destinations

We have recently returned from a visit to two of Tanzania's biggest National Parks - Nyerere and Ruaha National Parks. These are two of the stops on on our Southern Circuit Safari ( the other park we visit on the full tour is Katavi, in remote western Tanzania).

Tanzania's Southern Circuit offers a fantastic add-on to a Northern Circuit Safari, or can be done as a stand-alone safari, with Zanzibar as an obvious add-on.

Read more about Nyerere and Ruaha in this safari blog!

It's always more fun on the water... birding, that is. In Southern Africa birding is usually done by foot or car - car being the most used method generally, especially in national parks where there are certain creatures that can make you very glad that your medical cover is up to date. In open savanna habitat the car has certain advantages - it acts a bit like a mobile hide (or 'blind' of you are American), and also allows you to cover more distance, upping your bird daily bird count. But sitting in a car for long periods is not ideal either, and where possible, birding by boat offers a fresh perspective. Read more about the various boat trips we do on our 'Windhoek to Victoria Falls' itinerary....

There are literally hundreds of private safari lodges throughout Southern Africa, all trying to entice you, the client, into staying with them, rather than the next-door lodge, or another lodge in another country. The competition is fierce! Of course, the price tag will be the initial filter, and we find that most lodges are getting to be very experinsive overall. Some are worth it, but some aren't, and many of these tend to be a bit ostentatious (100-square foot bathrooms, 'his and hers' showers, more food than one can possibly eat etc) and just 'over the top'. Other lodges don't try to compete in this market however, but rather aim at delivering perfectly adequate food and accommodations and a good safari experience at a reasonable price. And Tuli Wilderness's Serolo Camp, in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana, is just such a camp...

Safari greetings!

This month we ran a Western Cape Voyager tour for two clients from Washington, USA, as part of an almost month-long sojourn in South Africa. And what a great place to start! The Western Cape is about as un-African as it gets without leaving the continent. Indeed, the scenery and landscapes are definitely not what one thinks of when thinking about Africa! But it's an incredibly beautiful part of the world, particularly at this time of the year, the austral spring, when wild flower displays make the vistas truly spectacular in some places. Indeed, this action-packed tour is also one of the most cost-effective, offering a whole lot of bang for your buck!

The Kruger National Park is South Africa's prime safari tour destination (see the video below!). At over 20 000 square kilometers it offers one of Africa's classic safari experiences. From the hilly country in the south-west to the vast Mopani scrub plains of the north, there's a remarkable array of landscapes and habitat types, making it essential to book a trip that covers multiple camps. But, with 12 main camps to choose from, which one is our favorite?