ULTIMATE AFRICA SAFARIS UNFILTERED AFRICAN TRAVEL ADVICE AND CUSTOM SAFARIS - SINCE 1996 - 2019 AFRICAN TRAVEL / SAFARI REPORT Hi, Ian Proctor here at Ultimate Africa. I first visited Tanzania in the late 1980s, came face to face with a wild elephant, and fell in love with Africa! I made it my goal to create an African travel company that was all about authentic wildlife experiences. Many years later we are one of the top African travel companies in the Americas - known for arranging custom safaris to East and Southern Africa; personal trips, no cookie cutter stuff. Our team of USA based safari consultants, all of whom have lived and worked in Africa, spend 2 to 3 months of each year inspecting Africa’s top safari lodges, camps, and hotels. I have personally stayed at more than 300 of Africa’s most sought after safari properties and inspected hundreds more. Unlike many companies who book anything and everything we are very selective. We love intimate safari properties right in amongst the animals - rooms with comfortable beds and en suite bathrooms. We prefer places that offer a good variety of activities. We do our best to avoid marginal areas, impersonal hotels, and crowds. Being independent we are not beholden to African lodges, camps, or hotels. We offer a comprehensive travel service handling all arrangements from accommodations and air tickets to travel insurance. Here are our candid thoughts based on 20+ years exploring in Africa. If you would like to talk about safari options call us toll free in Seattle 1 800 461 0682. Ultimate Africa Safaris l Call toll free in Seattle 1 800 461 0682 l Email: [email protected] l Web: www.ultimateafrica.com Washington State Registered Seller of Travel # 601 730 459 EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (Generally speaking… in a nutshell) In East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda) there are more cheap road based safaris with city based guides – ugh. These are done in closed safari vehicles, often minibus’s with limited daily mileage. There is more driving on bumpy / dusty roads, more crowds (often hordes of budget tourists), more cattle / goats, more insects, fewer safari activities, and off road driving / walks are rarely offered in prime wildlife areas. There are more safety concerns and not as much luggage allowed on flying safaris. Visitors need entry visas and shots. Kenya is hanging on while Tanzania is the bee’s knees. Rwanda is the place to trek for mountain gorillas. In Southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia) there are more flying safaris, fewer bugs, fewer crowds, more activities including tracking animals on foot, boating, canoeing, driving off road, and night drives, higher luggage allowance on flying safaris, and open 4x4 vehicles are the norm - yay no having to worry about a window seat or! There are fewer safety considerations, visas are not required for most countries, and there are no shots required. Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe offer untouched wilderness and in your face wildlife. South Africa is much more developed with loads of high end options. Visit Namibia for the scenery and Mozambique for the beaches. Unlike many companies who recommend anything and everything, boasting how they can book thousands of properties, we are very selective in our recommendations. We do our best to avoid scenes like this. Instead preferring scenes like these: Ultimate Africa Safaris l Call toll free in Seattle 1 800 461 0682 l Email: [email protected] l Web: www.ultimateafrica.com Washington State Registered Seller of Travel # 601 730 459 COUNTRY BY COUNTRY – OPINIONS AND RATINGS KENYA, EAST AFRICA Everyone thinks Kenya is the place to go… and if it were 1980 they would be right. Today however, having gone down the road of mass tourism, things are pretty bad in many areas. There are now over 7,000 beds in Kenya’s once shiny tourist gem – the Masai Mara. More rooms = more tourists = more crowds. I have counted more than 150 vehicles parked together waiting for a wildebeest crossing there - the place is a zoo literally and figuratively. This is compounded by the reserves small size – less than 3% of the entire Serengeti ecosystem. The other 97% is in Tanzania. If that weren’t bad enough illegal settlements around the Mara are contributing to sharp a decline in the number of wild animals to be seen. In addition to farming huge numbers of cows have overgrazed the land surrounding the Reserve. This has led to the nightly incursion of up to 150,000 cattle into the Reserve and overgrazing within the Mara itself. Simply put the cows are eating the grasses that are needed to sustain the