

Serengeti National Park
On top of the heap is the Serengeti, which is also known for another name- the big cat central, which is so much closer to the truth. Since grasslands dominate the seemingly endless land, it is much easier to view games here. The migration of wildebeest and the collection of buffaloes and zebras make Serengeti a great place for the interplay of preys and predators. Yearly, millions of wildebeests come here between the months of April to August to seek better grazing in the far South.
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Botswana Mobile Safari

Camping?s not my thing. Experiences to date have been limited to the odd night supervising the children in the garden. So it was with some anxiety that I set off for Northern Botswana to spend five nights in a tent. I needn?t have worried. All my fears (and there were many) were swept away within ten minutes of arriving at our first camp site. Set among trees and looking out over a dry floodplain in the Moremi Game Reserve, our six tents were well equipped with proper beds and bathrooms and were very comfortable.

The camp staff were great fun, extremely knowledgeable and perfect hosts. The early mornings and late afternoons were spent on game drives in the park, where we were treated to a wonderful variety of birds and animals. Our guide too was excellent. There was a constant stream of interesting facts and figures, and not once did I feel we compromised safety in order to get close to any animal.

After two nights, we moved to a simple ?fly camp? on an island in the Okavango Delta. After drifting up and down river channels during the day, we arrived at a tiny wooded island, where just our bed rolls and mosquito nets were to be our accommodation for the night. A sundowner on a nearby lagoon, supper and then sleeping under the stars, listening to strange noises, is something I shall not forget in a hurry. I had expected to feel very vulnerable with just a thin piece of netting between me and a lot of things with big teeth. But I was amazed how safe I felt once zipped into my ?home for the night?, well hidden under the duvet.

We left the island to spend another two nights back in Moremi. This time the camp site was next to a large lagoon, and as we arrived in the late afternoon we had to wait for a huge herd of elephant to cross our path on their way to drink and play in the water.

I couldn?t have been more wrong in my initial ideas about a mobile safari. I had imagined danger at every turn, uncomfortable nights and ordinary food. In fact, I had a wonderful experience. I never once felt in any danger, but there was plenty of excitement. The food was fantastic - how our cook managed to produce what he did over an open fire is a mystery. And as for uncomfortable ... showering in the open air and sleeping under canvas, trying to work out what?s making that noise outside the tent, beats any five star hotel. I can?t wait to go again.

http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-botswana-mobilesafari.htm

Charlotte Opperman first visited Africa on honeymoon in Kenya, when a love of Africa (and hopefully her husband) was born. She has since visited Botswana, Namibia and the Seychelles. Charlotte has also tested a number of our trips with her husband and two sons. So far they have visited Mauritius, South Africa (twice) and Kenya, so she is a great person to talk to if wanting to travel to Africa with children. A keen horsewoman Charlotte rides and competes regularly, and has ridden in both Southern and East Africa. Her desire for comfort in unspoilt surroundings makes her a good yardstick when planning a safari for many of our clients. Her close attention to detail ensures our clients never leave home unprepared.

Family Safaris

The demand for a family friendly safari has increased tenfold over the past year, and since launching our Family Safari Brochure in July 2002 we have had a tremendous response from families with children covering a broad age range.

Many of the operators in Africa have responded well to this new area of the market and some have thought carefully about the requirements and constraints when having children in their camps. Activities to suit children of all ages, specialist guides, meal times, babysitters and private vehicles are some of those that have been considered. The subtle balance of inclusion and exclusion of families can take some planning. Although a family safari is by name an adventurous holiday, you do need to feel that safety issues regarding children have been examined. Safety standards in Africa are very different to those in Europe and we do question lodges and camps quite closely on aspects such as fencing around pools, steep drops and the general suitability for younger family members.

A happy and satisfying family holiday general means that everyone involved can find activities to suit them for most of the time. In many of the family-friendly lodges this has been well catered for. This may mean that the parents enjoy a morning game drive, the youngest child is baking biscuits in the camp kitchen and the older children are collecting dung. It's a great bonus for even the littlest person to come home with their own and very special memories.

Wilderness Safaris in Southern Africa have solved what has been a worry for some parents. In most tented camps it has not been possible to add an extra bed into the standard tents. This has meant that children have to sleep in a separate tent. This may in reality be only five metres away, but it?s too far for comfort. To solve this concern, in some of their camps in Botswana and Namibia, Wilderness have successfully created a family tent by adding an extra tent onto the back of the bathroom. Wilderness have also lowered the age range and they now accept children from 8 years of age in all their camps. However, if you wanted to take any camp on an exclusive basis, perhaps sharing it with another family, this lower limit would be waived. Some lodges will automatically provide a separate vehicle for a family group, which means that you can take your game viewing at a pace which suits you. We would actively encourage all families to take this option, even if it?s not offered as an inclusive. It does mean that if one of the children gets fed up on a game drive, you can stop and calmly enjoy a coffee, just sitting or mucking about under a tree without worrying about other clients and their reactions.

The content and timing of meals is another area that most family-friendly camps have looked at. There are few parents that don't enjoy a child-free evening meal at the end of the day (those of us with young children particularly) and children are much happier eating something they recognise at a sensible time. This is also made possible by the general availability of babysitters, childminders or nannies; available at most lodges during the day and evenings at very reasonable rates, but don't expect a fistful of official European-style qualifications. As with many African women, most will have successfully raised large families of their own.

Kwando Safaris located in Botswana's Okavango Delta have a specialist children's guide, Lisa Reed. Lisa has worked extensively with children from the very young to teenagers. To begin with she prepares special materials which are sent to the children at home and she then takes them through a purpose-designed programme while they are in the bush. Serious though it may sound, it's beautifully crafted to entertain, educate and match each child's concentration threshold.

Another question is of course whether to travel to an area that is malaria-free or not. South Africa offers a range of safari camps in malaria-free locations, which of course can be successfully combined with any number of family orientated beach lodges and activities on the Indian Ocean coast or in Cape Town. We have already successfully combined these areas for several families and this includes Charlotte at Aardvark who recently took her husband and seven and nine year old boys to South Africa.

For those who are happy to take preventative medication for malaria, Malarone has now been launched in the UK in a children's formula. It is the first malaria tablet to be designed for kids and so far it has been licensed in the UK, USA, Denmark as well as a couple of other European countries. The best news is that the tablets are small and film-coated, so they are not bitter to taste. The course starts the day before travel and finishes only seven days after your return home.

If malaria isn't an issue, Kenya genuinely welcomes families. Not only at camps such as Rekero and Cottars in the Masai Mara, but also in some of the ranch style properties that offer a perfect base for a family holiday. The private properties such as Loisba and Lewa Downs provide comfortable settings with any number of varied and wonderful activities on tap, in addition to traditional game drives. These properties are owner run and many have raised their own children in the bush, a fact which is most reassuring.

