Discussion
Now I've got the new PC running properly, I've finished off the safari photos from last October. Here's my favourites from the Serengeti, I'll post the others up later this week. C&C very welcome!
PS - Full set here if anyone's interested:-
http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m54/martin-w/Ho...
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PS - Full set here if anyone's interested:-
http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m54/martin-w/Ho...
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Podie said:
Who did you go with? (tour operator)
A local outfit called Good Earth. Sales office is in Florida (and they're not exactly reassuring - VERY laid-back approach to stuff!), main office is in Arusha (which is the hub for most north-circuit safaris), and they were better once we got there, albeit we did have a couple of issues*.We booked a private safari with them for 3 of us, and it worked out a little cheaper than going through one of the mainstream UK agencies "small group tours". Plus we got to stay where we wanted, go where we wanted and when we wanted. And when we saw that leopard (the only jeep that day to see that one - 2 other leopards were seen but a fair bit further from the 'roads' - Bigma distances!), we hung around for well over an hour to see what she would do, because it was our time not someone-else's timetable. Had an absolutely fantastic time overall, and our guide had very good eyes. The gamble of it all was that they're not ATOL/ABTA bonded, but they came well-referenced on TripAdvisor.
Would I recommend them? Subject to the caveats below, yes.
Would I recommend a safari? Unreservedly - hot, dusty, dirty, bumpy, sweaty, tiring and utterly awesome!!!
I'm also glad we did Tanzania 'out of season' (The Great Migration was in Kenya and just heading back, so 3/4 of tourists were in the Masai Mara), as at times (most of N. Serengeti, half of Tarangire park) we were the only jeep around...yet at others (Cheetah w/kill in central-Serengeti, plus lion pride w/kill in Ngorongoro) there were up to 20 other jeeps around...can get up to 80 at peak-season in S'geti!
Oops - essay. Sorry.
* Main issue is they were supposed to change the date of a return flight from Zanzibar to Dar-Es-Salaam after KLM cancelled our international flight on us. Florida said it had all been done, we find out 36hrs before we go to ZNZ that it hadn't, they were very 'relaxed' about getting our updated tickets to us (i.e. they'll drop them off after the office has closed when it's an early flight the following morning...and you can imagine our concerns there!). When I pushed the matter they did change their plans to keep us happy though.
The other real niggle was our guide hadn't bought enough bottled water so we ran-out on the last day - someone was trying to do something on the cheap (him or the office), and both Becs and I got mild heat-stroke on the journey back as a result. Didn't spoil the safari, but did affect ZNZ...I never got to go snorkelling because my insides never felt 'safe' enough to trust for a full day on a boat...
Simpo Two said:
Famous Graham said:
Guess that Lioness has had enough of Groundhog Day 
It's an electric radio control groundhog they use to help get good photos of lions running 
The real b'tch was that cheetah at full-tilt - I literally couldn't pan the camera quick-enough to keep up, and missed the 'puff of dust' that was her bringing down the redback as a result.
_dobbo_ said:
Well done - you certainly got a lot closer to the action than we did in Tsavo, you have some lovely pics there.
Cheers Ben.We've both agreed how lucky we were with this safari - we've agreed not to do another one for years (despite having a fantastic time), because of the risk of being disappointed next time compared with what we saw (and how close) this time around.
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