So we were talking off cheap safaris...
Jun 7th, 2006, 05:47 PM
#21
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 175
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have done the budget camping route as well as staying at nice tented camps.I enjoy both and plan to combine them again on my next trip but nothing brings you closer to being in the wild than being in a tent.
Uganda is easily the cheapest budget choice as you can travel very cheaply and never have to use a tent.All of the parks and lakes have tent or banda options and we had a shower at every place we stayed.Some people got tired of the food at a few places so they would go to the lodges for the buffets.I'll gladly camp and save a few bucks for a few extra days in Africa.
Uganda is easily the cheapest budget choice as you can travel very cheaply and never have to use a tent.All of the parks and lakes have tent or banda options and we had a shower at every place we stayed.Some people got tired of the food at a few places so they would go to the lodges for the buffets.I'll gladly camp and save a few bucks for a few extra days in Africa.
Jun 7th, 2006, 08:24 PM
#23
Guest
Posts: n/a
Matt,
Sounds like an interesting trip.....will look forward to read about it.
Thit_cho,
Hi! At Kwando, i've had several 10-12 hour days. But yes, i guess at places like Etosha you can drive thru the day and hang out by the waterholes etc etc., i should make a trip in the next couple of years.
Hari
Sounds like an interesting trip.....will look forward to read about it.
Thit_cho,
Hi! At Kwando, i've had several 10-12 hour days. But yes, i guess at places like Etosha you can drive thru the day and hang out by the waterholes etc etc., i should make a trip in the next couple of years.
Hari
Jun 7th, 2006, 08:45 PM
#24
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,916
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tom, yes, your website reference is correct.
Hari, as far as Wilderness Safaris lodges, I have visited Chitabe and Savuti in Botswana, and Ongava in Namibia, on two separate trips, and we always broke the morning and late afternoon game drives with very long (several hours) stays at the lodge during the day (even if the animals are much less active, I would rather sit at a waterhole than sit by the pool).
Someone asked about the price of Etosha, and its very, very reasonable (I went in 2002, when the US dollar was much stronger, but I suspect the Etosha lodges remain reasonable).
Michael
Hari, as far as Wilderness Safaris lodges, I have visited Chitabe and Savuti in Botswana, and Ongava in Namibia, on two separate trips, and we always broke the morning and late afternoon game drives with very long (several hours) stays at the lodge during the day (even if the animals are much less active, I would rather sit at a waterhole than sit by the pool).
Someone asked about the price of Etosha, and its very, very reasonable (I went in 2002, when the US dollar was much stronger, but I suspect the Etosha lodges remain reasonable).
Michael
Jun 7th, 2006, 09:46 PM
#25
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,553
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Talking of cheap safaris...how many people realize that a Kwando safari in "Secret Season" (Dec - March) may be had for as low as $300 per person per night or less for a long stay?
While this may not stike some as a cheap safari, it is a 55% savings over high season at Kwando. This is the best seasonal discount I have seen of any camp in Africa.
While this may not stike some as a cheap safari, it is a 55% savings over high season at Kwando. This is the best seasonal discount I have seen of any camp in Africa.
Jun 8th, 2006, 01:57 AM
#26
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I talked at the top about a safari for my father's 60th, this would be based on 4 persons and budget camping, inc: Lake Mayara, Crater, 3 days in the Serengeti, (Seronera and south - trip to be made Jan/Feb time for Southern migration), Oldupai, Maasai visit and Mto Wa Mbu: I have receieved a quote from Roys, (I can post the full schedule based on my requirements should anyone wish to see) which works out at 1450 dollars PP for 8 days 7 nights. I am going to obtain other quotes from various companies and then compare prices against what I can arrange independently with my friend which I am sure will be a lot lower and he is someone I trust immensely.
Of course when I last visited I used an agency based in the UK which gave me peace of mind as I'd never visited TZ before but I have no concerns now about using an Arusha based co. Again, that comes from the experience of having visited already. One can pay cheaper for a company organised safari but then it begs the question of guide wages, quality of vehicles and so on.