Robin Pope Safaris in Zambia have an itinerary which is particularly suited to families by offering Nkwali Camp in the South Luangwa. It has open lawns shaded by huge ebony trees and a large fenced swimming pool. All the staff are child friendly and safety conscious. Game drives, walks, visits to the local school, cooking and collecting leaf, dung and feathers all feature on the activity list and safari packs and colouring books are all provided. Each programme will be tailored to the number of children and their ages. And meanwhile Robin & Jo Pope are currently renovating their own house at Nkwali, which will be available for exclusive bookings shortly.

Tangala House is another private residence in Zambia, this one is located on the banks of the Zambezi River close to Victoria Falls. It's beautifully equipped and is therefore an ideal place for families with all the facilities of a family home, including nannies. A wide range of activities are on offer in the immediate vicinity including canoeing, rafting, game drives, white water rafting and elephant riding.

Another option would be to do a private mobile safari, possibly in Kenya, Botswana or Tanzania, which country would depend to a degree on the age of your family. Accommodation would be in simple but comfortable tents with your own personal guide and camp staff. You would have the option to tailor-make all your game activities at a pace to suit and involve all the family with the safari experience.

The restrictions with older children are obviously fewer and once they are twelve years old, they are considered to be adults except on some of the more adventurous activities. An excellent teenage holiday would be to spend some days in Victoria Falls indulging in some of the more active pursuits and to combine this with perhaps a walking, canoeing or riding safari.

Many families will combine a safari with some time on the beach, which you can do very well in South Africa, Kenya or Tanzania or you might wish to just concentrate on a beach and water activities type of holiday. If that is the case, you can't do much better than Mauritius where there is a wide range of excellent hotels and resorts that welcome families with children of all ages. The variety of activities is excellent and most hotels have children's clubs that are open on a daily basis.

Each individual family will have its own criteria when putting together a holiday to suit, so it is exciting to see that there is now a tremendous variety of exciting, educational and relaxing options throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean to chose from. As more families are taking the opportunity to visit Africa, it really is worth planning well ahead for either a trip during a half term or a main school holiday. We are now finding that the most popular properties are getting booked up well in advance.

Be warned though, once you have introduced the family to Africa they will keep asking you for more.

http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-family-safaris.htm

John Spence originally cut his teeth as a cocktail barman in Cape Town and white water raft guide in Zimbabwe. This unorthodox first travel to Africa buried a strong seed of love for that continent which has grown and grown. Endless weird and wonderful trips to Africa on horse back, by canoe, on foot, light aeroplane and behind the wheel of his own Land Rover have yet to fully satisfy his thirst for knowledge of Africa. John?s two children are also set to become safari experts and are beginning to accompany him on some of his less adventurous trips so he?s a good person to talk to about family holidays as well. An itinerary to Africa designed by John will be based on a huge bank of knowledge and a big injection of enthusiasm and adventure.

A South African Family Safari

Having eagerly read much of the information in the office on South Africa, we decided to go and see for ourselves as a family. The family being my husband and myself and our two boys aged seven and nine. With three weeks to fill and a variety of tastes to cater for, we planned to start the trip in Cape Town, then onto the Waterberg Mountains in Limpopo Province, and finally to Madikwe on the Botswana border. All three are malaria free areas.

Cape Town really does live up to all the hype. Set against the backdrop of Table Mountain, with its wild beaches and rugged coastline, it?s like no other city I?ve visited. Accommodation varies from grand five star hotels to the hundreds of bed and breakfasts all over the city. Since grand hotels and small boys don?t generally mix, we decided to go for the B&B option. So from our very comfortable B&B base in Constantia with its own pool we had ten days in which to explore.

There had been press reports before we left about the dangers of travelling in South Africa, and I did wonder whether we should go or not. However, once we arrived, we felt just as safe as we do in the UK. Driving was very straightforward and we managed with a simple tourist map. Highlights for the children were the beach at Fishhoek where they surfed for hours, Boulders Bay where they swam with penguins, and a wonderful boat trip where we barbecued and enjoyed the crayfish on board. Another hit was the Scratch Patch at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, a small cave-like room which has a floor covered in semi-precious stones. You pay for a bag and then cram as many stones into it as you can (our youngest asked whether it was OK to fill his pockets too). For any budding geologists, it?s a must.

From an adult perspective, the Constantia wine estates with their graceful Cape Dutch architecture are really lovely. The old City dock area of Cape Town has been re-developed into the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront; it?s full of life, and a fun place to eat and shop. Cape Point Nature Reserve was something we all enjoyed; there are one or two good beaches, a few animals (the baboons caused much excitement) and Cape Point itself is spectacular.

The wineland areas of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, about an hour from Cape Town, are stunning, with great restaurants, shops and galleries. Many of the wine estates en route are open to visitors and you can both picnic there and wander through the grounds.

From Cape Town we flew up to Johannesburg and then drove north west about four hours to the Waterberg Mountains. Our destination was Ant?s Nest, a privately run game lodge that is booked on an exclusive basis by a single group. As far as we were all concerned, it was heaven. The boys could run free, I could ride and my husband even managed to get in a bit of stalking (an unsuccessful but much talked about warthog hunt). We spent a truly blissful four days here dividing our time between riding (horses for all abilities), game drives, bush walks, swimming and generally relaxing and mucking about.

The lodge is set in an area that varies from wide open grass plains to steeply wooded hillsides. It was farmland until relatively recently, and the current owners have reintroduced a large number of antelope species as well as giraffe, rhino and zebra. Riding among these animals at sunset on New Year?s Eve is something I shall not forget in a hurry.

The wonderful thing about having the lodge to ourselves was that we could be totally flexible about what we did and when. If the children didn?t want to ride early in the morning or evening, they would be taken on their own game drive instead. They drove (with assistance) the vehicles, game viewed from the back of a motorbike, pretended they were cowboys in the bush, swam with horses and shot on the small private shooting range on land that is adjacent to Ant?s. It will certainly be a while before I find somewhere that beats this as such a complete family destination. After visits by my family and others to Ant?s, there is now a queue of small children, boys in particular, waiting to give up school and go to work there.

For our final four days, we drove four hours west to the Madikwe Game Reserve on the border with Botswana. Again it is malaria free, and we had chosen to stay first at Jaci?s Safari Lodge and then at Jaci?s Tree Lodge. Both properties (run by the owners Jaci & Jan Van Heteren) welcome families with children from any age. The safari lodge is a tented camp approached via a rope bridge over a small river. This entrance made quite a dramatic impact on the children who really had no idea what to expect from a safari. They were amazed and delighted to find that our tent was rather bigger and more luxurious than the one they use in the garden. When we moved to the tree lodge, we had an even larger cottage-style room, and they spent great deal of time in the enormous outside shower watching the vervet monkeys scurrying around the walkways.

