Safari Choice

http://www.luxury-safaris.co.uk/a-tale-of-botswana.asp

or any thoughts on this one?

please ... :(

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

couldnt rate this one highly enough
south lwanga
**of a place to get to , but out of this world when u make it.
seen the leopard kill there , walked with lions as the 4X4 packed it in!!
sleep in tree huts , elephants and hippos all around u at nights.
sat eating breakfast and smoking the local weed , giraffes and monkeys a few feet away.
has it all.

flatdogs is the name of the place i stayed , couldnt rate it highly enough.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g479226-d480753-r36455126-Flatdogs_Camp-South_Luangwa_National_Park.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

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.

Thanks stevie i bookmarked that. Appreciated

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.

that would be brill, and yah the Okavango (sp) Delta seems amazing, was featured on Planet Earth with D Attenbrough i think

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.

stevie - thank you very much, lots of useful info there. What I am basically after is to see the big 5. Some wilderness like in Aus outback and defo somewhere to chill out and *cough cough* maybe smoke some herb *cough cough*

I shall investigate all you have mentioned, cheers again

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.

especially if you give the pilot a bottle of rum ;)

for consumption on arrival!

you might want to spend a few days in malawi then in search of the elusive gold. real nice sativa.
plenty of it growing all over the place

Child of the Rafalution 13 Jan 18:19


for consumption on arrival!


I'm afraid not

ah screw it you only live once, I think I'd need a glass for myslf though

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

very true sir