kimburu

I was going to post this on the thread Matt started but if some of us are going to start discussing cheaper options from time to time we need more than one thread.

This is a game called “21 days in Kenya for two for under $2000 per person”. It’s just a game to stimulate thought but I have tried to make it realistic and have applied some rules

1. Game viewing is a major focus.
2. Other activities must be inherently very worthwhile and not just intended to save.
3. Costs include all accommodation, food, transport and park fees - just like your regular safari quote
4. No camping to save money - only for the experience.
5. Bathrooms are a necessity - with mirror and hot water where possible and sometimes en suite
6. Parks and reserves must not be avoided just to save money
7. We eat as little of our own decidedly dodgy cooking as possible and eat fairly well but simply
8. No flea pits and no sleeping on the ground - except by choice
9. Matatus are a necessary evil but we book an extra seat for our bag
10. We try for as private an experience as possible - that’s tough
11. No reliance on the kindness of others - it’s a cruel world in this game

We have to use 4WD vehicles sometimes and so I have budgeted $130 per day with driver. This may not be correct, but seems reasonable to me. Anyone know better? When with driver he needs to be accommodated ($10 per night) but we assume he will feed himself.

Figures are budget - not 100% accurate but I have tried to be conservative

Day 1 Nairobi
Taxi to budget hotel ($10pp). Cheap meals. COST $35pp
Day 2 Lake Naivasha
Taxi to bus station. Bus to Naivasha. Matatu to Fisherman’s Camp (lakeside). Walk up the hill to Top Camp ($10pp). Stay in basic bandas with bathrooms. Walk down to lakeside (can take boat tour to Crescent island and walk among the wildlife) for sundowners watching hippos at Fisherman’s Camp. Top Camp chosen to avoid the lakeside overland tour groups and their parties but still have view over lake. Self-catering or dinner lakeside COST $30pp
Day 3
Up early - rent mountain bikes and spend the day in Hell’s Gate National Park ($15pp) - entrance is very close Overnight at Top Camp. COST$50pp
Day 4
Matatu to Naivasha and then bus or matatu to Nakuru. Arrange two game drives in national park ($40 pp) with Crater Tours or similar (around $80 for a proper safari vehicle for 5 hours or so). Take first drive immediately and have lunch on Baboon Cliffs. Overnight and dinner (self cater or in restaurant) within the park at Wildlife Club of Kenya guesthouse which has bathrooms and quite a lot of basic comfort ($15pp). COST $110 pp
Day 5
Picked up for game drive early a.m. Go out of park for lunch and try to con Merica hotel staff into thinking you are guests so you can use the nice pool. Take taxi back into park, having a wee game drive on the way and arrange for him to pick you up next morning. COST $110pp
Days 6-8
Taxi with little game drive on the way to matatu stand . Matatu to Rumuruti and then on to Bobong Camp. Stay in banda ($25pppn). Facilities are apparently very, very good here - they even have a pool. There are cultural visits to local communities and camel safaris - suggested we spend at least one night out fly camping with the camels. Amount of luxury can be varied with arrangements made in advance but I think $200 pp would buy us a pretty comfortable and interesting 3-day stay. COST $250pp
Day 9
Matutus to Nyeri. Stay overnight in Nyeri ($10pp enough) since we may not arrive until the afternoon and meet 4WD with driver here - let’s assume we arranged this in Nairobi. COST $30pp
Days 10-11
Drive into Aberdare National Park. Stay at Tusk Camp. Furnished bandas with beds for 8, kitchen, fireplace, bathroom and lovely view ($100 per night for the camp). Fairly close to the Ark. Hire an armed ranger the second day so that we can go walking ($15 per day) in the higher ground. COST(2 days) $290 pp

Days 12-14
Drive up to Meru NP. Stay at Bwatherongi Bandas ($15pppn). I’ve seen these on TV and they are furnished and comfortable. Bathrooms and again even a swimming pool. Self catering. Games drives in Meru NP with possibly a trip to Kora if the warden is in good mood and authorises it. Wardens can probably be hired to help finding game. COST (3 days) $390 pp

Days 15-17
Drive to Timau. Say goodbye to driver at Timau River Lodge on slopes of Mount Kenya ($20pppn). Stay in comfortable cottages with en suite facilities. Meals are available here too. Trekking up Mount Kenya (obviously not all the way), camel treks and cultural visits are available here at very good prices, as are day trips to Ol Pejeta Conservancy (Sweetwaters). COST (3 days) $260pp - includes cost of sending car back to Nairobi, a cultural visit and a days trekking in the foothills with a qualified guide - but not Mount Kenya NP fees. Visits to Ol Pejeta are apparently $68 per vehicle - I guess that does not include entrance fees.