Their response to game viewing was more surprising. My eldest son just loved everything about it and couldn?t wait for the next game drive. He wasn?t phased by elephants literally feet away or lions roaring by the bonnet of the vehicle. At the end of four days, he was able to distinguish between most of the antelope species and was even getting into the birds. The youngest was of the impression that once you?d seen one elephant what was the point of seeing more. We plugged him into a Walkman and with a constant supply of fizzy drinks he too sat very happily during the game drives. Our guide was very good-natured and even made Zulu spears for the boys.

In summary, we had a tremendous three weeks and we all want to go back for more. The huge diversity of activities, from swimming with penguins, to wine tasting, to riding in the bush made us feel that we had been away much longer than three weeks. In terms of a family holiday, there really was something for all of us and we shall all remember it for some time to come.

http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-southafrica-familysafari.htm

Charlotte Opperman first visited Africa on honeymoon in Kenya, when a love of Africa (and hopefully her husband) was born. She has since visited Botswana, Namibia and the Seychelles. Charlotte has also tested a number of our trips with her husband and two sons. So far they have visited Mauritius, South Africa (twice) and Kenya, so she is a great person to talk to if wanting to travel to Africa with children. A keen horsewoman Charlotte rides and competes regularly, and has ridden in both Southern and East Africa. Her desire for comfort in unspoilt surroundings makes her a good yardstick when planning a safari for many of our clients. Her close attention to detail ensures our clients never leave home unprepared.

Zambia: A True Grass-Roots Safari

The key to a good safari is undoubtedly the quality of the guiding and how guests are hosted during their stay. Having travelled to Kenya and Botswana on previous trips I had experienced two of the best safari destinations that Africa has to offer. I?d heard that Zambia offered a more grass roots safari and was therefore eager to find out how it looked after those in search of a great wildlife experience.

Arriving in the Lower Zambezi off the back of a connecting flight from Lusaka and an overnight flight from London never puts you in the best frame of mind for starting a safari. What helps is the warm reception of a confident host and at Chiawa Camp this came in the form of Grant and Lindsay Cummings. Grant set up Chiawa, the first camp to be located in the Lower Zambezi National Park, in 1989 and as a founding member of Conservation Lower Zambezi he has taken the camp and the park from strength to the strength. His passion for the bush is evident from the moment you meet him. He encourages you to do every activity on offer to see how far the park has developed and this is before you?ve even been shown your tent. Grant?s enthusiasm passes through to the rest of his team and our guide Joe was testament to this. On our first night drive with him we were lucky enough to come across a leopard stalking some impala. We carefully followed the leopard, making sure we did not impede its hunt. As we followed Joe gave us a commentary on its hunting habits; how it stalks, how often it eats and all this whilst driving through thick woodland?.. without any headlights on! The leopard?s hunt was unsuccessful on this occasion, but that didn?t matter as we had learnt so much. It is always going to be tough to follow up such a wonderful encounter. Joe did it confidently though, not by tearing round the park trying to find us something more exciting, but simply by finding us a clearing, switching off the engine and giving us a commentary on the huge starscape above our heads. Of course if an aardvark had walked by I would have named him ?Superguide?, but that would have taken a whole lot of luck.

From the Lower Zambezi my trip took me north east to both North and South Luangwa. Our accommodation in North Luangwa was at Kutandala, a simple reed and thatch camp beside the Mwaleshi River. This is home to Rod and Gus Tether. Not only do they run and manage the camp, but they are also raising their two young sons out in the bush, no mean feat. The emphasis at Kutandala is on walking and Rod is one of the best guides that Zambia has to offer. Tracking lions on foot is one of the options, but the lions were not close by so we took a more scenic and refreshing day?s walk to the Mwaleshi Falls. On the way Rod pointed out and identified numerous birds and animals and diverted the walk to view a large pod of hippo wallowing in the river, a spectacular sight close up. When we arrived at the falls, Rod?s eyes lit up and it was almost as if he was sharing one of his favourite toys with us. Lazing in the afternoon sun after a great barbeque it was going to be difficult to muster the energy for a swim in the rock pools let alone the walk home.

Not to be outdone by Rod?s barbequing skills, Gus produces what can only be described as miracle food out of her simple bush kitchen. Kutandala, like many other camps has its own salad and vegetable garden on site so tasty, fresh produce is always at hand. However when Gus produced a homemade sorbet and brandy snaps for pudding at lunch followed by homemade ice cream in an ice bowl later that evening, I was truly amazed. I would challenge any London chef to produce such high quality food with such limited resources in such a remote location. Food is an important part of safari life and Gus?s was the best I experienced in Zambia.

Robin Pope Safaris is one of the most successful operations in South Luangwa and Nsefu Camp located on the eastern banks of the Luangwa River is in the heart of an abundant game area. Of course the wildlife has to be there, but a good guide will be able to find it and talk about it with confidence. Our guide at Nsefu was Kerry. This was the first female guide I?d seen since I was piloted and guided by a four foot ten bush lady in Zimbabwe. She had proved herself to be a superb guide so I eagerly anticipated seeing what Kerry could show us on our night drive. I?d heard that she was good on birds so I decided to put her to the test. ?How about seeing if we can find some owls?? I asked as we set off. Within 10 minutes Kerry had found us an owl. ?Where?? We all said, scanning the trees for a large, fluffy bird. ?In that bush over there?, indicated Kerry, pointing to a bush some two hundred metres from the track. With the help of a large pair of binoculars I found our owl, a pearl-spotted owl, about the size of a dove. An impressive spot! Later on in the drive, after the sun had gone down we came across a pair of porcupines, dimly lit in the moonlight. We watched them with the aid of the spotters lamp for a while before I asked if we could get any closer. Unperturbed, by the steep bank that we and the land cruiser we going to have to tackle, Kerry set off giving a perfect demonstration of four by four driving. As we got closer Kerry turned the headlights off. ?I?m still learning,? she said. ?Just last week I discovered that if you turn the headlights off you can get within 20 metres of the porcupines.? As a result we got a really close up sighting of these unusual animals.

Our last destinations were Kafue National Park and the Busanga Plains, about an hour?s flying time, west of Lusaka. Busanga is the only place in Zambia where cheetahs are sighted on a regular basis. The wide open plains that flood after the December rains offer the perfect habitat during the dry months for these sleek cats, but seeking them out in the long grass takes the skill of a good guide. This time it was Lexon, who having grown up in the area knows Busanaga like the back of his hand, and together with Benson, his eagle eyed spotter, made sure that we got to see the cheetahs.

When it comes to tracking cheetahs, a guide living in camp has an obvious advantage over the average guest who spends only perhaps three or four days there. A guide will know the animals? territory and when they were last spotted, though, of course, he does still have to find them. I was in camp at Busanga for only 16 hours, but Lexon and Benson eagerly took up the challenge. Sure enough, within an hour of arriving in camp, we found five cheetahs (a mother and her four one year old cubs) bathing in the soft rays of the setting sun. A good guide thinks long term and by giving the mother and her cubs distance in their early stages he had earned their trust. The result was five cheetah approaching the Land Rover for some of the best photo opportunities I?ve ever had.

