Safari Choice

try www.gapadventure.com. you could do the budget ones. to get a true feel of africa

if you are loaded then u can do what u like.
but africa is easily travelled , i wouldnt pay a tour operator.
id get flights then get a local tour.
book direct with lodges etc.
i did a trip with the overlanders.
you could fly to dar es salaam , have a few days on zanzibar then get a truck to zambia , few days safari and maybe livingston for few days and return flight.
couple of grand would sort that.
be a bit of a waste spending 2 weeks in one place on a continent as big as africa.

im in work but ill send a few links to places that i liked last year when i get home.
the okavango is special , few days there was enough for me though.
but probably one of the last natural safaris left.
i enjoyed loop the looping over it in a bi-plane!
my friend went a few weeks ago , i long to get back there again.

hi , got me wanting to dust down the rucksack again thinking of africa!

heres flatdogs website , loads of lodges in the area but i dont think you would find better.
the south lwanga safari is something else , and i have been to most of the popular ones! the night safari and seeing the leopard kill. a good note is that because it is less popular there is little traffic in the park , that allows you closer to the animals. even just the sunset on the night safari is breathtaking.

http://www.flatdogscamp.com/home.htm

further north and i would go to kenya rather than tanzania. very expensive for Serengeti , cant remember figures off the top of my head but the Masai Mara is pretty much the same for a fraction of the cost. can see the migration there in our summer.

for getting around i would recommend the overland trucks.
the flights are handy too but can be expensive as your competing against very wealthy travellers. for such a large continent i didnt want to stay in one place too long , most places maybe 3-4 days.
the trucks are perfect for this , as you can get to a place spend a few days and move on. can be long days driving but you drive through some beautiful country and meet the locals in the villages you pass. so i found a 7 hr drive flew by.
also bear in mind , that u dont have to eat or stay in the overlands camps. they give you whatever discount off the lodges accommodation , so sometimes i just stayed in the tents , especially in a lodge with loads of wildlife. other times i got chalets etc.
also i used to hop on and off the trucks , maybe catching up with them a few days later if i was staying someplace.
worth a look anyways , i would have no hesitation using them when i go again.
they are knowledgeable of the areas and know the locals to help you out with extras or trips.
heres a typical itinerary.

http://www.africantrails.co.uk/trip_dar-vic/trip.php?trip=dar-vic

also if you go north to kenya , heres another weblink for karen camp. its a nice place just out of Nairobi. loads of fellow travellers and trucks , so if you emailed they could set you up with a few contacts in that area. again kenya is worth seeing , and the coast is stunning , lamu is a nice island for a few days chilling. maybe head down then into tanzania and over to pemba and zanzibar.

http://www.karencamp.com/index.html

i would try to organise things yourself as best you can.
everyone is put off by reports they here on their first time.
however i find east africa so easy to travel around , its a well travelled route. email a few people and sound out the cost of trips etc.
would strongly advise against trying to drive yourself , the roads are dangerous and you will be tortured with the police.
but plenty of people willing to drive for you at reasonable rates.
if you do drive , dont ever drive at night.
hope that little bit helps anyways.

check the amount of travelling you'll be doing on bad roads, if that sort of thing bothers you. it can form a large part of the experience and it's rarely pleasant.

Internal flights can be surprisingly cheap.

for consumption on arrival!

Child of the Rafalution 13 Jan 18:19


for consumption on arrival!


I'm afraid not

you don't want his hand shaking, do you?