And BTW if buying wine in TZ you can expect to pay a lot even for just a normal bottle of red - I paid 8 dollars a box for Spanish (!) red at Shoprite - something I wouldn't even pay 1 euro for back here in Lisbon. Beer was cheaper but then is much harder to keep chilled. I guess that is something the lodges have over a tent. Fridges!
Hoping to see this discussion continue, take care,
Matt
Of course when I last visited I used an agency based in the UK which gave me peace of mind as I'd never visited TZ before but I have no concerns now about using an Arusha based co. Again, that comes from the experience of having visited already. One can pay cheaper for a company organised safari but then it begs the question of guide wages, quality of vehicles and so on.
And BTW if buying wine in TZ you can expect to pay a lot even for just a normal bottle of red - I paid 8 dollars a box for Spanish (!) red at Shoprite - something I wouldn't even pay 1 euro for back here in Lisbon. Beer was cheaper but then is much harder to keep chilled. I guess that is something the lodges have over a tent. Fridges!
Hoping to see this discussion continue, take care,
Matt
Jun 8th, 2006, 07:00 AM
#27
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,309
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Matt,
$207 pppn is very expensive for budget camping. I think Tuskerdave pays $200pn when he’s on his own with a driver and a cook and I’ve been told by people who’ve travelled in a group that they’ve paid less than $100pppn, but that’s in Kenya. I have no problem drinking lukewarm water. What I need from lodges/tented camps is a bathroom. It’d be very interesting to see your full schedule and the price your friend come up with.
Rocco,
Talking about $300 pppn as cheap speaks for itself, but re. 55% saving over high season I’d say it’s quite common. The rack rates on Eben’s website for Ikoma Camp are:
Double room = $133, Single room = $67 (April, May)
Double room = $213, Single room = $160 (January 6-31, March, June, Sep 1 to December 19) Double room = $180, Single room = $253 (February, July, August, December 20 - Jan 5, 2007)
(I think that “double room” and “single room” have switched places in the highest price)
In the very new Lonely Planet Kenya guide it says full board at Samburu Intrepids is $300pn for a single tent. It must be high season and including game drives. In June (shoulder season) last year I paid $200pn including everything. If I discount the return flight ($223 after 15 June) and park fees ($30pd) it’s $122pn (a little more if the flight was less expensive then) instead of $300pn.
Thit Cho,
I found that FunkyMunky from SA had written about a self-drive in Nambia. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34816636
I’m not that good at maths and I don’t know if I got the exchange rates right, but I think the cost, NOT including car hire (they had their own car) was aprox. $165pn for 2 people staying mostly at self-catering places. If I’m optimistic I could say $90 pn for one person plus car hire, but I have no idea how much that would add. Maybe it’s reasonable if combined with less expensive public transport travel.
Leely,
I remember your suggestion. I should be writing a lurid novel instead of investigating prices in non-Swahili-speaking countries. The problem is that even people who can write have a hard time getting paid for it. It’d have to be very graphic. If I write about some people who meet on a travel forum on the Internet, have very different ideas about how to do a safari – not only regarding what’s a reasonable price -, do one together anyway and start “disappearing” one by one – then I would have to describe the colour of the Fodorites’ intestines while the hyenas are fighting over them. I’ll have to get a good anatomy book.
$207 pppn is very expensive for budget camping. I think Tuskerdave pays $200pn when he’s on his own with a driver and a cook and I’ve been told by people who’ve travelled in a group that they’ve paid less than $100pppn, but that’s in Kenya. I have no problem drinking lukewarm water. What I need from lodges/tented camps is a bathroom. It’d be very interesting to see your full schedule and the price your friend come up with.
Rocco,
Talking about $300 pppn as cheap speaks for itself, but re. 55% saving over high season I’d say it’s quite common. The rack rates on Eben’s website for Ikoma Camp are:
Double room = $133, Single room = $67 (April, May)
Double room = $213, Single room = $160 (January 6-31, March, June, Sep 1 to December 19) Double room = $180, Single room = $253 (February, July, August, December 20 - Jan 5, 2007)
(I think that “double room” and “single room” have switched places in the highest price)
In the very new Lonely Planet Kenya guide it says full board at Samburu Intrepids is $300pn for a single tent. It must be high season and including game drives. In June (shoulder season) last year I paid $200pn including everything. If I discount the return flight ($223 after 15 June) and park fees ($30pd) it’s $122pn (a little more if the flight was less expensive then) instead of $300pn.
