July 2009 Safari News

IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO BOOK AN AFRICAN SAFARI?

For UK visitors African safari trips to most of Africa were rather expensive in early 2009 as a result of a dramatic fall in the value of the pound and the high cost of International Flights. The strong dollar and Euro made a safari less so for our American and European clients. Since January a rising pound has made a luxury African safari much less expensive in sterling terms.

The recession has also meant that visitor numbers to Africa have fallen and many of the best Safari Lodges and Camps have been offering specials and discounts that have been unheard of in previous years. Many of these  specials are currently still available despite a sharp rise in bookings for this year over the last few months.

During July 2009 many of the airlines who fly to the principal safari countries in Africa, including BA and KLM have a ticket sale which makes the price of a flight to Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lusaka or Dar Es Salaam quite reasonable

Yes this is a good time to book a safari! 

RARE SIGHTING AT SABI SABI

“My first evening with a new group of guests started with a magnificent sighting of a leopard and her kill in the low lying branches of a Marula tree. After spending time watching this magnificent animal, we made our way out of the sighting, heading west. Just before turning onto the old Selati Railway Line road, we heard the unmistakeable cries of an animal in distress. We wasted no time in following the sound, with Doc (my Shangaan tracker) guiding us through the bush. Doc's excited exclamation came seconds before I saw a huge Southern African Python coiled around a fully grown male Duiker. I couldn't believe it!

We watched in awe as the Duiker kicked and struggled in vain. The Python had caught the Duiker by its hind leg, locked its mouth shut and coiled its crushing body around the rest of it. Every time the Duiker breathed out we could see the Python tighten its hold, stopping the Duiker from re-inflating its lungs. I'd never before seen an animal killed in this way. Eventually the Duiker stopped struggling - the fight was over.

The Python eventually released its bite on the leg and unfolded a few of its coils so that we could see its head clearly. It was enormous! Doc and I estimate between three and three-and-a-half meters in length, and as wide as a man's thigh at its thickest point. The snake began to relax, constantly flicking its tongue over the prey to get a true feel of how big the catch was, and to rest after all the exertion.

This was an astonishing sighting and although it was gruesome to witness, it reminded us that we are in a wildlife area where nature takes its course.”

 Extract from a game report from Sabi Sabi in Sabi Sands Private Reserve.  

ZAMBIA THE FORGOTTEN SAFARI COUNTRY

Zambia sometimes seems like the forgotten country of the Safari Community.

Zambia is  a superb safari destination and the three most popular parks compare very favourably with any in Africa both in scenic splendour and wildlife variety and density. Throw in the magnificent Victoria Falls and whole raft of adventurous activities mainly centred on the Zambezi River and you have all the ingredients of a perfect holiday at a much lower peak season cost than possible at nearby Tanzania and Botswana.

 The best known and most beautiful park is South Luangwa centred on the wild Luangwa River and its oxbow lagoons, game density here is as good as anywhere and includes African Wild Dog, South Luangwa is one of the best parks in Africa to see leopard.

 The park has some superb tiny bush camps with excellent guides and a good selection of small lodges. This park is famous as a place for guided game walks, and, unusually for Africa, night drives are permitted within the park boundaries. Close proximity to the border with Malawi makes it easy to combine with a few days at Lake Malawi.

 Kafue National Park is a huge tract of virgin bush with very few lodges and a great variety of habitats. When I first visited this park in the mid seventies it was an absolute delight with wide a range of game species many of which were absent or extremely rare elsewhere.

 Sadly the rampant poaching and neglect of the eighties reduced this park to a shadow of its former glory. Enlightened government conservation policies and new investment by some of Africa’s leading safari lodge operators have restored this pristine area of Africa to something like its former glory. The game has returned and although the wildlife is not as habituated to human presence as some other parks this is a great park for the adventurous and experienced safari traveller and the best place in Zambia to see cheetah, roan and sable antelope.

 Lower Zambezi National Park is located on the Zambezi River below Lake Kariba and opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools. The game viewing is varied and elephant are particularly plentiful. Lower Zambezi is another refuge of the Wild Dog.

 Most of the lodges here offer a mixture of superb water based game viewing and game drives with opportunity for walks. For the more adventurous there is canoeing on the river and also the chance to experience some of the best tiger fishing on the continent. 

SOUTHERN TANZANIA WITH ZANZIBAR

 We are able to offer a superb safari experience featuring four nights at the excellent Selous Safari Camp in the largest Game reserve in Africa, Selous Game Reserve. This unspoilt wilderness area offers outstanding game viewing on foot, by boat and by game drive in a 4x4 safari vehicle.

 This safari is combined with a two centre beach stay in Zanzibar with a transfer by sailing Dhow and a night in historic and atmospheric Stone Town.

 The accommodation is on full board basis whist on safari and half board in Zanzibar.

 Price £2400 per person sharing on a Dar Es Salaam to Dar Es Salaam basis based on November travel. 

ISLAND ESCAPE IN BOTSWANA’S OKAVANGO DELTA 

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of the great wonders of the world and a not to be missed experience for the adventurous traveller.

 Moremi Crossing is a new 16-tented camp set on a palm-fringed island surrounded by Moremi's game-rich, seasonal floodplains and overlooking Chief's Island. Here, guests experience the Okavango and its game from a very different perspective; slower, closer and in more detail, whether on foot, being poled silently by mokoro through the Delta’s waterways, or on secluded island sleep-outs in the Moremi (Chief's Island).

 Moremi Crossing in the Okavango Delta, can offer anyone wanting the experience of a lifetime, an opportunity to choose their own palm-studded island for an adventurous, yet idyllic and romantic, island sleep-out.

 Activities on offer are: half or full-day mokoro excursions with game walks, bush walks with picnic lunch in the Moremi, sunset motor boat cruises and island sleep-outs which are an optional extra.

 Starting off this 'Okavango Islands Escape' safari experience looking for their own island, guests depart from Moremi Crossing by mokoro (dugout canoe) and glide among the water-lilies of the Okavango Delta, until they come to an island that takes their fancy. A camp is then set up and guests will enjoy an exciting night under a blanket of stars with background noises such as the occasional grunt of a hippo and the tinkle of tiny bell frogs for company.

 The cost of this three night safari trip including a sleep out is between £600 and £700 per person fully inclusive but excluding transfers.

 This fantastic adventure trip can be taken as part of a longer safari through Northern Botswana or as a short stand alone trip from Johannesburg.

 For a full itinerary and quotation please contact info@safari-club.co.uk

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