I returned from Zambia wholly impressed by the quality of guiding and hosting. I had found that a similar standard was apparent in all of the camps that I visited. I?ve recently travelled to Botswana, certainly the most upmarket of all the safari destinations, and to Kenya visiting some of the most pioneering and conservation-minded ranches in Africa. While Zambia can?t quite match the sheer glassy waters of the Okavango Delta or the density of game of some of Kenya?s finest reserves, for me it offers a unique experience of Africa. The accommodation is comfortable without being overwhelming, the hosting is excellent and the guiding can only be described as brilliant. In Zambia natural Africa is allowed to take its place centre stage.

http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-zambia-grassroots

Charlie Gray first visited Africa when he was four years old with his parents and big brother. They drove themselves around South Africa and also went on the Blue Train, lucky boy. He has since been back many more times visiting South Africa again, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. With a degree in geography he has always had an interest in the world and travel. When not talking to clients he likes nothing more than looking over as many maps as possible and planning his next African adventure. He has spent all his working life in the travel industry and you can be sure your trip will be well planned by Charlie ensuring you get the most out of your holiday.

A Honeymoon Safari Challenge

Four countries and six locations (including river, beach, Delta, desert and coast) in eighteen days sounds more like a challenge for charity than an enjoyable and inspiring holiday. But that?s the sum of a fabulous trip we recently arranged for Stephen and Bryony Wolf on their honeymoon. Always of the opinion that a well paced trip does not include too many countries, too many locations and too few nights in one place, we felt challenged by the request to include Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa in one itinerary.

After three days relaxing at the River Club on the banks of the Zambezi close to Victoria Falls, a short flight took them to Chief?s Camp in the heart of the Okavango Delta. Located in the Mombo concession, game viewing here is incredible with very dense animal concentrations particularly predators. A short hop by light aircraft to Maun was followed by a direct flight to the Namibian capital Windhoek. Here they had a one night stop at Hilltop House a simple but comfortable bed and breakfast. And then onto the three night Schoeman?s fly-in safari, a legend in itself providing some of the most extraordinary visions of the Skeleton Coast, Damaraland and Kaokoland accompanied by guides who have lived and breathed this part of Namibia since birth.

Next came another flight, this time to Johannesburg and an overnight at our favourite boutique style hotel, Ten Bompas, only a short drive from the airport.

The finale to their spectacular holiday was a four night stay at Rocktail Bay Lodge on the Indian Ocean coast of South Africa. A great beach location, wild and safari-like, with wide open beaches and superb diving and snorkelling.

A great challenge and a great trip.

http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-honeymoons-challenge.htm

Charlotte Opperman first visited Africa on honeymoon in Kenya, when a love of Africa (and hopefully her husband) was born. She has since visited Botswana, Namibia and the Seychelles. Charlotte has also tested a number of our trips with her husband and two sons. So far they have visited Mauritius, South Africa (twice) and Kenya, so she is a great person to talk to if wanting to travel to Africa with children. A keen horsewoman Charlotte rides and competes regularly, and has ridden in both Southern and East Africa. Her desire for comfort in unspoilt surroundings makes her a good yardstick when planning a safari for many of our clients. Her close attention to detail ensures our clients never leave home unprepared.

Botswana Riding Safari Welcomes Non-riders

Traditionally known for it?s superb riding, Okavango Horse Safaris now offer game drives and mokoro (dug out canoe) trips for non-riding partners. The main camp in the heart of the Okavango Delta, has a couple of vehicles, and with specialist guides flown in from Maun, non-riders can be sure that they will see the best game the region has to offer.

Days can also be arranged so that riders and non-riders meet up for lunch or at overnight fly camps. These are simple tented camps where clients will spend one or two nights. For riders there are some 60 horses to choose from, and either a five or ten day itinerary. A maximum of eight people can ride for between four and six hours a day, and on both the longer and shorter itineraries there is the opportunity to fly camp.

Also based within the Okavango Delta is African Horseback Safaris. Again they have a great reputation for good horses, excellent riding and game viewing, though they are perhaps more suitable for riders than non-riders. Another recommendation for riders and non-riders travelling together, is Ant?s Nest in South Africa?s Waterberg region. There are also excellent riding safari opportunities in South Africa, Malawi and Kenya. In Zambia it is possible to take day rides from Chundukwa River Lodge on the Zambezi, and from Shiwa House in the north for longer trails. Shiwa is part English stately home and part Tuscan villa, and this extraordinary bush location provides a unique base for your four day riding trail through indigenous forest and open plains.

Anyone considering going on a serious riding safari (rather than just hacking gently in the bush) should be able to rise to the trot for ten minutes, should be comfortable at all paces, and be happily able to gallop out of trouble. It is a great advantage if you are a fit and proficient rider as your safari will be much more enjoyable.

http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-botswana-ridingsafari.htm

John Spence originally cut his teeth as a cocktail barman in Cape Town and white water raft guide in Zimbabwe. This unorthodox first travel to Africa buried a strong seed of love for that continent which has grown and grown. Endless weird and wonderful trips to Africa on horse back, by canoe, on foot, light aeroplane and behind the wheel of his own Land Rover have yet to fully satisfy his thirst for knowledge of Africa. John?s two children are also set to become safari experts and are beginning to accompany him on some of his less adventurous trips so he?s a good person to talk to about family holidays as well. An itinerary to Africa designed by John will be based on a huge bank of knowledge and a big injection of enthusiasm and adventure.

Campaign for Real Safaris

I can still tell you exactly where I was when I saw my first African elephant. I can tell you who I was with when I saw my first glimpse of a leopard, a pride of lions and even the Victoria Falls. This underlies what a privilege it is to visit such wonderful unspoilt areas and see for yourself the wildlife and the people who live, work and survive in these stunning places. It was while I was working in Zimbabwe that I saw so many of my firsts.

Several friends and work colleagues were trainee or newly qualified guides, so on our days off we would spend more time in the bush. It was enthralling, and very addictive. When I finally returned to the UK a year later I knew I would get into the safari business somehow.

It is now ten years since I arranged and sold my first tailored itinerary and I still enjoy it to this day. But the one trend I feel rather uncomfortable about is the need for more luxurious & extravagant lodges. It seems to be out of control and somehow missing the point. So often the luxurious nature of a lodge is sold as its most important virtue over and above the unspoilt location, excellent game viewing and, most important of all, superb guiding.

A good safari operation should be run by experienced enthusiasts, not just business and marketing gurus. I feel very strongly that staying in a remote unspoilt area, in a simple camp only accessible by light aircraft, is a luxury. In an area where you can witness great game through the eyes of good guides with comfortable camp conditions, this is the true privilege.

Why not allow us to come up with a real safari for you? It can be as comfortable or as strenuous as you wish. Please don?t be led only by the glossy brochure, slick website and promise of the Big Five. Often the best guides and safari operators are not that proficient at marketing themselves. They often generate business though word of mouth alone.