Thit Cho,
I found that FunkyMunky from SA had written about a self-drive in Nambia. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34816636
I’m not that good at maths and I don’t know if I got the exchange rates right, but I think the cost, NOT including car hire (they had their own car) was aprox. $165pn for 2 people staying mostly at self-catering places. If I’m optimistic I could say $90 pn for one person plus car hire, but I have no idea how much that would add. Maybe it’s reasonable if combined with less expensive public transport travel.
Leely,
I remember your suggestion. I should be writing a lurid novel instead of investigating prices in non-Swahili-speaking countries. The problem is that even people who can write have a hard time getting paid for it. It’d have to be very graphic. If I write about some people who meet on a travel forum on the Internet, have very different ideas about how to do a safari – not only regarding what’s a reasonable price -, do one together anyway and start “disappearing” one by one – then I would have to describe the colour of the Fodorites’ intestines while the hyenas are fighting over them. I’ll have to get a good anatomy book.
Jun 8th, 2006, 07:32 AM
#28
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,222
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think we averaged 168/nt for a private safari for 2, first 2 nights budget camping, next 5 (or 6? can't recall) were at lodges. The average probably included a night in Nairobi, the shuttle bus to Arusha, our nights at the Impala, our flight to and from Zanzibar, and a couple of nights at the Tembo Hotel, but I would have to find my documentation somewhere. We traveled with a smallish company based in Arusha called Easy Travel and Tours. This was 2004 and prices have really gone up since then, haven't they?
Let's hear what Matt's friends have to say as well.
And Nyamera, speaking of graphic, if you can draw, graphic novels are very popular now too. I'd love to see an artistic representation of disemboweled Fodorites. Even myself. Certainly better than the real thing, anyway.
Let's hear what Matt's friends have to say as well.
And Nyamera, speaking of graphic, if you can draw, graphic novels are very popular now too. I'd love to see an artistic representation of disemboweled Fodorites. Even myself. Certainly better than the real thing, anyway.
Jun 8th, 2006, 07:45 AM
#30
Guest
Posts: n/a
Matt -
Why not use the same budget camp safari that you used back in 2005?
I did act on your recommendation, among others, and am travelling with them this summer, so I am interested in your reason for not wanting to repeat the experience...
Thanks.
Why not use the same budget camp safari that you used back in 2005?
I did act on your recommendation, among others, and am travelling with them this summer, so I am interested in your reason for not wanting to repeat the experience...
Thanks.
Jun 8th, 2006, 08:03 AM
#31
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,916
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nyamera, I guess we all have different measures of what we classify as an inexpensive safafi, and I would count $90 pppn in Etosha as very inexpensive -- I'm not sure how much less it can be. Its highly impractical to visit Namibia by public transport.
Jun 8th, 2006, 08:37 AM
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Africnow
Fear not: I was extremely happy with who I went with - they were extremely professional, the guiding excellent, levels of care very high and despite it being "budget camping" we were so well looked after. I have no fear recommending their services as I did to you, it is just that having been to TZ once I wish not to do exactly the same schedule as I did in the past. If I was sending my father alone then I would be happy for him to travel with them.
But I made contacts in TZ both with guides and the Maasai and it is the fact of staying with him in his Manyatta which means that I would have to custom define a schedule as it does not feature as any part of the usual tourist route. (And here I'm talking from the point of view of my wife and I visiting him). In terms of the Safari itself (with father) we would be travelling as a group of four people and would not want to join a larger party, which with the co. you are going with takes the price up a lot higher. I actually find as well planning things how I want them to be, now having the prior experience and enjoyable experience and allows some flexibility on the trip. Also we have talked of going in Jan/feb to catch the southern migration as we did last time, perhaps at other times of the season TZ may be cheaper.
