Posts filed under 'Safaris'
With the compliments of google’s travel news - Check out the following:
For all the gay and lesbian travellers wanting to visit South Africa either on Safari or just to see the beautiful country, there is a new Travel Agency for you to deal with. They are called the South African Gay and Lesbian Travel Alliance (SAGLTA). They specialise in finding and representing hotels, guest-houses, bed and breakfasts, and game lodges who are gay friendly. They also attend to various other travel-related products. They aim to serve the international gay and lesbian community.
What a great idea. I think niche markets work brilliantly.
Do you have an opinion?
by Doreen B.
August 3rd, 2006
These days it seems like everyone’s been on a safari. You go to Africa, you stay in some bush-tastic holiday resort and get lugged around in a battered truck all day looking for the Big Five. Big deal. If you’re looking for something a little different, a safari with a bit of edge, then I would suggest giving Botswna Odyssey a go.
This is a company that promises to take you on a wildlife adventure you’ll never forget! During November large herds of both zebra and wildebeest migrate through Botswana so this is where all the action is. Where there is big prey there will be big predators and this is the main focus of the safari. You’re given front row seats to nature’s most gruesome show: survival of the fittest.
Tanzania Odyssey has already been going for a few years now and, based on their success, Botswana Odyssey is now offering tailor-made safaris for those of you who are looking for a real African adventure. They have a special introductory offer called Best of Botswana which starts in a cliff-top camp and ends in the Okavango Delta where, as I understand it, most of the action takes place.
Now I don’t know about anyone else but I would love to give that a go. The last safari I went on I was too young to remember…aside from the fact that we had cold chicken for lunch and got chased by an elephant! I’m sure it’s much more dramatic in my tiny-child imagination, so the chance to see the wildlife battle for survival up-close would be awesome. You even get to wonder around the bush with Kwe bushmen!
Botswana is one of the most desirable locations in Africa for all would-be safari goers so this company is offering visitors a unique experience; one that is not likely to be anything like your neighbour’s/friend’s/sister’s boyfriend’s mom’s safari holiday!
The introductory package is for six days between November and April. If you think you’ve got the guts then you should call Botswana Odyssey on +44 20 7171 8780.
So go on! I can’t afford to splash out on African safaris right now so I’m relying on the lovely visitors to this site to give me all the feedback I can handle. Please let us know what you think or any experiences you may have had because I’ll be travelling through you!
Sam Bam.
June 27th, 2006
An African Safari is a brilliant way to get away from it all and most people want the experience but they still want the modern day conveniences they have in everyday life. Most Safari’s will cater to your modern day needs and keep you happily entertained with the natural beauty of the bush, desert and wildlife. Only a handful have kept things simple - the way it was back then.
Botswana is usually associated with luxury Safari’s but for some people, luxury is best left for their everyday city lifestyle. What they really want is the real thing or old style safari. If that is what you are looking for, then read on. …..
If you are interested in exploring the more traditional type safari that people enjoyed in the early 60’s in Africa, then we suggest you consider Jack’s Camp in Botswana. It is one of Africa’s best kept secrets!
Jack’s Camp is in the remote corner of Botswana and oozes with the old colonial style charm. It offers a truly magical traditional safari experience. You can enjoy silence and solitude in the vast open spaces of the Kalahari Desert with not trace or a whiff of commercial influence in sight. You will be housed in tents made in the 1940’s and sleep on iron beds with worn out old Persian rugs to put your feet on in the morning. You will have the privilege of a real bushman as your tracker and escort.
It all sounds too good to be true and oh so romantic! What better way to enjoy a break from the big city lights, than to feast your eyes on flocks of flamingos, and thousands of wildebeest, zebra, cheetahs, hyenas and lions.
Jack’s Camp Office is in Francistown, Botswana. From Maun, Botswana you can take a 50 minute charter transfer. You can call Jack’s Camp Office on: + 267 21-2277 or Fax: + 267 21-3458.
It sounds wild and wonderful. Let us know what you think?
By Doreen. B
June 5th, 2006
When choosing a travel companion, trust me on this one - The Female Mosquito is a bad choice.
The recent death of Christopher Gallagher, the young British traveller who lost his life to malaria is not pleasant to read about but maybe we should see it as a wake up call. Most travellers are sensible, just like young Christopher was, and they make sure that if they are travelling to malaria infected areas like Africa, North, Central and South America, and Asia they take a course of anti-malarial drugs. However, some people are under the impression that they are immune and don’t bother to seek advice from the doctor before travelling and they put themselves and their families at risk.
As a travel guide website we would like to strongly recommend (again) that you check in with the GP long before you travel (even in Europe with the recent upsurge of measles) to make sure you and your family are protected.
Malaria is a rather nasty little illness and kills more people than the average Joe realises. Did you know that Malaria is a biggest killer than TB? It is even suggested that AIDS will not kill as many people as Malaria, which is a parasite injected into the bloodstream by a female Anopheles mosquito.
A tremendously popular family holiday for the British people is the wonderful African Safari. Now don’t let malaria put you off. Just make sure that you find out where the malaria hot spots are. For example, Malaria occurs in very limited areas in South Africa but you need to take medication if you are traveling to the Northern Province, Mpumalanga, and the north eastern part of KwaZulu Natal.
