Fodor's New Safari Book--Any Thoughts?
Oct 9th, 2008, 01:10 AM
#41
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Alexis, sorry I've not had time to go through again and find specific errors. The only one I can remember at this point is the mispelling of Koiyaki when referring to the guiding school. More information on the school here: http://www.koiyaki.com/
Oct 9th, 2008, 05:53 AM
#42
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We are in the process of creating new online guides featuring some of the content from the new guide. I will be sure to make a special announcement here when we do so that you are aware of it. I believe this fresh content will be up on the site around the start of November.
As members, you'll be able to review properties featured in the guide as well.
As members, you'll be able to review properties featured in the guide as well.
Oct 10th, 2008, 11:00 PM
#43
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Katie and Alexis-
As this site wouldn't let me order anything because I live in Canada, I went to Amazon.ca and ordered the book, along with Dangerous Beauty. It arrived today, I have glanced through it and I must tell you that if Fodors keeps up this format, all of my collection of Lonely Planet books may be collecting dust.....
It is extremely pleasing to go through, the maps, the colour photos, the quotes, I LOVE IT!
<b>BUT THERE IS A REALLY GLARING ERROR</b> on page 15 which will not do tourism in the low season in Tanzania any good. On your chart, (I know, who reads charts, right?) you have the crater CLOSED completely during April and May. And, even though I haven't been there in April, I cetainly have been in May. It is indeed open!! As the crater is a draw for most first timers, I think that error should be corrected as soon as possible.
As this site wouldn't let me order anything because I live in Canada, I went to Amazon.ca and ordered the book, along with Dangerous Beauty. It arrived today, I have glanced through it and I must tell you that if Fodors keeps up this format, all of my collection of Lonely Planet books may be collecting dust.....
It is extremely pleasing to go through, the maps, the colour photos, the quotes, I LOVE IT!
<b>BUT THERE IS A REALLY GLARING ERROR</b> on page 15 which will not do tourism in the low season in Tanzania any good. On your chart, (I know, who reads charts, right?) you have the crater CLOSED completely during April and May. And, even though I haven't been there in April, I cetainly have been in May. It is indeed open!! As the crater is a draw for most first timers, I think that error should be corrected as soon as possible.
Oct 11th, 2008, 04:59 AM
#44
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The idea is good but I sense a rush to bring it to publication.
There are many glaring mistakes and omissions.
The Tanzania section is really disappointing. Virtually every page and map have errors.
Tanzania uses round prong plugs? Ngorongoro closes in Apr-May? Lake Manyara Tented Camp is inside the park? Olduvai Camp is on the Endulen road? Olduvai Gorge is next to Lake Eyasi? All rooms at Lake Manyara Lodge have superb views? The Zanzibar map was left unfinished!
Why are some lodges/camps listed and others are not?
I am sorry but the book is very misleading, badly edited and incomplete.
For East Africa at least it appears the authors use the internet for research instead of hitting the road.
There are many glaring mistakes and omissions.
The Tanzania section is really disappointing. Virtually every page and map have errors.
Tanzania uses round prong plugs? Ngorongoro closes in Apr-May? Lake Manyara Tented Camp is inside the park? Olduvai Camp is on the Endulen road? Olduvai Gorge is next to Lake Eyasi? All rooms at Lake Manyara Lodge have superb views? The Zanzibar map was left unfinished!
Why are some lodges/camps listed and others are not?
I am sorry but the book is very misleading, badly edited and incomplete.
For East Africa at least it appears the authors use the internet for research instead of hitting the road.
Oct 30th, 2008, 02:34 PM
#45
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I hate to pile on here but I just took time at the bookstore to page through and put my focus on Botswana since Kenya and Tanzania already have some feedback.
I also like the basic premise, the book is attractive and has a good organization but some errors were glaring and I hope that people planning are sure to double check with other sources because a lot of the information is just wrong.
There is a chart of where to see the Big 5 species and rhino is considered good (the highest ranking) in Chobe where it would take immense luck to find a rhino. Rhino are also considered 'good' in the Okavango Delta, which is considered separate from Moremi, and the camps listed are places where rhino have been seldom seen if at all for decades.
The Botswana Map, which I think highlights just 4 regions has one of them, Moremi, in the completely wrong place on the west side of the Delta. Later in the Moremi section it is correctly mapped.