game. The number of wildebeest, and attendant predators, that show up each year for the migration has been declining along with all other animal numbers… giraffe populations are down 95%! It is a sad to come across huge numbers of cow pies whilst out looking for game. The Masai Mara is falling apart. However with new management there is hope this situation will improve. During my March 2018 visit I saw very little game in the Mara Reserve itself whereas wildlife viewing in the Mara Triangle (under different management) was astounding… I saw the Big 5 within 3 hours and being March there were no crowds. Also being March the grass was very tall and it bucketed with rain each afternoon and night… at one point I was stranded as airstrips shut down – Mara Plains Camp was even patially washed away. Overlooking the Mara, you will find Talek – an urban island in an expanse of protected land. There are gas stations, televisions blare out from restaurants and bars, and sex workers wait for nightfall. There is no public waste management and the dirt roads are covered in garbage. This town is visible while on a wildlife drive in Kenya’s Masai Mara Reserve… not ideal. Ultimate Africa Safaris l Call toll free in Seattle 1 800 461 0682 l Email: [email protected] l Web: www.ultimateafrica.com Washington State Registered Seller of Travel # 601 730 459 If you try to avoid the crowds by staying in one of the conservancies that have sprung up around the Mara (which are a very commendable attempt to create a buffer between the Mara and more heavily populated areas) you can see more cattle and goats than game. Cattle and goats in one of the wildlife conservancies next to the Masai Mara in Kenya. Not ideal… Did you know the migration does not make it far enough North to enter several of the conservancies? Not good if the migration is the main reason for your visit. Considering 60km of the 75km protected Mara River is in Tanzania – where there are far fewer lodges / camps - there really is no reason to head into Kenya’s Mara. In fact looking back to the 1950’s most travelers flew into Nairobi and then drove into the Serengeti – that was the place to go as the migration never ventured as far north as the Mara. This changed as wildebeest numbers grew and their range expanded. In 1977, the Serengeti border between Kenya and Tanzania was closed to protect the Serengeti from mass tourism development. As Nairobi was the main airport in East Africa travelers flew in there and then visited the Masai Mara. With all the beds and first time safari goers it is easy to understand why so many people talk about the Mara as the place to go… however it is somewhat like Hershey’s chocolate. If you have never tasted chocolate before you might think it is great. But most of us know there is much, much better… And the problem’s aren’t limited to the Mara. Overall Kenya’s conservation record has been abysmal. Despite banning sport hunting in 1977 they have lost 70% of their wildlife over the last 40 years. Ultimate Africa Safaris l Call toll free in Seattle 1 800 461 0682 l Email: [email protected] l Web: www.ultimateafrica.com Washington State Registered Seller of Travel # 601 730 459 Many of Kenya’s problems arise from a growing human population and a need for land. In early 2017, due to a drought, huge numbers of cattle and their heavily armed herders took over part of the Laikipia Plateau – home to the second highest density of game in the country and numerous private wildlife conservancies. Properties that were less secure (i.e. those without rhino) saw elephants, lion, buffalo, and zebra slaughtered by the herders and several shootings of safari company owners occurred. As of 2019 Kenya has earned a C, T, and K risk monikers from the US State Department. They stand for crime, terrorism, and kidnapping. When to visit During the dry months July through mid October when game viewing is at its best and to catch the wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara. Places we love Having said the above Kenya has a handful of gems that are really worth visiting. In Nairobi Giraffe Manor is home to a bevy of long necked beauties that are known to pop their heads into the breakfast room for a kiss – it is an absolute, must visit in your lifetime, bucket list location! It is often solidly booked more than a year in advance. Hemingway’s is superb as well. Sandwiched between the Serengeti and Masai Mara, in a superb private location, Cottar’s 1920s has 3 of Kenya’s 15 Gold guides and the canvas baths truly transport you back in time. Governor’s Camp, made famous by the BBC’s Big Cat Diary, has a superb Masai Mara location although rooms are a bit dated.