Masha and I are supposed to be on a Swiss Air jet right now, flying from Barcelona to Nairobi, Kenya via Zurich for our East Africa trip. Three lodges in Kenya’s Masai Mara followed by three in Tanzania's Serengeti and Ngorogono Crater. Then, 4 days on the beach on Zanzibar Island where one of the last remaining live coral reefs lies just offshore. Obviously, the trip was cancelled, or at least postponed for one year.
We did have a chance to go on a photo Safari in South Africa in September 2019. It was the next to the last remaining item on my travel bucket list, which initially consisted of 60 places to visit, so obviously it hadn’t been a priority. And, before we left, we never thought we would go back to Africa.
However, it was a life-changing trip. One taste of Africa and we are addicted. No sooner had we gotten back last October than we started talking about where to go next, and decided on East Africa during the Great Migration.
I’m not going to go into detail in our trip or the possibilities for an African Safari because there are so many different habitats , national parks, game reserves and animals to see. The airfare obviously is expensive and the flights are long.
However, the potential safaris themselves range from very affordable to ultra expensive. Don’t try to book it yourself; use a travel agent or book a tour. We flew back in the plane with a couple who had booked their trip using Costco. From their descriptions and the photos we saw, it probably cost about 1/3 of what we paid. And, they both said it was the best vacation of their lives. We met a couple at our hotel in Cape Town who had stayed in lodges that probably were twice as expensive as ours were. I’m sure their room was much more luxurious but I also know from chatting with them that they didn’t have a better experience on the game drives than we did. And, the game drives are by far the most important part of the experience. Being 3 meters from a female leopard lounging on a termite mound while she rolls her eyes at you as you snap pictures is an experience you will never forget.
On this trip, we were going to stay mainly at lodges which have permanent tents. I can assure you it’s not like camping out; probably even more comfortable than what is called “glamping” but significantly cheaper than the lodges were in South Africa.
So, whether you always have dreamed about going or never considered it until now, I urge you to go on a photo safari in Africa. It is an experience that simply can’t be matched. We aren’t sure where we will go after East Africa. Maybe to Rwanda for the silverback gorillas; maybe to Phinda on the east coast of South Africa; maybe to a different reserve in Kruger Park. What we do know that as long as I remain healthy enough to go, we will go at least once a year.
I can’t recommend it more highly.
We did have a chance to go on a photo Safari in South Africa in September 2019. It was the next to the last remaining item on my travel bucket list, which initially consisted of 60 places to visit, so obviously it hadn’t been a priority. And, before we left, we never thought we would go back to Africa.
However, it was a life-changing trip. One taste of Africa and we are addicted. No sooner had we gotten back last October than we started talking about where to go next, and decided on East Africa during the Great Migration.
I’m not going to go into detail in our trip or the possibilities for an African Safari because there are so many different habitats , national parks, game reserves and animals to see. The airfare obviously is expensive and the flights are long.
However, the potential safaris themselves range from very affordable to ultra expensive. Don’t try to book it yourself; use a travel agent or book a tour. We flew back in the plane with a couple who had booked their trip using Costco. From their descriptions and the photos we saw, it probably cost about 1/3 of what we paid. And, they both said it was the best vacation of their lives. We met a couple at our hotel in Cape Town who had stayed in lodges that probably were twice as expensive as ours were. I’m sure their room was much more luxurious but I also know from chatting with them that they didn’t have a better experience on the game drives than we did. And, the game drives are by far the most important part of the experience. Being 3 meters from a female leopard lounging on a termite mound while she rolls her eyes at you as you snap pictures is an experience you will never forget.
On this trip, we were going to stay mainly at lodges which have permanent tents. I can assure you it’s not like camping out; probably even more comfortable than what is called “glamping” but significantly cheaper than the lodges were in South Africa.
So, whether you always have dreamed about going or never considered it until now, I urge you to go on a photo safari in Africa. It is an experience that simply can’t be matched. We aren’t sure where we will go after East Africa. Maybe to Rwanda for the silverback gorillas; maybe to Phinda on the east coast of South Africa; maybe to a different reserve in Kruger Park. What we do know that as long as I remain healthy enough to go, we will go at least once a year.
I can’t recommend it more highly.