If you want more information, let us know.
by Doreen B.
May 24th, 2006
If you are thinking of booking a Safari to Kenya, and this is your first trip to Africa, I thought I would give you some sound advice about Kenya.
There is no strict dress codes in Kenya but you should be aware that the coastal areas of the country are predominantly Muslim. I say play it safe and dress conservatively when you venture away from the tourist resorts and hotels. You don’t want to offend the local people.
Of special note is that homosexual activity is illegal in Kenya. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of the law, so it is best to keep your private lives behind closed doors.
Other sensible travel advice to follow is to avoid travelling after dark in isolated places. Avoid carrying valuables or wearing flashy expensive jewellery in public places and try not to carry credit cards or cash cards around with you unless you really have to. Keep them in your safe at the hotel and finally, always ask for identification if you are stopped by the police. Thieves are known to pose as police officers.
I would generally follow these basic rules for most parts of Africa. I was born and raised in Africa and whenever I go back, I still consider the basic common sense tourist guide lines.
Steve
May 5th, 2006
I have always wanted to go on a Horse Riding holiday but my family are not all keen riders so I never have done it.
If you are keen to take on a Horse Riding Holiday but need to combined it with something else, we suggest taking a short Safari Holiday in Africa. Most the Safari destinations have good trustworthy riding stables nearby that organise riding holidays. Ride World Wide is a great site which provides you with information on where, how much, how long etc. for riding holidays.
With Safari Holidays in Africa, you have great choices. South Africa, where you can combined riding with game, cattle work, and the ‘big 5′. Botswana, the Okavango Delta and stunning bird life. Kenya where the word safari originated, has hoards of wildlife, masses of big game and views of Mount Kenya. Tanzania- need I say more than: Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Ngorongoro?
Want more information? Like this blog? Dislike this blog?
Add your comments to the Indigo Guide forum
by Doreen B
March 30th, 2006
If you have heard recently about the outbreak of anthrax affecting animals in the Chobe Wildlife park in Botswana and plan on visiting - don’t panic. Although anthrax is a very infectious disease of animals it is rarely transmitted to people by contact with infected animals. Outbreaks like this are common amongst wildlife. The Department for Wildlife and National Parks always take necessary precautions to prevent these diseases spreading or affecting humans. As long as you follow the advice issued by the wildlife authorities, you should be fine. The trip is worth a million dollars! Chobe Wildlife park has one of the largest elephant populations in Africa (I think they have the second most - not sure who the first is) and if you have never been up close to a ‘real live’ elephant, you haven’t lived! What do you think?
December 13th, 2005
If you are wondering what to do with your young adults when they leave school and don’t know what direction they are going in life, why not try what we did? We sent our son (18 at the time) to Africa as a volunteer at an animal rehabilitation centre. Great decision and great outcome. We found this site very helpful:
http://www.wah.co.za/volprojects.html#namibrehab
Namibia has a great wildlife research and rehabilitation centre and you can get flights directly to Windhoek and from there you get collected and taken to camp. The experience gave him time to reflect on his future and one of the careers he then considered was to become a game ranger at a Safari camp. If you just want to do the safari camp thing, look at the following site for further information:
http://www.indigoguide.com/safari/namibia.htm
December 12th, 2005
Take a look at our section on SPECIALIST BREAKS which includes AFRICAN SAFARIS. As much as I want to draw your attention to the Safari section on our site, I also want to mention an experience I had with the Airline I used to get to my destination.
I flew to Africa with my son and his friend on Emirates. The 14 year old boys paid full adult price as they would have with most airlines. Although I rate Emirates as one of the best airlines I have ever travelled on, one thing did annoy me a lot. The airline has this new thing about offering ‘kids meals’ which comes in a lovely little lunch boxy type thing and is filled with the kind of food that most ‘kids’ would prefer rather than the usual food adults are offered. Now that’s a great idea but it did not work for me because my two 14 year old companions firstly objected to being labelled as ‘kids’ when they were actually teenagers and secondly they have acquired ‘adult’ eating habits and tastes at that age and felt a little deflated at having to be forced to revert to kids meals.
I would advise anyone booking with Emirates to make sure you state clearly that your teenage children do not want to be served with children’s meals (if that is the case) during the flight. Its important to let them know because I had a real problem convincing the air hostess that I was not prepared to take the ‘kids’ meals. They kept telling me that they don’t have enough adult meals as they did not order any extra food for the flight. I did eventually get the adult meals, but it made the experience a little unpleasant.
Having said all that, I did get an apology at the end of the flight from one of the senior staff members, so Emirates still rates high in my books.
Anyone else experience this problem? Want to make any comments?
December 8th, 2005
Friends of mine have actually gone it alone on Safari in Kenya. They hired a 4 x 4 and were able to tackle roads and tracks that your usual touristy mini buses couldn’t. If you are going to hire a vehicle by the way, I recommend a Toyota land cruiser. They are well suited to the rugged Kenyan terrain. The other benefits of the DIY safari was not being tied down to rigid routine and someone else’s plans.
December 6th, 2005
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