Advice on African Safari

[Restless]

I'm heading to Kenya and Tanzania next February.

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has been there.

What to do? What to avoid? (sex is one thing I intend to avoid - too much disease)

I'm going to be there for a couple of weeks and hope to pack in as much as possible.

 

[Oldfart]

Masai Mara is not to be missed.

 

[vancity_cowboy]

imagine the following scenario...

you're on safari in africa. you get a local driver one day. local driver is the shits and has a head-on collision with a lorry on a blind corner. you get injured. you need a blood transfusion... in africa...

advice? for god's sake, BE CAREFUL!! don't make bad decisions!!

but aside from that, have a nice trip - no really, i mean that

 

[Tugela]

Don't pet the lions. Allthough they look like big kitty-cats, they are not really.

Don't go swimming in rivers. Unless you like being croc-snacks.

And stay far away from any hippos - they are mean nasty things.

Stay clear of elephants, with all the poaching going on they have a bad attitude towards people.

Dont play with buffaloes, they don't play nice.

Don't go anywhere near rhinos, they don't see too good, and just to be on the safe side they gore first and ask questions later.

Stay away from people with guns. Usually they don't have good intentions when they encounter rich white fat Americans begging to be separated from their money, goods and life.

Anything with teeth probably wants to eat you.

That about covers everything I think, other than all the nasty tropical diseases you can pick up

 

[uncleg]

Don't get to nervous about the sex aspect, just be careful. Nairobi can be a good time. Great mix of women, Lots of EI whose families have been there for generations so they tend to have more of an European outlook on that particular activity. Like humping through Bollywood. If you head out into the Parks, Maasai Mara, being mentioned, try for a local to guide you. It is fairly tightly controlled, but if you can connect with one of the Rangers to take you through the Park it's worth it. The rate of pay for them is not that high, so you can travel with them a lot cheaper then with the guided safaris. It can be a bit on the rough side, but you'll see parts of the Park you'd never see otherwise. Same sort of thing on the Tanzania side in the Serengeti.

 

[princeofdarkness]

On an open truck guided safari, LISTEN and OBEY whatever the guide tells you. It is in your very best interest. If you ever jeopardize the lives of your guide or your fellow passengers by talking, standing up or starting the shutter sound of your camera when silence is a must, the chances of YOU getting shot are high. There are other reasons why guides are well armed.

Happy safe travels and don't forget to take all your health shots.

Peace.

 

[87112]

Piss off a hippo and outrun it! If you do the Olympics will be calling your name. Man, I thought a trip to Russia was roughing it. Hope you have a good time.

 

[HankQuinlan]

Buy the appropriate Rough Guide books -- they are very good at practical advice and at outlining the highlights, and the various methods of accessing the parks. They are also kept up to date more than other series. Lonely Planet guides do offer additional advice for the "backpacking" types who want to travel as cheap as possible, but the Rough Guides are laid out better for browsing and daydreaming.

Spending time before the trip planning locations to visit is part of the fun of a major trip. When you only have a couple of weeks, it is probably better to avoid the "safari" companies that lay out everything for you; it spoils the fun of discovery. It is also better to meet the people and not just other tourists.

Spend a couple of days exploring the cities, too. Mombasa has a lot to offer. Africa is a real eye-opener on how people live in the real world.

 

[plumbcrawl]

Buy insurance from https://www.globalrescue.com/ They will help you even if you have been completely stupid. Blue Cross isn't even close to good enough. Here is to hoping you never have to call =) The key to amazing trips in Africa is a ability to go with the flow, the tour will probably leave late (or maybe 2 hours early because the guide want to) The park officer will want a bribe ect..just go with the flow and stop looking at your watch!

 

[storm rider]

Get bang for your bucks and shoot something BIG.....be sure to make an epic meal out of it that will use all of the animal and take the trophy home......be sure not to piss off a hippo unless you have the firepower to kill it.....a charging hippo makes a polar bear seem like a warm cuddly carebear.