I think price rankings is one of the hardest things to do since they are often in flux and can change seasonally but the ones in the book are tragically wrong. Wilderness 6 Paw camps Vumbura Plains and Kings Pool are rated $$ (The Brandt Guide has them at over $1,200 pppn high season) while a camp like Shinde that might well be close to 50% less (Brandt=$695 pppn) during the high season is somehow rated $$$. There are a number that are out of whack.
In the Kwando concession Lagoon Camp was marked more expensive than Lebala, I believe it was $$$ to $$. At the time of publishing I think they cost the same and Lebala costs more at this point -- limitation of books as upgrades and changing prices cannot be captured without online updates but the original info was wrong anyway.
What really killed it for me though was the Green Season was oddly defined as October through February even though October can have the driest, starkest conditions of the year and most accommodation pricing defines the Green Season as December through March, coupled with the opinion that travelers would have to have air conditioning or be extremely heat tolerant and be a very keen birder or they should give that season a pass. That indicates to me that the mammal viewing is poor. This sounded like the author had never been to Botswana during the green season. Perhaps its just my opinion that the green season is still a good time to visit and the author would disagree but this board is loaded with people who have traveled in the green season, saving from 40 to 60% and come back with photo galleries of wonderful mammal sightings. Viewing is not the same as the high season but its still quite productive for a fraction of the cost.
Lastly the 'Fodors Choice' was Duba Plains, a great choice that I can agree with but the write up mentions cheetah as one of the species seen. Cheetah are an extreme rarity in that area, even Wilderness Safaris does not mention them with Duba and again it would take phenomenal luck to see a cheetah at Duba Plains. That is the kind of wrong information that leaves travellers very disappointed. Most can be prepared that wildlife sightings will vary and are unpredictable but when your research indicates there is fair chance and then the guide tells you he has seen 3 cheetah in two years it is disheartening.
That was from a quick skim and I skipped most of the text for the regions and camps. Unfortunately these are factual errors and for Botswana a lot more work is needed.
I also like the basic premise, the book is attractive and has a good organization but some errors were glaring and I hope that people planning are sure to double check with other sources because a lot of the information is just wrong.
There is a chart of where to see the Big 5 species and rhino is considered good (the highest ranking) in Chobe where it would take immense luck to find a rhino. Rhino are also considered 'good' in the Okavango Delta, which is considered separate from Moremi, and the camps listed are places where rhino have been seldom seen if at all for decades.
The Botswana Map, which I think highlights just 4 regions has one of them, Moremi, in the completely wrong place on the west side of the Delta. Later in the Moremi section it is correctly mapped.
I think price rankings is one of the hardest things to do since they are often in flux and can change seasonally but the ones in the book are tragically wrong. Wilderness 6 Paw camps Vumbura Plains and Kings Pool are rated $$ (The Brandt Guide has them at over $1,200 pppn high season) while a camp like Shinde that might well be close to 50% less (Brandt=$695 pppn) during the high season is somehow rated $$$. There are a number that are out of whack.
In the Kwando concession Lagoon Camp was marked more expensive than Lebala, I believe it was $$$ to $$. At the time of publishing I think they cost the same and Lebala costs more at this point -- limitation of books as upgrades and changing prices cannot be captured without online updates but the original info was wrong anyway.
What really killed it for me though was the Green Season was oddly defined as October through February even though October can have the driest, starkest conditions of the year and most accommodation pricing defines the Green Season as December through March, coupled with the opinion that travelers would have to have air conditioning or be extremely heat tolerant and be a very keen birder or they should give that season a pass. That indicates to me that the mammal viewing is poor. This sounded like the author had never been to Botswana during the green season. Perhaps its just my opinion that the green season is still a good time to visit and the author would disagree but this board is loaded with people who have traveled in the green season, saving from 40 to 60% and come back with photo galleries of wonderful mammal sightings. Viewing is not the same as the high season but its still quite productive for a fraction of the cost.
Lastly the 'Fodors Choice' was Duba Plains, a great choice that I can agree with but the write up mentions cheetah as one of the species seen. Cheetah are an extreme rarity in that area, even Wilderness Safaris does not mention them with Duba and again it would take phenomenal luck to see a cheetah at Duba Plains. That is the kind of wrong information that leaves travellers very disappointed. Most can be prepared that wildlife sightings will vary and are unpredictable but when your research indicates there is fair chance and then the guide tells you he has seen 3 cheetah in two years it is disheartening.
That was from a quick skim and I skipped most of the text for the regions and camps. Unfortunately these are factual errors and for Botswana a lot more work is needed.
Oct 30th, 2008, 02:41 PM
#46
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Ah yes, thank you, I'd completely forgotten, I do remember one of my thoughts when I skimmed through, was that the price category assignments seemed incorrect for a number of properties.
