africaanxious

Thank you Rocco and Hari,

I have to meet with my friends in Cape Town from Feb 12 - 16 - cannot change that. They are the reason we're planning such a trip so "last minute" - they invited us to join them in Cape Town (they're from Joburg originally) and we're planning the rest of the trip around that.

I also booked with Orient Express Botswana Feb 21 - 27 - they said their dates were tight, and those were the only times available during the period I specified; however, I could ask again.

Airline tix are tricky too. I have booked myself on points (with great difficulty) flying into Dar Feb 5 and out from Joburg Mar 6. I'll be speaking with my agent on Monday to see if anything can be altered. But I haven't heard back from EOA or ccsafari yet about availability so I don't want to change (with penalty fees) unless I've got the rest planned.

This is why I'm anxious...

Rocco, your suggested itinerary looks great, but it takes 14 days. I only have 30 days in total and I am thinking 1 week Tanzania, 1 week Botswana, 1 week Cape Town and 1 week Mozambique. What, if any days, should I sacrifice? What if you only had one week in Tanzania - what would your itinerary be then? (I'm thinking Crater and Serengeti only)

This is what I got from e-gnu (private driver guide):

5th Feb: Day 1: Arrive Dar - transfer to hotel. Overnight
6th Feb: Day 2: Transfer to domestic airport, fly Dar - Arusha. Here you will be met by your guide and picnic lunches and driven to Lake Manyara National Park for a game drive. Overnight Karatu (Ngorongoro Highlands)
7th Feb: Day 3: Early morning to Ngorongoro Crater for game viewing and picnic in the crater. Visit to Oldupai Gorge and then onwards to Ndutu Safari Lodge. The migration is usually in this area at this time of year.
8th Feb: Day 4: Game drives in the Ndutu area. Overnight Ndutu Safari Lodge
9th Feb: Day 5: Game drive in the Serengeti and up into the Moru Kopjes. Overnight Ndutu Safari Lodge
10th Feb: Day 6: Drive through to our special camp in Mlambo. This camp is outside the park so you can do walks in the area, night game drives and village visits. Overnight Mlambo Serengeti Savannah Camps.
11th Feb: Day 7: Today game drive back through the Ngorongoro Conservation area and onwards to Lake Manyara Airstrip for the 11:50am flight to Arusha and onwards to Dar Es Salaam arriving approx 14:20. Here you will be transferred to a hotel in Dar for overnight.
12th Feb: Day 8: Transfer to international airport for your 14:10 flight to JoBurg.

I don't like having to overnight in Dar both nights and I'm not sure about the quality of the camps and drivers. I don't know what ground operators they use. I know Ndatu Lodge is very popular and it's good that they have rooms blocked.

Any other help / suggestions much appreciated.
I'm used to checking for "instant availability" for things, so this reservation process, depending on others to get back to me, is very slow.

Roccco

africaanxious,

The hardest part at this point will be to find availability for your Tanzania dates. Botswana and Mozambique should be pretty wide open and any reputable tour operator should not charge you for changing your dates this far in advance.

Honestly, I would probably start with Cape Town, follow up with Tanzania, do Botswana, go to Mozambique and finish up with Tanzania. Again, my concern is that you are going to arrive in Tanzania just a tad too early.

My visit in late February/early March was so beautiful, weather-wise, while others who were there just three weeks earlier said it was very hot & dusty. On my own visit, it rained for about an hour almost every day but it was a warm summer rain and because we are talking about wide open spaces the wildlife did not retreat into inaccessible areas as they would in Southern Africa.

Although it is still fixable if your agent is willing to work with you (don't count on it), obviously the best thing would have been to plan it out correctly from the beginning.

Also, the weather is unpredictable...for all we know, the rains may start a few weeks earlier in 2007 and then your itinerary would be fine.

Although you may be locked in, I do think the 6 days with Orient Express may have been a mistake. I just think it is too much flying around for one safari while a combination of even Cape Town/Mozambique/Tanzania would have made for a much better safari. Although it would hurt to do so, if you have just paid the deposit so far, I would go as far as to say you would be better off sacrificing your deposit to make for a better overall experience by concentrating on Tanzania.

Out of curiosity, for any experienced safarigoers reading this, how do you think that Botswana measures up to Tanzania in February?

africaanxious

Rocco, if I can change my flights, how about:

Feb 12 - 19 - Cape Town
19 - 21 - another safari in Botswana (like Mombo)
21 - 27 - Orient Express
27 - Mar 5/6 - Mozambique
Mar 6 - 13 - Tanzania

Would that be too late in March for Tanzania? I got Orient Express on Luxury Link (heavily discounted) but paid in full already. I know, it wasn't my first choice, but I thought it'll leave more bucks in my pocket for other properties.

The other question is should I tack on a few days for a safari in SA? Is is that different from the other sites I'll be visiting? I'm not a list-checker of animals nor a luxury spa hound. I just want to make sure I'll get enough animal exposure (you know, the magical moments) since I'm now worried about Orient Express (cannot drive off road).

I think I'll just have to bite the bullet and wait for news of availability before I drive myself crazy. At least now I'll be armed with better knowledge from fodorites!

Btw, you know anything about turtles and mozambique? I really really want to see them hatch on the beach!

Thx.

Roccco

africaanxious,

Here is what I suggest if you can make it work on the flights:

Feb 12 - 17 - Cape Town
18 - 21 - Madikwe (take a look at www.mateyasafari.com as it is one of the most luxurious lodges in all of Africa. This would require a flight from CPT - JNB - Madikwe. Following Madikwe, you would get a 90 minute road transfer to Gaborone, Botswana and then fly onward to your Orient Express property)
21 - 27 - Orient Express
27 - Mar 5/6 - Mozambique
Mar 6 - 13 - Tanzania

(with only seven nights in Tanzania, I am figuring that you may have 6 nights free for safari. I would spend two nights at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge and 4 nights in the Ndutu area of the Serengeti, at least I would do it this way for the very best gameviewing experience).

Take a look at Air Botswana's website to see the schedule to see if this will be possible. Good luck.

santharamhari

Rocco,

Not that i'm the expert, but, Tanzania in Feb/March probably kicks butt!!!!

Hari