sundowner

I have only been to Southern Africa so far. I've read all the trip reports about Eastern Africa and the Gorilla Treks. But I've never gotten the logistics figured out. I know many of you know all of this (how to fly from place to place and th prices, etc). If I begin/end my safari (Jul/Aug 2007) in Maun, how hard/expensive/timing is it to add to the beginning or end to see the gorillas?

Is there a best time to see the gorillas?

I have tentative plans to take my twins to Africa in 2008 as a college grad present. I had thought of doing the mobile camping in Botswana with them but that was before I signed up to do that again in 2007. So if it's too expensive to get to the gorillas, maybe I'll make a plan to take the kids to East Africa and add on the gorillas from there.

Any help you can give me would be appreciated.

Cindy

Lucia78

Cindy,

How are you planning to fly to Botswana? That will help in determining whether seeing the gorillas is feasible.

sundowner

Good question - I usually fly SAA from the US to JNB. But in the past I have had limited vacation days and must use them sparingly. At this moment, I'm jobless so time wouldn't be such an issue. I don't know what I'll be doing a year from now. The biggest criteria in flying is being able to take heavy carryon luggage (camera gear).

Leely

There has to be an easier way than what I just came up with. Eeek! Plugging in June 19 as departing Maun to Kigali, your flight would be:
to Gabarone
to Jo'burg
to Nairobi
to Kigali.

Ha ha. Horrible, huh? You also don't want to know how long it all takes.

Where's Patty to sort this out?

Good luck, Sundowner. I'm curious about this too.

Patty

I'm not familiar with Southern Africa, but I think the air routing would look something like this:

Maun-Johannesburg-Nairobi-Kigali (or Entebbe)

Flying into Kigali and trekking in Rwanda would be my first choice if all you want to do is gorilla trekking as the drive from Kigali to PNV is much shorter than the drive from Entebbe to Bwindi.

Patty

BTW I haven't checked actual air schedules and don't know if the above can be accomplished in one day (probably not).

Leely

I guess it's a "can't get there from here" (without Jo'burg and Nairobi) kind of thing.

I sort of remember Rocco looking into flights from Southern to East Africa a while back, but I believe it was Zambia and Tanzania he was trying to connect. Still, he may have some ideas.

And by the way, oh how I'd love to be one of your twins! What a mom!!!

thit_cho

I think there are direct flights from JNB to Kigali, so you likely will just need one overnight on your way from Maun to JBN (may need an overnight) and then fly to Kigali. As others pointed out, Kigali is much closer to the gorillas, than is Entebbe in Uganda.

Patty

I found a once a week flight on SAA from JNB to KGL. It operates on Wednesdays with the following schedule:

SA162 JNB-KGL 09:15-13:10
SA162 KGL-JNB (stops in Entebbe) 14:00-20:00

There are more flights between JNB and Entebbe but from there, it's either a very long drive or expensive charter flight to Bwindi.

According to Rwandair's schedule http://www.rwandair.com/pages/timetable.asp they have a twice weekly flight between JNB and KGL that stops in Burundi both directions.

Lucia78

Cindy,

You can fly from JNB to Kigali on Rwandair (they codeshare with Kenya Air too). They only fly a couple of days a week, so you'd need to plan accordingly.

I would call Virgin and see if they can put this together for you. Virgin codeshares with Kenya Air and SAA. So "in theory" you should be able to fly from the US-NBO-KGL and then from KGL-JNB (you may have to book that separately through Rwandair) and then from JNB-Maun roundtrip and then back to the US from JNB.

I'm not sure if this could actually work through one airline. You might have to buy separate tickets...but in theory it should work. If Virgin can't help you call Kenya Air.

I just came back from Rwanda and loved it. It's also true that it's easier to get to the gorillas in Rwanda over Uganda.

However, SAA does fly to Entebbe.

Good luck!

atravelynn

I've gone several times to see the gorillas in July and August and it is a very good time--the dry season. For flying logistics, hiking temperatures, and quality of viewing, I'd recommend Rwanda by a small margin.

Botswana and gorillas Rwanda (or Uganda) would be a stunning combination.

I have been emailing with another couple who are doing Botswana, the Maasai Mara, and gorillas in Rwanda, all in one trip.

Depending on your airline, maybe you would not want to begin and end in Maun. Start in Maun and leave for home from Kigali or Nairobi. (or vice versa)

If there are at least 3 of you, the camera gear is easier to split up among you for carrying it on.

mistadobalina

Next September my family will be doing this. One day a week (I think it is Tuesday, but perhaps Wednesday), there is an early morning flight from JNB to KGL, direct.

So, you safari the morning before, fly to JNB in the afternoon, stay the night near the airport (maybe get a massage or something), get up the next morning for the flight, and get to Kigali by mid-day. The next morning you are trecking.

sundowner

Thanks for all the information. I'll have to check out these suggestions.

If I do the Rwandair SAA JNB to Kigali, I will need to go home (or back to JNB) a different way since the flight is only one day a week, right?

Atravelynn, I'm thinking of doing this in 2007 so I'll be solo.

cooncat3

...unless I join you.... ;-)

Patty

Can you arrange to fly open jaw from your home airport into NBO and out of JNB or vice versa? I think that would make things much easier. There are daily flights between NBO and KGL. Then you'd just have to time the flight to or from JNB on the right day.

atravelynn

Sundowner,

OK, The twins are not involved until 2008 so it's just you in 2007.

I think your kids would love East Africa and the gorillas.

Since you are going twice, then I'd suggest Botswana on trip #1 and East Africa, including the gorillas on trip #2. This would be the ideal setup. Not everyone goes two years in a row so then making the most of a one-time trip is a good idea. But in your case I'd concentrate on one area for each safari.

jasher

Hello,

It's certainly possible to combine gorilla trekking and Botswana, using Joburg as a hub. As people have discovered the flights to Kigali don't run daily so some planning is needed. Given the arrival time of the return flight from Maun you'll almost certainly need a layover in Joburg between the two countries.

If you flew BA you could certainly do an open jaw into JNB and out of NBO from London.

Cheers,
Julian

Rosenose

Get your Rwanda gorilla permits ASAP. I was in Rwanda earlier this month. I got our gorilla permits last December and, even then, some days in August were unavailable. Even though August is supposed to be the dry season, it rained every day that we were there (August 4-8).

Roccco

(Saw my name mentioned earlier)

To combine Botswana with Gorillas, here is one option...fly to Kasane after Botswanan safari...road transfer to Livingstone, air transfer to Lusaka. Overnight Lusaka. Lusaka to Nairobi to Kigali. The advantage is that at least you are moving in the right direction as opposed to returning all the way to South Africa. Plus, I guess you could overnight in Livingstone and in July/August Victoria Falls should still be nice.

Zambia, on the other hand, would be very easy to link with the gorillas as it would be an early flight from Lusaka to Nairobi and then probably onto Kigali the same day.

mistadobalina

As to Rocco's post, there is a Lusaka to Nairobi flight, but I believe you have to overnight in Nairobi and fly to Kigali the following morning.

A couple months back, I checked into getting from different places in Zambia, South Africa, and Botswana to Kigali, and every one of them required an overnight in either JNB or NBO.