I get the impression the book was pushed through to publication FAR FAR too quickly and would have been a far, far finer resource had it been delayed sufficiently to properly error-check and send out for review.
I get the impression the book was pushed through to publication FAR FAR too quickly and would have been a far, far finer resource had it been delayed sufficiently to properly error-check and send out for review.
Oct 30th, 2008, 03:02 PM
#47
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Kavey: I totally agree.
I forgot one important item that should be further researched. There is a box that claims the Bayei are known as the River Bushmen. There is a statement about an inter tribal marriage with a San but as I understand it from getting to hang out with some people in that region the Bayei are a distinct tribe of Bantu origin while the River Bushmen are directly related to the San (Kalahari Bushmen) which are considered a completely different race of people. They have peacefully coexisted for a long time and the River Bushmen have taught their tracking and hunting skills to the Bayei who passed on fishing and mokoro skills in exchange and I'm sure there has been some intermixing due to proximity but I'm fairly certain these are still considered two distinct groups of people, at least that is how they described themselves to me.
I have no expertise in anthropology so I'm happy to hear differently but I think the book has this wrong. I think many native people who ply their mekoros in the Delta get coined as 'river bushmen' as a generalized term for mastering the water and the bush but that unfortunately confuses the fact that there are true San Bushmen that migrated to the Delta and became the River Bushmen.
I forgot one important item that should be further researched. There is a box that claims the Bayei are known as the River Bushmen. There is a statement about an inter tribal marriage with a San but as I understand it from getting to hang out with some people in that region the Bayei are a distinct tribe of Bantu origin while the River Bushmen are directly related to the San (Kalahari Bushmen) which are considered a completely different race of people. They have peacefully coexisted for a long time and the River Bushmen have taught their tracking and hunting skills to the Bayei who passed on fishing and mokoro skills in exchange and I'm sure there has been some intermixing due to proximity but I'm fairly certain these are still considered two distinct groups of people, at least that is how they described themselves to me.
I have no expertise in anthropology so I'm happy to hear differently but I think the book has this wrong. I think many native people who ply their mekoros in the Delta get coined as 'river bushmen' as a generalized term for mastering the water and the bush but that unfortunately confuses the fact that there are true San Bushmen that migrated to the Delta and became the River Bushmen.
Oct 31st, 2008, 06:22 PM
#48
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I thumbed through book the other day at Borders book store. Specifically to look for information on airlines. The book mentions the major commercial airlines -but- no info on charter airlines. Disappointing to me, because charter airlines like Nelair, Genair, ChilliPepper, seem to be a necessity for getting from safari camp to safari camp.
regards - tom
regards - tom
Nov 10th, 2008, 04:32 PM
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i got the book on friday. its great. it is my first Africa book-don't scrimp on guidebooks if you are spending all this money to travel i was always told.
Only know i don't know where i want to go, as everything sounds wonderful.
i am trying to decide between Botswana and Tanzania (see my post to respond to that question).
but anyway, the book is clearly laid out, and givens me the information i need to help make some decsions. or at least where to go for help. (like here)
Only know i don't know where i want to go, as everything sounds wonderful.
i am trying to decide between Botswana and Tanzania (see my post to respond to that question).
but anyway, the book is clearly laid out, and givens me the information i need to help make some decsions. or at least where to go for help. (like here)
Nov 10th, 2008, 06:00 PM
#50
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Better than the previous little book
Amyc,
I noticed this in the countires/animals seen chart:
"There is a chart of where to see the Big 5 species and rhino is considered good (the highest ranking) in Chobe where it would take immense luck to find a rhino. Rhino are also considered 'good' in the Okavango Delta, which is considered separate from Moremi, and the camps listed are places where rhino have been seldom seen if at all for decades."
Predator explained it well, along with the unlikeliness of cheetah at Duba Plains. Even leopard and sable there are quite rare. But I'd agree it's my choice too for a favorite Botswana camp.
Amyc,
I noticed this in the countires/animals seen chart:
"There is a chart of where to see the Big 5 species and rhino is considered good (the highest ranking) in Chobe where it would take immense luck to find a rhino. Rhino are also considered 'good' in the Okavango Delta, which is considered separate from Moremi, and the camps listed are places where rhino have been seldom seen if at all for decades."
Predator explained it well, along with the unlikeliness of cheetah at Duba Plains. Even leopard and sable there are quite rare. But I'd agree it's my choice too for a favorite Botswana camp.
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