Days 18-20
From Timau take matatu to Archer’s Post via Isiolo. Stay at cheap but comfortable hotel ($7pppn) and find someone with a 4WD willing to take you on game drives (according to Lonely Planet this is quite practical for $90 per day so I’m not cheating). Do one day in Shaba NR and two days in Samburu NR, returning to Archer’s post in the evening. COST (3 days) $320pp

Day 21 Matatu to Isiolo and bus back to Nairobi. Same hotel. COST $30pp

I can’t believe that his comes to only $1875 per person, and if there were a group of 4 it would be considerably cheaper. There’s probably an error or two somewhere.

Just for fun and food for thought. What do you think?

kimburu

I forgot about insurance for the vehicle so let's call it $2000.

Leely

I'm impressed. How on earth were you able to estimate all these costs?

kimburu

From "leftover" research for my two trips - from all over the place - and I filled in the few gaps with information from the new Lonely Planet...

Nyamera

Kimburu,
=D> =D> =D>

I’ve got the new Lonely Planet, but I’ve just started reading it. There’s interesting Samburu information, but it says you can PROBABLY wrangle a 4WD and driver in Archer’s. I wouldn’t trust that, but I regret not having taken a matatu to Archer’s last year. I thought Buffalo Springs Lodge was defunct, but it’s still in the LP at 1000 shillings ($14) pppn! There’s no food and no contact information, but it should be easier to get someone to take you there than to find someone to take you on game drives. There is probably no staff to stop you if you decide to go on solo game walks. Everything is so much easier if you have a local contact and I’ve actually found a man from Archer’s not living too far away from where I live, but unfortunately I’ve lost contact with him. Anyway, my trip was last year and not now.

Can you really go by matatu to Bobong?

Top Camp is 1000 shillings for a twin banda - $7pp. Very interestingly it’s 500 shillings for a single banda.

On my trips I’ve disobeyed rules 2 and 6.

aby

Kimburu
THANKS for this thread !!!
{& THANKS to Matt for his "pioneering" thread as well )

when i got to this forum & saw the cost of some of the properties/itineraries, i thought to myself: maybe in my next INCARNATION
(in case there is a trasfer of knowledge) i would be lucky enough to use these threads & witness such places / experiences.
so, my attitude to it all, was on the intellectual-theoretical level - same way i treat some theories of Physics concerning "Paralel Worlds" {imagine an expedition to Heisenberg's uncertainty zone or a tour along a super-string }

aby

PS years ago, we (a couple) travelled some months with no time-limit (a one-year open ticket) but with a budget limit. we spent, both of us, a MONTH, less then some fodorites spend for a NIGHT in low season with 43% off ...
It meant hitching on trucks carrying goats from the Somali border, pitching a tent in Maasai Enkang etc'...

PS2 i have some more comments. later...

kimburu

aby.. I hope you have lots of comments. I am very glad you are playing the game. I am still trying to imagine a tour along a super string and it's an interesting experience.

Nyamera. I KNOW you broke rules 2 and 6. So did I and it was a mistake with so little time to spend. I am also least sure about the Archer's Post thing - but I put it in so maybe someone will say "that's nuts, Archer's post has a total of 5 cars for the whole population". However, it is definitely a tourist stopover (for fuel if nothing else) and so it is feasible that some enterprising people have got into doing this. I plan to ask when I pass through in December - I have no doubt we will stop for fuel there and if the man at the gas station doesn't have a friend who has a friend who can get a 4WD off his sister's second cousin's uncle, nobody does.

I did not include Buffalo Springs Lodge because without food and water there what would we do if our "driver" failed to show up one day because the actual owner of the car had needed it for a trip to Nairobi? And I didn't have enough budget left to keep him overnight. Doesn't sound like we could drink the water out of the pool.

Did you notice I added something to rule 5 for you? Of course I don't really know if these places do have mirrors - it's not often advertised - but I tried to choose places that sounded like they would.

I am pretty sure you can get a matatu to Bobong - it's the one to Malaral and you just have to ask to get off at the entrance to Bobong apparently.

By the way, Whistling Thorns is an alternative add-on for riders, and Tsavo is standby for Samburu and Shaba.

Nyamera

Kimburu,
The vehicle found in Archer’s does not only have to be 4WD, but also good for game viewing. It wouldn’t be that nice to look out of a car window at the elephants (and wild dogs ). I think a 4WD with a platform to stand on would be good enough for me, maybe some sacks with something soft in them to sit on. At Buffalo Springs Lodge there’s probably a corner with some dusty old bottles with something to drink in them. Problems with the shower water would be more worrying, but as the pool is half full I could use that water to wash my hair. I’ve not quite understood the prices for car rental, but if we change the rules to a 4 people safari it might be reasonable to do a self-drive.