Some of the ?real safaris? we are particularly excited about:

Mokoro Trails (Botswana)
See wonderful game and birds as you glide quietly through the channels and flood plains of the Okavango Delta by makoro (dug-out canoe).

Mahale (Tanzania)
In a dramatic location at the base of the Mahale Mountains overlooking Lake Tanganyika, lies this stylish rustic camp from where you trek into the forest in search of chimpanzees.

Palmwag Rhino Camp (Namibia)
A mobile camp that has been set up in conjunction with ?Save the Rhino Trust? in rugged northern Damaraland to help track and monitor the desert Black rhino.

Olivers (Tanzania)
Located close to Tarangire National Park Olivers has a simple base camp, fly camps and mobile camps which allow you to enjoy the diversity of terrain, the wide variety of wildlife species and the migration from December to February by vehicle or on foot.

Katavi (Tanzania)
In one of the most remote parts of south west Tanzania, with some of the greatest concentrations of game, including sable and roan antelope, is a simple tented camp from where you can game view by vehicle or on foot.

John Spence originally cut his teeth as a cocktail barman in Cape Town and white water raft guide in Zimbabwe. This unorthodox first travel to Africa buried a strong seed of love for that continent which has grown and grown. Endless weird and wonderful trips to Africa on horse back, by canoe, on foot, light aeroplane and behind the wheel of his own Land Rover have yet to fully satisfy his thirst for knowledge of Africa. John?s two children are also set to become safari experts and are beginning to accompany him on some of his less adventurous trips so he?s a good person to talk to about family holidays as well. An itinerary to Africa designed by John will be based on a huge bank of knowledge and a big injection of enthusiasm and adventure.http://www.aardvarksafaris.com

 

Some Interesting Safaris To Seek Wildlife

Thinking of wildlife safari? Africa has got it all. Nearly a hundred percent of its reserves and wildlife sanctuaries feature wildlife of some sort. However, the coverage of wildlife species and the varieties that you may see differ as the region changes.

We have created brief descriptions of the top five Tanzanians wildlife safaris that rank near the top of the list in all Africa. Please read on?

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The worse you can call Ngorongoro is amazing. That would be more than that, there is definitely not a word that can describe this conservation area.

Ngorongoro is the home of the largest caldera on earth. With walls reaching to 2200 meters high, this is fairly equal to Mount Kilimanjaro before the eruption. Thus the consideration for it being one of the world's natural wonders.

The caldera itself is not a plain heap of land that stood on its place and make people amazed. No. In fact, once the caldera settled, it began to create pools of water that attract some 30,000 wildlife species at any given time. More like a Garden of Eden, Ngorongoro harbors the largest congregation of games in the entire earth.

Tarangire National Park

Elephants?elephants?elephants?its obvious. When you want to see large herds of elephants with accompanying buffaloes, your best bet would be the Tarangire. The number of elephants concentrating here is almost 600 individuals during the peak season.

However, less tourists visit here since they are attracted to neighboring national parks such as the magnificent Serengeti and the mighty Ngorongoro. The dry season harbors the largest population of elephants along with other enormous animals and plain beasts, which benefit from the vast water resources of the Tarangire River. They disperse during winter though.

Lake Manyara National Park

Ask anything about Lake Manyara and collect them all in one heap, tree climbing lions will emerge as the top answer. It is true. Climbing lions that prefer sleeping the day up on the tree branches than lying comfortably in the grasslands as all other lions do.

While it gather its fame from the strangely dispositioned lions, it is also popular for its large congregation of lake birds such as the pelicans, Egyptian geese, storks, quelea, flamingos and cormorants.

You may also find the usual wildlife species here complemented by the rare animals such as the lord of the forest- Sykes monkey and the Olive baboon.
This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on safari & other useful information, please visit http://safari.articlekeep.com

All You Need To Know About African Safari Hunting

You probably have at least one activity that sends chills of excitement up your spine. It could be that you?re a big fan of sports, or that you really love the thrill of skydiving or bungee jumping. What about base jumping? That?s for real risk takers. Or there?s always race car driving at nearly triple the average speed limit. Regardless of what excites you, you probably love it for the sheer joy and thrill of doing something that gets your heart pumping and makes you feel alive. One activity you may not have thought of that certainly fits into the adrenaline rush category is African safari hunting. If you haven?t tried it and love adventure, this is the activity for you.

Do you know much about this amazing sporting activity or do you only know what you?ve seen on TV and movies? Most likely, if all you know is what you?ve seen in the TV and film media, you aren?t getting an accurate picture of what this fascinating sport is all about. It?s fun and you?ll see things you?ve never seen in the wild before. It?s not a cheap sport to engage in but, if you can save money for the thrill of doing it, it?s definitely worth the effort.

Some picture African safari hunting as bouncing around in the back of an old jeep driven by an African native, with everyone carrying high-powered rifles. This isn?t entirely the way it goes, but you get the idea. Safari goers can see everything from elephants and tigers to gazelles and rhinoceroses. These amazing animals aren?t often found in captivity and never found in, say, your own back yard. Some zoos may have them but it?s just not the same as seeing them in their native habitats.

African safari hunting isn?t much about killing animals these days. A lot of animals are protected, so you?re more likely to be carrying camera gear instead of a rifle, but the whole thing is still extremely exciting. Some safaris go out at night, in the pitch darkness, to catch nocturnal animals, like lions, going about their creature-like nightly habits. You can go in small groups in jeeps or in larger groups of like-minded safari buffs. Some safaris have packages where you can sleep in tent villages so you won?t need to go far to see those amazing animals you?ve been dying to get a close-up on. Your guides are usually well trained in spotting for animals and know the best watering holes and other places to track down the kinds of animals you?re looking for.

Instead of heading off to Africa to find a local guide in the middle of nowhere, just sit in front of your computer to get all you need to know about taking in an African safari. The Internet offers many websites where you can sign up for what could easily become the biggest adventure of your lifetime.

Read more from Joe Goertz at: myrecreation-magazine.com

Kenya Camping Safaris: Biribiriet, the haven for camping & nature addicts

The valley opens below. Cliffs and high valleys stand in the midst of a sky pregnant with moisture. The rains are about to come. We stop at the Kerio Tingwa Ecotourism camping site for a stretch and to admire the beautiful landscape. We are on our way to Eldoret via the Eldama Ravine road and then to Chepkiit waterfall.

A map on the sign board points to the interesting features in the view. We can see Tongwoto caves, Tingwa hills at 2,700 meters and somewhere below are the Kabilet waterfalls and Kerio River. At the next viewpoint, we can see the white rug on the terrain of the Fluorspar mines.

It?s nearly midnight and we are camping just off the turning from Biribiriet near Eldoret on the Eldoret-Kapsabet road .The night air is cold but stunningly revitalizing. This is the ultimate forest camping experience. The gurgle of the stream running at the bottom of the field, is inviting. The moon, hidden in the clouds, send a little light in the terrestrial grounds but our eyes have become accustomed to the darkness and we are no longer daunted by it. Instead, warmed by the camping fire, we are suddenly animated when somebody suggests a midnight walk with Beryl to the rivers edge in search of frogs! This may be my proverbial chance to kiss the frog and end up with prince charming, so I join in.