Matt
Fear not: I was extremely happy with who I went with - they were extremely professional, the guiding excellent, levels of care very high and despite it being "budget camping" we were so well looked after. I have no fear recommending their services as I did to you, it is just that having been to TZ once I wish not to do exactly the same schedule as I did in the past. If I was sending my father alone then I would be happy for him to travel with them.
But I made contacts in TZ both with guides and the Maasai and it is the fact of staying with him in his Manyatta which means that I would have to custom define a schedule as it does not feature as any part of the usual tourist route. (And here I'm talking from the point of view of my wife and I visiting him). In terms of the Safari itself (with father) we would be travelling as a group of four people and would not want to join a larger party, which with the co. you are going with takes the price up a lot higher. I actually find as well planning things how I want them to be, now having the prior experience and enjoyable experience and allows some flexibility on the trip. Also we have talked of going in Jan/feb to catch the southern migration as we did last time, perhaps at other times of the season TZ may be cheaper.
Matt
Jun 8th, 2006, 01:45 PM
#37
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,766
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Michael
Re your long pool side breaks. It always pays to ask your guide what your options are. At Wilderness they are usually happy to do what you want, all day, even all night, depends on whats happening. For me, I quite like a little siesta, or a read, or a cuddle with DW
particularly at camps where there is a waterhole or the chance of some good bird activity.
I think a lot of camps don't tell you all the options available, they leave you to ask.
Re your long pool side breaks. It always pays to ask your guide what your options are. At Wilderness they are usually happy to do what you want, all day, even all night, depends on whats happening. For me, I quite like a little siesta, or a read, or a cuddle with DW
particularly at camps where there is a waterhole or the chance of some good bird activity.I think a lot of camps don't tell you all the options available, they leave you to ask.
Jun 8th, 2006, 01:51 PM
#38
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,553
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
NapaMatt,
I am convinced I need contact lenses now after reading your thread. For a few moments, I thought you had a smiley with a cold sore and thought it was very odd given the context! Only after drawing a few inches closer to the screen did I see it was a heart instead of a cold sore, hehehe.
I am convinced I need contact lenses now after reading your thread. For a few moments, I thought you had a smiley with a cold sore and thought it was very odd given the context! Only after drawing a few inches closer to the screen did I see it was a heart instead of a cold sore, hehehe.
Jun 8th, 2006, 02:14 PM
#39
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Okay this is the plan for the 60th BDay safari - please note there will be areas that will not appeal to all, especially getting off the plane and then driving straight to Mto Wa Mbu but it is what suits me - I'll be sleeping on the plane and showering at the campsite...
So this is the outline that I sent to ROYS based on 4 persons: (my wife, myself, father and my sister)
Day 1. Arrive early morning Kilimanjaro Airport. Drive directly to Mto Wa Mbu for mid afternoon. (to camp overnight at Twiga campsite). If time allows late afternoon drive into Manyara.
Day 2 Early morning drive in Manyara. Lunch. Drive to Ngorongoro. Afternoon
drive. Overnight camp at Simba public campsite.
Day 3. Morning drive crater. Lunch. Drive to Serengeti. Afternoon game
drive. Camp overnight Seronera public campsite.
Day 4. Serengeti as above.
Day 5 Serengeti (Perhaps change location of camp depending on locality of
the migration)
Day 6 serengeti morning drive south to Ndutu region. Visit to Oldupai lunch.
Drive to Mto Wa Mbu. Overnight Twiga campsite
Day 7 Cultural day Mtu Wa Mbu, Maasai interaction etc.
Day 8 Morning Mto lunchtime drive back to Kili Int for evening flight Nairobi.
This is their response:
Day 1 Arrive early morning Kilimanjaro Airport. Drive directly to Mto Wa Mbu for mid afternoon tour with picnic lunches. Afternoon game drive in Lake Manyara national park. Dinner and overnight at <b>Jambo Campsite.</b>
Day 2 Early morning drive in Manyara with picnic lunches. Afternoon drive to Ngorongoro Area for an afternoon crater tour. Dinner and overnight at Simba public campsite.
Day 3 Morning crater tour. Then with picnic lunches drive to Serengeti. Game viewing in the park en-route to a Campsite in Seronera for dinner and overnight.