Thanks for number 5. Cold water showers aren’t a problem in hot places like Samburu, but in Aberdare NP they must be pure torture. Mirrors are always a necessity.

For riders, this place is less expensive and closer to Nairobi than Whistling Thorns: http://www.karencamp.com/ Whistling Thorns is perfect for solo giraffe and zebra walks.
I’ve been thinking about Kitani Bandas for Tsavo West, but I don’t now how to get there without a vehicle. Staying in Mtito Andei doesn’t sound that interesting.

What about the Mara?

Leely

Glad to see that the cheap trip gang is hard at work on the weekend.

Nyamera, that riding place/hotel/camp in Karen looks pretty cool. There are chunks of Kimburu's itinerary that would make me nervous if I were setting out to do it myself. That's why one of you must try it first and then report back.

Nyamera

This thread isn’t really about a cheap trip – that would be backpacking and not washings one’s hair for three weeks. I’d say Kimburu’s game is midrange.

The parts that make me nervous are finding game drives in Archer’s, being dropped off at the right place by the matatu when going to Bobong and the days 9-15 private safari - because it sounds expensive, though I suppose that for 2p + driver staying at self-catering bandas it could be relatively reasonable. My main problem with the itinerary is that I’m only one person.

Leely, are you packing?

Leely

Cheap is relative. There's cheap, cheaper, cheapest, dirt cheap, dirt-poor cheap, etc.

Nyamera, you will have to save and make Kenya every other year for the time being. Don't give up hope! Life is long and you are young. Also, I'll say it again: camping is not that bad if it's only for a few days.

Packing. Ha. I'm at work, "working."

What are the cheap camps you've stayed at in the past? Maybe we should make a list.

Matt_from_England

Okay so I've got TZ down to 8 days, 7 nights inc Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro for a smidge under 900 dollars camping with driver guide and 4wd. It's getting cheaper!

Matt

Nyamera

Leely,
Unfortunately young is relative as well. I’ll try not to go on about this …
Can’t you write packing lists while “working”?
I haven’t stayed at any cheap camps. Basecamp Maasai Mara is expensive, Samburu Intrepids is very expensive, Tarhi Camp - Tsavo East and Mbweha Camp - L. Nakuru are a bit more reasonable, but still expensive. I’ve got some good deals, especially at Tarhi Camp, but it’s still been expensive. I’ve spent less money than most people because I’ve spent a lot of time outside game parks. In Voi 2004 I stayed at an inexpensive hotel where I got a nice ensuite room for 400 shillings. It’s called Distarr Hotel and for some reason it’s no longer in the LP guide.

Matt,
Soon you’ll be a real budget camper.

Patty

I came across this link on Tripadvisor today http://www.freewebs.com/vaclav-trips/kenya.htm

I haven't read all of it yet but sounds like there's some good info for traveling on a budget and using public transport.

nyama

Buffalo Springs Lodge has been definitely closed for years now.

kimburu

Good find Patty... look who got his hands on them... GIBSON the Safari Man!!! I love how the recommendation for Gibson is based on the fact that transport could be immediately arranged. I suspect Gibson also did some unspeakable things to the writer's ego...

I think we need a new thread like this - not least in case I have written anything tremendously embarrassing .... nyama should play.

tuckeg

We ran into an Israeli last year who, with his buddy, were doing a low cost tour. They had purchased a vehicle and one trick they had was to drive along roads that were on the fenced boundaries of parks and lodges. They would stop and get on the roof and view that way. He gave me a list of some of his sightings and they were pretty spectular. I thought of this later when we had the best birding of our trip just after we left Phinda at a "bird party" on the road along their fence. The birds were actually flying out of Phinda to eat termites on the road.

nyama

Drop the Samburu game drives!
Stay at Umoja Campsite near Archer's Post (www.umojawomen.org), learn about the Umoja Women and enjoy their hospitality, sit on the banks of the Ewaso N'giro and watch the wildlife of Buffalo Springs Reserve on the other river bank, make an authentic Samburu dinner and after that a big party at the bonfire.

kimburu

I knew you'd be good at this nyama. Perfect idea - definitely adds something to the trip as a whole.

Nice story about the Israelis.

Patty

kimburu,
I hadn't read that far yesterday and didn't even realize they used the infamous Gibson

Another drive along the road looking through the fence opportunity exists between Naro Moru and Lamuria as this road runs along the Solio fence

Thanks for the link, nyama!