Ken

I have a 19 day Safari booked for Kenya/Tanzania in February. Any suggestions for dress or preparation for weather that time of year would be appreciated. My understanding is that this is after the lesser rainy season. Any pertinant information would be appreciated as this is my first African trip.

Jan Goss

Ken:<BR><BR>February in Kenya is comparable to our summer. I have been there the past two Januarys. I wore mostly shorts and sleeveless blouses the whole time. I did take two pair of long pants for wearing to dinner. I took a sweat shirt but never wore it. It will most likely be, depending on where in Kenya you are, around 80 - 90 degrees, perfect weather, with a lovely breeze, then cooling off during the evening. The only place it was steamy was on the coast in Mombasa. The heavy rains generally do not start until March, so if you get any rain it will probably be a brief one-night storm (in two years I've only seen one rain in January). I haven't been to Tanzania, but my guess is that the weather would be similar.<BR><BR>You will absolutely love Kenya. I thought I would go once and it would satisfy my wanderlust but just the opposite happened. Now I want to be there all the time!!<BR><BR>If you have any questions don't hesitate to get in touch.<BR><BR>Jan

Liz Frazier

Jan<BR>I agree about Kenya. My first Africa trip was to Kenya, and I've never gotten over my love for Africa. You must also try Botswana. I love it even more, but my heart still aches for East Africa. I would LOVE to see the Wildebeest migration one more time. The greatest thing on Earth I believe. I did prefer the Serengeti though as I never caught the migrations on the Mara. Where do you stay in Kenya? Who do you book with? Thanks. Liz

Liz Frazier

Ken<BR>Sorry, I forgot about you. tee hee. I was to Kenya at Christmas time and again in February (not the same year). Christmastime was lovely. Like summer here. Not too hot. Just nice. However the year we went in January/February, it was the rainiest in 40 years. Tall grass all over and rain, rain, rain. I would try it again as that was just wierd for that to happen. Carry a poncho just in case and I know you'll love it. Everyone does. I especially liked the convertible long trousers where the legs zip off to become shorts.

Jan Goss

Liz:<BR><BR>Being an elephant lover I was referred by Daphne Sheldrick (the lady who raises the orphaned rhinos and elephants) to Southern Cross Safaris and to be sure to see Tsavo East (where her husband had been the original Warden for many years). I had also wanted to see Amboseli. At Amboseli I stayed at Ol Tukai Lodge which is a lovely place, nice rooms, beautiful landscaping,wonderful staff, good food. I used their car and driver every day and had wonderful game drives to see the elephants close up.<BR><BR>I then flew back to Nairobi and caught the plane to Mombasa. Stayed at the Tamarind Village condos for one night and went out on the Tamarind dhow for a dinner cruise. Excellent food. The Tamarind Village has lovely apartments (condos) there that the owners rent out when they are not using them. Then I had a private car and driver from Southern Cross pick me up and drive me to Tsavo East. On both trips to Kenya I stayed at Satao Tented Camp which is very nice. I have also stayed at Voi Lodge. As a woman traveling alone I felt safe in both places. On my first safari I also stayed several night at Shimba Hills Lodge which was very nice and peaceful. Southern Cross took care of me from the time I got off the plane until they put me back on the plane to return home. They are a well run organization and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. They are currently making plans for me for my next trip in several months. The only thing I had to do here before leaving was my shots, travel insurance and my flight to Africa. My local travel agent found that by booking two round trip tickets, (Boston-Amsterdam and Amsterdam-Nairobi) he could get me a fare of $1,080.00 which is considerably lower than most fees you see on the computer.<BR><BR>If you have any questions I'll try to answer them for you.<BR><BR>Jan

Traveler

Well, Jan<BR>We got two seaprate tickets as well.<BR>ALB to AMS via EWR on Continental<BR>AMS to NBO with KLM<BR>We paid for a whole thing US $1700 for both of us. We did not use travel agent but did some searching on internet and then we bought tickets directly from both airlines. KLM is partner with Continental so we got lots of miles. Not only we got miles for flights from Albany to Amsterdam but also double miles (!!!!) for flights between Amsterdam and Nairobi as they had special promotion any any flight with KLM fly until March 2002 and we went there February/March.<BR><BR>Now back to Ken's original question. Bring warm cloths as morning and evening could be cool. Our wool sweaters were needed. We had some rain but we really did not need any rain gear as it rain at night. But it was muddy in Maasai Mara. It was just before rainy season<BR><BR>What camps are you satying in?<BR><BR>We were on