Day 4. Have a full day game viewing in the park. Lunch, dinner and overnight at
a Campsite in Seronera.
Day 5 After breakfast drive to the southern part of Serengeti. Game viewing in the park en-route to a Special Campsite in the South for dinner and overnight.
Day 6 Morning game viewing in the South Serengeti as you exit and drive via Olduvai gorge. Afternoon visit Maasai Village. Then drive to <b>Jambo campsite</b> for dinner and overnight.
Day 7 Cultural day Mto Wa Mbu cultural tour programme. Overnight Jambo Campsite.
Day 8 After breakfast with picnic lunches drive via Arusha to Kilimanjaro Airport (for evening flight to Nairobi - not booked by RSL)
Costs are based on 2006 rates
US$1450 per person/4pax
Costs include: Return Kilimanjaro airport transfers + Maasai Village visit + Mto Wa Mbu Cultural tour + 7nights 8 days Budget camping safari (park, crater and public campsite fees, 3 meals a day whilst on safari, cook, transport in 4WD vehicle with driver/guide, tents, mattresses, camp stools, and other budget camping equipment) VAT where applicable.
Costs exclude: Drinks, tips, laundry, personal toiletry requirements, insurance, visas, bottled water, sleeping bags! + towels, and all items of a personal nature.
So it is quite close to my original plan, however I have place in bold the changes to campsite in Mto - I know Twiga and its facilities, I don't know Jambo but I'm sure they are pretty similar.
Re the bottled water I would stop en route at Shoprite on the Sokaine Road and stock up there, plus whatever wine was needed - big bucks!
Re the cultural day at Mto, having already been through the village and knowing one of the cultural guides from there I might choose to either - spend another day in the SNP especially at the south region of NDutu for the Migration, or bearing in mind so many days without showering return to Mto but do a full day in Manyara. I could do the parks forever but it depends how safari'd out everyone else is. I may also choose to have day 7 with my Maasai friend but I think he might be a little overwhelmed with 4 of us (and also I wouldn't feel right taking a company there that has no knowledge of his Manyatta (whereas my friend does know of it) - then maybe I'll leave his village visit for later in the year.
I'm very happy with the itinerary -it gives me a ball park figure as to what to expect and it seems from here that ROYS has a good reputation though I have no experience with them. I will also foward this to Sunny and anyone else that you may recommend. Then with that knowledge see what can be organised independently with added days with the Maasai depending on my father's wishes.
Matt
So this is the outline that I sent to ROYS based on 4 persons: (my wife, myself, father and my sister)
Day 1. Arrive early morning Kilimanjaro Airport. Drive directly to Mto Wa Mbu for mid afternoon. (to camp overnight at Twiga campsite). If time allows late afternoon drive into Manyara.
Day 2 Early morning drive in Manyara. Lunch. Drive to Ngorongoro. Afternoon
drive. Overnight camp at Simba public campsite.
Day 3. Morning drive crater. Lunch. Drive to Serengeti. Afternoon game
drive. Camp overnight Seronera public campsite.
Day 4. Serengeti as above.
Day 5 Serengeti (Perhaps change location of camp depending on locality of
the migration)
Day 6 serengeti morning drive south to Ndutu region. Visit to Oldupai lunch.
Drive to Mto Wa Mbu. Overnight Twiga campsite
Day 7 Cultural day Mtu Wa Mbu, Maasai interaction etc.
Day 8 Morning Mto lunchtime drive back to Kili Int for evening flight Nairobi.
This is their response:
Day 1 Arrive early morning Kilimanjaro Airport. Drive directly to Mto Wa Mbu for mid afternoon tour with picnic lunches. Afternoon game drive in Lake Manyara national park. Dinner and overnight at <b>Jambo Campsite.</b>
Day 2 Early morning drive in Manyara with picnic lunches. Afternoon drive to Ngorongoro Area for an afternoon crater tour. Dinner and overnight at Simba public campsite.
Day 3 Morning crater tour. Then with picnic lunches drive to Serengeti. Game viewing in the park en-route to a Campsite in Seronera for dinner and overnight.