The trouble with frogs is that you get to see them more at night and so much of Beryl?s field work is stalking the wilds in the dark armed with torch and plastic bags to catch the jumping jacks.

We tread the grass softly so as not to frighten the amphibians. Ringed by the glow of the torch light, a tiny reed frog tenderly perches on a thin grass. It?s quite a piece of art, this delicate scene.? That?s a reed frog,? Beryl says as our torches beam on many more in the shallow edges of Kipkeren River which thunders over the nearby Chepkiit waterfalls and onwards to Kingwal swamp. Many of the tiny water frogs are breeding and their throat sacs are ballooned enormously to call out female mates. It?s quite a busy little scene by the banks of the river. In contrast, the bigger grass frogs look quite monstrous and scary.

?Frogs are a good indicator of a clean environment ?says Beryl.? Any disturbance of the water quality effects their populations. ?There is no long term national data on the amphibians to compare the state of the environment or the diversity of frogs. Beryl is one of the few young Kenyan?s studying frogs.

It?s amazing. In the light of the following morning, where the scene was busy the night before, there is not a single frog to be seen. I take a leisurely stroll to a secluded water pool surrounded by massive rocks for a morning bath. The water is cool, the early morning clean and pure and the sky is lit with diverse colurs. The Ross?Turaco with its bright scarlet under wing has everybody taken ?under its wing ?it?s a bird of the old forests and quite rare to many birders.

This place is a find for camping nature lover groups. We are camping in this beautiful place surrounded by trees and open glades sandwiched between a picturesque Nandi homestead and the river overlooking a stone buff, all thanks to Mary, who has been researching in the vicinity for six years. ?Everybody keeps running to coast for their holidays. They should come here for a once in a life time camping experience,? she says vehemently. ?You won?t believe the number of stunning places like these.?

We lumbered early out of our camping gear and after the private bath in the rock pool and a leisurely breakfast, Mary gets us up on our feet again. This time, it?s a walk to the Chepkiit waterfall. There is so much to see walking through the glades of grass and forest, its like being in a wonderland.

The turacos awe us time and time again. The harrier hawk, glides to perch on a rock while the tiny leaf-loves and green doves fly about. Black and white casqued hornbills send noisy trumpets in flight while the graceful crowned cranes spread their feathers in elegant flight. There is life everywhere .Even on the rocks ?I wonder what these are? ?Mary asks as she kneels to gently touch the white straw-like threads weaving a pattern on the rocks. I have no idea either. Silk threads touch our bare faces as we walk the jungle part to the waterfall. Its sound reaches us faintly and we step over a border to see this most amazing scene of giant rocks and water and through the wide split in the gorge, a forest stretching into the horizon.

?This is Chepkiit waterfall,? announces Mary proudly. Everybody is bowled over and with a new lease to life; we explore the vistas, moving from rock to rock as the water crashes down. This water will flow on Yala swamp and finally into Lake Victoria.

?The Nandi area is very rich in bio-diversity,? says Mary.? There are lots of places like these.? What we need is to manage these places through researches that they are sufficiently protected.?

We visit the nearby homestead; Janet is busy with the usual house hold chores. The sheep and goats have been let out, the cows have had there morning drink at the river having to walk around the tents, and the cooking is going on. Inside the kitchen, the hand-made stove is ablaze with the firewood, little escaping from the sides so as to make the most efficient use of the precious fuel. Above are the calabashes, adding a dash of deco in the earth walled kitchen. The ?botet? or calabashes are used to store ?mursik? the traditional sour milk of the Nandi. I buy a couple, not to store milk but as a small token of the place.

For more information on the area, you can email; Robert

To explore more of the outdoors and discover all that?s wild, visit a local operator for more information on camping tours. You get to explore places that are off-the-beaten track with people who make every trip an unforgettable forest camping event.
Robert Muhoho is a tour consultant in Kenya and has planned business and vacation safaris for over 10,000 tourists in the East African region. He is a tour operation- major and involved in National tourism policy development in Kenya.

For more information please visit:
http://www.landmarksafaris.com/planner/
http://www.eastafricasafari.blogspot.com

Experience Life At Zambia Wilderness Safari

As far as African safaris go, Zambia is the one that keeps its secret for many years and still keeps some though it is already beginning to take its crown for African safaris top destinations.

Zambia wilderness safari is absolutely an unknown realm when compared with more traditional national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. But this still does not negate the fact that at some rate, the wilderness safaris that Zambia posses can be rated as top caliber and may even equal the qualities of other more visited hot African safari picks.

To save you from scouring over magazines, books and online, we have already collected information on some of the premium wilderness safaris, game reserves and national parks in the country. Please read on?

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park
In spite of its difficult-to-pronounce name, Mosi-oa-Tunya still has something exceptional to scream for, the mighty Victoria Falls. This sight is probably the reason why the park is named as such, which if literally translated we may arrive at the meaning of "the smoke that thunders".

And the name really says the truth. It thunders roughly that the sound along is enough to make you stand awestruck and if you get nearer, you might feel the violent rushing of water.

The park also harbors some of the remaining rhinos that luckily escaped extinction. And if wilderness becomes favorable to you, you may also catch some glimpses of the baboon, impala, giraffe, eland and sables.

Lochinvar National Park
The bird paradise of Zambia. The credit of being a bird's paradise is given to Lochinvar since some 400 plus species of birds live in here. The big games though are scarce which is only limited to some herds of buffalo, hippos, spotted hyena, leopard, zebras and wildebeests.

Kafue National Park
The largest of all wilderness parks in Zambia, Kafue nurses the densest population of wildlife in all Zambia. Thousands of red lechwe, endless hoard of antelopes, sable, waterbuck, puka, roan, oribi, hartebeest, and vast number of predators to name a few. In fact, the only animal that you wont see in her are the zebras.

South and North Luangwa National Park
How would one describe Luangwa Park? It is simply the greatest wildlife sanctuary in the world since it harbors a biodiversity that is second to none with a touch of isolation and unadulterated wilderness, which makes it almost without compare. Being unspoilt by travelers except only for the locals and some fortunate foreign travelers, this park is truly a sight for creation in the making.
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A Luxury Safari Story

It's hard to believe, as the small plane touches down at Sabi Sabi's airstrip, that we are just an easy hour's flight from Johannesburg. It's another world here - quiet, undisturbed, unhurried.

Elliot, who will be our guide for the duration of our trip, meets us off the plane. His ready smile, incredible bush knowledge and quiet confidence will be a hallmark of our visit; one of the things that make us long to go back. After a quick refreshment and cooling lemon towels we are ready to leave for our lodge.

