Safaris

[ICriedAllTheWayToTheChipShop]

I'm thinking of doing a safari trip in Africa this year or next, and I'm torn between a couple of options. One is a multi-centre tour in Kenya which involves a couple of days in a few different game reserves, with fairly long journeys between each one, but a variety of different activities as well as game drives. The other is a week at a single game reserve in South Africa, which is much more centred on game drives.

I'm leaning towards South Africa at the moment because I've had experience of these touring holidays where you're always tired from long drives between places (and the travel times always seem to be longer than stated in the itinerary!) and you don't get time to see everything properly before you have to move on again.

BUT I haven't done a safari before and I'm not sure if staying in one place for a week and doing two drives per day in the same reserve wouldn't be a bit, well... boring?

Does anyone have experience of that sort of thing, or even both types - which did you prefer? And finally, has anyone been to both Kenya and South Africa and is able to say which was better? Another factor in favour of SA is that I wouldn't need a visa, yellow fever vaccination or antimalarial treatment, all of which I think I would need for Kenya!

Lived in Kenya for 6 months and done a few national parks. Depends on what the game reserve in SA has.... If it has all the big 5 then you'll surely be going to different areas?

The furthest away one we done from Nairobi was the Masai Mara which was 5hrs. Personally I'd do Kenya again in a heartbeat, the different parks all offer something different. Whether that be the accommodation or the liklihood of seeing certain animals.

I've been in two safaris, both in Zambia (for which you do need vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis and a visa - issued on arrival for UK passport holders).

Yes, it's two game drives a day. Very early starts although a siesta later. And no it doesn't get boring, as you see different things each time and a good guide will give you lots of info about the animals. And nothing compares with seeing the animals in their natural habit. Giraffes in the wild are just... otherworldly.

I've been chased by elephants (I was in a jeep thank god!) and had to hide behind a chalet when one came into camp 😆 Canoe trip on the Zambesi was amazing.

About a week or 10 days in two or three different places is enough.

Just to add a friend has just been to SA and had four days in a game reserve. Im sure it was lovely but from the photos it doesn't look a patch on my 10-12 days in a national park! To be fair, safari wasn't her primary purpose, it was a side trip.

Food for thought, thank you. Yes, the reserve in SA (the Mabula) does have the Big Five, but it is a smaller one, not like the Kruger, so I guess it might not be the sort of place to spend a whole week. The Kenya trip includes a few days each in the Masai Mara and Ol Peteja, plus a night at Lake Nakuru in between. Maybe the variety would be worth the extra travel and the health precautions?

Have only done 2 self drive trips through Kruger. Personally wouldn’t want to be on someone else’s schedule for drives.

I've done Kenya with three different lodges (Tsavo) and then a week on a beach. The travelling wasn't too arduous and we looked on it as part of the holiday anyway.

We're doing Tanzania and Zanzibar this year which looks amazing.

I'm afraid SA holds no appeal for me these days although I would have loved to have seen Cape Town etc.

I think Kenya may have won the contest.

Just as an aside, has anyone been to Uganda? I really fancy doing a few of the national parks there and seeing some gorillas - not this year or next, as it's a bit spendy and I would need to save up, but definitely some time in the next five years. I'm curious to know if people would recommend it, and I don't know anyone who's been.

Only done Botswana - which was amazing. We did a mix of national parks and private reserves, and found the latter to be much better as they gave the ability to head off road and get closer to the animals. (Not sure if that national park restriction is unique to Botswana.)

We flew between four different camps - which gave us a good range of different landscapes and animal encounters. None of the flights was longer than an hour.

I've done Uganda (14 years ago now though). Was amazing to see the gorillas, mind blowing, and Bwindi itself was so beautiful. We also overnighted on Ngambe island and walked with the chimpanzees early in the morning. And Queen Elizabeth National Park was surprisingly good for game watching.

But, I'm glad we'd been on other safaris previously as while it offered amazing new experiences in terms of the big five it wasn't up to Tanzania and Kenya (Tanzania was by far the best BTW). Have also done SA but was a three week tour around with some safaris rather than safari focused - enjoyed SA much more than I thought I would.

I haven’t been to SA but I have been on Safari in Kenya and it was wonderful. One of the highlights of my life.
We went to Masaai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli - Masaai Mara had everything; Lake Nakuru was slightly more luxurious and also had Rhino, and Amboseli had elephants, elephants, elephants! Each place was slightly different and we saw different animals in each National park. I would recommend it to anyone. I will never forget watching the giraffe gallop across the Masaai Mara with the sun setting behind them.

I hope to go to SA at some point though too. It looks like a beautiful country.

@ICriedAllTheWayToTheChipShop

20 years ago I blew a big chunk of redundancy money on a 4 month trip from Nairobi to Cape Town.

We did safaris in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Nairobi and South Africa.
Its difficult to pick a favourite because the landscapes and cultures were all so different.

However seeing the gorillas in Uganda was the stand out wildlife experience and it felt such a privilege to see them. Uganda also felt a lot more relaxed to me. I seemed to be always on my guard for scams in Kenya whereas in Uganda people would just say hello, welcome to our country and went on their way.
Botswana was outstanding for the sheer numbers of animals, huge heads crossing the plains and river.
Namibia different again because of the desert landscape.
If I had to choose I'd go back to Uganda or Namibia
My experience is 20 years old though

@Ted27 how amazing! I would love to do something like that but it would have to be a lottery win type of scenario. It would almost be worth being made redundant for!

A week is too long at Mabula imo OP.

We have been for weekends (or even a day trip) and a weekend or a few days would be plenty there.

If that helps any for your final decision making.

Just got back from Kenya, organised myself.

Kenya - Nairobi - National Park (saw 4/5) / Sheldricks for elephant babies
Giraffe Manor - amazing

Then got picked up and taken to Mount Kenya - saw the last two southern white rhinos in existence. As well as all 5.

then flew to Maasai Mara - did 2 drives a day. Amazing, but wouldn’t have stayed longer than 3 days - it’s exhausting

@ICriedAllTheWayToTheChipShop

in those days I had no dependents so it was an easy choice. I took redundancy again last May - this time its going on a new bathroom and I made a big contribution to my son’s first car and insurance. How times change !