What I learned on safari in Kenya and Tanzania

I've just returned from my first trip to Africa and I wanted to give something back to the Lonely Planet website. I've received a lot of good information by using this website and want to extend my thanks to all who help with providing good, helpful, honest information. Now. I'd like to contribute some of my own.

My wife and I went to Kenya and Tanzania for three weeks. Our primary goal was to go on safari and see wild animals. We did one safari in Kenya and then one in Tanzania and we certainly learned a lot from the experiences. Our SECOND safari went a little better, especially because we had learned from our first safari experience. Most importantly, neither safari was booked in advance and both of them were enjoyable experiences.

Okay, here's what I'd like to offer as my comments, observations and opinions after having gone on two recent safaris (March 2007) in East Africa:

1. (We arrived in Nairobi, Kenya) It's no problem to organize the safari once you get there, but you need to be a little bit of an outgoing, run-around type to get the job done without using up too many days. We landed in Nairobi and it's a big city and not so conducive to looking around and running around for safari shopping. I was very lucky to get a tip at the airport and then we ended up at Karen Camp where there were many foreigners who worked in the safari business. They were very helpful. They steered us towards a safari company called Gametrackers, which we would have used but our schedule didn't match up with theirs. Gametrackers leaves on 3- and 4-day safaris for Masai Mara twice a week and I heard many positive comments about them.

2. We went with a smaller company, Planet Safaris, which was also recommended by the staff at Karen Camp though not as enthusiastically as Gametrackers.

3. Our safaris were BUDGET safaris and it meant that we slept in a tent. However there were some differences. In Masai Mara our safari company had a 'fixed camp' there. It meant that we didn't carry tents (or a cook) with us. There's a permanent staff at the fixed campground, and to be honest, it was adequate, but had a little less of the 'camping in the middle of the wilderness' feel than the basic campground at Serengeti (camp name: Ikoma). In the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, we actually pitched our tents in the evening and packed them up in the morning. However, at Ikoma Camp in Serengeti, we liked its quaintness and opted to stay there two nights so we didn't have to pack the tents on our first morning.

4. For camera batteries, bring a car lighter adapter for help with recharging batteries. If you're doing a budget camping safari, it may be your only recharging option.

5. Showers while on camping safari: Fixed camp at Masai Mara had good, showers; Serengeti/Ngorongoro was hit or miss (I found a bucket and water tank, went behind some trees and had a great bucket shower -- just before the rain storm hit!) Ngorongoro's Simba Campground is a busy place and I'm not sure of the chances to get a shower there. Misc info: wandering around to take a pee in the middle of the night is not a good idea. I wandered very very close to a buffalo and luckily was warned by some fellow campers who were ... well, I'm not exactly sure WHAT they were doing up and around at 3am but I'm sure glad they warned me!)

6. Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro were all chilly in the early morning, and especially chilly during the early and late parts of the game drive. Bring a piece of fleece and a windbreaker. I'm bald so I really was happy that I packed my fleece hat too!

7. A note about proximity to wildlife: In the beginning especially, it was great to see wildlife closeup. However, it quickly became clear that a. our driver-guide approached too closely to wildlife b. during our Masai Mara safari, basically all of the terrain was 'in bounds' meaning that we basically drove everywhere. There are many, many small tracks and our driver also had no problem to blaze his own virgin tracks in pursuit of wildlife. We sensed it was not quite right -- and should have spoken out -- but when we saw the completely different approach in Tanzania, we realized how reckless some guides are in the Masai Mara. In Tanzania's Serengeti, there was NO WAY that our guide was going to go off of the allowed tracks, and he stated quite clearly that it was not allowed.

8. At Masai Mara there's an opportunity to see a 'Maasai Village.' Yes, it feels a bit artificial at times but we liked the experience. You could probably ask your guide to take you to one of the villages that doesn't see too many tourists. The young people at the village charged us 1,000 Kenya shillings for the experience. We could take photos and video as much as we wanted. These places and people are friendly, interesting and very photogenic!! Many of them spoke varying levels of English and we also met many Maasai that spoke good English.

9. Tipping. Yes, I know this topic really gets the gander up especially for Europeans and well, I guess for just about everyone except Americans. Tipping is at your discretion of course, but in my opinion, the guide -- if he's a good one -- is doing a lot of driving and hard work. His salary is probably not on par with the professional skill and knowledge that he's offering you. Do what you like but I'll offer this as a VERY ROUGH GUIDELINE for a budget safari:
Driver/guide: USD 7 - 10 per day
Cook: USD 3 - 5 per day
(Masai Mara fixed camp (see no. 3 above) had cook and other staff who divide the 'cook' portion of the tip. In Serengeti/Ngorongoro, it was simplified to 2 tips: driver/guide and cook.)

10. There are going to be times on safari where you feel as though you're really 'out there.' However, you may also have those moments when you feel not so alone in the wilderness: 5 or 6 minivans or landcruisers surrounding a lounging lion or cheetah may remind you of how Africa's once continent-roaming wildlife has been limited to habitat of a much smaller scale.

