Safari planning | African destinations | Seasons in Africa

Types of safaris | safari costs | special interest trips | formalities | booking your safari

Safaris in Southern Africa

Southern Africa is home to all of us in the company - the part of Africa that we know intimately...

Safaris in Zambia 

• Unquestionably Africa's best walking safari destination, remoter areas only accessible in the dry season May to October - nocturnal species are a very special attraction
   
• South Luangwa: home of the modern-day walking safari, one of the best places to see leopard,has some of the finest bushcamps and lodges in Africa   
   
• North Luangwa: remote walking safari wilderness, practically off-limits for four decades, restricted access, "serious safari turf"
   
• Kafue: best reserve in Africa for antelope, ideal for old hands and "birding" enthusiasts
   
• Lower Zambezi Valley: a relatively unexplored wilderness, Africa's real canoe safari spot with true wilderness lodges (canoeing tackled equally well from the Zimbabwean bank)
   
• Victoria Falls: from Livingstone - World Heritage Site, largest curtain of falling water on earth, Africa's "adrenaline capital" - one of the seven Natural Wonders - offers better "adventure" and "cultural" options than the Zimbabwean shoreline.

                                                                                                     
Safaris in Botswana

• Best tackled on a fly-in or mobile basis - best from May to October
   
• Chobe National Park: renowned for its elephant population, popular river front game viewing, zebra migrations in the Savuti and outstanding camps in the Selinda Reserve on the western front
   
• Okavango Delta: Africa's finest wetland - an oasis in the Kalahari, best accessed by light aircraft, usually explored from Moremi
   
• Moremi Game Reserve: focal point for Delta safaris, makes up nearly 70% of the Okavango Delta, includes some of Botswana's best camps - best on fly in safaris
   
• The Kalahari: home of the bushmen, one of the world's largest sand mantles, best tackled on a mobile safari, broadly encompasses the Makgadikgadi Pans

Safaris in Namibia

• Best tackled on a fly-in or mobile basis - best from May to October but fully accessible year round - allow lots of time if you can spare it
   
• Etosha National Park: Namibia's premier wildlife spot, accessible only on the southern rim, has some particularly well known game viewing spots
   
• Central Namib: includes Namib-Naukluft, Sandwich Harbour and the famous sand dunes of Sossusvlei - a scenic photographers ideal
   
• Skeleton Coast: most of the area has limited access, best tackled on a fly-in safari in the north - very rugged, extraordinary wildlife
   
• Kaokoland: Africa's last great wilderness, fascinating geology and ancient rock art - best tackled on a packaged safari

Safaris in Zimbabwe

• Victoria Falls: World Heritage Site, largest curtain of falling water on earth, Africa's "adrenaline capital" - one of the seven Natural Wonders - offers a wider range and selection of accommodation options than the Zambian shoreline
   
• Matusadona National Park: on the shores of Lake Kariba, holds the highest concentration of wild lions, one of the last sanctuaries of the Black Rhino
   
• Mana Pools National Park: World Heritage Site on the banks of the lower Zambezi River, best canoe safaris in Africa, ideal for walking
   
• Hwange National Park: one of Africa's finest reserves, home to the Presidential herd of elephants
   
• Best tackled with a walking and canoeing safari - safaris year round but best May to October

Safaris in East Africa

East Africa represents the archetypal safari to most.

• Tanzania and Kenya are definitely Africa's most popular wildlife destinations and you'll find a host of inexpensive to cheap "safari packages" and "safari-beach combinations".
• The largest single attraction in the region is the wildebeest migration on the Serengeti - an annual cycle ideally viewed between mid-December and the end of May in Tanzania and then usually best in Kenya's Masai Mara National Park in August and September.
• Tanzania's prime spots are the Ruaha and Selous in the south, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Tarangire in the north.
• Kenya's main attractions include the Masai Mara Game Reserve and Amboseli National Park, the Abedares, Tsavo, the Rift Valley lakes, Mt. Kenya and the coast.
• The trick to a planning a successful safari in East Africa invariably comes down to guiding standards and achieving a balance between affordability and "crowd avoidance".  The result is that we largely ignore Kenya and most of the northern circuit in Tanzania - we focus specifically on the Ruaha and Selous plus Mahale and Gombe Stream National Parks.....

A few spots in Africa that we've excluded from our website...

• South Africa offers huge diversity but typically we don't regard the Kruger National Park as a particularly good safari spot - access is simple, it has a very well developed infrastructure and tends to attract big crowds....it's like a big safari park!  The only real alternative are some of the smaller and more exclusive private concessions.......$  Speak to us about other attractions in South Africa
• Kilimanjaro is an area that we leave to specialists concentrating on the Heim Glacier and Machame routes...let us put you in direct contact...
• The remoter regions of Uganda, Cameroon, Rwanda and the Congo are really for "aficionados", they're most definitely available (speak to us about them)....