Day 4. Have a full day game viewing in the park. Lunch, dinner and overnight at
a Campsite in Seronera.
Day 5 After breakfast drive to the southern part of Serengeti. Game viewing in the park en-route to a Special Campsite in the South for dinner and overnight.
Day 6 Morning game viewing in the South Serengeti as you exit and drive via Olduvai gorge. Afternoon visit Maasai Village. Then drive to <b>Jambo campsite</b> for dinner and overnight.
Day 7 Cultural day Mto Wa Mbu cultural tour programme. Overnight Jambo Campsite.
Day 8 After breakfast with picnic lunches drive via Arusha to Kilimanjaro Airport (for evening flight to Nairobi - not booked by RSL)
Costs are based on 2006 rates
US$1450 per person/4pax
Costs include: Return Kilimanjaro airport transfers + Maasai Village visit + Mto Wa Mbu Cultural tour + 7nights 8 days Budget camping safari (park, crater and public campsite fees, 3 meals a day whilst on safari, cook, transport in 4WD vehicle with driver/guide, tents, mattresses, camp stools, and other budget camping equipment) VAT where applicable.
Costs exclude: Drinks, tips, laundry, personal toiletry requirements, insurance, visas, bottled water, sleeping bags! + towels, and all items of a personal nature.
So it is quite close to my original plan, however I have place in bold the changes to campsite in Mto - I know Twiga and its facilities, I don't know Jambo but I'm sure they are pretty similar.
Re the bottled water I would stop en route at Shoprite on the Sokaine Road and stock up there, plus whatever wine was needed - big bucks!
Re the cultural day at Mto, having already been through the village and knowing one of the cultural guides from there I might choose to either - spend another day in the SNP especially at the south region of NDutu for the Migration, or bearing in mind so many days without showering return to Mto but do a full day in Manyara. I could do the parks forever but it depends how safari'd out everyone else is. I may also choose to have day 7 with my Maasai friend but I think he might be a little overwhelmed with 4 of us (and also I wouldn't feel right taking a company there that has no knowledge of his Manyatta (whereas my friend does know of it) - then maybe I'll leave his village visit for later in the year.
I'm very happy with the itinerary -it gives me a ball park figure as to what to expect and it seems from here that ROYS has a good reputation though I have no experience with them. I will also foward this to Sunny and anyone else that you may recommend. Then with that knowledge see what can be organised independently with added days with the Maasai depending on my father's wishes.
Matt
Jun 8th, 2006, 02:27 PM
#40
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm sorry, I never actually showed the itinerary from my last trip in Jan 2005, (booked june july 2004). It was made with IntoAfrica UK here is a link to the itinerary:
http://www.intoafrica.co.uk/tanzexplorer.htm
Note that the cost for 3-4 persons is higher than the quote of Roys and is 1 less day, and that Airport transfers were extra. However my wife and I went on one of the regular departures and paid less, and were part of a large (but most excellent) group. I have only praise though for Chris Morris and his company and it offered an excellent introduction to TZ (after a gruelling and thrilling climb of Kilimanjaro) But this time as explained I wish it just to be the four of us.
Africnow who has posted here is doing there trip this summer and will have an excellent time, perhaps you can post your thoughts on IntoAfrica africnow?
It must be noted that I have no association with Intoafrica other than being a contented client and likewise ROYS who I have only contacted after reading numerous positive comments.
Matt
http://www.intoafrica.co.uk/tanzexplorer.htm
Note that the cost for 3-4 persons is higher than the quote of Roys and is 1 less day, and that Airport transfers were extra. However my wife and I went on one of the regular departures and paid less, and were part of a large (but most excellent) group. I have only praise though for Chris Morris and his company and it offered an excellent introduction to TZ (after a gruelling and thrilling climb of Kilimanjaro) But this time as explained I wish it just to be the four of us.
Africnow who has posted here is doing there trip this summer and will have an excellent time, perhaps you can post your thoughts on IntoAfrica africnow?
It must be noted that I have no association with Intoafrica other than being a contented client and likewise ROYS who I have only contacted after reading numerous positive comments.
Matt