A brief orientation brings us back down to earth. We are in the heart of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, home to Africa's big game, Elliot explains, and there are no fences between our reserve, the Kruger National Park and Mozambique. Big game? No fences? Open vehicles? The bush is deceptively quiet for a city dweller, concealing hundreds of creatures big and small. One of the other guides tells us that just the day before a pride of lions had brought down a zebra right next to the landing strip. Our safari has begun.

A luxurious African Safari Experience
Our visit to Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve came with the choice of four lodges: Bush Lodge, Little Bush Camp, Selati Camp and Earth Lodge. We opted to spend two nights at the redesigned Bush Lodge and then two at Earth Lodge, which is a popular option available to visitors. Having been told that Bush Lodge had recently undergone a total redesign and remodelling project, I was expecting to see a new-looking lodge. However, on arrival, it was difficult to imagine that Bush Lodge hadn't been there for years, so warm and inviting is the whole atmosphere - not to mention the staff. The lodge entrance manages to be incredibly luxurious while conveying the feeling that you are visiting a close friend's home. Sabi Sabi operations director, Rod Wyndham, who together with wife Lauren run Bush Lodge, explained that the philosophy behind Bush Lodge's redesign centred around a providing a haven in the bush while reflecting the many African influences behind the design. Everywhere there are artefacts from all over the continent - a mix of colonial and ethnic - brought together by rich fabrics and textures and a design that looks out across the bush over a waterhole. After a brief introduction from Rod we were shown to our beautiful suite and invited to return for late afternoon tea followed by an evening safari. For those who have never experienced an African game lodge, it difficult to convey the luxury that exists in such close proximity to totally unspoilt wildlife. We were so taken with our suite we considered missing the evening drive, but eventually decided to give it a go - a very good decision in the end.

Afternoon tea is taken on one of two huge decks overlooking a waterhole and furnished with huge, comfortable chairs ideal for relaxing and surveying the bushveld. Soon we were heading out again - this time on evening safari with Elliot and Phios. We hadn't driven very far when we spotted two giraffes feeding in a thicket. Given their proximity to our lodge I was very grateful they weren't lions, but didn't admit this to the party we were with - all seasoned bush goers. As our drive progressed, the heat abated, the light softened and the shadows lengthened. We saw a herd of elephants, breathtakingly close; kudu, zebra, hippo and the shy nyala before Elliot's radio announced a sighting close by of 'dogs', which caused instant excitement on our Land Rover. Suddenly it dawned on me - we were about to experience what very few people ever do - African wild dogs, one of the continent's endangered and seldom seen species. En route to the sighting, Elliot explained that while wild dogs are often on Sabi Sabi property, there hadn't been a sighting for a couple of months. He reminded us to remain seated and quiet and we set off. About five minutes away we slowed down and approached the area where Sven, another guide had spotted the dog family - five adults comprising three female and two males. I was struck by how small they are, especially when Elliot explained that they are one of the most successful hunting animals in Africa with 90% success rate. They hunt in packs, efficiently and without fuss. The family seemed to be on the move and soon we were following them. They were on a trail, every so often stopping to survey their surroundings through sight, hearing and smell.

Years of habituation have made the animals at Sabi Sabi almost oblivious of the safari vehicles and the family carried on as if we were not just a few metres away. It was awesome to see these animals behaving normally in their natural habitat. Moving off road to keep with the sighting, the dogs picked up their pace on the trail of some prey until we lost them in a thicket of thorn trees. After trying unsuccessfully to locate them further on - they had disappeared as quickly and quietly as they had appeared - Elliot suggested we stop for sundowners. While we encountered the most incredible wildlife during our stay, including lions hunting, two different leopards, hippo, buffalo and even a snake, the wild dog sighting was the highlight of our game viewing. Sundowners are served in the open bush, a refreshing break before resuming the safari in darkness. Returning to Bush Lodge we forewent the chance to freshen up for dinner in favour of adjourning to the welcoming bar to swap stories with other guests and compare notes on our experiences.

A four-course boma dinner, complete with fresh venison and an array of other dishes, was accompanied by a fine wine from an impressive collection. An early night was called for as morning wake up call was just a few hours away.

Our days at Bush Lodge followed in the same gentle rhythm, two daily safaris, delicious food and wonderful staff, mainly from the local Shangaan communities of Huntingdon, Justicia and Lilydale.

On our third day we transferred to Earth Lodge. The arrival is totally unexpected as the lodge is all but invisible from a distance, being sculpted into the earth and having been recreated to blend seamlessly with the surrounding bush. It was the first lodge of its genre to break with the colonial tradition and the effect is breathtaking. It has clean lines that look out over unspoiled bush, an unadorned cement and pigment finish and uses influences from nature in its every aspect: buck horns as legs for chairs, uprooted trees carved into elaborate furniture pieces, natural skylights, anthill roofs for the suites. Our suite is the most luxurious we have ever stayed in. Dominated by a huge carved wooden bed, it opens up to a private splash pool and the bush. An enormous bathroom with a stone bath has uninterrupted views of the bushveld, and there are indoor and outdoor showers. I indulged in an outdoor shower for the first time although they are also a feature at Bush Lodge. The main lodge has an indoor / outdoor dining area, reading lounge, Zen garden, Camelot spa and a 6000-bottle subterranean wine cellar where we enjoyed unique Earth Lodge cuisine for our last dinner at the reserve.

All too soon the visit was over and we were driving to the airstrip where we had arrived. En route, we saw and heard an African fish eagle, surely one of the most evocative sounds in the wild - and a fitting end to a wonderful experience.

This travel article was written by a guest at "Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve in South Africa.

African Safari - Back to Basics and Reflections on the Creation

The Swahili word ?safari? originally meant "journey" which is further correlated to ?hunting for survival? and ?exploration of lands?.

The safari is typically traveled by foot amidst the vast lands. This is of course deemed to be the best way of experiencing the circle of life in the safari since you can reach to the core of the natives and their unique cultures.

Walking trails are continuously maintained so that the explorers are guided along their courses better. However, visitors can always widen their safari options with many forms of travel available with each safari tour package. Other modes of transportation include hot air ballooning, fly-in safaris, driving safaris, canoeing safaris, horseback riding safaris, and elephant back riding safaris.

These do not only add ease on travel but may also allow access to the deeper domains (and often uncharted places) which contribute more thrills while on tour.

As for the categories, African safaris are normally offered in three basic types: permanent tented safaris, lodge safaris, and mobile safaris. There are also a couple of other safari choices customized depending on the traveler?s needs. One good example is the honeymoon safari for newly-wed couples.

One complete safari tour that will take you from the Eastern region to the Southern parts lasts around 10 to 21 days. If you are planning to journey this long, it would be best if you avail from a local tour operator or a specialist so you are sure that you what you get is a complete safari adventure.

It is helpful if you have the knowledge of some of the practices, culture and etiquette to adopt well with the localities. As for your choice of safari package, consider the factors such as meals, accommodation, transportation, driver and guide service, excursions, itineraries and supplemental packages.