Most important of all.....DO NOT HAVE SEX.....abstain completely....download a bunch of good porn to a laptap to whack off to.....DO NOT HAVE SEX.

SR

 

[joho]

Watch out for Malaria!

 

[uncleg]

Don't pet the lions. Allthough they look like big kitty-cats, they are not really.

Don't go swimming in rivers. Unless you like being croc-snacks.

And stay far away from any hippos - they are mean nasty things.

Stay clear of elephants, with all the poaching going on they have a bad attitude towards people.

Dont play with buffaloes, they don't play nice.

Don't go anywhere near rhinos, they don't see too good, and just to be on the safe side they gore first and ask questions later.

Stay away from people with guns. Usually they don't have good intentions when they encounter rich white fat Americans begging to be separated from their money, goods and life.

Anything with teeth probably wants to eat you.

That about covers everything I think, other than all the nasty tropical diseases you can pick up

Just another note, stay away from wearing aftershave, colognes and shit like that. The smell of it carries on the air and it can have one of two effects, it warns animals you're coming, so you'll never see them, or it'll piss them off something fierce. When I was in Rhodesia we had a fair bit of interaction with wild animals and they usually ignored us. Then we had a new officer show up and on our first patrol the idiot was wearing some aftershave that stunk to high heaven and one of the troopers suggested he wash it off. He didn't and guess what happened ? A big ass Cape Buffalo came after his scrawny ass, like a heat seeking missile. We had the FN-FAL with the 7.62 rounds, like trying to shoot a train. Blew his arse off with an RPG.

 

[sweetiepie1]

Here's my advice:
Decide on the kind of trip you want ahead of time. If you want to cover a big area and see specific things along the way, you might get frustrated with the unpredictablity of local transportation and facilities, so you should book a tour for at least part of your trip. If, on the other hand, you want to just kind of explore, meet locals, etc. and not have an agenda, that can work really well, as long as you don't find yourself getting upset that you couldn't get from Point A to Point B quickly. You can't really go wrong in the big game reserves. Its usually best to get a guide or tour when you go in. The pro's can track the animals and get you a lot closer to the animals than you could do on your own. I've done several Safari's in southern Africa and liked the walking/tenting one the best. But some people like the more luxiourious colonial style ones. Just pick what will suit you. Pay attention to all their safety rules. Take along a good set of binoculars and practice quick distance shots with your camera ahead of time. The locals are a lot of fun, especially in the villages. Be a good sport when they try to teach you Kiswahili or how to dance and things like that. A lot of places can get dangerous at night so don't go out on your own unless you're with people you know you can trust. Don't take photos of people without asking first. In the villages, people usually won't mind, but in some places they get tired of it, and I don't blame them. Keep some spare change on hand -if you see disabled people begging, that's their welfare system, and its good to help them out a bit. Don't carry any expensive stuff visibly - remember that people are poor and you don't want to become a target. That's all I can think of for now, I'll probably think of more later. Africa is wonderful! I envy you!

 

[Big Dog Striker]

Always a wonderful and memorable experience, actually you can call it a bucket list experience, to visit a place in this planet where the dominating force is not human.

 

[Restless]

Thanks so much for the good avice.

I will make good use of your knowledge.

I was hoping to give a hippo a belly rub, but after reading some of your warinings, I'm reconsidering.

 

[vancity_cowboy]

Thanks so much for the good avice.

I will make good use of your knowledge.

I was hoping to give a hippo a belly rub, but after reading some of your warinings, I'm reconsidering.

i dunno about that.... unless you're considering doing it from the inside! ound:

 

[plumbcrawl]

Thanks so much for the good avice.

I will make good use of your knowledge.

I was hoping to give a hippo a belly rub, but after reading some of your warinings, I'm reconsidering.

anyone can do it once what is tricky is being around to try a 2nd time....