Kavey

Pete and I agreed some months ago that we wanted to return to Africa for a predominantly wildlife-viewing holiday.

Since then I've spent hours and hours thinking about it and yet I'm not even at the early planning stage because I just CANNOT narrow down where we want to go this time. And until I make that decision I can't start planning!

It's got to the point that this will very likely turn into a 2008 trip because I've left it so late!

So... here's the low down.

Initially, I was working on the assumption that we'd be working to a really, really, really tight budget. Circumstances have changed and we can now spend quite a bit more than we'd originally thought. We'll be using airmiles for the international flights and then have a budget of between £4k and £6k per person. That's not yet 100% but it gives a ballpark. Let's assume lower end of the range for now.

We've decided we can stretch to 5 weeks max duration for the trip. Certainly we want a 4 week minimum so that provides a pretty clear time estimate.

But I just CANNOT narrow down where to go and I keep going round in circles and I just need some help. At this rate we'll not be going anywhere at all!

I'm desperately keen to go to Madagascar and am seriously considering 2.5 weeks there along with similar period elsewhere. Some of this depends on availability and cost of flights from that "elsewhere" to Madagascar.

I'd love to visit Zambia, of course, but not sure can do so (in the style I'd like to) even with the new budget. Is there a way to stay at SMALL remote, private camps with reasonable accommodation, excellent guiding, great wildlife, preferably some water activities too for more than a handful of days on this budget? How? How do I stretch it?

I'm also keen on East Africa, probably Tanzania, but possibly Kenya. Pete's not been and has never seen the wide open savannahs. I like some aspects of the mobile camping safari (being able to do a private one, just the two of us, being able to stay out on game drives for as long we like) but dislike some aspects (possibility of being stuck with poor guide for duration, having to do gamedrives in same closed vehicle that is a necessity for transfers between camp locations). Could now do one in small private camps but how far can our budget go? Where to even start?

And then we've the option of returning to Namibia but doing a self-drive and including areas we've not been before, plus bolting on a fly-in into one of the remote Skeleton Coast camps. This appeals because we are comfortable driving and loved Namibia. We could combine DIY safari with private camps which might work well.

But I'm suffering from dreadful analysis paralysis and can go no further until I narrow down where to go!

Help me! Not that I know how anyone will do that - I know I just need to make a frigging decision and go.

But I'm stuck!

HariS

Kavey,

I'm no help as i havent been to Zambia or Namibia yet. But, don't give up hope for 2007 as recently there have been posts that people have been able to find last minute safaris and some cancellations do occur on existing bookings.

Kavey

Hari
It's not availability I'm worried about so much as the fact that
a) neither of us can take those 5 weeks off without giving our various clients enough notice
b) some of the destinations we've chosen merit a visit during their winter season and that's nearly upon us

I (usually) really enjoy the planning (once I start it) and would probably feel a little cheated not to have a good lot of planning to do so I don't necessarily want to be leaving immediately (even if it were possible from client point of view).

I just mean that at this rate, more and more of the year is going to go by without my making the decision.

For example, right now, if we decided on a destination for which October is best time to visit I could still get it planned for THIS year. But if I dither for another 2-3 months even that becomes impossible and pushes into next year!!!

Bwino

Hello

Please do go to Zambia, the country, the people and especially the wildlife are absolutely awesome. Ask Rocco (Very regular on this forum) for his advice - he has seen heaps of Zambia and will confirm what I have said. My husband and I managed a small tented camp in the south luangwa for a year and we saw things there that people who have lived in Africa all their lives have never seen. I would not guarantee any sightings in particular but we had regular leopard and lion kills, a leopard come and drink form our pool regularly, a leopard being chased by a group of about 50 baboons which a guest caught on video, lion cubs a few days old and elephants walking under our deck so close you could have reached out and touched them. Of course these are not every day occurances but they do happen. South Luangwa is awesome, you can spend $500 per person per night or get good accommodation for $80 per night in a good chalet. Somewhere in between is a lodge like Kafunta which is around $300 per night including food, drinks, park entry, 2 game drives per day and very very upmarket accommodation. The people in Zambia are an absolute delight and if you want to meet the locals Mfuwe the village near by South Luangwa) has heaps of places where you can do that very comfortably. Also Livingstone is lots of fun for Vic falls and adventure activities - not so much game - but you can see Rhinos. Zambia can be expensive but it can also be very reasonable and I am sure within your budget - go there - it is the 'real Africa' with some of the best game viewing in all of Africa without the high volume of tourists you get in some other African countries.

CarlaM

I feel your pain Kavey and also suffer from AP. Will be following your thread in hopes of being cured.

divewop

Gee Kavey, what a terrible problem to have!

Why don't you combine Zambia and Madagascar if the logistics and pricing can be worked out? You could spend a couple weeks at both places. That sounds like it would make for a really cool trip.

Kenya and Tanzania are great and you could also combine them, but I'm sure you'll be able to do that at a later time since it's so easy to fly from the UK.