There are hundreds of conservation parks and wildlife sanctuaries that display the continuous interplay of the wild in its natural setting, marvelous places untouched by technology, and vast array of flora and fauna.

Life in the safari is more serene and offers more grounds for realizing how beautiful creation is. And all these are topped with the unique (and sometimes peculiar) cultures of different African tribes that mark the richness of their history.

African safari seems to remind us how the sixth day of creation looks like. They are the living remembrances of how the Creator intended things to be- the perfection, the diversity, the coexistence between man and his nature, and the life that surrounds everything.

This content is provided by Low Jeremy and may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more info on Safari, please visit http://safari.articlekeep.com

Tanzania Safari: The Seat Of Marvel

The best things in nature are those that were preserved since God created Earth. Tanzania, being one of the places, which for many years have been attempting to preserve its natural beauty, asserts the wonders that may seem to have come directly from the Creator's hands.

Its beauty is unrivalled, its resources vast. Tanzania is simply a place of great marvel. Its wildlife sanctuaries are fresh and unspoilt. Wildlife roam in its area as it was intended after the creation. They are free; they flourish at their own rate at their own fashion.

It is no wonder why Tanzania safari is placed among the world's finest in game viewing.

Aside from the games, Tanzania safari is also well known for its enormous gatherings of wildlife habitats and ecosystems. The Northern Circuit is the most popular entry route towards Tanzania safari which covers the Ngorongoro and Serengeti, places that appeal most to nature and wildlife lovers. Nonetheless, sanctuaries like Tarangire, Arusha and the Lake Manyara are no less dazzling than the two. All these combined makes Tanzania Safari an unimaginable haven for the congregation of animals.

On top of the wonders are the world-known big five, which covers buffalo, elephant, rhino, lion and leopard. Complemented by endless array of plain animals such as the zebra, Thompson gazelle, eland, wildebeest, oryx and others that are included in the same genre. Add to the count the merciless predators that help balance nature like the cheetah, vultures, jackal, wild dog and hyena. Not only does Northern Circuit collects its fame from these animals, it is also recognized for its over 500 bird species which turns it into an ornithologist's paradise.

As we have earlier noted, the Arusha town is the starting point for northern adventure. It sits nearest to Mount Meru and only distant enough so travelers will get to see the mighty and awesome Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain found in all Africa.

Arusha, aside from the wild animals that it nurses, is also a refuge for rich tapestry of ecosystems that thrive on grassland, heath, montane forest, alpine desert and soda and fresh water lakes.

All these aside, Tanzania is made more distinguished by the largest caldera there is in the world- the Ngorongoro Crater. A natural world wonder itself, Ngorongoro Crater gives refuge to some 30,000 wild animals.

Truly, the Tanzanian safaris will let you witness how nature works, how the dance of life interplay with the death and survival of animals that it constitutes and how the balance of nature is maintained.
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Kenya Rhino Walking Safaris: Through Glades, Caves and Rhino Country

There are hundreds of cones and lava flows on the exploded hills of the 100-kilometre range that is the Chyulu hills. The most recent Shetani and Chaimu, happened in the mid 1900s drawing black volcano solidified lava paths in Tsavo west. I am quite determined to find the only point in the hills which has water. It?s a slow drip that takes five minute to fill a small mug. We begin our ascent to the hills which rise to 7,178 feet in search of the water point.

It?s magical country, all green glades and flowers in bloom. We catch site of a reddish antelope in the distance which we think is the rare Chandler?s bush buck. The car winds its way slowly through the grass-filled roads and volcanic ridges and the higher we get the more impressive the vast open the lands below.

Sitting on the high glades next to the sky feels like being in heaven. We ignore the massive steel booster that stands like an intruder on a high peak. The ant-eating, earth-dwelling aardvark holes are clean and showing they are in residence. It would be easy to trip over them save for the clearing by the holes.

A team of researchers passed by in search of a rare two-honed chameleon believed to be found here and in few other forests groves. In the three days of criss-crossing the park, these are the only people we meet-that?s exclusion.

Adan, the ranger, guides us through the maze of horse-shoe shaped cones to where he thinks the water point is. We have to climb the hill to reach the top. The late afternoon sun is thankfully cool as we walk uphill past the gaze of hartebeest that stares at us and then canters further uphill. The black lava eroded path is damp and my spirit is elevated. We must be getting close to the water point.

Closing in on the brow of the hills, look up to see the most magnificent view of Mount Kilimanjaro. Kibo?s high peak floats above a thin layer of clouds while Mawenzi is cushioned in a fluff of clouds.

Wait here?, says Onyango. ?I was here a year ago and saw the water coming out of there,? he says pointing to a grove of tall trees. He walks down and reappears after a few minutes.? Its not there he announces looking a little lost. With the sun first making its way down, it?s clear we have to live this water hunting for another time.

The Chyulus are very delicate and little explored. Peter Bally,a botanist at the museum, led an expedition up there in 1938. He was married to the legendary Joy Adamson and celebrating their honeymoon and, I might add, a great place to do just that. It was here that Bally discovered his wife extraordinary painting skills. As the story goes Joy painted a plant and, frustrated in the outcome, tore it into pieces and threw it in the bin. Bally found the pieces and taped them together, giving Joy the impetus to paint the plants which still grace the walls of the museum.

?The Chyulus are volcanic rubble so are very porous. And because they are very young in terms of geological time scale, they don?t really have a great diversity of plant species, ?Quetin Luke, a botanist at the National Museums of Kenya, explained to me on my first visit there a few years ago.

With no water and volcanic ash for a ground base, the plant life that has evolved is very specialized.

Robert is a tour consultant in Kenya and has planned business and vacation safaris for over 10,000 tourists in the East African region.

For more information please visit:
http://www.landmarksafaris.com/planner/
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African Safari Preparedness

 

An African safari is a tour through the African jungle, desert's and forests giving you an experience of wild African grounds. If you plan to go for the first time on an African safari, you should be prepared for all kinds of upheavals that could make things rough for you during your trip. Therefore, it is very important to prepare yourself.

You will need information about the country that you plan to go for a safari. Information along with tradition and security measures should be planned. You should also scan your passport and keep a photocopy with you, just incase you lose it. There is a network of travel agents and guides who specialize in African safaris and offer expert advise.

Preparing for a safari is not always easy, especially for first timers. First, you must take lots of drinking water and food for your trip. Clean bottled water should always be available to avoid being dehydrated by the hot sun. To provide electricity in your camp, batteries and invertors that run on car batteries should be carried along. It is important to wear the right clothing on a safari. You must always carry, cotton full ?sleeved shirts, a brimmed hat and comfortable shoes. Vaccinations against diseases should be a part of safari preparation. Anti-malarial drugs should be carried along. All medicines taken should be original and sealed. Most importantly, your safari should include people who share common interests with you about the safari. Meaning if you want a wild life photographic experience, then the people you go with should be photography buffs as well.

By preparing in the right way for the right safari, one can experience the true joy of a perfect safari.

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