Next Up - An African Safari

 “There is language going on out there- the language of the wild. Roars, snorts, trumpets, squeals, whoops, and chirps all have meaning derived over eons of expression... We have yet to become fluent in the language -and music- of the wild.”

   Boyd Norton, Serengeti: The Eternal Beginning

 "Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water. "

   W. C. Fields

 

When I first started writing this travel blog, I did a series on tours vs. independent travel.  When going someplace such as Europe, I am more of an independent traveler, and that probably came through when I wrote about tours.  I’m not big on spending my days going from one place to another on a big bus, with a bunch of other Americans, some of whom I’m probably not crazy about.  I can see Americans at home.  I go to Europe with the hopes of meeting, or at least talking to people of other cultures.  And I hate being told, “you have 3 hours here, be back on the bus at 3PM or we will leave you.”  And usually that 3 hours includes a 2 hour walking tour, which if you decide to take that, then you have an hour on your own, so you can either check out the shops or have a beer and do some people-watching, but you certainly can’t do both! 
 

A Typical Tour Bus

So, while I have done some tours at different times, and I did enjoy them simply because I was seeing something new, they are not usually my favorite way to travel.  There are a few exceptions to that.  My girlfriend and I took a tour of the Christmas Markets of Germany and Austria about 10 years ago.  For that trip the tour was perfect, because it would have been difficult to have gotten to all those markets on our own, in the short time we had.  It was basically a Christmas shopping trip, and the Christmas Markets were our main goal.  It was a fun tour.
 

Our tour guide, Tony and our
driver - in China

Another tour I really enjoyed was our tour of China.  There are some places that I think having some kind of a guide with you, just makes sense.  China is one of those places.  Yes, people do go there all the time on their own, and do just fine.  But for me, having someone along who explained what we were seeing, and got us to the things we wanted to see, was nice.  However, I still would not have wanted the big bus tour in China.  Our tour was arranged through a company that does small tours.  Our group was a total of 6 people, and we were driven in a van.  We had 6 different guides during our trip.  We flew from destination to destination, and our guides met us when we landed.  All of our guides were local to the area, and they were all very interesting people that we got to know, because we were with them for several days each.  They were interested in us, and I found them all fascinating to talk to.  And they showed us their country, which they were proud of.  It was a great tour.



 

Victoria Falls

So now I am in the midst of planning next year’s vacation.  I’m always looking ahead to what is next.  Top of my list is Tanzania, with a balloon ride over the Serengeti, with a side-trip to Zanzibar.  Number 2 on the list is Victoria Falls.  My thought - why not do all 3 things in one trip?  It might be a stretch, but it is definitly doable.

 

 

But would I want to do any of that on my own?  I have decided I would not even know how to do that.  Africa seems like one of those places where you need to have someone along who knows the lay of the land.  And the good thing is, I’m pretty sure there are not any big bus tours in Africa.  There are certainly tours that are more luxurious, and those that are less.  There are tours that have large groups, and some that stay with smaller groups.  And you can spend your nights at hotels and lodges along the way, or in tents. 


Luxury Tent in Tanzania

  

Wildebeast

We have found what we hope will be the perfect fit.  It is a safari where you stay in tents, although the tents are quite luxurious, and because they are tents, will be closer to the wildlife, we hope.  Although we wouldn’t want to be TOO close.  It comes with a balloon trip over the Masai Mara, where we will touch down for a champagne breakfast.  My husband is hoping that we will not be the breakfast for the lions.   I know, my list says that I want to take a balloon trip over the Serengeti, and my balloon trip is actually over the Masai Mara, but the idea is the same, and the main thing is that I get a balloon trip over an African wildlife area, and I wanted to see the Serengeti, which I will.

The tour is 12 days on land and guarantees that there will not be more than 16 guests, and it will go with as few as 4.  So that should be a nice size group.  It also includes a night safari and a bush walk as well as a meeting with a Masai chief.  And of course, all meals are included, since we won’t be anywhere near any restaurants.
 

Zanzibar

There are post and pre night packages that can be added to our tour, and both Zanzibar and Victoria Falls were available.  So we are adding 3 nights in Victoria Falls and the flights to get there, as a pre-package, and Zanzibar for 3 nights at the end.  So the top 2 things from my list will come off next year after we take our trip.
 

Masai Warrior

The trip and the airfare is booked and paid for, as I got a discount if it was paid before the end of the year.  We have one overnight in Johannesburg, South Africa between our visit to Victoria Falls and the flight to Nairobi, there was no way to do that flight straight through, so we were forced to do an overnight there.  I am now looking into a day tour of that city.  I love planning the trip, although this one is pretty well planned out ahead of time, but there will be some free time to plan things.  We will have some free time at both Zanzibar and Victoria Falls.  So I will be studying those areas as to things to do while there.  But besides the planning I have five months of anticipation ahead of me.  Anticipation can be fun too.

So where do you want to go on your next vacation?