OnlyMeOirish

Me too Kavey, I'm the Queen of over analysing so I feel your pain. I'm afraid I cannot help much with your decision BUT, if you REALLY REALLY want to go to Madagascar then I say go for it and don't take the 'easy' route of going back to Namibia just because its the safe bet. I say this because this year I pained over whether to go back to Africa (malaria free this time) or take the 'easy' route and go back to Alaska. After a loonnnggg time trying to decide we figured Alaska would be the easier to plan and we just went with that. Now, while I know that Alaska will be amazing, I am kind of regretting our decision (especially reading the threads here ). So, I suppose what I'm trying to say is go with your gut ... go to Madagascar and the rest will fall in to place..... just my 2c.

Imelda

atravelynn

Imelda, You will love Alaska. That's my other addiction, but it's an every other year one, but then it is easier for me to get there from the US than for you.

Kavey, I agree with Imelda to make Madagascar your priority. Find the best time for Madagascar (which I don't know), then see what other Africa countries work well around it.

Kavey and Imelda, I'm another big analyzer and often resort to spreadsheets.

Zambia and Madagascar or Madagascar and Zambia sounds good to me.

What a fortunate turn of events for you!

Mohammed

Hi Kavey and everyone else,

Sounds like I am also suffering from this highly infectious syndrome! Prices are just so sky high.

Let me crunch a few numbers - Kavey you say 6k for 4 weeks, i.e. about US$ 215 per night. Problem is all quotes I get are way way higher, - Bots is in region of US$ 800 +, Zambia from what I know is not very much lower and Tanzania - I recntly got a quote for US$ 3000 or so for 6 nights!

Would really like to learn more about lower budget places.

Pula

October is supposed to be an excellent time to visit Madagascar. I'm heading there in six weeks and learned from a naturalist that it is not the "best" time, but oh well -- that's the only time I could go (this year). But he said October is brilliant and the Brandt Guide just happens to agree!

I have learned that there are somewhat limited accommodations -- more so I think than in Zambia -- and I had trouble getting bookings since I put this together a tad late. It all worked out but was needlessly stressful. I agree that the planning is half the fun so if you can muster the courage, it wouldn't be too soon to get cookin'!

I'm even studying a little Malagasy to get in the mood!

Yes, do Madagascar in October and Zambia too!

nyama

I regard October as the best time to go to South Luangwa. Very hot, indeed, and some areas look like "after WWIII" (quote Bryan Jackson), but you have the best concentration of animals by the river.

Parts of Kafue's Busanga Plains are already looking like a desert in this month, but nevertheless you will see a lot of animals there. And Busanga Plains are only a small part of this park. The area around Lufupa is quite nice; I saw my first wild dogs there and the only cheetah in Zambia so far (Hari, do you read this?).

Lower Zambezi is also great during this time. The only problem might be some 'bumpy' boat rides because of the low water.

Kavey

The £4-£6k ppn budget is in GBP btw, not dollars. I guess we're talking an average night rate of about £115 to £170 per night.

For those who haven't been here long enough to remember my interminable planning and discussion threads for the last two trips I took, I should probably just outline what I've already done and know reasonably well, just to give an idea of where I most need help.

In 2001 Pete and I did a trip to Botswana and Namibia. In Namibia we stayed at Wolwedans Dune Lodge, Movenpick Sossusvlei Lodge and Damaraland Camp. In Botswana we stayed at Little Mombo, Little Vumbura and Chitabe Trails.

In 2004 I went to Kenya for a short trip with my dad. We stayed at Governor's Camp in the Mara.

Also in 2004, Pete and I spent 9 weeks in Southern Africa. We started in Cape Town for a week, self-drove across the garden route over a week and a half, staying in guest houses and the self-catering chalets at Addo, took a flight to Durban and spent another 2.5 weeks to visit St Lucia, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, Ndumo, Ithala and Kruger. From Jo'burg we flew to Botswana for an itinerary that included Savuti, Jacana, Tubu Tree, Little Mombo, Jack's Camp and then we finished with a stop in Wolwedans Dune Lodge in Namibia (where we renewed our wedding vows).

That really was the trip of a lifetime and we definitely don't have anything even remotely approaching the budget we had then.

But hopefully it will show that we are happy to self-drive and DIY safari in which case we don't need luxury but focus on great wildlife viewing. If we are going to go down the private lodges/ camps route we have been spoiled so we do want small sized camps, remotely situated for excellent wildlife viewing, with great guiding too.

Oh and we both can't abide really hot or humid weather - we took both our Southern Africa trips in June not just for the game viewing but for the weather too.



THANKS EVERYONE!

lifelist

Mohammed - I believe it's 4-6k pounds, so $8-12k USD. That comes out to $428 per night for 28 nights.

One key to stretching your budget is to target off-seasons or shoulder seasons. Zambia can be expensive, but if you target the shoulder seasons, the prices do lower significantly.