Here are the questions I would ask any potential safari companies:

Q1. What vehicle will we use? (They will try not to commit. See if you can get them to commit to it.) Can I see a picture of our vehicle? Can I SEE the vehicle? We were there at the beginning of the rainy season and some 2-wheel drive vehicles were having problems with getting stuck. We were in a 4WD Landcruiser but most of the other vehicles (in Kenya) were 2WD minibuses and a few larger trucks. In the dry season, the minibuses are probably okay but perhaps someone else can comment on that. The minibuses had popup roofs, the same as our landcruiser. I think the larger trucks are the least desirable option as their big, seem to have less window/roof viewing space and are loud. In the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater areas, I think they use 4WD landcruisers and landrovers exclusively.

Q2. Does the vehicle popup roof have a COVER ON IT?This was an extremely important issue for us on the second safari as we roasted (no pop-up roof cover on our landcruiser) while driving around during the middle of the day in the Masai Mara.

Q3. Exactly what's the daily schedule? We were a little surprised to learn that we would be driving around the Masai Mara ALL DAY. Through prior research and comments from people, my general understanding was that we would get up very early, do a "game drive" for a few hours in the morning, have a period of rest during the heat of the day, then do an afternoon game drive. I think that many safari companies actually do it this way -- but not ALL companies do it like this. I didn't feel that it was a good idea to return to the camp after the morning game drive as that would limit our cruising range, but I certainly believed that there would be a rest period. Well, there was NOT a planned rest period in the middle of the day. Additionally, there are very few shade trees in the Masai Mara (and probably applies to many game parks as well) and that became a problem. We wanted to rest but a. it wasn't in the plan and b. there really wasn't a good shade spot for a rest. Well, we did the best we could huddles under the limited shade of an acacia tree. (Had their been a ROOF/COVER on our landcruiser it would have made the middle of the day period much easier to deal with.)

Q4. What's on the daily menu? Hey, the local food in Africa is nutritious, cheap and good. After all of the heavy white bread and pasta of the first safari, we specifically requested as much local food, and fresh fruit and veggies as they could do. We also specifically told them that 3-layer thick white bread sandwiches were not anywhere on our menu of things we wanted. Our cook was pretty good about preparing ugali (the local staple, made from corn or millet flour), uji (corn porridge) and a few other local treats. Of course, we still ate some basic sandwiches and omelettes but after our culinary requests, we were amazed to find much tastier and healthier bread served.

Q5. What's the complete cost of the safari and how can I pay for it? Larger safari companies were much less willing to negotiate on price than smaller companies, even though it was approaching low season. Then again, smaller companies can have a little more risk as they're not, well .. they're not larger, established companies with specific reputations. Generally, companies preferred US dollars and the exchange rate they offered when we paid in local shillings went from not too bad to very bad. Keep in mind though, that sometimes the companies themselves have to pay the authorities in US dollars, which I know is the case for the Serengeti. Paying part of the safari fee in travelers checks was possible but generally they really didn't want the entire fee in travelers checks. For basic camping safaris, I'll throw out the following cost figures:
KENYA/MASAI MARA (from Nairobi) - USD 75 - USD 100 per person per day. They charged us about USD 5 per day for sleeping bags.
TANZANIA-Serengeti/Ngorongoro Crater - USD 120 - USD 150 per person per day, no extra charge for sleeping bags.
They include 1.5 liters of water per person per day. We purchased and brought some extra water.

If you find yourself in Arusha, Tanzania, which is a major hub for both safaris and Mt. Kilimanjaro trekking, I can certainly recommend Jackpot Safaris. Andrew the owner called out to me on the street as I was obviously rushing around looking for the right tour company. We struck up a nice rapport and we ended up choosing him and his company. Moody, our guide, was a wonderful guide and person, and Jackpot fulfilled everything they promised.

Finally, the wildlife, people and experience of safari are wonderful. Do it! Hope this helps some of you.
To your adventure and discovery,
John

Thank you so much for sharing! It really helps to have someone reporting back on an actual experience!

Sounds like you had an amazing time. Do you recommend one country/experience over the other?

john, thanks for sharing as well! it would also be nice to hear a bit more on the differences on the parks bet. Kenya and Tanzania, the fees, what were your general impression (how did you manage to use the most of the passes, because some of them allow 24 hs in the parks, and some not...) please, let us know thanks again

Yes, thanks for taking the time to write and post your report; very interesting!

I'm curious about one thing. What exactly do you mean by this:

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>9. Tipping. Yes, I know this topic really gets the gander up especially for Europeans and well, I guess for just about everyone except Americans. <hr></blockquote>

Do you mean gets the "dander" up? And are you saying Europeans don't like to tip but Americans do, or the opposite? I hope it's the former, because in my experience, Americans tend to be generous tippers!

Thx for the info John

lesliemac: I assume he was just referring to the fact that Europeans aren't used to tipping being required (never the case in Europe) and therefore feel uncomfortable about it, whereas in the US you're supposed to tip a certain percentage and that's part of a waiter's wage.

Oh yes, that's right...I guess tips are usually included in the price of a restaurant meal, a service, etc. in Europe.

thankyou for taking so much time to advise others...i will use ur advice!!!
J

Americans usually DO tip more.

What's the difference between a canoe and a Canadian? Canoes tip!