Are you really looking at 4 weeks on safari? Or, did you want to mix in other activities, such as siteseeing in cities?

My process in vacation planning is to simply plan out each location on a spreadsheet. I'll do the research and get prices and plug them in. I'll do a few spreadsheets for each location at different seasons. I'll start by planning out the vacation I want and then looking at the budget numbers that come up. I adjust from there.

In terms of choosing between spots, I usually use a number of different priorities. I tend to weight places I have never been before higher than familiar places simply out of a sense of exploration. I also determine my level of interest and prioritize based on that. I also check to see if there are events/seasons that I don't want to miss - wildebeest migrations, Olympics, festivals, etc... Are the locations in danger - ecological, archeological, etc...? I wanted to see Kilimanjaro before the snows melted away, for example. Lastly, I check to see how well each vacation fits budget and time; and, try to look for combinations. This is where the spreadsheet comes in handy since I can look for discrete portions of trips I can combine with others.

So, I don't wait until I've narrowed down a location to do the planning. I just plan to a certain level for every place I want to go and then decide. My current set of planning worksheets include trips to Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Tanzania, Alaska, various roadtrips involving US National Parks; and, just for fun, a one year round-the-world itinerary (budget - $50,000).

I find that I enjoy planning and thinking about a vacation almost as much as taking the vacation.

If you're desperate for Madagascar, and you've both never been, then I'd probably start there and plan out the itinerary and budget. And, then, see what you can tack on to the 2.5 weeks to fill out the rest of your time.

Kavey

Thanks for that! Yes, I ought to just DIG IN! It's not even like I haven't planned a million trips from scratch not only for myself but even helping others... amongst my friends I'm KNOWN for it!

And yet... I'm struggling!

Our main priorities are wildlife and photography thereof. We're happy to spend the entire 4-5 weeks on safari/ wildlife viewing activities.

We spent longer than that on back-to-back game viewing on that 9 weeker I mentioned above and didn't get bored for a second!!!

Thanks everyone...

OK I'll start with Madagascar coz I think I wade in more easily...

Rocco, where are you, buddy? I need your advice for this Zambia stuff!

sandi

Such problems. Have the funds and can make the time, but where oh where should Kavey and Pete go?

To me Madagascar and Zambia make the most sense, logistically.

Space in Tanzania/Kenya for October will be difficult to come by, even for mobile camping, as private sites are also booked in advance.

I'm sure by the time I return from Africa, you'll have it worked out - somewhat!

kerikeri

how irresistible!

ok. go to madagascar and namibia. why? namibia just updated its camps in the parks and you'll have a "reason" to go. you loved south afreica and drove yourself, hence you will love a drive yourself trip again. your budget will allow for splurges on the skeleton coast.

and madagascar is fantastic and you should see the lemurs. flights in from mada go to jnb from where you can catch your windhoek flight.

there. that was easy!

have fun whatever you decide to do. look forward to reading the report(s)!

kerikeri

tuckeg

Kavey,

I don't know where you are located but when I was in South Africa last year I looked at flights to Madagascar and there wasn't that much difference on a RT flight from SA on Air Mad and a RT ticket from NY on Air France. I decided I might as well make a separate Madagascar trip as try to fit an excursion in from SA. Now if you can make it part of your flight connections from the start it may be more economical to combine the trips.

George

thit_cho

Kavey, as you know, I visited Madagascar in May 2005 (May is supposed to one of the better months, and the weather was perfect -- no rain or humidity, mid-70s). I booked with Cortez Travel, and while you cerainly needn't work with them, they had (at the time I did my research) the best website.

I only spent 10 days in Madagascar, which I thought sufficient, and I covered three of the major, and different parks, including Andasibe (the nearest to Tana, with decent lodging (the Vakona) and Indri, the largest lemurs, but the hiking can be difficult); Kirindy (near Morondova on the west coast -- no other tourists, and lots of different lemurs; I went with Gary Lemmer from Chez Maggia, a very comfortable lodge on the beach); and Berenty (a private reserve at the island's southern tip, with very habituated ringtail and brown lemurs). If you decide on Madagascar or have any other questions, please send me an email (if you don't have it, its thit_cho AT yahoo.com).

By the way, reading and writing from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, a marvelous city on the silk road.

Also, I think Madagascar is easier to combine with Kenya than Zambia since there are direct flights from Tana to Nairobi. Check out the Bradt Guide -- its fantastic.

Michael

Kavey

Thanks Michael, much appreciated... hope you're having a great trip?

Kavey

Sandi, sounds like a children's TV programme!

Where Oh Where Should Kavey And Pete Go?



Kerikeri, in reality I know we'll enjoy WHEREVER we end up going and so I should just get on with it and choose but it's so hard! I know we'd love to go back to Namibia - and I like the idea of one new country and one partially familiar. I'll have to check into flight combos.

George, I think you're right that flight costs will play a big part in this so I'm going to start looking into the options and see whether it's even rational to combine Madagascar with somewhere else!

Thanks everyone!